Acer Swift 5 (Intel eleventh Gen, 2020) specs
Worth: $1,299
CPU: Intel Core i7-1165G7
GPU: Intel Iris Xe
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 1TB SSD
Show: 14-inch, 1080p touchscreen
Battery: 13:37
Dimension: 12.6 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches
Weight: 2.31 kilos
Selecting the Acer Swift 5 up for the primary time seems like there’s some type of a magic trick being performed on you as its weight merely doesn’t align with the dimensions of the thing you’re holding in your hand. You’ll virtually suppose it’s hole inside and but, you might have the outstanding new Intel Evo design, that means this skinny and light-weight laptop computer is able to delivering significantly extra efficiency than earlier than.
Paired with a vivid 1080p panel, as much as 1TB of storage and 16GB of RAM, all for $1,299 for the top-end mannequin, the Acer Swift 5 is a outstanding achievement and a transportable laptop computer that appears to keep away from just about each trade-off as soon as related to the thin-and-light laptop computer class.
Acer Swift 5 value and configuration choices
My evaluate mannequin of the Acer Swift 5 is priced at $1,299 and comes with an Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.
That is the top-tier configuration; the bottom possibility begins at $999 and consists of an Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU, Intel Iris Xe graphics, 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. Stepping as much as $1,099 will get you an Intel Core i7-1065G7 CPU, Intel Iris Plus graphics, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. The ultimate configuration goes for $1,149 and provides the Intel Core i7-1065G7 CPU, an Nvidia GeForce MX250, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. All 4 variants can be found in both Mist Inexperienced or Safari Gold.
Acer Swift 5 design
I’ll get to the general look of the design in only a second, however it’s unimaginable to not draw consideration to the mystifying weight of the Acer Swift 5. It’s really barely heavier than Swift 5 (2020) that was launched this spring, at 2.3 kilos in comparison with 2.2 kilos, however at 12.6 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches, it’s nonetheless smaller and lighter than most of its rivals, just like the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2.4 kilos, 12.7 x 8.5 x 0.6-inches), Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (2.9 kilos, 12.1 x 8.8 x 0.6 inches) or the brand new MacBook Air (2.8 kilos, 12 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches).
Any time you might have a tool that feels a lot lighter than it appears to be like, your first thought is that it isn’t going to be very sturdy. And but,ut the magnesium-alloy development of the Swift 5 appears to evade this concern. Acer signifies that it provides someplace between two to 4 instances the power of conventional aluminum alloys at roughly 20% to 35% of the load. Attempting to flex the Swift 5, you may really feel the rigidity. Featherweight although it could be, this laptop computer seems like it’s going to maintain as much as the riggers of journey or the occasional drop whereas transferring it round the home or workplace.
The Mist Inexperienced coloration of my evaluate unit reads as grey in lots of lighting circumstances, however vibrant mild or a extra cautious inspection does reveal its barely inexperienced hue and the pearlescent end provides it just a little extra intrigue. Each the shiny Acer emblem and the matte angular hinge behind the laptop computer function a bronze end that offers the Swift just a little extra persona than your typical monochrome machine.
Opening the lid requires two palms; there’s no avoiding that lifting a fairly sturdy hinge on a laptop computer that weighs this little goes to trigger the entire chassis to raise with it. The inside is far of the identical with a bronze/gold accent coloration used for the symbols on the keyboard and the logos.
The built-in fingerprint sensor is slightly below the cursor keys and color-matched to the chassis, however barely recessed so it is simple to search out. I’ve only one odd grievance concerning the inside of the Swift 5: there’s an “Antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass” emblem on the bezel on the top-left nook and it attracts my eye for some motive. I’d most likely recover from it will definitely (or I’d discover a option to cowl it up) however why embrace it in any respect?
The Swift 5 is a beautiful little laptop computer that you would be able to slip right into a bag and barely discover it. The construct high quality feels incredible and the few little further touches actually assist to promote it as a premium laptop computer.
Acer Swift 5 ports
For individuals who don’t respect the pressured migration to USB Type-C, the Acer Swift 5 is right here for you with an assortment of ports that can assist your whole legacy gear whereas additionally providing you with a style of what the longer term has to supply with its Thunderbolt 4 port.
Alongside its left facet, you will see that a DC-in charging port, HDMI 2.0, a USB Type-A port (USB 3.2 Gen 1) and the aforementioned USB Sort-C Thunderbolt 4 port.
Turning to the appropriate facet, issues are just a little extra minimal: only a Kensington lock port, one other USB Sort-A port (USB 3.2 Gen 1) and a combo headphone/mic jack.
