ZDNET’s Key Takeaways
The Acer Swift 16 AI is currently available for purchase at the notably competitive price of $749. This laptop distinguishes itself through a seamless combination of features that collectively elevate its overall user experience far above what one might expect at this cost. Its spacious 16-inch OLED display provides brilliantly sharp visuals with rich contrast and color accuracy, while its lightweight design ensures impressive portability. When paired with an exceptionally long-lasting battery, these features create a machine that feels remarkably sophisticated—almost luxurious—despite its mid-range price. However, not all aspects shine equally. The downward-facing speakers deliver mediocre sound performance lacking depth and resonance, and like many mainstream Windows laptops, the system arrives preloaded with a certain amount of unnecessary software, often referred to as bloatware.
Acer’s Swift 16 AI is a sleek, thin-and-light notebook that manages to blend elegance and practicality in equal measure. It features a stunning OLED display framed within a minimalist chassis, a comfortable full-sized keyboard, and an Intel Core Ultra 7 or 9 processor built on Intel’s new “Lunar Lake” architecture. Starting around $1,200, this model represents strong value for users who want performance housed within a premium-feeling package. After commuting daily with the Swift 16 AI for over a month, it became one of the most unexpectedly impressive laptops of the year—an ultraportable that balances capability, versatility, and endurance.
Visually, Acer has opted for simplicity: the Swift 16 AI’s metallic matte-black finish and clean design evoke comparisons to the LG Gram Pro 16. The build quality communicates resiliency and restraint; its only decorative accent is the subtle Acer logo. The full-sized keyboard, paired with an ample selection of ports, makes it immediately functional for both productivity tasks and entertainment. The configuration reviewed featured an Intel Core Ultra 7 256V processor alongside 16GB of LPDDR5X memory and a 1TB SSD, forming a balanced setup capable of handling everyday work, streaming, and lightweight creative tasks. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 7 for fast wireless performance and dual USB-C ports that both support Thunderbolt 4—ideal for connecting external monitors or high-speed storage devices. Supplementary ports include HDMI up to 8K output, enhancing adaptability for professionals or media users. The 1440p webcam also deserves praise, producing impressively crisp and well-defined images during video calls.
The laptop’s 16-inch, glossy 3K OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate stands out as one of its most defining strengths. It produces vibrantly rich images with superb contrast, whether editing videos, gaming, or using productivity software. Despite the incredibly thin chassis and hinge assembly, screen wobble is minimal, reaffirming Acer’s precision engineering. Its Intel Arc integrated graphics can comfortably handle moderate gaming sessions—titles on Steam performed smoothly so long as top-tier graphical settings remained moderate. While clearly not a gaming-oriented machine, its performance in that category remains competitive among similarly priced ultrabooks.
Nevertheless, the display’s mirror-like gloss can occasionally be a hindrance in bright environments. Under direct overhead lighting or with a window behind the user, the reflections can become distracting or even render the screen difficult to view. Frequent angle adjustments help mitigate this issue, and despite it, the visual quality remains exceptional for indoor use. The overall viewing experience retains a cinematic vibrance that’s difficult to match, especially at this price point.
Sound, however, remains the Swift 16 AI’s most prominent weak point. The speakers, while serviceable for casual use, lack low-end resonance and volumetric presence. Compared to the immersive quality of the OLED display, the audio performance feels thin and somewhat underwhelming. Users who primarily rely on headphones or external speakers will easily bypass this limitation, but those expecting dynamic built-in audio may find it disappointing.
In practical terms, this laptop excels at balancing mobility with endurance. Its large 20Wh battery, fast 65W charging, and power-efficient internals yield outstanding battery life. Many users can expect multiple days of light-to-medium usage from a single charge, and ZDNET’s tests demonstrated nearly 18 hours of continuous video playback. In daily workflow scenarios—document editing, browsing, streaming, and communication—the Swift 16 AI comfortably lasts beyond a full workday. Thermal management is equally competent: under typical workloads, the Intel Core Ultra 7 chip maintains incredibly low temperatures. Heavy multitasking or recharging from low capacity does temporarily increase heat output, particularly in the first 30 minutes of charging, but even then, temperatures stabilize quickly.
Performance testing placed the Swift 16 AI in close competition with other popular laptops built on the same Intel “Lunar Lake” platform, such as Dell’s XPS 13. Benchmarking yielded very similar results, with only negligible differences. Creative professionals will find the system more than capable for photo editing, graphic design, and moderate video production, though the 16GB RAM limit may constrain very large 4K render workflows.
Ultimately, ZDNET concluded that the Acer Swift 16 AI is a sleeper hit within Acer’s lineup—a powerful, well-designed 16-inch notebook that merges a spectacular OLED display, generous performance, and exceptional battery longevity in one affordable package. At around $1,250, users receive a high-refresh 3K display, minimalist build quality, a full suite of I/O, and productivity-oriented portability typically reserved for pricier models. Although its speakers fail to impress, this compromise feels minor given how much else the laptop delivers.
For these reasons, ZDNET awarded the Acer Swift 16 AI its Editors’ Choice distinction. The combination of intelligent design, forward-looking Intel “Lunar Lake” architecture, and premium craftsmanship at an attainable cost make it a compelling recommendation. Whether for creative professionals, remote workers, or students seeking a blend of power and mobility, the Swift 16 AI proves that Acer has refined the formula for a modern ultraportable that’s as elegant as it is enduring.
Sourse: https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-sleeper-hit-windows-laptop-was-already-a-steal-but-now-its-500-off/
