By For the fall of 2024, the Acer Swift 14 will be somewhat rebranded as the Acer Swift 14 AI. The new model, like its predecessor, is a Windows laptop that is lightweight and thin and aims to provide good performance at a mid-range price. It fulfills that promise despite a few issues, such as a subpar display.
Specs and features
The Swift 14 AI’s specifications highlight Intel’s Core Ultra 7 258V, a member of the company’s latest Core Series 2 series. It is positioned high in the product stacks and has 32GB of LPDDR5x installed in this version.
Number of models: SF14-51T-75AF
CPU: 258V Intel Core Ultra 7
Graphics/GPU: Intel Arc 140V integrated graphics; Memory: 32GB LPDDR5x
Intel AI Boost (47 TOPs) as the NPU
Display: 14-inch IPS touchscreen, 16:10, 1,920 x 1,200
Storage: 1TB solid-state PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 storage
Webcam: 1440p, 30 frames per second camera with an infrared camera for Windows Hello login and a physical privacy shutter
Communication: Two USB-C and USB-A Thunderbolt 4 ports, one HDMI-out port, and one 3.5mm combination audio jack
Networking: Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 7.
Biometrics: facial recognition and fingerprint readers
Battery dimensions: 12.3 x 8.71 x 0.63 inches; capacity: 63 watt-hours
2.95 pounds in weight
MSRP is $1,299.99.
Some other specifications, nevertheless, stand out. Instead of an OLED screen, the laptop features an IPS touchscreen. This choice suggests that display quality will be a shortcoming, despite the fact that touch input is clearly advantageous. To make amends, the laptop has a ton of future-proof networking features, like as Wi-Fi 7 and two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C connectors.
Design and build quality
The Swift 14 AI is another of Acer’s Swift laptops, which often have a modest appearance on a desk. The laptop’s only distinguishing features when closed are a tiny holographic Acer logo and a peculiar symbol in the top-left corner that seems to be a component of Acer’s new AI branding. If not, it would be easy to confuse the Acer Swift 14 AI with any of the many mid-range Windows laptops that have been on the market recently.
The laptop’s ruggedness more than makes up for its lack of style. The display lid flexes very little when the laptop is opened, and the lower chassis feels sturdy when lifted from a corner. This laptop is not unibody, and if you press hard in the middle of the keyboard, you can find some flex. But this also applies to a lot of rival Windows laptops.With a thickness of only 0.6 inches and a weight of less than 3 pounds, the Swift 14 AI is comparatively light and thin. Although neither figure is particularly noteworthy, the Acer Swift 14 AI feels notably lighter than rival models such as the Dell Inspiron 14 and HP Omnibook Ultra 14. Acer is outperformed by the Asus Zenbook S 14, which weighs less than 2.5 pounds and is less than 0.5 inches thick.
Connectivity
With the Swift 14 AI, Acer offers a good range of connectivity. It has two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C connections that can give the power to charge the laptop and support DisplayPort video output. A 3.5mm combo audio jack, an HDMI output, and two USB-A connectors connect them. Both ancient USB-A peripherals and contemporary USB-C devices can be easily connected with this selection. Ethernet is the only physical interface that is absent, but this is common among thin and light competitors.
Since the laptop supports the most recent iterations of both Bluetooth 5.4 and Wi-Fi 7, wireless connectivity is also strong. Although the majority of wireless devices and routers have not yet embraced these standards, which limits their immediate impact, they aid in securing the laptop’s wireless connectivity for the future.
Performance
The Acer Swift 14 AI with Intel Core Ultra 7 258V is reviewed here. But the Swift 14 AI with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite is also available from Acer. They differ in that the Qualcomm-powered device has half as much RAM but a nicer 1600p 120Hz touchscreen and a larger battery. Nevertheless, they have a strikingly similar appearance and are priced similarly (the Qualcomm model costs $1,199.99, while the Intel variant costs $1,299.99).
Acer Swift 14 AI Copilot+ PC | 14.5″ 2.5K 120Hz Display
The Acer Swift 14 AI with Intel Core Ultra 7 258V is reviewed here. But the Swift 14 AI with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite is also available from Acer. They differ in that the Qualcomm-powered device has half as much RAM but a nicer 1600p 120Hz touchscreen and a larger battery. Nevertheless, they have a strikingly similar appearance and are priced similarly (the Qualcomm model costs $1,199.99, while the Intel variant costs $1,299.99). There is only one problem: Qualcomm’s hardware does not operate well with all of the benchmarks in our test suite, including PCMark 10.
For my part, I think Qualcomm offers great app support for both new native apps and those that use emulation. However, there are still gaps, and the resulting uncertainty can be unsettling. Apart from that, the Acer Swift 14 AI, which was equipped with Intel’s Core Ultra 7 258V, performed well. With a total score of 7,173, it outperformed other recently tested computers. The only similar system that outperforms the Swift 14 AI is HP’s OmniBook Ultra 14, which performs exceptionally well when paired with AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX 375. There is only one problem: Qualcomm’s hardware is incompatible with PCMark 10 and other benchmarks in our test suite. For my part, I have discovered that Qualcomm offers both new native apps and emulation-based apps with outstanding support. However gaps still exist, and the resulting uncertainty can be unsettling.
Putting that aside, the performance of the Acer Swift 14 AI with Intel’s Core Ultra 7 258V was good. It received a total score of 7,173, which was higher than many recently tested computers. When compared to AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, HP’s OmniBook Ultra 14 is the only similar system that outperforms the Swift 14 AI. Cinebench R23 is a short-duration, highly multithreaded CPU benchmark that appears to produce a certain outcome. AMD dominates, while Intel salivates. To be honest, AMD’s latest CPUs are particularly powerful in the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, while the HP OmniBook Ultra 14 costs roughly $350 more than the Ace Swift 14 AI. However, it is a little unexpected to see the AMD-powered computer advance so quickly.
The Snapdragon X Elite from Qualcomm comes in last, but it is also emulated in this test. The Snapdragon X Elite is typically at least as fast as Intel’s Core Ultra Series 2 chip in Cinebench 2024, which features an Arm-native version that is more Qualcomm-friendly. A lengthy, highly multithreaded CPU benchmark, Handbrake entails transcoding a feature film from the real world.
The Acer Swift 14 AI circumvents the issue of thermal throttling that hinders laptops such as the Asus Zenbook S 14, which, as you may recall, is only half an inch thick and has less room for its cooling system. However, the AMD-powered HP OmniBook Ultra 14 is still far ahead of the Acer once more. Actual transcoding of a full film is used in Handbrake, a longer, highly multithreaded CPU test. Here, the Acer Swift 14 AI circumvents the issue of thermal throttling that plagues laptops such as the Asus Zenbook S 14 (keep in mind that the Zenbook S 14 is only half an inch thick, and thus has less room for its cooling system). But the AMD-powered HP OmniBook Ultra 14 is still much ahead of the Acer.
Conclusion
At a mid-range price, the Acer Swift 14 AI is a capable laptop that effectively utilizes Intel’s Core Ultra 7 258V to provide robust performance and long battery life. It is not the most stylish laptop, and the subpar display will turn off buyers who value entertainment (whether that means playing Fortnite or streaming Netflix). Nevertheless, the Swift 14 AI is a solid option for less demanding content creation processes, travel, and home office work.
