Acer Swift Go 16 review: A big display in a slim laptop

Price When Reviewed

$1,199.99

Best Prices Today: Acer Swift Go 16

The tidal wave of latest 16-inch productiveness laptops hitting retailer cabinets has turned the laptop computer area on its head. Small laptops are out—massive laptops are in. Acer’s Swift Go 16 has bother standing out from this aggressive discipline, nevertheless it’s a sensible choice if skinny design, a high quality show, and robust processor efficiency are your prime priorities. 

Looking for extra choices? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops accessible proper now.

Acer Swift Go 16: Specs and options

Acer’s Swift Go 16 is successfully a slim, gentle wrapper for a high-resolution OLED show and Intel Core i7-13700H. It lacks discrete graphics, nevertheless. That proves an issue in benchmarks, although it’s partially excused by the laptop computer’s mid-range $1,199.99 MSRP.

• CPU: Intel Core i7-13700H
• Memory: 16GB LPDDR5
• Graphics/GPU: Intel Iris Xe
• Display: 16-inch 3,200 x 2,000 120Hz OLED
• Storage: 1TB SSD
• Webcam: 1080p 
• Connectivity:  2x Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C, 2x USB-A 2.1, 1x HDMI, 1x MicroSD, 1x 3.5mm audio jack
• Networking: WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
• Biometrics: Fingerprint reader
• Battery capability: 65 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 14 x 9.6 x .59 inches
• Weight: 3.64 kilos
• MSRP: $1,199.99

Shoppers ought to notice that Acer sells a inexpensive mannequin, the Swift Go 16 SFG16-71-52SD, beginning at $799.99. The $400 worth lower is paired with important downgrades together with an Intel Core i5-1335U processor, half as a lot RAM and storage (8GB and 512GB respectively), and a 1,920 x 1,200 show. However, the price range mannequin’s bodily design seems an identical. 

Acer Swift Go 16: Design and construct high quality

The Acer Swift Go 16 doesn’t deviate from the model’s typical minimalist design. It has a easy, silver-gray physique with a slight metallic luster that’s adorned with only one tiny Acer brand on the lid. There’s in any other case no distinctive marks of any sort, which is likely to be a perk or an issue relying on how trendy you favor your laptops. The Swift Go 16 is an effective selection if you’d like a laptop computer that doesn’t stand out.

Build high quality is somewhat good. It lacks the slate-like really feel of an Apple MacBook or Surface Laptop, however its physique panels match snuggly and put up a battle when the laptop computer is dealt with roughly. The show lid will flex when moved, however solely a bit. The similar might be mentioned when choosing up the laptop computer from one nook. A little bit of chassis flex is seen, nevertheless it’s not extreme. It’s a decent displaying given the laptop computer’s efficiency and price ticket. 

The Swift Go 16 isn’t small, however its footprint is compact for a laptop computer of its dimension. It measures simply 14 inches huge and 9.6 inches deep, which makes it smaller than a MacBook Pro 16 or Asus Vivobook 16X OLED. It’s solely a tad bigger than the LG Gram 16. Compared to Dell’s XPS 15, the Swift Go 16 is roughly half an inch wider and deeper.

Acer’s laptop computer is skinny and lightweight, too, measuring simply .59 inches in profile and weighing simply 3.64 kilos. LG’s Gram 16, which weighs 2.66 kilos, is the one competitor that considerably beats the Acer Swift Go 16 on weight. Most options weigh as a lot, or extra, and measure a tenth to two-tenths of an inch thicker. 

Acer Swift Go 16: Keyboard, trackpad

IDG / Matthew Smith

Acer offers a big keyboard within the Swift Go 16. The keyboard structure is spacious and most keys are “full-sized” or near it, although the perform keys and some keys on the left aspect, comparable to Tab and Shift, are a bit small. 

A numpad squeezes alongside the best flank by shaving a number of millimeters off the width of every numpad key. It was comfy in my testing, although I admittedly don’t use the numpad often.

Adding the numpad makes your entire keyboard a bit extra cramped than it might in any other case be on a 16-inch machine. It’s nonetheless comfy, however related laptops that ditch the numpad are much more so. This boils right down to consumer desire. Those who use a numpad will clearly choose its inclusion, and those that not often use a numpad gained’t. 