I way back made the transfer to USB Sort-C for many issues, however I nonetheless love having the choice of a minimum of one USB Sort-A because it invariably continues to be required by a few of my peripherals. Nevertheless, I might positively commerce the second Sort-A port for one more USB Sort-C at this level. Regardless of the bounty of ports, you should still discover you want one thing like an RJ45 Ethernet port or a full-size SD card reader, wherein case, you may leverage that Thunderbolt 4 ports energy with a USB Type-C hub.
Acer Swift 5 show
The Swift 5’s 14-inch, 1920 x 1080-pixel display produced a pointy and vibrant picture. Whereas it doesn’t ship 4K or a excessive refresh price, it has a stable 1080p expertise that gained’t disappoint. The bezels aren’t the slimmest we’ve seen, however fairly skinny alongside the sides and what stays on the high and backside actually doesn’t make the Swift 5 look dated. Whereas the Swift 5 isn’t a 2-in-1, it does function a touchscreen show that’s excellently responsive.
Watching the trailer for the upcoming Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger film Iron Masks, the Swift 5 show captured each beautiful element as you bounce from the deep crimson of the British uniforms, to the colourful robes of the Chinese language the Aristocracy and the just about crystalline blue construction of the dragon’s eye.
Our colorimeter wasn’t fairly as impressed by the Swift 5 show, displaying that the panel covers 75% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. That’s not a nasty outcome by any means, however it’s behind the Floor Laptop computer 3 (85.9%), the MacBook Air (80.9%), and the class common of 80.8%. My take is that, considered by itself, it’s nonetheless a vibrant show, however when held as much as others, you may see a few of the punch is missing.
Brightness isn’t an enormous power for the Acer Swift 5, which peaks at 350 nits, however that’s a stable outcome and places it on even footing with its rivals. The MacBook Air (366 nits) has a slight edge, whereas the Floor Laptop computer 3 (348 nits) is almost similar and the class common barely eclipses all of them at 386 nits.
Acer Swift 5 keyboard and touchpad
Typing on the Swift 5 keyboard feels nice. Given its thinness, you don’t have an abundance of key journey, however it provides simply sufficient and the keys are springy and responsive. Nevertheless, the structure on the Swift 5 drove me nuts for a couple of causes and whereas I’m sure I might get used to it over time, there may be a little bit of a studying curve with a few of the key placements.
By far, essentially the most irritating for me is the cursor cluster; the frequency with which I discovered myself unintentionally hitting web page up or web page down slightly than my supposed cursor key was maddening. I’m additionally not a fan of the inline energy button, which is surrounded by the delete and backspace key.
By way of precise typing velocity, I averaged 80 phrases per minute with 96% accuracy on the 10fastfingers.com typing check with the Acer Swift 5, which is just a little slower than my present common of 86 wpm. I believe inside one other week or so I’d be up to the mark with it; the marginally lowered dimension versus my typical keyboard is feasible the supply of my slowdown.
On a extra aesthetic be aware, the gold lettering does actually pop on the darkish keys, so when you aren’t a contact typist, by no means worry, you’ll be capable of decide every little thing out simply. The backlighting is ok, though on the diminutive operate row keys you get a good quantity of sunshine bleed.
Turning to the touchpad, the 4.1 x 2.6-inch floor is sufficiently giant to execute any of the Windows 10 gestures. I didn’t have any points with responsiveness when it got here to both gestures or fundamental navigation and,when you favor, you at all times have the touchscreen to fall again on. My lone grievance concerning the touchpad on the Swift 5 is that it’s a bit extra recessed than I would really like, I really feel prefer it may be liable to catching materials in it over time, however that’s largely a private choice and never an actual drawback.
Acer Swift 5 audio
The Acer Swift 5 makes use of a pair of bottom-firing audio system and whereas I’ll credit score them with avoiding distortion all through the vary, they’re incapable of manufacturing even a touch of bass. The output isn’t stellar both, however it was capable of fill my 18 x 12-foot testing house fairly when pushed to 100% quantity.
I listened to “The Adults Are Speaking” by The Strokes and this proved to be nearly the appropriate pairing for what the Acer Swift 5’s audio system can reproduce. It handles the vocals and guitar riffs with out difficulty, so relying in your musical preferences, you may be high-quality. Alternatively, plan to hook the Swift 5 as much as an excellent Bluetooth speaker or wireless headphones whenever you need high quality audio.
Acer Swift 5 efficiency
The Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor paired with 16GB of RAM and Intel Iris Xe Graphics completely tore by the entire regular challenges I throw at a laptop computer. Firing up over two dozen Google Chrome tabs, together with two YouTube movies operating at 1080p and a pair of Twitch streams didn’t trigger a stutter or dropped body. Regardless of Intel’s assertions about its Iris Xe Graphics, that are completely spectacular, I nonetheless wouldn’t let you know to exit and purchase the Swift 5 for its gaming efficiency.
