Acer Swift Edge 16 Review: The Ultraportable Workhorse
Is this the best Acer laptop for working from anywhere? We take an in-depth look at its features to see if it’s living up to the hype.
The Featherlight Champion: Unboxing And First Impressions
The Acer Swift Edge 16 makes a big first impression with its incredible lightness. It weighs just 1.23kg, which is honestly impressive for a 16-inch laptop. Picking it up, you could even verify that all the components are indeed inside. At a height of just 12.9mm, few will contest its status as an ultrabook, taking on the premium, sometimes more expensive machines, on offer in the 16-inch space.
The design is also minimalist and corporate. Acer decided to go with a minimalist design — a shiny black exterior and a discreet logo. Nothing flashy here, just business class.
The light weight help with the magnesium alloy and aluminum chassis, which also feel premium. The lid has some flex to it under pressure, but the build in general is sufficiently solid for regular use. It even cleared the “one-hand open” test, which is a small but noted detail.
Connectivity: Busy Ports (Sort Of)
For a thin, light machine, the Swift Edge 16 has a surprisingly wide selection of ports. Thunderbolt is not available, and Ethernet requires an adapter, but you probably won’t find yourself frantically needing dongles for basic peripherals.
To the left of it you get:
- Two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports (supports Power Delivery and DisplayPort)
- HDMI 2.1
- One USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
The right side has even more:
- One more USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port
- 3.5 mm headphone/microphone combo jack
- Kensington lock slot
- microSD card reader — I appreciate it as a content creator
The microSD card reader is a major plus, too, with no need for an adapter to transfer files from a camera or other devices.
Display: The Feast for the Eyes That Is OLED
A standout feature is the 16-inch OLED display. The crisp 3200x2000 resolution also makes it a joy to use, both for work and play, and the 120Hz refresh rate keeps things looking buttery smooth. The claimed 500 nits peak brightness is ample for most environments. It’s a glossy surface, which promotes vibrant colors but may catch reflections in bright situations — a compromise for the visual pop of OLED.
Color accuracy is good, with 100 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color space and VESA DisplayHDR certification. OLED technology delivers true black, stunning contrast, and rich colors, so the Swift Edge 16 excels at photo and video editing and general media consumption. Colors are deep and saturated, yet not overly digital, and text is crisp and easy to read. A TÜV Rheinland certification for reduced eye strain is a nice perk for long work sessions.
Keyboard and Touchpad: Useable Input
The full-size keyboard with a number pad is a productivity boon. The keys have a soft and silent typing experience, and the two-level white backlight comes in handy in the dim environment. The power button here is integrated into the top right corner, which may take some getting used to so you don’t accidentally put the system to sleep when poising to type, however it carries a handy fingerprint scanner as well.
The touchpad is ample and responsive. It feels slick to the touch, and cursor tracking is accurate. In general tasks, you can comfortably get rid of the mouse.
Performance: General Use and Gaming
On the inside, our review model features an 8C/16T AMD Ryzen 7 8840U CPU and integrated Radeon 780M graphics. It also features a generous 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM (it’s soldered, so make a choice at purchase) and a 1TB NVMe SSD that’s fast.
Performance is snappy for most productivity work – browsing, document editing, spreadsheets, even light photo editing are done without breaking a sweat. Although this is not strictly a gaming laptop, the integrated graphics are sufficient for casual gaming at lower settings. Modern demanding titles are out of its reach, but for less intensive games, it’s surprisingly capable. You can expect some heat buildup when under load, however.
Benchmark Results
Benchmark | Score |
---|---|
PCMARK 10 Extended | 7284 |
PCMARK 10 Essentials | 10282 |
PCMARK 10 Productivity | 9347 |
PCMARK 10 Content Creation | 8431 |
3DMARK Time Spy | 2689 |
3DMARK Fire Strike | 6727 |
CRYSTALDISK MARK (Read) | 7056 MB/s |
CRYSTALDISK MARK (Write) | 4985 MB/s |
Battery Life and Charging: Good, Not Great
The company claims a 54Wh battery life. It’s acceptable for a high-end 16-inch laptop, but not best-in-class. For regular office work – documents, web, email – you should get through at least a significant portion of a work day on battery alone, due in no small part to the power-chugging OLED panel and Zen 4 architecture. More intensive tasks, such as editing video or playing games, are going to burn through a battery much more quickly. Just keep charger nearby in case of heavy work load.
It also comes with a compact, 65W USB Type-C charger. The inclusion of Type-C charging also makes the laptop a little more portable, which is a good thing. My only concern is that the cable is fixed to the adapter, which becomes a bother when you want to use the cable for data transfer.
Tech Specs at a Glance
Specification | Details |
---|---|
Display | 16” OLED, 3200x2000, DCI-P3 100%, 120 Hz |
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 8840U |
Graphics | AMD Radeon 780M |
RAM | Up to 32 GB LPDDR5 (soldered) |
Storage | 1 TB NVMe SSD |
Ports | USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (x2), USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A (x2), HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm jack, microSD |
Battery | 54 Wh |
Dimensions & Weight | 12.9 x 357.6 x 245.9 mm, 1.23 kg |
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Incredibly lightweight and thin for a 16-inch laptop
- Stunning 16-inch OLED display with vibrant colors and 120Hz refresh rate
- Good port selection including microSD card reader
- Comfortable keyboard and responsive touchpad
- Snappy performance for productivity tasks
Cons
- Battery life is good, but not best-in-class
- No Thunderbolt support
- Glossy display can be reflective in bright environments
- Not designed for serious gaming
- RAM is soldered, not upgradeable
Final Verdict: Excellent For Mobile Professionals
Between portability and performance, the Acer Swift Edge 16 is at the right balance. The key highlights are the super light and thin build and the fabulous OLED display. It’s perfect for professionals who require a large screen in and extremely mobile package.
Though battery life isn't outstanding and it's not meant for serious gaming, the Swift Edge 16 delivers in one place: as a premium ultrabook for work and general use. So that already makes for a solid package, and the comfortable keyboard, good port selection, and powerful-enough internals rounds it out. And if you want portability and screen quality above all else in a 16-inch machine, then the Swift Edge 16 is absolutely worth a look.