Layout apart, the keyboard is much like many mid-range Windows laptops. It offers a very good key really feel with acceptable journey, however key activation can appear barely imprecise. I additionally seen flex alongside the center of the keyboard throughout particularly vigorous typing. Still, I discovered the keyboard useful and comfy over lengthy typing periods. 

The touchpad is a minor disappointment. It feels responsive and snappy, however measures roughly 5 inches huge and three inches deep. That’s small for a contemporary 16-inch laptop computer. Windows multi-touch gestures are usable however some (just like the five-finger pinch which minimizes all lively home windows) really feel a bit cramped. 

Acer Swift Go 16: Display, audio

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Swift Go 16’s show is arguably the star of the present, as Acer serves up a stunning 3,200 x 2,000 non-touch OLED show with a refresh fee of 120Hz. It’s a good looking display that’s properly suited to any activity thrown at it.

OLED advantages from an infinite distinction ratio, as it could possibly attain a minimal luminance of zero nits. Dark, shadowy scenes and pictures seem deep and immersive, drawing your eye into the show. It’s an enormous improve over LCD shows with an LED backlight. Color efficiency is great, too. The coloration gamut is huge and coloration accuracy is respectable. The finest LCD shows can match OLED right here, however most don’t. 

Acer does properly in brightness, offering a peak SDR brightness of 385 nits. That rises to 541 nits in HDR. Both outcomes are sturdy for any laptop computer and nice for a laptop computer with an OLED show. Glare might be a difficulty as a result of show’s shiny end, nevertheless it’s solely a major problem when trying to make use of the laptop computer outside or close to giant, sunlit home windows.

Sharpness is one other win. The show’s 3,200 x 2,000 decision works out to 235 pixels per inch (ppi). That’s a lot larger than a 27-inch 4K monitor, which has 163 ppi, and usually larger than Apple’s MacBook laptops, which are inclined to hover round 220 to 230 ppi. A 4K show can be sharper, after all, however at this show dimension the benefit would show tough to note at a standard viewing distance. 

If there’s any downside, it’s this: the proliferation of OLED shows in trendy laptops makes the Swift Go 16’s efficiency much less notable. I’ve reviewed greater than a dozen laptops this 12 months with near-identical efficiency throughout quite a lot of worth factors, together with some (just like the Asus Vivobook 14X OLED) that are a number of hundred {dollars} inexpensive. The Swift Go 16’s show is on the prime of its class—although it’s a somewhat crowded classroom.

What concerning the audio system? Well…they’re not nice. The downward-firing audio system can sound muffled when used in your laptop computer and have a hole, raspy high quality that’s totally disagreeable when listening to music. They’re positive for podcasts and most YouTube movies, however that’s it.

Acer Swift Go 16: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

A 1080p webcam sits within the Acer Swift Go 16’s prime bezel and offers a pointy, clear picture with good coloration replica. The default discipline of view is huge, which implies it would show extra of your private home workplace when in use. That’s annoying in case you’re not non secular about conserving a clear workspace. Thankfully, most video conferencing apps present a approach to cut back the field-of-view. 

I used to be impressed by the laptop computer’s microphone array. It picked up my voice simply even after I spoke in a hushed tone or turned away from the laptop computer, but many repetitive and undesirable noises, just like the sound of the keyboard, a close-by fan, and the rustling of papers on my desk, have been rejected. 

Biometric login is offered by way of a fingerprint reader hidden within the energy button. It works properly when your finger is dry and clear, however even the slightest dampness or grime can throw it off. And I imply slight—even the condensation from a sip of iced latte can render it ineffective. This is typical of most fingerprint readers, which is why I choose facial recognition. Unfortunately, the Swift Go 16 doesn’t help it. 

Acer Swift Go 16: Connectivity

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Swift Go 16 has a slim profile, nevertheless it’s not slim on ports. It packs two Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, one HDMI, one microSD card reader, and a 3.5mm combo audio jack. 

That’s a superb array of connectivity for a slim laptop computer which covers each trendy and legacy gadgets. The solely lacking port is Ethernet, however its absence is hardly uncommon—many trendy laptops have ditched that port. 

