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Acer offers the first laptops with Alexa built-in

Control your smart home while you're checking email on the couch.

HP may have been the first to offer an all-in-one with Alexa built-in, but Acer is determined to do the same for the laptop realm. It just revealed that several of its laptops are the first to ship with Amazon's voice assistant already installed. The Spin 3 and Spin 5 should be available at stores right now, while the Nitro 5 Spin convertible will pack Alexa when it arrives in June. Aspire, Switch and Swift PCs (including Aspire desktops) will offer Alexa with shipments over the "next few weeks."

If you already have a compatible model, don't worry -- your system isn't suddenly obsolete. Acer is promising updates with Alexa support through the company's Care Center, starting with the Spin 5 on May 23rd.

As with other Alexa-equipped PCs, you have access to a wide range of the AI helper's tasks, whether it's controlling smart home devices, playing music or checking the weather. You may have to sit close to your PC for it to understand you, however -- only the Spin 5 has far-field voice recognition that lets you bark commands from across the room. Still, this might do the trick if you live in an Alexa-centric household or just don't care for Cortana.