Most of the new Packard Bell hardware will launch in EMEA over the coming months, but no confirmation of South Africa just yet.
South Africans of a certain age will remember Packard Bell as one of the biggest personal computing brands a couple of decades ago. In the years since, the brand has slipped out of visibility, but Acer is looking to breathe new life into it.
To that end, at the next@acer event held on the eve of IFA 2026, the company reintroduced Packard Bell, announcing nine new devices in the process, including an affordable laptop (pictured below).
The rebranded Packard Bell appears to focus heavily on value-for-money hardware and accessories, utilising bright colours in order to help it stand out in a market full of metallic devices.
“Celebrating our 100th anniversary is the right moment to go back to our roots. People need technology that helps them study, work, and stay in touch, all at a fair price. That is what ‘Tech it easy’ means—our signature focus on keeping things simple,” noted Valerie Piau, EMEA VP at Acer Europe SA, regarding the relaunch.
The Packard Bell DotBook.
“The refreshed identity has been built around a single shape: the dot. The new emblem, a constellation of dots, hides the letters ‘P’ and ‘B’ in plain sight, an abstract nod to a century of history redrawn for the present. The dots are thought of as cells rather than pixels, a way of signaling technology that is human and built for real life,” added Acer.
As for the nine new devices, they are expected to launch in the EMEA region over the next couple of months, although Acer has not yet detailed whether South Africa is one of the countries it plans to make the hardware officially available.
The new devices, as well as recommended pricing in Europe, are as follows:
While we do not expect some of the lifestyle devices to officially land locally, we are intrigued by the PC hardware, so we’re hoping Acer Africa is considering bringing those devices into the country.
“Powered by the tech expertise, global reach, and consumer know-how of the Acer Group, the Packard Bell brand benefits from an established operational infrastructure including multilingual customer support across 28 countries, a network of service centres throughout the EMEA region, and logistics and retail relationships built over decades of consumer technology leadership,” it concluded.
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