Why I'm so torn about this Acer Swift laptop

Price When Reviewed

$1,149

Best Prices Today: Acer Swift Go 16 (2025)

Acer isn’t any stranger to releasing tons of barely completely different variations of what looks as if nearly the identical system. That’s the place the Acer Swift Go 16 suits subsequent to the Acer Swift 16 AI. They’ve acquired the identical show specs, each are available in aluminum, weigh almost the identical quantity, and are nearly equally priced.

That worth? Fairly reasonably priced. At $1,149, it’s spectacular the Acer Swift Go 16 packs in 32GB of reminiscence and a high-power Intel Core Ultra 9 285H the place most of its contemporaries are choosing lower-power chips. Unfortunately, the Acer Swift Go 16 doesn’t truly find yourself much more succesful for on a regular basis computing, but it surely does find yourself with a a lot shorter battery life. If you’re simply after an awesome show and respectable velocity, it might be an affordable choose for the frugal shopper, however there are better all-around options out there.

Acer Swift Go 16: Specs and options

• Model quantity: SFG16-73-92RC
• CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 285H
• Memory: 32GB LPDDR5X-7467
• Graphics/GPU: Intel Arc 140T
• Display: 16-inch 2880×1800 OLED, Glossy
• Storage: 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD – Micron 2500
• Webcam: 1440p + IR
• Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C with Power Delivery and DisplayPort Alternate Mode, 2x USB-A 5Gbps, 1x microSD card reader, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm combo audio
• Networking: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
• Biometrics: Windows Hello fingerprint, facial recognition
• Battery capability: 75 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 14.03 x 9.88 x 0.66 inches
• Weight: 3.3 kilos (measured)
• MSRP: $1,149 as-tested ($1,149 base)

At the time of writing, the Acer Swift Go 16 was accessible solely within the above configuration with a worth of $1,149. This mannequin seems to solely be on the market at Micro Center, although, and the retailer has it listed for $1,199.

Acer Swift Go 16: Design and construct high quality

The Acer Swift Go 16 nearly, nearly, doesn’t appear to be all of Acer’s different productiveness laptops. It goes for a darker grey colour scheme than the numerous Acer fashions I’ve examined previously. It seems Acer is shifting its design ethos. This mannequin appears almost similar to the Acer Swift 16 AI, and I noticed the same push into darker designs within the Acer Aspire Go 15 earlier this 12 months as nicely. In a number of locations, the laptop computer has shiny steel accents. The lid has some little type traces etched in, and it calls to reminiscence the designs Asus does on the lids of its ZenBooks (for example), besides that Acer’s is slightly boring. 

All that grey is aluminum a minimum of. This offers the laptop computer one thing of a premium really feel, even when its dimension and thinner design make it a little bit flexy. Even then, there’s one thing a little bit inconsiderate concerning the form. At some factors it’s curvy, and at others it has sharp angles. The show has a type of lift-up hinges that creates additional airflow beneath the laptop computer when it’s on a desk, however this creates an uncomfortable strain level when it’s on a lap. The hinge opens easily and simply, wiggling for only a second when it’s moved to new positions. It may also fold flat, for no matter that’s price. The show isn’t a touchscreen, although. 

Acer has made the Acer Swift Go 16 pretty skinny, with it maxing out at 0.66 inches at its thickest level earlier than factoring within the rubber toes that maintain it regular on tables. And it weighs in at simply 3.3 kilos — not dangerous for a 16-incher. That slimness and weight is sufficient to forgive the sunshine flex of the keyboard deck. 

A slim grille on the underside of the Acer Swift Go 16 is accountable for air consumption, in the meantime a grille above the keyboard is the place the laptop computer exhausts its warmth, although lower than half of the grille is definitely exhausting something. The relaxation is hunky punk full of heat-fin-shaped plastic. That exhaust runs immediately into the slim bezel under the show and can be guided upward by the show. While this isn’t a high-wattage machine, it’s nonetheless worrying to know scorching exhaust is blowing nearly immediately onto the show. 

