ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Acer Swift 16 AI is out there now beginning at $1,250.
- Its 16-inch OLED show, well-designed light-weight type, and marathon battery work collectively to create a laptop computer that feels extra premium than its worth would counsel.
- Its audio system, nonetheless, go away a lot to be desired, and it has its justifiable share of bloatware.
extra shopping for decisions
jul / 2025
Acer’s Swift 16 AI is a skinny and light-weight laptop computer with a stunning OLED show, good full-sized keyboard, and Intel Core Extremely 7 or 9 “Lunar Lake” processor beginning at $1,200: a aggressive worth for a tool that feels extra premium than you’d anticipate.
I have been commuting with the Swift 16 AI for the previous two weeks, and it is grow to be a shock favourite of the yr. It stands out as a great-value ultraportable that is as versatile as it’s succesful and has incredible battery life.
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The Acer Swift 16 AI contains a minimalist bodily construct, with an all-over, metallic matte black coating that appears so much just like the LG Gram Pro 16. Its full-sized keyboard and beneficiant collection of I/O make it sensible for quite a lot of makes use of, and the bodily type is smooth and well-designed.
The configuration I examined had an Intel Core Extremely 7 256V, 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a 1TB SSD — a versatile loadout that may do some little bit of every part. It is notably well-suited as a piece machine with Wi-Fi 7 and a responsive, very comfy keyboard with a slight upward tilt due to Acer’s hinge design.
I used to be blissful to see that each USB-C ports assist Thunderbolt 4, which is nice for folk who need their exterior screens. In any other case, you additionally get an HDMI port that helps as much as 8K decision. The webcam can be surprisingly good, with 1440p decision for a crisp picture throughout video calls.
The shiny, 3K OLED show at 120Hz is among the laptop computer’s strongest options. It is a crisp and vibrant picture that appears incredible whether or not you are gaming, enhancing video, or simply working in productiveness software program. Regardless of its very skinny clamshell design, I skilled little or no display screen wobble — one of many first issues I search for once I see a show this skinny.
You may as well get some surprisingly good gaming efficiency out of this laptop computer with the Intel Arc GPU, so long as you are not pushing the bounds on top-tier titles. I ran a handful of my typical Steam titles, and though it isn’t a gaming laptop computer, it feels aggressive and responsive, solely stuttering with texture shaders turned as much as max.
Additionally: I replaced my work PC with this Dell laptop, and it was one of my best decisions
The one factor is that the show is extremely shiny — we’re speaking near-mirror standing. You will have to regulate it in case you’re in an workplace or someplace with overhead lighting, one thing I discovered myself doing fairly regularly. In case you’re sitting together with your again to a brilliant window, it turns into borderline unusable.
That mentioned, the show appears incredible in any other case, so I might nonetheless advocate this laptop computer to most customers until you are particularly on the lookout for a tool to make use of open air or are usually not a fan of a shiny show.
One other critique I’ve of this laptop computer (which is an inevitable results of its worth level) is its speaker system, which isn’t nice. Whereas it is true that laptop computer audio system are infamously missing in bass and depth, this one takes that repute and runs with it.
Normally, I might say it is a trade-off I do not thoughts, however it is a bit of a bummer that the sound is so shallow when the gaming efficiency is so good. In case you’re somebody who at all times has a pair of headphones on, nonetheless, this would possibly not be a difficulty.
In the end, the Acer Swift 16 AI’s strengths outweigh its drawbacks. With regards to on a regular basis use, the efficiency is there, and as a conveyable 16-inch laptop computer, it is well-designed and simple to commute with.
The battery can be a banger. The laptop computer has a really skinny type issue, however nonetheless manages to slot in a big 20Wh battery with a 65-watt cost. Relying on how you employ it, you will get a number of days of use on one cost, and it ranks up there with different environment friendly units I’ve examined this yr such because the Asus Zenbook A14, Microsoft’s Surface Laptop, and the Dell XPS 13 with the Snapdragon X Elite chip.
Throughout our customary video playback take a look at, I acquired almost 18 hours of video playback on one cost. With regards to utilizing this laptop computer for work, you will simply final by means of the work day and into the following, until you are pushing it with extra demanding workloads. Like all the different Lunar Lake-powered units I’ve examined this yr, energy drain drops to a trickle when it isn’t in use.
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The Intel Core Extremely 7 chip generates little to no warmth throughout on a regular basis use, however pushing it with heavier activity masses and plugging within the charger will lead to temperature will increase.
Notably, the charging course of appears to be hotter throughout the first half-hour, or beneath 30%, then tapers right down to a a lot cooler temperature at greater battery percentages. Additionally, whenever you begin or cease charging, the laptop computer emits a chirp. All that mentioned, it expenses very quick and might strategy 100% in about an hour in Balanced Mode.
Past gaming, this laptop computer makes for a reliable laptop computer for creatives with its quick refresh fee and beautiful show. The 16GB of RAM may restrict high-end workloads with giant video information or 4K rendering, however it’s in any other case a pleasure to work on.
Evaluating this laptop computer to some friends, we see very shut (with one similar) benchmarking scores to Dell’s XPS 13 with the identical Intel Core Extremely 7 “Lunar Lake” chip.
Cinebench 24 MC | Geekbench 6.2.2 SC | Geekbench 6.2.2 MC | |
Apple MacBook Air M4 | 1,000 | 3,823 | 14,849 |
Acer Swift 16 AI (Lunar Lake) | 518 | 2,743 | 10,932 |
Dell XPS 13 (Lunar Lake) | 552 | 2,743 | 11,005 |
Microsoft Floor Professional (Snapdragon X Elite) | 418 | 2,252 | 9,555 |
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The Acer Swift 16 AI is a incredible worth and a sleeper hit from Acer’s lineup. The underside line right here is that for round $1,250, you are getting a 16-inch OLED show at 120Hz and 3K decision, a smooth, minimalist construct, full suite of I/O, and a marathon battery. These parts alone work collectively to make a sensible, succesful foremost driver that may do a little bit of every part.
As a piece laptop computer, it feels premium and highly effective, regardless of the subpar audio system, which is a tradeoff I am keen to take.
Additionally: I pack this portable workstation whenever I travel – here’s why it’s worth the bag space
Why the Acer Swift 16 AI will get an Editors’ Alternative award
We have awarded the Acer Swift 16 AI our Editors’ Alternative award primarily for its options, {hardware}, and construct high quality relative to cost. The “Lunar Lake” Intel Core Extremely 7 processor future-proofs this laptop computer with commendable efficiency, and its bodily construct feels extra premium than its worth level would counsel.
In the end, it is a superb selection for anybody wanting a stunning show paired with incredible battery life. Beginning at $1,250, it is already a price, and in case you can catch it on sale, it is even higher.
