The Acer Swift 14 AI has me second guessing Copilot+ PCs — and it’s all to do with its name

With “AI” being a buzzword for anything that involves tech these days, it hardly comes as a surprise that Acer has slapped it on its new Acer Swift 14 AI laptop. Why wouldn’t it? It comes with all the perks of Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs, boasts 45 TOPS (Trillions of Operations Per Second) NPU performance, and proudly bears a fresh AI symbol on its touchpad to let you know that this is the future of computing.

However, that’s not the real reason to be interested in the Swift 14 AI. Sure, it can whip up anything you ask Copilot in no time — create images out of just a sentence and more. But so can many of the recent best laptops you can grab today. What really gives it an edge is virtually everything else that makes a good laptop.

From its vibrant 14.5-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate to its impressive battery life that can get you through a whole day without needing a charge, the Swift 14 AI excels at being a worthy laptop on most people’s desks. You can thank Qualcomm’s continuously favorable Snapdragon X chip for its stellar performance, too.

It’s not without some pitfalls, including irritating bloatware popping up and a frame with a slightly concerning amount of flex. That said, if you’re looking for a versatile laptop with a great webcam for work and play that won’t break the bank, the Acer Swift 14 AI is a solid choice — with a touch of AI, too.

Acer Swift 14 AI: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? The Acer Swift 14 AI is a great notebook for work, everyday tasks, streaming shows, and more.
• Who is it for? The Swift 14 AI is aimed at on-the-move professionals and casual users in need of a reliable, up-to-date laptop.
• What does it cost? The Acer Swift 14 AI starts at $1,049 with a non-touch display and $1,099 for a touchscreen at Acer (also available for £1,199 in the U.K.).
• What do we like? With its high resolution 14.5-inch display, beefy performance, and battery life that won’t have you constantly looking for an outlet, it’s easy to recommend the Swift 14 AI. It doesn’t hurt that it also throws in a comfortable keyboard and smooth-feeling touchpad.
• What don’t we like? Its AI approach is a tad heavy-handed, its keyboard flex on its aluminum chassis is concerning, and it loses out in the portability department compared to its competition. Plus, bloatware like Booking.com and McAfee annoyingly get in the way.

Acer Swift 14 AI: Specs

Acer Swift 14 AI: The ups

Acer’s latest revamp of its laptops has shaped up its lineup well, and the same goes for the Swift 14 AI. It had a rough start with its first round of AI laptops (looking at your Swift Go 14), but Acer looks to be finding its stride, especially if it keeps up the overall quality like in the Swift 14.

Top-notch performance (for the price)

Case in point: the Acer Swift 14 AI’s grand performance. We’ve already seen the Snapdragon X Elite chip work its magic on the Dell XPS 13 (2024), and the same trick appears to work with the Swift 14 AI’s Snapdragon X Plus CPU. It may not be as mighty as the X Elite, but it’s enough to beat Intel and Apple’s chips in some tests.

Checking out the results, it can’t match the Geekbench 6.3 single-core score of the Asus Zenbook S 14 and M3 Macbook Air, but it sure trumps them in the multi-core score. This alone goes a long way, as this laptop is only just over $1,000, unlike the $1,499 Zenbook S 14. To be fair, the M3 Macbook Air is set at the same price as the touch-screen Swift 14 AI model, but it is smaller by just a smidge.

Even the video transcoding test and SSD speeds blow the Zenbook out the water. From the price to the heat it packs under the hood, it shows that Asus may have backed the wrong horse with Intel. Even better, the Swift 14 AI puts up quite the match with the MacBook Air, which is quite the achievement considering its Swift laptops of yesteryear.

On the gaming front, don’t expect this to blow your socks off. Nor should it, as it wasn’t made for high-caliber PC games.

According to the results, that last statement rings true. Anything below 30 FPS (frames per second) isn’t exactly playable by today’s standards, and even the Snapdragon X Elite in the Dell XPS 13 struggles to get past this. It’s sure to be able to play some very light games, but it’s not work pushing it to its limits.

Looking smooth, screen

Unsurprisingly, 14-inch laptops are a hit as they find the perfect balance between size and portability, and they also make room for brilliantly sized displays. With its 14.5-inch WQXGA (2560 x 1600) screen and 16:10 aspect ratio, the Acer Swift 14 AI has a great display on its hands. Luckily, its brightness and colorful visuals do a fine job, too.

Being a spooky season, I threw on the trailer for Smile 2 and was delightfully freaked out by Ray Nicholson’s detailed smile on display (the genetics help, of course). Even the dark and bizarre colors while watching Beetlejuice Beetlejuice had some pizzazz, even if the screen isn’t quite as bright as the M3 MacBook Air. Still, having a 120Hz refresh rate is always an enviable perk to have, so it’s nice to see Acer offer it here.