Above the show, a small additional little bit of bezel homes the webcam and a bodily digital camera shutter. This little additional lip helps with opening the laptop computer, although it does make me susceptible to touching the webcam’s cowl. 

Despite the big dimension of the Acer Swift Go 16, Acer has fitted its audio system on the underside of the system at both aspect. The positioning could make it very straightforward to snuff the audio system when utilizing the laptop computer in your lap.

Acer Swift Go 16: Keyboard, trackpad

IDG / Mark Knapp

The keyboard is classically Acer. It options the identical domed contour I’ve lengthy held disdain for however have examined so many occasions that I’ve nearly change into snug on. I discovered myself typing comfortably at round 110 words-per-minute with respectable accuracy in Monkeytype. I’d like to sort a bit quicker, however that tends to solely include actually distinctive keyboards. The reality this considerably awkward keyboard can sustain is a plus. The keys aren’t even terribly nicely stabilized, feeling properly poppy within the center however mushy if I faucet towards the perimeters. The backlight additionally isn’t terribly nicely executed, providing uneven illumination to the first and secondary legends on every key. 

Acer’s trackpad is a curious one. On the one hand, it’s a large trackpad with a clean Gorilla Glass floor that feels nice to make use of for all issues mousing round. Its bodily click on feels a little bit unfastened and low cost, however not terrible. The trackpad isn’t simply a trackpad although. When sure apps are enjoying media, it’s going to gentle up particular zones for media management, together with quick ahead, rewinds, play/pause, quantity, fullscreen. These work nicely and add a bit of fashion to the laptop computer.

The draw back is that to take pleasure in this function, you must settle for a small “Swift” emblem being completely illuminated on the backside of the trackpad and consistently losing a little bit of battery. This could be turned off by decreasing the trackpad illumination, however that additionally renders the playback controls invisible. Good work, Acer. Awkwardly, even after they’re not illuminated, these controls can nonetheless work, and there received’t be a transparent indication about when they’ll.

Acer Swift Go 16: Display, audio

IDG / Mark Knapp

The Acer Swift Go 16 has a largely wonderful show. It combines the perfect elements of OLED — infinite distinction and quick pixel response — with a splendidly huge colour gamut, masking 100 % of the DCI-P3 colour area. The panel can get lots vibrant, hitting 408 nits in my measurements (and HDR scenes ought to have room for even brighter particulars), serving to it get previous the reflectivity of its shiny display screen considerably. It additionally has a excessive diploma of accuracy with a dE Max of two.15. Its 2880×1800 decision is satisfyingly sharp at this dimension, and it runs at 120Hz for clean movement.

Curiously, it seems to run completely at 120Hz, with Windows not presenting 60Hz as an possibility or robotically switching when on battery energy. The show helps Adaptive Sync all the way down to a 48Hz refresh charge, but it surely’s exhausting to inform if it’s doing this usually because the show usually appears very clean. 

There are some oddities to the show, although. For one factor, that 120Hz refresh charge seems to be locked, with no dropping to 60 and even 90Hz to assist preserve battery when unplugged. 

By default, it additionally has some unlucky dimming conduct, adjusting the brightness of the entire display screen based mostly on the content material on show, however its changes aren’t fast and could be distracting, generally showing like faint flickering. Sometimes it will simply flip off (possibly as a result of it’s darkish and the digital camera thought I left), after which wouldn’t come again on regardless of my clicking the trackpad and typing on the keyboard.

The audio system sound a bit boxed in, making for disagreeable listening, nearly particularly when listening to individuals talking. This ruins plenty of the content material you may watch on a productiveness machine.

Acer Swift Go 16: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

IDG / Mark Knapp

The 1440p webcam on the Acer Swift Go 16 may very well be higher. It’s not that it’s dangerous. In reality, it gives an impressively pure publicity and colour. But the digital camera’s cowl being constructed proper into the lip of the show, the place you’re prone to open it, will get it coated in finger oils and lead to a smeared look to the visuals that can be exhausting to keep away from. 

