Acer Swift 3 review: Better as a budget device than as a mid-range laptop
Enlarge (credit: Valentina Palladino)
The Acer Swift 3 laptop is not a flagship, but its lack of anything strange, striking, or gimmicky may work in its favor. While the Swift 3 starts at $479, most of its configurations (including our review unit) cost between $699 and $999. That puts it in line with the entry-level models of the HP Envy and Dell's Inspiron 13 7000 series, and it makes it digestible for most consumers' wallets.
The tech industry places a lot of value on flagship devices, but those high-end devices aren't always what consumers are looking for-or what they're willing to pay for. Some may also come to realize that they don't need a flagship device if they can get exactly what they need in a more affordable, less flashy machine. The Acer Swift 3 is one of those laptops, and I tested it for a few days to see how well it could stand up against its mid-tier competition.
Look and feel| Specs at a glance: Acer Swift 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Worst | Best | As reviewed | |
| Screen | 14-inch FHD (1920i-1080) IPS non-touch | ||
| OS | Windows 10 Home, 64 bit | ||
| CPU | Intel Core i3-8130U | Intel Core i7-8565U | Intel Core i7-8550U |
| RAM | 4GB LPDDR3 | 8GB LPDDR3 | 8GB LPDDR3 |
| HDD | 128GB PCIe SSD | 256GB PCIe SSD | 512GB PCIe SSD |
| GPU | Intel UHD 620 Graphics | Nvidia GeForce MX150 (2GB) | Intel UHD 620 Graphics |
| Networking | Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0 | ||
| Ports | 2 x USB-A, 1 x USB-C, 1 x microSD card slot, 1 x HDMI, 1 x headphone jack, 1 x DC power | ||
| Size | 12.16i-8.43i-0.63 inches (310i-214i-16 mm) | ||
| Weight | 2.87 pounds | ||
| Battery | 4-cell (3220 mAh) | ||
| Warranty | 1 year | ||
| Price | $479 | $999 | $899 |
| Other perks | Fingerprint sensor |
Acer Swift 3 $836.87 from Amazon (Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.) Acer usually keeps it simple when designing laptops, and it continued that trend with the Swift 3. The aluminum chassis is unmarred by grooves, metallic accents, or anything that would make it stick out among the crowd of silver laptops that inevitably congregate in most meeting rooms. At 2.87 pounds and .63-inches thick, the Swift 3 also doesn't try to be as light or thin as possible-just thin enough to tote around with you wherever you go.
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