This laptop won’t do well outdoors, as direct sunlight will make it difficult to see the screen. This is only a small nuisance, as I never had problems looking at the Swift 14 AI’s display at any time of day while indoors.

Battery packed

If we could keep our laptops turned on all day, we would, and the Acer Swift 14 AI can just about do it. With its Snapdragon X CPU, NPU, and battery capacity working in tandem, this laptop can last a long while before needing to be plugged.

Using the Tom’s Guide battery life test (web surfing and streaming video at 150 nits of screen brightness), the Swift 14 AI could last over 17 hours before blacking out. This makes it a fantastic laptop to take with you while traveling, especially if you often go on day trips to places.

Surpassing the Zenbook and Macbook Air? Now that’s a commendable feat. Even during my daily tasks, which involves scrolling through websites, writing in documents, and watching videos, I never needed to reach for its USB-C power adapter. It’s clear — by these results — that Snapdragon chips are doing something right by these laptops.

Bonus perks

It isn’t everyday we see a laptop webcam offer anything more than 1080p, but Acer decided to fit a 1440p webcam on the slightly raised top bar of the lid. What you get is a detailed, vibrant image for video calls, and the help of AI via Acer’s QuickPanel icon makes it easy to transform your background or sharpen up the image before making a call. However, I will say color saturation can seem a little high, especially when wearing lighter colors. In an age of remote and hybrid working, webcams of this quality go a long way.

As for another useful feature, the Swift 14 AI actually has more than just a couple of USB-C ports. Finding an ultraportable with the right ports isn’t easy, but the Swift makes room for what’s needed: two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, two USB-C 4 (one used for power), and a 3.5mm audio jack.

That means there’s plenty of space for PC peripherals and wired headphones! Even better, Acer threw in a HDMI-to-USB-C extension in case you want to link up to another display. Other laptop manufacturers should follow suit.

Acer Swift 14 AI: The downs

All laptops have their shortcomings, even if their advantages far outweigh their flaws. Still, the Acer Swift 14 AI has room to improve, with some of its most jarring upsets having to do with its design and reliance on AI branding.

Light pressure needed

To start, I’m a fan of the Swift 14 AI’s design and Steel Grey aluminum frame (it’s the only color option it comes in). It’s simple yet refined, looks sleek, and has a lid that slightly raises the laptop from a surface for an angled effect. It even has a comfortable keyboard and punchy-feeling touchpad.

However, when clicking down on the touchpad or applying pressure, there’s noticeable flex on the deck. It means it’s not exactly robust, and I would be hesitant to stuff it into a backpack with other items that could press against it for long periods. It isn’t a dealbreaker, but it would be wise to handle it with care.

While it’s not by much, the Swift 14 AI isn’t the lightest or most compact notebook to carry around, either. It’s no burden to carry around, and it’s thin enough to be slipped into a bag, but not as pleasantly featherweight as a Macbook Air or Dell XPS 13.

AI isn’t the trump card

With Acer’s AI logo labeled on the lid, another AI sign etched on the touchpad that lights up, and the Swift 14 AI having the trending word in its name, you’d be forgiven to think this laptop has all the artificial intelligence you could need. The thing is, it’s basically just branding; this laptop has all the Copilot+ PC features like any other — nothing more, nothing less.

In fact, the touchpad sign (a.k.a. the Activity Indicator) doesn’t have any useful function. It lights up from time to time, like when asking Copilot a question, using the webcam, or when AI is in use, but that’s it.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s fantastic to have the Copilot+ experience at hand with just a press of a button, but it’s strange that Acer decided to hone in on the laptop’s AI features; even though many other PCs come packed with the exact same tools. AI PC functions often work in the background unless you’re specifically using Copilot, so unless the Swift 14 AI could, say, type in exactly what my thoughts are, its AI indicators are a tad misleading.

Beware bloatware

Bloatware is common practice in many laptops, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying to see popping up, hogging space in the taskbar, and slowing down the laptop’s start-up. The Swift 14 AI is guilty of it, with apps like Booking.com, McAfee, a tile literally labeled “Dropbox promotion,” and a couple of others.

You can easily get rid of these by unpinning them from the taskbar or deleting them from the system completely, but it’s irritating to see them in the first place. At the very least, the AcerSense app gives you a full rundown of the laptop’s performance, battery, system usage, and more, including a handy storage optimization option.

Acer Swift 14 AI: Verdict

The Acer Swift 14 AI may not be the showstopper AI laptop it’s spelled out to be, but its other strengths make it a great choice for those after a worthwhile Windows notebook that offers the benefits of Copilot. For a fantastic blend of fast performance, long-lasting battery life, and excellent visuals for a fair price, the Swift 14 AI stands triumphant. Just keep its limitations in mind.

For a similar price, you could never go wrong with an M3 Macbook Air, and if you fancy more of that Snapdragon X power, the Dell XPS 13 (2024) will be right up your alley.