I’m calling it now. Alienware’s Concept UFO PC is arms down probably the most thrilling factor to come back out of this 12 months’s CES tech fest. It’s successfully a Nintendo Switch, nevertheless it performs PC games, which, let’s face it, is all any of us have ever needed ever for the reason that Switch first got here into existence. Alienware and Dell Gaming’s vice chairman Vivien Lien even went full Fils-Aime when she launched this wondrous little machine throughout Dell’s CES convention final evening.
“Imagine a world where you have access to AAA games wherever you are,” Lien mentioned to the group of convention goers. “You could be gaming on your laptop at home, pause, pick up another device for your commute and pick up right where you left off.”
Alienware, you may have my full consideration.
Concept UFO has been in growth for a few years, in accordance with Lien, and the aim was to create “a true PC handheld for gaming” that also supplied “amazing speed, but just in your hands wherever you are,” she mentioned. It’s fairly a chunky previous factor, utterly missing the graceful, rounded simplicity of its Nintendo rival, however then once more, what would else would you anticipate from an organization that’s obsessive about that brushed silver Area 51 look?
Hello? Is that Alienware? Yes, that is Nintendo’s authorized workforce. Can we’ve got a phrase?
I have to admit, I nearly spat out my tea at what Lien confirmed off what the Concept UFO may do subsequent. Just just like the Nintendo Switch, Concept UFO is definitely a display with two removable controllers. I’m not even kidding. Heck, I’m stunned Nintendo’s attorneys weren’t on the cellphone attempting to close this factor down mid-conference.
“This is literally every gamer’s dream,” host Aisha Tyler mentioned in response (sure, that Aisha Tyler wot generally does Ubisoft’s E3 press conferences), clearly doing her greatest to not point out the massive Nintendo-shaped elephant within the room. (Seriously watch your complete reveal under, it’s in all probability the most effective factor you’re going to see all day).
The Switch love-in didn’t cease there, both. As nicely as having the ability to play in tabletop mode due to the kickstand around the again of the machine, you’ll additionally have the ability to hook the display as much as an exterior show and play games with the indifferent controllers (both in every hand or connected to an extremely Switch-like controller grip) that means. I imply, it’s actually like Alienware have been copying Nintendo’s design homework and tried passing it off as their very own work hoping the lecturers gained’t discover. Newsflash. We observed and we’re issuing a detention slip proper this second.
Concept UFO is, in fact, only a idea and never a completed product, I ought to reiterate, however the {hardware} and software program inside it positively isn’t. Squint carefully, for instance, and you’ll see a really small Windows emblem within the backside left nook of the show, which suggests it’s operating full Windows 10. Lien additionally confirmed it had one among Intel’s 10th Gen Core processors sitting on the coronary heart of it, and that the display measured 10in alongside the diagonal. Sadly, no point out of decision was made throughout the press convention, or how a lot it at present weighs, however Tyler did say it felt “incredible” when she was oogling over it onstage.
Lien did point out, nonetheless, that they’ve been engaged on many iterations of Concept UFO, and that additionally they have “many more in the works”, too, so it’s potential Dell is perhaps getting ready a complete household of UFO-like gadgets, maybe to allow them to cater for various value brackets and use instances. Maybe like a less expensive, utterly handheld ‘lite’ model, maybe, or a beefier, perhaps 4K-capable ‘pro’ model. Who may probably say…
For extra information from this 12 months’s CES, try our CES 2020 tag.
