Acer gives worldwide debut to Core Ultra Series 3 vPro processors in new Acer TravelMate P series

Acer announced four new TravelMate laptops at an event in Milan, Italy, today. It marks the first time we’ve seen laptops powered by vPro versions of Intel’s Core Ultra Series 3 processors, which debuted at CES 2026.

On stage, Massimliano Rossi, Vice President of Commercial, Operations and Services at Acer EMEA, contrasted the new laptops with the first laptop Acer launched in 2000. Where that had a 12MHz Intel 80286 CPU, the Acer TravelMate P4 14 AI, P4 Spin 14 AI, P2 16 AI and P2 14 AI business laptops all feature the latest Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors with optional Intel vPro technology.

All four of the laptops will provide an option containing the Intel Core Ultra 7 processor 356H chip, a 16-core CPU that has a peak frequency of 4.7GHz. That’s a thousand times faster in terms of frequency.

The line-up offers โ€œcommercial PC experiences that are purpose-built for business, not repurposed for it,” said Jen Larson, General Manager, Commercial Client Segments, Intel,. “[The] new platform delivers enterprise-grade security for PCs, simplified IT management, and optimized diagnostics and AI-enhanced support features right out of the box, ready for businesses to scale across the fleet, and into the future.โ€

Massimliano Rossi on stage with Acer's first laptop
Massimliano Rossi on stage with Acer’s first laptop (image: TechFinitive)

Opportunities for Acer TravelMate laptops in 2026

โ€œThere is still an unbelievable amount of products that are runningย Win 10,” said Rossi. “They areย not eligible to move to Win 11. And this, for sure, is aย unique opportunity for us and for our ecosystem of reseller to capture that.”

โ€œTheย [days where] technology gets cheaper and cheaper, itโ€™s over, and we are talking about theย super cycle. So not something that is going to change in a couple of quarters.โ€

The basic problem is eternal: an “unbalance between supply and demand, especiallyย key components like memoryโ€, he said.

So what’s the answer? โ€œWe need toย adjust collectively, identifying theย right specification, maybe toย push the customer to more premium products that last longer.”

Which brings us to the new laptops.

Introducing the new Acer TravelMate family

As already mentioned, there are four new members of the Acer TravelMate family that use the Core Ultra Series 3 chips with vPro. All of them come with a range of processors, typically starting with the Core Ultra 5 processor 322 (targeted towards efficiency) and peaking with the Core Ultra 7 processor 356H.

Acer TravelMate P4 14 AI

Acer TravelMate P4 14 AI

The P4 is a premium TravelMate model, complete with an aluminium chassis to keep the depth and weight low. The 2026 edition starts at 1.2kg and measures around 16mm thick. It includes a 14in IPS display, not OLED, with up to 64GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.

Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14 AI

Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14 AI

As the “Spin” in its name indicates, the TravelMate P4 Spin 14 AI is a 2-in-1 convertible. It’s 1mm thicker and around 100g heavier than the plain P4, but with the added benefit of a touchscreen (of course).

Acer TravelMate P2 14 AI

Acer TravelMate P2 14 AI

The two TravelMate P2 models will be more affordable but admittedly also less desirable. Again, they feature a range of Intel Core Ultra 3 series processors with vPro, with up to 64GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The 14in model weighs 1.3kg and measures 17.9 to 18.9mm thick. While the P4 offers screen options of 2,880 x 1,800, the P2 is stuck at 1,920 x 1,200 – which will still look fine on a 14in display.

Acer TravelMate P2 16 AI

Acer TravelMate P2 16 AI

No prizes for spotting the big difference here: a 16in screen versus 14in for the TravelMate P2 14 AI. It retains its sibling’s slimness, still dipping under 20mm, but weights 1.6kg. Note that the maximum screen resolution remains 1,920 x 1,200, so it will look grainier than the TravelMate P2 14 AI.

Price and availability of Core Ultra Series 3 vPro Acer TravelMate laptops

All four laptops will go on sale in North America and EMEA from June 2026. Australian businesses will be able to buy the new laptops from May 2026.

Acer has not yet announced prices – most likely due to the volatility of pricing of RAM and SSDs. It says it will confirm these closer to the launch.

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Tim Danton

Tim has worked in IT publishing since the days when all PCs were beige, and is editor-in-chief of the UK's PC Pro magazine. He has been writing about hardware for TechFinitive since 2023.