Acer doesn’t skimp on the Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C ports, both. Both are able to charging the laptop computer and each embody DisplayPort Alternate Mode, which implies they can be utilized to attach an exterior show. This flexibility is essential to USB-C’s enchantment. 

Wireless connectivity is boilerplate, however sturdy, with help for Bluetooth 5.1 and Wi-Fi 6E, the newest Wi-Fi normal. I noticed wonderful Wi-Fi efficiency that matched different laptops and desktops in my dwelling. Download speeds peaked at as much as 900 Mbps when near my Wi-Fi 6E router and have been seemingly restrained by my Gigabit dwelling Internet connection. 

Acer Swift Go 16: Performance

The Acer Swift Go 16 is skewed in the direction of processor efficiency, because it packs an Intel Core i7-13700H however lacks discrete graphics. The mannequin I reviewed additionally had 16GB of DDR5 reminiscence and a 1TB PCIe Gen4 stable state drive.

IDG / Matthew Smith

PCMark 10, a holistic system benchmark, produces a mediocre results of 5,652. That’s the second-lowest of the 5 laptops chosen for comparability, which can come as a little bit of a shock. However, the Acer Swift Go 16’s lack of discrete graphics is a significant factor right here, dragging its general scores down relative to laptops with higher GPUs. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Acer Swift Go 16 surges to a extra favorable place in Cinebench R15, a short-duration, closely multithreaded CPU benchmark. Here it achieves a results of 2,182, which locations it simply behind bigger, heavier laptops just like the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra and Acer’s own Swift X 16. The Swift Go 16’s consequence could be very respectable in gentle of its slim profile and low weight.

IDG / Matthew Smith

An identical story performs out in Handbrake, a long-duration, closely multithreaded CPU check that strains a laptop computer’s capability to keep up excessive clock speeds because it heats up. The Swift Go 16 as soon as once more does properly, coming in behind thicker laptops just like the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra and Acer Swift X 16, however forward of laptops with much less performant processors just like the HP DragonFly Pro and Lenovo ThinkPad T16. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

Moving on to 3DMark, although, reveals the Swift Go 16’s most evident flaw: graphics efficiency.

Intel’s Iris Xe built-in graphics places up a powerful battle with a rating of two,005, which exceeds most laptops with Iris Xe graphics. Yet it’s finally far too little to fend off laptops with Nvidia’s RTX 4050 discrete graphics which, to be honest, are dearer. However, because the HP Dragonfly Pro demonstrates, laptops with AMD Radeon 680M or Radeon 780M graphics additionally ship improved efficiency.

The Acer Swift Go 16 has a transparent concentrate on primary day-to-day duties, productiveness, and content material creation apps that lean on the CPU. The Intel Core i7-13700H is a typical processor, however mighty, and it delivers good ends in CPU exams. The laptop computer’s lackluster graphics efficiency hurts, although—avid gamers and content material creators who depend on GPU compute needn’t apply. 

Acer Swift Go 16: Battery life

Acer offers a 65 watt-hour battery within the Swift Go 16. That’s not a big battery for a laptop computer of this dimension, however the laptop computer makes the a lot of the modest wattage on faucet. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

I noticed eight hours and 31 minutes of battery life in our normal battery check, which loops a 4K clip of the quick movie Tears of Steel. That’s a median however usable consequence which falls mid-pack when in comparison with related laptops. 

Real-world battery life appeared barely south of the benchmark consequence when subjected to my typical workflow, which incorporates looking the net, writing in Word, and occasional photograph or picture edits in GIMP. The battery ought to endure an eight-hour workday with a number of precautions, like decreasing the show brightness or avoiding power-hungry apps. 

Acer Swift Go 16: Should you purchase it?

The Acer Swift Go 16 is a stable laptop computer, although one constructed for a specific purchaser. Its lackluster GPU efficiency means it could possibly’t deal with video games or GPU compute duties, so it’s solely appropriate for primary productiveness or apps that solely faucet the CPU’s assets. If that seems like your workflow, the Swift Go 16 may show a decent worth, because it undercuts the worth of options the LG Gram 16 and Lenovo ThinkPad T16, and Samsung Galaxy Book Ultra.