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On time when each laptop seems to want to outperform the next, the Acer Swift 3 is refreshingly restrained. It does not try to dazzle you with ultra-thin frames or a single piece of processed metal that has been hand-fed by artisan robots using artificial intelligence. This is a laptop. This is a well-designed, well-built laptop that will not break the bank. That’s why last year’s Acer Swift 3 was the best choice in our budget laptop guide.
Based on the few weeks I’ve spent in the modest update this year, I see no reason to change that choice. Swift 3 is a solid, no frills, machine at relatively low prices. It won’t play very well with graphics-intensive games, but the battery life is fantastic. This will take you through a work day or late at night without sweating.
Special Swift
Before I dive in, I need to clear up a little confusion. Acer calls two slightly different laptops by the same name: Swift 3. Both versions use 11th generation Intel Core processors. Both have the same trackpad on the keyboard and fingerprint readers, but one – the one I’m reviewing here – has a 14-inch, 16: 9, 1080p IPS display.
The other Swift 3 I haven’t tested uses a 13.5-inch (2256 x 1504) 3: 2 IPS display. The internal components are the same, but the resolution and shape of the display are different. And yet, apart from the screen, almost everything I say here will be about which model to choose.
The new Swift 3 is a slim, silver, understated, harmless laptop. Its all-metal construction feels solid and holds up well in a backpack, making it a good choice for students. It is also lightweight, weighing just 2.6 pounds, which is quite unheard of for the price under $ 800. But as I said above, this is not a laptop to win design awards. It looks good, but it’s mostly there to stand aside and help you get the job done.
The keyboard is neither the best nor the worst I’ve used. I like thicker ThinkPad-style keyboards and keys, but for Chiclet-style keys, they have good movement and are very fast to type. The trackpad is a bold step forward from other Acer I’ve used. It’s more responsive and doesn’t have the soft feel that some Acer trackpads have.
Thanks to its slightly thicker design, the Swift 3 has many ports. There are two USB-A ports, a USB-C Thunderbolt port (from which you can charge if you have an adapter or a portable battery that supplies enough power), a headphone jack and an HDMI output. There’s no SD card port, so you’ll need a key to discard photos and videos from your digital camera, but otherwise you don’t need a bunch of adapters to use the accessories you already have, which is nice .
The model I tested included 16 gigabytes of RAM and a 512-gigabyte SSD, combined with an 11th-generation Intel i7 processor with Intel’s new EVO rating, which means it’s optimized for battery life, fast charging and instant wake-up. Note that the list does not include performance. Still, I was impressed with the Swift 3’s performance. I felt very quick to handle the day-to-day tasks I set for it, including web browsing, video conferencing, and even showing some short 5.3K videos shot on the new GoPro Hero 10 Black.
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