When I reviewed theAcer Swift Edge 16 in 2023 , I gave it a high account for being a thin and light16 - in laptopwith a large display for multitasking . I overlook its pathetic stamp battery life story and other flaws because I thought it supply other feature that mattered more , along with a reasonable Leontyne Price .
Today , though , there ’s less apology for a laptop computer that wo n’t make it until lunchtime — especially when laptop computer escape Windows on Arm on Qualcomm ’s latest chipset last for more than a full day . Although passably low-cost , the Swift Edge 16 is n’t nearly as free-enterprise in 2024 .
Specs and configurations
Acer offer just one configuration of the Swift Edge 16 , at $ 1,300 for an AMD Ryzen 7 8840U chipset , 16 GB of RAM , a 1 TB SSD , and a 16.0 - inch 3.2 KB OLED display .
That ’s a fair price for a well - equipped 16 - in laptop computer , with a caveat — most 16 - inch laptops are aimed at creators and are more powerfully configured . The Swift Edge 16 is aim strictly at productiveness users , lowering what ’s a free-enterprise terms . The most relevant contention is theLG Gram 16 2 - in-1 , which is also a very thin and light 16 - inch machine with an OLED exhibit — but it runs $ 1,800 for a exchangeable constellation . And theApple MacBook Air 15is also in the mix , with a more or less small display and a terms that ranges from $ 1,299 for a shape with just 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage , to $ 1,899 for a exchangeable config , and then $ 2,499 for 24 GB of RAM and a 2 TB SSD .
In one very crucial aspect , those two laptops are superior machines . So , the Swift Edge 16 is priced correctly , but at a price . I wish Acer offered some cheaper configurations to get the terms under $ 1,000 .
Design
You ’ll find 16 - column inch laptop computer primarily in one of two pattern : creativity workstation and thin - and - light productivity machines . The former , which includes laptop like theAsus ProArt P16,Apple MacBook Pro 16 , andLenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 , have high - power CPUs and GPUs and heavier chassis . They also tend to be a lot more expensive . The second category , which describes the Swift Edge 16 , has lower - power CPUs , integrated artwork , and a thin and light chassis that are aim at portability . Their 16 - inch displays are mean for multitasking and media consumption , and other examples include the LG Gram 16 2 - in-1 and MacBook Air 15 .
The Swift Edge 16 is n’t the absolute slight example I ’ve reviewed , but it ’s pretty tight at between 0.51 and 0.60 inches . The Gram 16 is just 0.51 inches thick and the MacBook Air 15 is an unbelievable 0.45 column inch . Even the MacBook Pro 16 is just 0.66 inches . However , the Acer is fabulously light at 2.71 pounds , liken to the Gram 16 at 3.08 pounds , the MacBook Air 15 at 3.3 pound , and the MacBook Pro 16 at 4.8 pounds . The Swift Edge 16 lighter than many 14 - column inch laptops , and even the MacBook Air 13 is around the same weight . Acer construct a laptop computer that ’s very easy to carry around .
As with many of the lightest laptop computer , the Swift Edge 16 is constructed of magnesium alloy , in this case atomic number 12 - Al alloy . That cloth is very strong even while being so lightweight , but it ’s more flexible than aluminium alone . The Swift Edge 16 has a pliant lid and a figure and keyboard deck of cards that demoralize a lot more than usual under light pressure .
That ’s also somewhat genuine of the LG Gram 16 2 - in-1 , while the others I ’ve mentioned have a much more unbending tone . It does n’t think of the Swift Edge 16 is n’t well - build up , but if you wish laptops with denser and more hearty soma , it might disappoint . I ’ll mention that my review whole had a slight wobble when lie flat on a desk ; that ’s likely a defect , but it ’s never good to see .
esthetically , the Swift Edge is a fairly bland all - black chassis with pedestrian lines and edge . It ’s not unattractive , but it also does nothing to stomach out .
Keyboard and touchpad
The keyboard is a stock island edition , with respectable spacing and large enough keycaps . The switches are clear and snappy , and I was up to speed up rapidly enough . It ’s rare that I amount across a keyboard that I like as much as the MacBook ’s Magic Keyboard , and this one does n’t , either . But it ’s more than good enough .
The touchpad is smaller than it could be , bequeath mint of uncommitted place on the palm rest . And , it ’s a pretty typical mechanically skillful version — good enough , but not nearly as adept as the well tactile touchpads . That ’s hunky-dory , though , at this laptop computer ’s terms . It will take more time for tactual touchpads to be standard on all but premium laptops .
Webcam and connectivity
The Swift Edge 16 has a solid link of ports , with a premix of USB4 ( similar in performance and functionality to Intel ’s Thunderbolt 4 touchstone ) and bequest port . The only dashing hopes is the microSD card proofreader versus a full - size of it reader , but some late 16 - in laptops have no SD scorecard reader at all . Wireless connectivity is fullly up - to - date with Wi - Fi 7 .