With that mentioned the Swift 5 managed to impress once more with its Geekbench 5.2 overall performance check, with a multi-core rating of 5,895. This was simply behind the MacBook Air (5,962), however properly above the Floor Laptop computer 3 (4,791) and the class common (4,178).
Our Handbrake video transcoding check, which requires the laptop computer to transform a 4K video to 1080p decision, was additionally properly forward of the curve for the Swift 5, ending in 13 minutes and 55 seconds. Whereas the MacBook Air (9:15) trounced this outcome, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (18:29) and the Floor Laptop computer 3 (24:55) put it again in perspective.
The Acer Swift 5’s 1TB SSD isn’t any slouch both, managing a 1,141 MBps switch price in our 5GB file switch check. Once more, Apple wrecks the curve for the category with the MacBook Air (2,897.8 MBps), whereas the Floor Laptop computer 3 (541.4 MBps), the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (997.9 MBps) and the class common (780.9 MBps) all reveal that the Swift 5 lives as much as its identify in terms of SSD velocity.
Acer Swift 5 graphics
The Intel Iris Xe within the Swift 5 isn’t up for taking part in demanding games at excessive settings, however it’s vastly extra succesful than its predecessor on this regard, and holds up properly in its class. In case you are lifeless set on gaming, you aren’t going to search out something this skinny and light-weight, however a few of the best gaming laptops on this value vary are fairly transportable and can ship a lot better gaming efficiency.
The Acer Swift 5 managed solely 33 frames per second on Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm (1080p, Medium), simply crossing our 30-fps playability threshold. This was narrowly behind the MacBook Air (37 fps), however miles past the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (8 fps) and forward of the 28 fps class common.
Acer Swift 5 battery life
If the extremely low weight is its sensible opening, the battery life on Acer Swift 5 is the encore that can convey thunderous applause. Relying in your utilization, the Acer Swift 5 may get you thru a minimum of one and presumably two days on a single cost.
It lasted 13 hours and 37 minutes in our official battery check, which includes steady Net browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. This places it properly forward of the Floor Laptop computer 3 13-inch (9:17) and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (10:45), coming in behind solely the brand new MacBook Air (M1, 2020) (14:41), however that’s actually good firm to maintain.
Acer Swift 5 digital camera
Regardless of its skinny bezels, the Acer Swift 5 provides you a high bezel webcam and that’s about the one constructive factor I’ve to say about it. It’ll serve you simply high-quality in case you have no different possibility, however it’s fully incapable of dealing with something with out vibrant mild and, even then, you’re going to see a good quantity of visible noise.
This could simply function a reminder that if you want to do lots of video conferencing or video chat through your laptop computer, decide up an external webcam. Nobody builds a webcam right into a laptop computer that’s the equal of even a comparatively cheap exterior possibility.
Acer Swift 5 warmth
I not often heard the followers on the Acer Swift 5 come on; the 5 exhaust panels on the backside and two giant exhaust panels which can be hid behind the rotating hinge within the again all do their job extremely properly. Throughout my time with the Swift 5, I by no means observed it really feel something greater than barely heat to the contact.
Our testing, which includes taking part in a 15-minute, 1080p video after which taking temperature readings on varied elements of the laptop computer, confirmed my anecdotal expertise. On the Swift 5, the touchpad remained at an affordable 78 levels Fahrenheit; the keyboard was simply barely hotter at 81 levels and the underside was the toastiest at 87 levels. All had been properly beneath our 95-degree consolation threshold.
Acer Swift 5 software program and guarantee
The Acer Swift 5 ships with Home windows 10 House and a considerably unlucky quantity of bloatware. Whereas I notice that that is how producers handle to maintain costs down on laptops, it’s at all times a bit irritating to begin recent with a model new laptop computer and should spend a while emptying out the muddle.
The Acer Swift 5 comes with a one-year restricted guarantee. You may see how Acer fares typically on this entrance in our Tech Support Showdown and Best and Worst Brands particular experiences.
Backside line
The Acer Swift 5 is a pleasure to make use of. Whereas it begins with the large portability, the outstanding efficiency and suppleness with its touchscreen make it only a great all-purpose laptop computer. The battery life is de facto simply the icing on the cake; even after I left it away from the charger for a day, I had loads of juice to spare.
The keyboard might be my largest grievance with the Swift 5; I simply don’t just like the condensed structure because it’s too liable to inflicting typing errors, which is not acceptable given my line of labor. Nevertheless, I believe I may modify to it over time, and for a lot of, it might not be a problem in any respect. In case you are wanting on this roughly $1,000 value vary and worth portability, the Swift 5 deserves to be close to the highest of your record.
