If you want a large exhibit for multitasking and getting work done , but you do n’t want to hold around a heavy laptop , then you have several bang-up pick today . There ’s plausibly never been a better fourth dimension to choose a great15 - column inch laptopor just more or less larger .
Two candidate are theApple MacBook Air 15 ( M4 , 2025)andAcer Swift AI 16 . They both fit a large showing into somewhat thin and wakeful chassis , but one has a significant advantage over the other .
Specs and configurations
As of when I pen the brushup , there was only one configuration of the Swift AI 16 . For $ 1,250 you get an Intel Core Ultra 7 256V chipset , 16 GB of RAM , a 1 TB SSD , and a 16 - inch OLED display .
The MacBook Air 15 has more option uncommitted . It ’s base model is $ 1,199 for a 10 - core CPU/10 - core GPU M4 ( the only option ) , 16 GB of RAM , a 256 GB SSD , and a 15.3 - column inch informatics display ( also the only pick ) . upgrade to 24 GB is $ 200 you’re able to upgrade to 24 GB of RAM , while $ 400 nets you a full 32 GB . Storage options range from 512 GB for $ 200 , 1 TB for $ 400 , and 2 TB for $ 800 . The high - end configuration with 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD costs $ 2,399 .
That makes the Swift AI 16 the more low-priced laptop , offering a solid constellation for an attractive price particularly give the large OLED presentation . The MacBook Air 15 is an even more premium laptop in term of its pricing .
Design
The Swift Ai 16 is a simplistic conception , almost to a error . The lines along the edge tally a bit of flair , but overall it ’s an all - black esthetic that ’s okay but wo n’t resist out . The MacBook Air 15 is a more elegant machine , which a more minimalist innovation that ’s partake in with Apple ’s total MacBook lineup and that somehow comes across with more of a pernicious panache . It ’s available in several attractive colors , and it ’s simply a good looking laptop .
Both laptop computer are solid , with all - aluminum construction , although the Swift AI 16 has a slimly bendable exhibit while the MacBook is solid throughout . I ’m sure the Acer is reasonably robust , but the Apple gives a well overall impression . That includes the hinge , which realise curtain raising and exit the eyelid a lot placid .
The MacBook Air 15 is likely the thinnest bombastic - screen laptop you may buy today at just o.45 inch , while the Swift AI 16 is a bite thick . They weigh almost the same , which pass water the MacBook Air 15 palpate denser in mitt . With a larger showing , the Swift AI 16 is also wider and deep , so feel considerably large as well .
The Swift AI 16 ’s keyboard has snappy switches , but its layout is a turn cramped and its keycaps a bit small given Acer ’s conclusion to squeeze in a numeric computer keyboard . The MacBook Air 15 has Apple ’s excellent Magic Keyboard with big keycaps , a roommate layout , and the best switches around . Apple ’s Force Touch haptic touchpad with Force Click feature article is a good deal better and a flock larger than Acer ’s mechanically skillful version . The Swift AI 16 does have a touch - enable show for those who favour one , and the MacBook does not .
Connectivity favor the Swift AI 16 . It has a mixture of modern and legacy ports , while the MacBook Air 15 has just two Thunderbolt 4 ports . The Acer does give up one port for power , while the MacBook has a MagSafe 3 connector that keep both ports free . The Swift AI 16 ’s wireless connectivity is more up - to - engagement .
Performance
The Swift AI 16 is ramp up around an Intel Core Ultra Series 2 chipset , also known as Lunar Lake chipsets , specifically the Core Ultra 7 256V. That ’s an eight - core ( four carrying into action and four Low Power Performance ) , eight - thread chipset consuming 17 Watt of power , making it Intel ’s up-to-the-minute low - power chipset for lean and light laptops . With this coevals , Intel is look to offer greater efficiency with reasonably fast productivity performance . The Intel Arc 140V unified computer graphic are n’t adequate to or more than ledger entry - level gaming , and it does n’t do much to accelerate creative tasks .
The MacBook Air 15 uses Apple ’s new Silicon chipset , the M4 , with 10 central processing unit core and 10 GPU meat . It ’s a high performance chipset with the fastest cores around , making it importantly faster in single - inwardness tasks and very fast in multi - heart . The GPU centre are also faster than Intel ’s integrate computer graphic , and the M4 also has various optimisation that help speed up various creative tasks . That make the MacBook Air 15 a faster solvent for creative lotion like video redaction .
Simply put , the MacBook is the fast laptop in productiveness , originative , and gambling undertaking .
Display and audio
The Swift AI 16 ’s best feature is its 16.0 - inch 16:10 2.8 K ( 2880 x 1800 ) OLED display running at up to 120Hz . It provides the technology ’s common brilliant colour and inky black , and it runs at a quick refresh for a smooth user port .
The MacBook Air 15 has the same 15.3 - inch 16:10 2880 x 1864 LED IPS 60Hz as the previous propagation , and it ’s quite good for an IPS video display . Its colors are n’t as wide or accurate as the Acer ’s , and its demarcation is n’t as deep . Also , it runs at just 60Hz .
The MacBook ’s display is very good , but the Swift AI 16 ’s display is just gorgeous . At the same sentence , the MacBook Air 15 ’s quad - speaker sound recording with force - offset woofer provides sound that ’s louder , crisper , and boomier than the Acer ’s stereo speakers .
Portability
The two laptop weigh almost the same , while the MacBook Air 15 is incredibly tenuous by comparing . It ’s also slimly narrow and shallower , making it quite a turn more portable .
In term of battery animation , though , the MacBook Air 15 is in a different category entirely . It has the best efficiency of any large - exhibit laptop , and it live on up to twice as long as the Swift AI 16 . That include in more demanding job , mean you ’ll be able-bodied to exercise away from a male plug for hours longer .
The MacBook Air 15 remains the best portable large-screen laptop
The Swift AI 16 is a good laptop at a honest price . It ’s tight enough to get work done , and it enjoy an fantabulous OLED display .
But the MacBook Air 15 is just intimately overall . It ’s thin and more portable , it ’s a plenty quicker , and it endure forever on a commission . You ’ll spend a bit more for it , but you ’ll enjoy the experience a lot more .
