it has everything to please, except its price

Riding the AI ​​wave, Acer has equipped its new Swift with a Lunar Lake processor. But like all models equipped with this recent Intel chip, this very successful ultraportable PC suffers from a price that is too high.

The Berlin IFA show which took place at the end of last August was an opportunity for some manufacturers to renew their ranges of laptops powered by new processors. And for them, there is plenty of choice: Intel with its Core Ultra 2 (Lunar Lake), AMD with its Ryzen AI 9 and Qualcomm and its Snapdragon X chips.

Common point among the three founders: the management of artificial intelligence using TOPS (or Trillions of Operations Per Second), the unit which is used to measure the capacities of neural processors (NPU) whose merits have been praised to us since the beginnings of AI. The more the number of TOPS increases, the faster the calculations related to AI operations will be. At least, on paper.

In reality, the usefulness is less obvious. The NPUs which allow PCs to run artificial intelligence locally on the machine are still little used. Most calculations are carried out on servers in the cloud. Which does not prevent manufacturers from highlighting these still little-exploited capabilities. A trap that Acer fell into with this new generation Swift 14 AI. This small PC – obviously branded Copilot+ PC – is equipped in our test version with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V. A processor that we had already put to the test with the Zenbook S14 from Acer’s eternal rival, the other Taiwanese, Asus. It is also available with a Qualcomm or AMD processor. However, apart from its aptitude for AI, this PC has many other advantages, much more useful to ordinary users.

Acer Swift 14 AI: a pleasant little PC for everyday use

The Swift 14 AI plays in the ultra portable PC category. It therefore adopts a compact size (21.7 x 31.2 x 1.5 cm), ideal for taking it anywhere. Especially since its weight of 1.26 kg allows it to be carried around in the backpack without the slightest difficulty. Acer has reworked the chassis. Here, it is made of aluminum tinted in midnight blue (it also exists in a more classic gray). The finishes are impeccable. Certainly, the aesthetics are less accomplished than the competitor Asus but the PC remains no less elegant.

At the bottom of the cover, opposite the Acer logo, a second atypical logo catches the eye. It looks like a symbol that one might come across in science fiction films where aliens are legion. This is in fact nothing other than Acer’s way of emphasizing that we are holding a Copilot+ PC designed for AI.

The edges of the Swift 14 AI have complete connectivity. The one on the left accommodates two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 / USB 4 ports, one of which is used when it comes to recharging the battery. There is also a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port and a full-format HDMI jack (2.1). On the other side, there is a second USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port as well as a 3.5 mm jack. In terms of wireless connectivity, we are entitled to Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.

Once the cover is opened, the Swift 14 AI looks like a billboard. No less than six stickers jostle haphazardly on the palm rest. They obviously boast the presence of the Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and the Intel Arc graphics chipset but also various certifications. A festival of errors of taste which spoils the aesthetic and which we will hasten to correct by taking it all off.

The eye is then attracted to the touchpad. In the upper right corner is a variation of the acronym on the hood. This lights up every time the processor’s NPU starts up (i.e. not often). It thus symbolizes the accomplishment of tasks specific to artificial intelligence. It is possible to deactivate this animation which does not interfere with usual operations. The touchpad remains comfortable even if we would have appreciated a slightly larger touch surface.

As for the keyboard, we don’t have much to complain about. The travel of the keys and their spacing are well calculated to allow smooth and pleasant typing. The power key also houses a fingerprint reader to unlock the PC.

This device complements the Windows Hello compatible webcam. Note that this has a sliding cover if you want to ensure maximum confidentiality. Be careful though: given its layout, you spend a lot of time putting your fingers on it when you open the hood.

Ah, and a small anomaly that won’t please older users: the keyboard doesn’t have a Print Screen key. On other PCs, it triggers the screenshot tool. We will have to do without it here.

Acer Swift 14 AI: disappointing screen and sound

The Swift 14 AI is based on a beautiful 14-inch Oled screen offering a definition of 2880 x 1800 pixels (i.e. 2.8 K). The brightness is comfortable but the panel appears very bright. So much so that outdoors, reflections invite themselves to the party and penalize readability. Another annoying point, we found the colorimetry a little too generous. It features bright colors, flattering but far from reality. A blunder that will upset creative people. The only way to correct the problem is to undergo a calibration from the Windows settings, which is not an easy task.

On the audio side, it’s not a party either. We know that it is difficult on laptops of this size to obtain satisfactory audio rendering but here, almost no effort has been made to avoid damaging the eardrums. The Swift 14 AI uses two stereo speakers placed on the sides, under the chassis, to broadcast sound. The bass is absent and the overall rendering is quite mediocre, even for watching a film or series. It will be better to equip yourself with a headset or earphones.

Acer Swift 14 AI: good performance

Technical sheet

The Swift 14 AI is therefore powered by one of the variants of the latest Intel chips presented at IFA last August. Here, a Core Ultra 7 258V is in operation. It is made up of 4 performance cores and 4 low energy efficiency cores. It is supported by an Intel Arc GPU, 32 GB of RAM (welded to the processor) and 1 TB of storage space. And the whole (CPU+GPU+NPU) is capable of a power of 48 TOPS for AI. With our usual benchmarks, this Lunar Lake shows completely honorable performance. It displays results almost equivalent to those of the Asus Zenbook S14 (which benefits from the same configuration). He knows how to easily complete complex tasks… all in silence. The fan only comes on very rarely and even then, it remains quite discreet.

On the gaming side, the Swift 14 AI is also doing quite well. Even if this activity is not his cup of tea (above all, he still needs a PC to work with), it can allow him to indulge in certain 3D titles, provided he is not too demanding on the quality of the renderings.

Acer Swift 14 AI: top battery life

We had already been pleasantly surprised by the Asus Zenbook S14 and the leap made in terms of autonomy. If this Swift 14 AI cannot match it (this Acer has a 65 Wh battery compared to 72 Wh for the Asus) it still remains very comfortable with almost 16 hours of video playback and 14 hours of office use. measured using PC Mark 10. It’s pretty good. This promises more than a day of work away from an electrical outlet without anxiety.

On the charging side, however, you will have to be patient. It took us 1 hour 25 minutes to refuel to 100% using the 65W charger provided.

Acer Swift 14 AI: an attractive but still expensive ultraportable

Designed for artificial intelligence tools, this new generation Swift retains all the advantages of previous versions. The finishes are neat and the performances are there. The presence of the Lunar Lake processor (Core Ultra 7 258V) also gives it the wings to last more than a day without going through the recharge box.

However, Intel’s processor also weighs heavily on price. A 14-inch ultra-portable PC at more than 1,400 euros is almost as expensive as Apple’s 13-inch M3 Macbook Air (16-512 GB) priced at 1,529 euros. However, this offers even greater autonomy, provided that you agree to work with macOS and not Windows.

Another possibility is to go for the Acer Swift GO 14 AI, the device is essentially the same but this time it is powered by a Qualcomm SoC (and therefore an ARM architecture). It is therefore much cheaper, below 1000 euros. For those who swear by X64 processors, all we can do is hope for a price drop from Intel to make this Swift 14 AI more relevant and even more attractive.