The mics are a bit weak, too. My voice sounded slightly low by means of them in comparison with the mics on two HP laptops I examined on the identical time. The mics did a minimum of supply stable noise suppression, eliminating the sound of a fan working only a foot away from the laptop computer and the sound of my arms clapping whereas I spoke. 

The Acer Swift Go 16 helps each facial recognition by means of its webcam and fingerprint scanning with a sensor built-in into the ability button on the high proper nook of the keyboard. Both have confirmed fast and dependable in my testing. Acer additionally integrates some additional capabilities with presence sensing, which may robotically lock the laptop computer should you stroll away or wake it should you return. 

Acer Swift Go 16: Connectivity

IDG / Mark Knapp

The Acer Swift Go 16 has respectable connectivity, although it may actually have performed extra with its dimension. It gives two Thunderbolt 4 ports for high-speed connections and charging the laptop computer. Unfortunately, these are each on the identical aspect of the system. You’ll get a 5Gbps USB-A port on both aspect. The left aspect contains an HDMI 2.1 port whereas the appropriate aspect gives a 3.5mm jack and microSD card reader. That could appear to be lots, however this can be a huge, 16-inch laptop computer, and there’s room for extra. The proper aspect even has an enormous empty area the place an extra port may have gone. 

Wireless connectivity is robust. The system features a Wi-Fi 7 chip for quick networking that must be up-to-speed for years to return. It additionally will get assist for Bluetooth LE audio — one other future-facing know-how that ought to enhance audio high quality for supported headsets and earbuds. While I didn’t have a tool able to make the most of it, because it has been slowly rolling out to Bluetooth headphones and buds, Bluetooth connectivity to my present earbuds labored with out subject. 

Acer Swift Go 16: Software

Few laptops do issues with their pre-installed software program that I really feel is price calling out. But Acer’s pre-installed Acer Jumpstart app is tough to disregard. It is principally an app promoting engine. In simply three days, it popped up notifications suggesting Dragon’s Fortune Slots, Adobe software program, and ExpressVPN (with that final one a minimum of mentioning that the PC contains the service, albeit a 30-day trial). Without any significant additions to the expertise, it’s annoying to see. Thankfully, as a result of it doesn’t add something significant, it’s additionally straightforward to freely take away with out dropping any capabilities on the machine. 

Acer Swift Go 16: Performance

The Acer Swift Go 16 is supplied to be a robust ultrabook, counting on a high-end Intel Core Ultra 9 285H laptop computer CPU that boasts a complete of 16 cores, to not point out that Intel’s current CPUs have been providing wonderful single-core efficiency. This setup is a marked distinction from the Acer Swift 16 AI, which relied on a lower-power Intel Core Ultra 7 256V, comes with half the reminiscence, and managed to price $50 greater than the Acer Swift Go 16.

The Acer Swift Go 16 additionally managed to slide underneath the value radar for the $1,659 HP Omnibook X Flip 16, $1,649 Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro, $1,199 Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 16ILL10 whereas that includes a higher-tier CPU than the whole thing, although it does lack a touchscreen — one thing all three embody.

While the Intel Core Ultra 9 285H will help in heavy computing workloads, it’s not sufficient to place the Acer Swift Go 16 far forward of the pack in on a regular basis workplace computing, which PCMark 10 evaluates. It performs admirably, with robust outcomes throughout the board, but it surely’s considerably held again by its storage. It has the bottom scores within the App Startup portion of the take a look at regardless of its PCIe 4.0 SSD. 

IDG / Mark Knapp

Where uncooked efficiency is worried, the Acer Swift Go 16 has the benefit. Our Handbrake encoding take a look at duties every system with a 32GB video file that it must shrink all the way down to a decrease decision. This one tends to hit programs exhausting, making their CPU work for a protracted sufficient time to see how nicely it handles thermals. Here, the Acer Swift Go 16 had an enormous lead, beating the following closest system by over six minutes, and beating most by over 10 minutes.

