The Acer Swift Edge 16 impressed in 2023 with its slim profile, lightweight design, and expansive 16-inch display, ideal for multitasking. While its subpar battery life was a drawback, the combination of features and a reasonable price made it a compelling option. However, in the face of 2024’s advancements, particularly the impressive battery performance of Windows on Arm devices, the Swift Edge 16 struggles to maintain its competitive edge. Its limited battery life is a significant hurdle, especially when other laptops offer all-day performance. While still affordably priced, the Swift Edge 16 faces stiffer competition this year.
Specifications and Configurations
| Feature | Acer Swift Edge 16 (2024) |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 14.18 x 9.78 x 0.51-0.60 inches |
| Weight | 2.71 pounds |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 8840U |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon Graphics 780M |
| RAM | 16GB |
| Display | 16.0-inch 16:10 3.2K (3200 x 2000) OLED, 120Hz |
| Storage | 1TB |
| Touchscreen | No |
| Ports | 2 x USB-C USB4, 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x 3.5mm audio jack, 1 x microSD card reader |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Webcam | QHD (2560 x 1440) |
| Operating System | Windows 11 |
| Battery | 54 watt-hours |
| Price | $1,300 |
Acer offers a single configuration of the Swift Edge 16 for $1,300, featuring an AMD Ryzen 7 8840U processor, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a 16-inch 3.2K OLED display. This price point is reasonable for a 16-inch laptop with these specifications, but it’s important to note that many 16-inch laptops cater to creators with more powerful configurations. The Swift Edge 16 targets productivity users, making the price competitive within that segment. Competitors include the LG Gram 16 2-in-1, a similarly thin and light 16-inch OLED laptop priced at $1,800 for a comparable configuration. The Apple MacBook Air 15 also presents an alternative, with a slightly smaller display and pricing ranging from $1,299 for an 8GB RAM and 256GB storage configuration to $2,499 for a higher-end model. However, both the LG Gram and MacBook Air outperform the Swift Edge 16 in one crucial area: battery life. While the Swift Edge 16 is priced appropriately, it comes at the expense of longevity. Offering configurations below $1,000 would enhance its appeal.
Design
alt text: Acer Swift Edge 16 (2024) front angled view showcasing the display and keyboard
Sixteen-inch laptops typically fall into two design categories: powerful creative workstations and thin-and-light productivity machines. The former, exemplified by the Asus ProArt P16, Apple MacBook Pro 16, and Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16, prioritize high-performance components and robust chassis, often at a premium price. The Swift Edge 16 belongs to the latter category, emphasizing portability with lower-powered CPUs, integrated graphics, and a slim, lightweight build. Its 16-inch display caters to multitasking and media consumption, similar to the LG Gram 16 2-in-1 and MacBook Air 15.
While not the absolute thinnest, the Swift Edge 16 measures between 0.51 and 0.60 inches, comparable to the LG Gram 16 at 0.51 inches and the remarkably thin MacBook Air 15 at 0.45 inches. Even the MacBook Pro 16 is only slightly thicker at 0.66 inches. However, the Swift Edge 16 excels in weight, at just 2.71 pounds, significantly lighter than the LG Gram 16 (3.08 pounds), MacBook Air 15 (3.3 pounds), and MacBook Pro 16 (4.8 pounds). It’s even lighter than many 14-inch laptops and comparable to the MacBook Air 13. This makes the Swift Edge 16 exceptionally portable.
Like many ultralight laptops, the Swift Edge 16 utilizes a magnesium-aluminum alloy, offering strength while minimizing weight. However, this material also introduces some flex, evident in the lid and keyboard deck, which depress more than usual under pressure. This is also noticeable in the LG Gram 16 2-in-1, while laptops like the MacBook Pro offer a more rigid feel. While not necessarily indicative of poor build quality, it’s worth noting if you prefer a more solid feel. A slight wobble observed in the review unit when placed flat on a desk may be a defect, but it’s a concern nonetheless.
Aesthetically, the Swift Edge 16 features an understated all-black chassis with a simple design. While not unattractive, it lacks distinctive features.
Keyboard and Touchpad
alt text: Acer Swift Edge 16 (2024) top-down view showcasing the keyboard and touchpad
The Swift Edge 16 has a standard island-style keyboard with well-spaced keys and adequately sized keycaps. The light and snappy key switches provide a comfortable typing experience. While it doesn’t quite match the excellence of the MacBook’s Magic Keyboard, it is more than satisfactory.
The touchpad, however, is smaller than it could be given the available palm rest space. As a standard mechanical touchpad, it functions adequately but lacks the premium feel of advanced haptic touchpads. This is understandable at this price point, as haptic technology is still making its way into mainstream laptops.
Webcam and Connectivity
alt text: Acer Swift Edge 16 (2024) left side view displaying the available ports
alt text: Acer Swift Edge 16 (2024) right side view displaying the available ports
The Swift Edge 16 offers a good selection of ports, combining modern USB4 (similar to Intel’s Thunderbolt 4) with legacy options. The only minor drawback is the microSD card reader instead of a full-sized SD card slot. Wireless connectivity is cutting-edge with Wi-Fi 7.
