Acer Swift Edge (2023) Review: Fast & Furious

Value When Reviewed

$1,499.99

Greatest Costs Right now: Acer Edge Swift (2022)

$1499.99

$1899.99

The Acer Swift Edge is a high-end laptop computer made to steadiness portability and show dimension. It weighs lower than 1.2kg however has a 16in display, significantly bigger than most ultraportable laptops.  

These type of specs aren’t actually attainable with standard laptop computer design, pushing Acer to search for each alternative to shave off a number of grams.  

The top consequence: Acer’s Swift Edge is a strong laptop computer that can go well with individuals who journey lots for work. However there are a number of points within the construct and design which implies the Swift Edge doesn’t fairly hit the heights of the LG Gram sequence, which initially put this type of laptop computer within the highlight.  

Design & Construct

• Tremendous-light magnesium aluminium alloy body 
• Comparatively poor panel rigidity 
• Sober, plain-looking design 

The Swift Edge is exceptionally mild contemplating it has a 16in display. 1.17kg can be thought-about mild for a 13in laptop computer, not to mention one this massive.

How Acer achieves that is through the use of quite a lot of the identical methods and compromises because the LG Gram 16 – the laptop computer that the Swift Edge is clearly gunning for. It could have aspirations to woo some folks away from a MacBook Air, too.

The Acer Swift Edge’s physique panels are created from magnesium alloy, and judging by how the Edge feels, they’re fairly skinny. Each a part of this laptop computer flexes a bit bit, together with the keyboard base the place it begins to affect use. 

Andrew Williams / Foundry

Shedding this a lot weight, then, definitely entails compromises. Are they value it? In the event you journey on a regular basis, certain. If the Acer Swift Edge will keep in your desk at dwelling or within the workplace 90% of the time, not a lot.  

Whereas we’re not apprehensive in regards to the Edge’s longevity, there’s a sure hollowness to the typing we don’t love. And it’s not evident in rivals that aren’t the product of an obsession with weight reduction.  

The Acer Swift Edge can also be a reasonably plain-looking laptop computer. It has a raised plastic display bezel – the display’s entrance layer can also be plastic, partially as a result of glass would add an excessive amount of weight. The main target right here is on portability and, at 13mm thick, the Edge slips into carry-on baggage after airport safety as if it have been an outsized iPad.

Keyboard and touchpad

• Shallow keyboard feels a bit imprecise 
• Plastic touchpad is a disappointment 
• Fundamental 2-level white key backlight

There’s a sure ‘hollowness’ to the texture of typing on the Swift Edge, as a result of the important thing stroke power reverberates across the body. Keys are additionally shallow, and the motion is quick and light-weight, not meaty and substantial like a desktop keyboard.

Andrew Williams / Foundry

In fact, no laptop computer keyboard can match a desktop, however right here the typing expertise right here is okay at greatest. There’s at the very least a two-level backlight.  

There’s weirder stuff within the touchpad. This can be a plastic pad, which is weird given the Acer Swift Edge’s value. When you get to round $1000 / £1000 you’ll be able to often count on a clean glass pad.  

Whereas the Acer Swift Edge’s touchpad floor feels okay it does have a little bit of plastic squeakiness that textured glass avoids. Click on depth varies fairly dramatically based mostly on the place you press on the pad. Whereas that’s regular for a mechanical clicker, it’s extra noticeable than normal on the Swift Edge.

Put merely, the touchpad feels prefer it belongs on a less expensive laptop computer and if it’s plastic simply to shave off a number of grams, it actually wasn’t value it.

Andrew Williams / Foundry

What is nice is the fingerprint sensor constructed into the facility button. This implies you’ll be able to log into Home windows with out coming into a PIN or password. It really works reliably, too.  

Display screen 

• Excessive color depth 
• 4K decision seems sharp 
• Shiny plastic floor 

The Acer Swift Edge has a high-end show, however that might not be instantly obvious as a result of it has a plastic end. Trendy eyeballs are used to seeing reflective glass shows, which have a sure high quality the Edge lacks.   

Nevertheless, our colorimeter shortly uncovered the fact of the scenario. The Acer Swift Edge’s distinction is predictably superior as that is an OLED panel which implies emissive pixels. Color depth is improbable and, crucially, Acer hasn’t given the Edge a comically oversaturated default presentation.  

Sadly, there aren’t any baked-in color profiles – the rival Samsung Galaxy Guide 360 3 has modes to stick extra closesly to requirements like sRGB, DCI P3 and Adobe RGB.

Andrew Williams / Foundry

Acer says it is a DIsplayHDR500 display, that means it ought to be capable to attain 500 nits brightness. Nevertheless, we might solely tease 400 nits out of it – the very best brightness could also be reserved for HDR content material. It’s vivid sufficient to make outside use possible however, as a result of it’s shiny and reflective, it’s not as straightforward to see underneath these circumstances as an anti-reflective matt one.   

Sharpness is great due to the 16:10 3840 x 2400 pixel decision.  

There are a number of little restricted parts, although. The display can tilt again by round 130 levels solely, and it isn’t a touchscreen. You gained’t be capable to use any type of stylus with this laptop computer both. Plus, it’s a 60Hz display, not a excessive refresh price one.