It was nonetheless not as quick as some gaming system with extra superior cooling can muster, but it surely nonetheless exhibits the benefit of extra cores and a higher-power processor. 

IDG / Mark Knapp

Naturally, we see that benefit carry over to Cinebench, which once more stresses the CPU. The single-core efficiency of the entire programs may be very shut, although the Acer Swift Go 16 tended to be on the entrance of the pack or very close to it. And the place multi-core efficiency is worried, the Acer Swift Go 16 simply stays forward.

Only the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro gives a shocking problem — not solely coming a bit nearer to the Acer Swift Go 16 than a few of the different programs, but in addition doing so with none extra cores than the others. It’s probably Samsung’s cooling is making the distinction. On the flip aspect, Acer’s cooling can be probably coming into play, because the longer and warmer run of Cinebench R24 see’s its efficiency lead slender in comparison with the shorter (and subsequently much less heat-inducing) assessments of earlier Cinebench variations.

IDG / Mark Knapp

When it involves 3D graphics, all of those programs are utilizing built-in graphics options from Intel. Most get Intel Arc 140V whereas the Acer Swift Go 16 is alone in that includes Intel Arc 140T. Unfortunately for Acer, it has no profit. The Acer Swift Go 16 truly had the bottom scores in 3DMark’s Time Spy Graphics subtest and was largely buoyed by its main CPU efficiency, although that was solely sufficient to maintain it neck-in-neck with the competitors right here.

And once more, we noticed the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro step out forward with about 10 % extra efficiency than the Acer Swift Go 16. None of those programs are providing very distinctive graphics efficiency, although. 

Acer Swift Go 16: Battery life

While I’d usually count on a system that gives excessive efficiency to lose a little bit floor the place effectivity is worried, I didn’t count on Acer to carry out as badly because it did right here. The Acer Swift Go 16 merely couldn’t sustain with the competitors in our battery take a look at.

IDG / Mark Knapp

It barely eked previous 10 hours in our 4K video playback take a look at, which sees the system set to Airplane Mode and the show set between 250 and 260 nits. That may need been good a number of years in the past, however thin-and-light PCs have come a good distance previously couple years, and the Acer Swift Go 16 merely hasn’t saved up. All of its rivals right here supplied over 17 hours in our take a look at, and Samsung topped 23 hours, greater than doubling the Acer Swift Go 16’s longevity. In real-world use, it might predictably battle to succeed in 8 hours of runtime with out some coddling, like a decrease brightness stage. 

Acer Swift Go 16: Conclusion

The Acer Swift Go 16 is a complete lot of meh wrapped round an enormous and exquisite show. There’s no knocking the sharp, 16-inch OLED panel with its beautiful distinction, wealthy colour, and clean refresh charge. But the remainder of the system simply lets it down. The construct of the laptop computer is uninspired and never exceptionally good. It’s competitively gentle however not main the pack in a significant means. The keyboard and trackpad make for a simply high quality person expertise, however may undoubtedly be higher (although Acer appears allergic to adjusting its keycaps). And the audio system don’t do a lot to enhance the show. 

The Acer Swift Go 16 steps up the place CPU efficiency is worried, but it surely’s thermals don’t let it preserve as huge a margin because it must have in opposition to even some lower-power programs. And the high-power CPU comes with an enormous hit to battery life, seeing the Acer Swift Go 16 barely crack 10 hours in our take a look at.

If you’re not too anxious about being away from energy shops for lengthy and need to prioritize the show and CPU efficiency, the Acer Swift Go 16 is a minimum of aggressive on worth. But in any other case the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro proves a worthy various, and the sooner Acer Swift 16 AI proves a extra competent on-the-go machine for its for much longer battery life.