The QHD (2560 x 1440) webcam delivers decent image quality. While it lacks an infrared camera for Windows 11 Hello facial recognition, the fingerprint reader integrated into the power button provides reliable biometric login.
Performance
alt text: Acer Swift Edge 16 (2024) rear view showcasing the ventilation grilles
The Swift Edge 16 is powered by the AMD Ryzen 7 8840U, a 28-watt, 8-core/16-thread processor designed for thin and light laptops requiring strong productivity performance. While not AMD’s latest (the Ryzen AI 300 series), the Ryzen 8000 series remains a mainstream option. The Ryzen 7 8840U compares to Intel’s Core Ultra 7 155H (16 cores/22 threads) and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite (12 cores, Windows on Arm).
In benchmarks, the Swift Edge 16 performed reasonably well, excelling in the PCMark 10 Complete test, which measures a combination of everyday tasks. While the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge 16 with the Snapdragon X Elite was faster in some tests, its compatibility with benchmarks and applications is limited due to Windows on Arm architecture.
Overall, the Swift Edge 16 offers sufficient performance for demanding productivity tasks. However, the integrated Radeon Graphics 780M may be limiting for creators and gamers.
| Benchmark | Acer Swift Edge 16 (2024) | LG Gram 16 2-in-1 | HP Spectre x360 16 | Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge 16 | Dell XPS 14 | Acer Swift X 16 | Apple MacBook Air 13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 (Single/Multi) | Bal: 2,353 / 10,072 Perf: 2,359 / 10,169 |
Bal: 1,819 / 8,493 Perf: 2,224 / 11,192 |
Bal: 2,234 / 11,878 Perf: 2,246 / 11,821 |
Bal: 2,957 / 15,358 Perf: 2,935 / 15,614 |
Bal: 2,334 / 13,070 Perf: 2,344 / 12,818 |
Bal: 1,840 / 11,741 Perf: 1,893 / 11,681 |
Bal: 3,102 / 12,078 |
| Cinebench R24 (Single/Multi/GPU) | Bal: 96 / 584 / N/A Perf: 98 / 602 / N/A |
Bal: 97 / 430 / N/A Perf: 101 / 725 / N/A |
Bal: 104 / 577 / 6,672 Perf: 104 / 591 / 7,290 |
Bal: 126 / 996 / N/A Perf: 126 / 996 / N/A |
Bal: 100 / 772 / 5,811 Perf: 101 / 681 / 5,738 |
Bal: 104 / 827 / 8,392 Perf: 105 / 933 / 8,439 |
Bal: 141 / 601 / 3,049 |
| Handbrake (seconds) | Bal: 90 Perf: 82 |
Bal: 88 Perf: 86 |
Bal: 131 Perf: 93 |
N/A | Bal: 84 Perf: 72 |
N/A | Bal: 109 |
| PCMark 10 Complete | 6,843 | 6,233 | 5,812 | N/A | 5,992 | N/A | N/A |
Battery Life
alt text: Acer Swift Edge 16 (2024) side view showing ports and the closed lid
While AMD chipsets are generally more power-efficient than Intel’s, and Qualcomm leads in battery life for Windows laptops, the Swift Edge 16’s 54 watt-hour battery struggles to power its 16-inch 3.2K OLED display. This year’s model performs even worse than last year’s, which was already a weakness.
In our web browsing test, the Swift Edge 16 lasted a mere 4.25 hours, significantly behind the LG Gram 16 2-in-1 at 9.5 hours and the MacBook Air 13 M3 at 19.5 hours (the MacBook Air 15 M3 is likely to offer even longer battery life). In our video loop test, the Swift Edge 16 reached 4.5 hours, compared to the LG Gram 16’s 12.25 hours and the MacBook Air’s 19.5 hours. The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge 16 achieved 12.5 and 14.5 hours, respectively.
These results are disappointing for a thin and light productivity laptop, falling short of even some powerful creative workstations like the Asus ProArt P16. Such limited battery life significantly compromises the laptop’s portability.
Display and Audio
alt text: Acer Swift Edge 16 (2024) front view showcasing the display
The Swift Edge 16 features a vibrant 16.0-inch 3.2K (3200 x 2000) OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The sharp resolution and high refresh rate deliver a smooth Windows 11 experience. The OLED technology provides rich, vibrant colors with deep blacks.
Colorimeter measurements confirm the display’s quality, with a good brightness of 410 nits, wide color coverage (100% sRGB, 98% AdobeRGB, 99% DCI-P3), excellent color accuracy (DeltaE of 0.69), and high contrast (14,230:1). As with most OLED laptops, the display is excellent for productivity, creative work, and media consumption.
The audio, delivered by two upward-firing speakers, is adequate for system sounds and casual streaming but lacks the richness for movies or music. Headphones are recommended for a better audio experience.
Significant Flaws Hinder Competitiveness
The Acer Swift Edge 16 offers an attractive price, a stunning OLED display, sufficient performance for productivity tasks, and a remarkably lightweight design, making it highly portable for users who value a large screen.
However, the chassis flex, a consequence of its lightweight build, is a noticeable drawback. More critically, the extremely poor battery life, especially compared to competitors offering two to three times the longevity, severely limits its practicality. The advancements in the laptop market over the past year make the Swift Edge 16’s compromises difficult to overlook.