The webcam is reasonably hi - reticuloendothelial system at QHD ( 2560 by 1440 ) . It provide just - enough timbre . There ’s no infrared camera for Windows 11 Hello facial acknowledgement , but the fingermark reader embedded in the power button works well enough .
Performance
The Swift Edge 16 use the AMD Ryzen 7 8840U chipset . That ’s not AMD ’s most recent chipset — currently the very powerful Ryzen AI 300 serial , which we reviewed in the Asus ProArt PX13 and ProArt P16 . Instead , the Ryzen 8000 serial remains the company ’s mainstream laptop lineup , and the Ryzen 7 8840U is draw a bead on at thin and idle laptops that need fast productiveness performance . It ’s a 28 - W , 8 - core/16 - screw thread chipset that compares most straight off to Intel ’s Core Ultra 7 155H chipset with 16 cores and 22 togs and Qualcomm ’s Snapdragon X Elite chipset with 12 cores and running on Windows on Arm .
In our stock retinue of benchmarks , the Swift Edge 16 was reasonably free-enterprise but descend behind in a few . It did well in the PCMark 10 Complete bench mark that runs a combination of casual , productivity , and creative tasks . The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge 16 run for the Snapdragon X Elite was the fastest among this comparison mathematical group , but it was also throttle in how we could test it commit that many benchmarks have n’t been written to go natively on Windows on Arm . The same applies to applications across the board , where the Samsung might run an lotion in emulation and so likely slower than the others .
Overall , I ’d rate the Swift Edge 16 more than fast enough for demanding productiveness users . Creators will find oneself the integrated Radeon Graphics 780 M to be a limit agent , as will gamers .
Battery life
AMD chipsets run to be more effective than Intel ’s , while Qualcomm now rules Windows laptops in terms of battery life . However , Acer put only 54 watt - time of day of shelling capacity in the Swift Edge 16 to power a 16 - in 3.2 K OLED show . That ’s just not enough , and somehow this class ’s manakin did worse than last year ’s model — which was n’t gravid .
In our entanglement crop mental testing , the Swift Edge 16 lasted just 4.25 hours . By comparison , the LG Gram 16 2 - in-1 hit 9.5 hours and , while we have n’t tested the MacBook Air 15 with the M3 chipset , the MacBook Air 13 M3 wield 19.5 hours and the 15 - inch manakin is likely to last longer . In our video looping test , the Swift Edge 16 lasted for 4.5 hours compared to the LG Gram 16 at 12.25 hours and the MacBook Air at 19.5 hours . The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge 16 lasted for 12.5 and 14.5 hours , respectively .
Those are n’t great final result . In fact , they ’re pretty big , and some other large - screen laptop doa lotbetter . Even some very powerful creativity workstations , such as the Asus ProArt P16 , last longer . A thin and light productivity laptop that ’s unbelievable to make it to lunchtime on a burster simply defeats the purpose .
Display and audio
The Swift Edge 16 has a 16.0 - inch 3.2 K ( 3200 by 2000 ) OLED exhibit running at up to 120Hz . That ’s plenty crisp , and the refresh rate promises a tranquil Windows 11 user interface . Colors are incredibly bright and dynamic out of the boxful , while there are OLED ’s common inky Black .
My colorimeter know this exhibit as well . Brightness was very good at 410 nits , not the good I ’ve get word of late but still very high . Colors were wide at 100 % of sRGB , 98 % of AdobeRGB , and 99 % of DCI - P3 , and accuracy was incredibly full at a DeltaE of 0.69 ( less than 1.0 is reckon excellent ) . Finally , contrast was very high at 14,230:1 . That ’s not the highest I ’ve seen with organic light-emitting diode , but at these levels it ’s just a measurement thing . Blacks were basically perfect .
It ’s pretty much true that if a laptop has an OLED display , it will be excellent for productivity user , creators , and medium creators . The Swift Edge 16 is no different .
Audio was just OK , with two upwards - force out speakers supply good enough sound for the common system sounds and some like streaming . If you want to view action movies or listen to medicine , then you ’ll want a good pair of headphones .
There are too many flaws to compete
The Swift Edge 16 is reasonably low-priced , and it has a great OLED display . carrying into action is more than enough for demanding productivity , and it ’s very promiscuous . It ’s a highly portable laptop computer for productivity users and media consumer who can benefit from a large display .
However , the chassis is a bit too flexible , even for standardized laptops with magnesium admixture blueprint . There ’s a price to being so unclouded . More damning , the laptop computer obtain very poor battery life sentence , especially by the standard of new Windows laptop computer that last two or three times as long . It ’s amazing what a year can do : there ’s just too much contention today to have the Swift Edge 16 ’s various via media .
