As a journalist who juggles various tasks daily, finding the right laptop to support my hybrid work lifestyle is crucial. Recently, I had the chance to put the Acer TravelMate P4 through its paces for two weeks, and it didn’t disappoint. It’s clear that this laptop was built with professionals in mind—offering portability, power, and security.
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Sleek design for on-the-go
The first thing that stood out to me was the sleek and lightweight design. The magnesium-alloy chassis not only gave the laptop a premium feel but made it easy to carry when I traveled between meetings and workspaces. As someone who works both from home and in the office, I appreciated how light it was in my backpack, making it almost effortless to tote around. The 16:10 thin-bezel display with 2K resolution was a nice touch, offering crisp, vibrant visuals that made reviewing documents and reading articles easy on the eyes.
Seamless performance
Powered by the 13th Gen Intel® Core™ i7 and NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2050 GPU, the TravelMate P4 handled everything I threw at it. My work involves juggling multiple browser tabs, research tools, and writing software simultaneously—and to my surprise, the laptop never slowed down or froze, even during the most intense multitasking sessions. It was refreshing to work on a machine where switching between apps was seamless and instantaneous. Plus, the laptop’s 64GB memory ensured that performance remained consistent, no matter the workload.
Comfortable typing experience
One of my favorite features was the keyboard. As someone who spends hours typing articles, I found the 1.55mm key travel and soft-touch keypad particularly satisfying. The keys were responsive, making it easy to belt out articles with minimal fatigue. The large touchpad, reinforced with Corning® Gorilla® Glass, offered smooth and accurate navigation without feeling clunky.
Room for improvement: ports and battery life
Despite all the positives, there were a couple of areas where the laptop fell short. One of my biggest hang-ups was the limited USB input slots. As someone who frequently connects external devices, the single full-sized USB port felt restrictive, especially compared to other laptops I’ve tested. While the two USB4 Type-C ports helped alleviate some of this, a few more traditional USB inputs would have been welcome.
The battery life was another slight disappointment. While the 65W fast-charging feature is convenient, the overall battery longevity didn’t quite match up to competitors like Asus, which I’ve also tested. I found myself needing to recharge more often than I would have liked during long workdays.
Built for hybrid work
However, these downsides didn’t overshadow the fact that the TravelMate P4 is clearly built for hybrid work. The fast and secure logins via IR facial recognition or fingerprint reader made getting started easy, and the privacy panel feature was a nice touch when working in public spaces. Moreover, the laptop’s durability, with Military Standard testing and reinforced I/O ports, made it feel like it could withstand the daily grind of work, travel, and everything in between.
Final thoughts
For small and medium-sized businesses or enterprise workers, the Acer TravelMate P4 is a solid choice for anyone looking for a balance of portability and performance. While there’s room for improvement with battery life and port options, its sleek design, fast processor, and overall user experience make it an ideal companion for those of us who need to be productive on the go.