Efficiency 

• Good efficiency 
• Fan noise will get distracting underneath load 
• Higher for gaming than present Intel rivals 

The Acer Swift Edge has an AMD Ryzen 7 6800U processor, 16GB RAM and a 1TB SSD. It’s a superb spec that provides scope for severe work, video modifying and so forth.  

Its AMD processor additionally has an vital edge over the rival Intel Core i7-1360p: a sooner graphics chipset. The graphics {hardware} right here makes use of tech much like that of the Steam Deck, however with extra energy on faucet.  

Andrew Williams / Foundry

This implies you’ll be able to play various fairly impressive-looking video games, simply not on the display’s native 4K decision. Our checks present it solely attracts 24-25W watts of energy, under the acknowledged max TDP of 28W, however the Asus ZenBook S13 OLED has the identical steady max energy draw, suggesting that is the norm for the chipset. Not that it’s your normal measurement, however the energy per gram on provide right here is great.

Beneath stress, the Acer Swift Edge suffers from the identical difficulty as various super-thin laptops – the noticeable high-pitched whir of the cooling fan. Whereas the precise noise stage is rarely that top, the character is a bit like that of a tiny jet aircraft. Nevertheless, throughout mild work it’s petty a lot silent.  

Battery life and options 

• Worse-than-claimed battery life 
• First rate 1080p webcam 

The LG Gram vary confirmed us super-low weight doesn’t need to imply super-short battery life. And the Swift Edge has a few of the proper parts for nice stamina too, utilizing an AMD Ryzen processor. These usually result in longer battery life than an Intel counterpart, and Acer claims 10.5 hours.

The fact, although, left us disenchanted. In our office-work check, it lasted seven hours and 40 minutes, not fairly managing a full day of labor away from the mains. However when you’ve got dangerous browser tab etiquette, leaving stacks of the issues open, or need to do one thing tougher than writing paperwork and having the odd Zoom name, you’ll be reaching for the charger even sooner.

We saved an eye fixed on the battery stage whereas doing each day work on the laptop computer – largely writing and researching this assessment. It misplaced 16% cost in an hour, suggesting stamina of simply six hours and quarter-hour, which isn’t nice. 

Andrew Williams / Foundry

It’s a blended bag elsewhere. We have been pleasantly shocked by the webcam. Its pinhole lens seems completely tiny however it is a 1080p digital camera, and a reasonably good one.  

Audio system aren’t good, although. There’s no bass right here, and though readability and projection are effective, the Edge doesn’t have the chops to make music sound a lot good. 

Andrew Williams / Foundry

Connectivity-wise, the Acer presents virtually all the pieces you’d want on the go, bar any type of reminiscence card reader. There are two USB-C ports, though they’re 10Gbps USB 3.2 connectors – slower than the Thunderbolt kind you’d count on from an Intel CPU laptop computer at this stage. You get a full-size HDMI output, a blessing for these occasions you simply have to shortly hook up a TV or monitor. It’s a excessive bandwidth HDMI 2.1 port, too.  

Andrew Williams / Foundry

There are additionally two conventional USB-A connectors that run at as much as 5Gbps.

Value and Availability 

The Acer Swift Edge prices £1499/$1499 and, within the UK at the very least, there’s no selection of fashions.

You get an AMD Ryzen 7 6800U CPU, 16GB RAM and a 1TB SSD. These make it a greater deal than it might have initially appeared, given the baseline specs for ultrabooks are nonetheless 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD.  

The Apple MacBook Professional 16 with as shut a spec as attainable prices twice as a lot, which helps to place it into perspective.

Verdict 

The Acer Swift Edge offers glorious efficiency and display actual property for its weight, making it among the finest choices if you happen to want a laptop computer that’s as mild as attainable for travelling however don’t need to compromise on what your laptop computer can do.  

Nevertheless, compromises have been made to get to its super-low weight. Typing isn’t an important expertise and using a plastic touchpad grates at this worth. It’s hardly a shock that the audio system aren’t any actual use for music, however the comparatively poor battery life might effectively be a deal-breaker. Clearly, we didn’t check the Swift Edge to destruction, however sturdiness is a priority given how a lot this laptop computer flexes.

Whereas Acer has seemingly achieved its design objectives right here, the sacrifices made to get there make it laborious to advocate the Swift Edge unconditionally.

So if you wish to know which laptop computer you ought to purchase, then check out our roundup of one of the best laptops and likewise our assessment of the LG Gram 17 and Huawei MateBook 16s.

Specs

• Mannequin examined
• OS: Home windows 11 Dwelling
• Show: 16in 3480 x 2400 60Hz OLED
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 6800U
• Reminiscence: 16GB onboard
• Graphics: AMD Radeon
• Storage: 1TB PCIe NVMe M.s SSD
• Webcam: 1080p
• Connectivity: 2 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI 2.1. 2x USB-A 3.2
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
• Battery capability: 54Wh
• Charger: 65W
• Dimensions: 356.7 x 242.3 x 13.95mm
• Weight: 1.17kg
• Guarantee: 1yr RTB