The Acer Swift 16 AI is Acer’s latest thin-and-light laptop that redefines performance and portability in the premium laptop segment. Powered by the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H CPU and Intel Arc B390 graphics, this 16-inch OLED laptop delivers a significant performance boost over last year’s model while maintaining a sleek, lightweight design. With a 16-inch OLED display, haptic touchpad, active stylus support, and up to 13.5 hours of battery life, the Acer Swift 16 AI is tailored for creators, designers, and business professionals seeking a high-end but portable computing experience.
Pricing and Comparison
There are three different configurations for the Acer Swift 16 AI laptop. The one in the mid-range configuration is $1,800 and offers an Intel Core Ultra X7 358H CPU, 32GB of RAM, Intel Arc B390 graphics, and a 1TB SSD. In comparison, the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 Aura Edition is $1,950; though it does have RTX 5050 graphics and a 16-inch OLED screen. So while there is a gap in price between these laptops, they have both set new standards for performance and usability.
Design and Weight
The design of the Acer Swift 16 AI laptop is radically different from its predecessors. Stepping away from the standard corporate gray, this year’s model features a darker gray with gold trim. The chassis is made entirely of aluminum and weighs only 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg). This makes it weigh as much as the 15-inch MacBook Air whilst squeezing in a larger 16-inch OLED screen. Not only does this design provide a premium look and feel, it also ensures a top class build quality and user experience. Haptic Touchpad and Pen Support
The 16 AI also marks the introduction of a haptic touchpad from Acer. With dimensions of 6.9 inches wide and 4.3 inches high, this haptic touchpad is touted as the largest in existence. Due to its vast size, it is especially loved by creators and designers. The enormous size of the touchpad can sometimes make for unexpected cursor jumps, though. Acer’s also added an MPP2. 5 active stylus — (pen) that operates on the touchpad instead of the display itself.
Display and Speakers
One of the other new AI-enabled laptops is the Acer Swift 16, with its massive 16-inch OLED screen. The 2880×1800 display features a 120Hz refresh rate and touch capabilities. Most notably, the performance of the display has consistently improved over time as we might expect; however, this brings us to arguably its biggest weakness: the speakers. The laptop’s speakers are horrendously bad — an unfortunate shortcoming, given the display’s otherwise excellent capabilities.
Webcam and Biometric Options
When it comes to the webcam, this new version of the laptop takes a small step backward. Last year’s model was up to a 1440p webcam, but the camera is now a step down to 1080p this year as well. The camera also has an IR sensor for Windows Hello facial recognition logins. With no fingerprint reader built into the laptop itself, that was the only option for logging in other than typing in a password.
Acer Swift 16 AI One of them, the new larger version of the Acer Swift 16 AI laptop, is equipped with two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port and a combo audio jack. There is also a microSD card slot as well. This laptop has soldered components, but zero internal expansion. The RAM in the MacBook is permanently soldered straight to the motherboard, meaning users are unable to upgrade it themselves. Additionally, it has just one M.2 slot — which is already filled with a 1TB SSD.
Performance and Battery Life
Acer Swift 16 AI laptop also includes the latest version of 16-core powered by the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H processor and comes with a memory of up to 32GB. In Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024 benchmark tests, this laptop was very capable. The laptop provides a battery life of 13.5 hours, just one hour longer than last year’s model.
It brings a great thin-and-light weight profile, and an impressive display setup. As a result, it sets new standards for creators, designers and business professionals alike. Notably, however, the speakers and webcam could be better.
