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At MWC 2022, Acer introduced two new laptops: The Swift 3 and the more premium Swift 5. After having the chance to try the Acer Swift 3 a few weeks ago, Acer also sent me the Acer Swift 5 so that I could take. take a closer look at it.
To be clear, this is a pre-production unit, so I wasn’t able to test performance or run any benchmarks. Not that it makes a big difference, as you can get a general idea of the performance of Intel’s 12th-gen P-series processors from other laptops. This hands-on is all about experiencing the Acer Swift 5 it feels like. This is a beautiful laptop and has improved a lot this year.
Acer Swift 5: Price and Availability
- The Acer Swift 5 is scheduled to launch in North America in June, starting at $1,499.
Acer announced the Swift 5 back in February, but just like the Swift 3, it’s only planned to launch in June in North America. It will start at $1,499, although Acer didn’t say specifically what specs that model will have. If you’re in Europe, it was supposed to launch in March, but we actually can’t find it in any of the major European markets yet.
Although you can’t buy it, there is a listing for the Acer Swift 5 on Amazon, which you can keep an eye on if you’re interested in buying it as soon as possible. You can check it out below.
Acer Swift 5 (2022)
The Acer Swift 5 is a premium laptop with 12th generation Intel processors and a 14-inch 16:10 display. It also has a beautiful dual tone design.
Acer Swift 5: Specifications
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| Initial price | $1,499.99 |
Design: Beautiful dual color chassis
In recent years, I have become increasingly tired of laptops (and smartphones) that seem more and more subdued. It feels like a lot of devices are blending in with the rest, and I’m always more interested in devices that stand out. That being said, the Acer Swift 5 is a real breath of fresh air. To be clear, the previous model already came in this colorway, but it’s nice to see that Acer isn’t going the assimilation route.
The company calls this model “Mist Green”, and it combines a very dark shade of green, found on most surfaces of the chassis, with pale gold accents, making a laptop that feels premium through and through. It’s so fun to look at, and all the accents are in the right place to give it just the right amount of flair. It looks beautiful, and I hope Acer keeps this design trend alive. I just wish the green undertone was a little more prominent – most of the time, the laptop type looks gray, and I think a little more vivid green could be subdued a lot and be a little more attractive.
The gold accents are found throughout this laptop, including the hinge, around the touchpad, and on the keyboard labels. This is really one of my favorite things about it, because when the keyboard backlight comes on, the gold glow looks really nice against the dark chassis. I took a picture of it, but the pictures come out a very bright yellow, which is not what it looks like in person. It’s much more flexible, and I love it.
Just like the Acer Swift 3, the laptop’s hinges are designed to raise the base of the keyboard when the lid is open, which should provide better airflow to keep the processor cool. My unit got consistently loud with its fans, but that could be a lack of optimization as this is not the final product. One thing I don’t like about the hinge is that it’s almost impossible to open this laptop with one hand, it’s too tight.
Being an all-metal laptop with a glass-covered screen, the Acer Swift 5 is also quite light. It feels very solid and durable, but it’s still very portable, and I don’t think I’d complain if I had to carry it on my back for a day.
Display: It now has a 16:10 aspect ratio
One of the major upgrades that comes with the Acer Swift 5 for 2022 is a new display, now in a higher 16:10 aspect ratio. If you’ve never used a taller display, it might not occur to you why a taller screen is so much better, but many companies have realized that’s what users want, and are happy I hope Acer is keeping up. This taller screen means there is more room for content, especially when working on long text.
It’s also an excellent display. Acer sent me the Full HD+ model, but there is an even better version with a Quad HD+ panel. That version is also brighter, reaching up to 425 nits, while this one tops out at 340 nits. Still, everything looks great and vibrant on this screen. I mostly work indoors so it has always been more than enough for my use. I have to point out, though, that the glass on this panel is very reflective, so it can be a bit distracting to see myself so clearly when I’m trying to work.
The Acer Swift 5 also has a feature that I always love to have: Touchscreen. That’s probably why Acer protected it with antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass, so germs and bacteria don’t grow as you interact with the screen over time. To be clear, this isn’t convertible, which is my personal preference, but a touchscreen is welcome either way.
Above the display, there is another big improvement thanks to the new 1080p web camera. It can actually record Full HD video at 60 frames per second, which is great, and based on my short time with it, the video quality is great for a laptop. I said the same thing about the Acer Swift 3, and I’m certainly glad to see it. I’m one of those people (apparently a few) who cared about webcam quality even before remote work became so prominent, so this feels like an overdue upgrade.
The speakers on the Acer Swift 5 are also fine. They don’t stand out as loud, but they do their job fairly well.
Keyboard and touchpad: It grows on you
Turning to the keyboard, I want to say that the experience of the Acer Swift 5 is quite good. When I first used it, the keyboard felt shallow, but I got used to it in a few days, so I can’t really complain. It feels shallower than the ASUS ROG Flow X13, which is my main laptop, but it’s far from bad. And just like the Swift 3, the power button and it is integrated with the keyboard and includes a fingerprint reader, so you can go to the laptop and unlock it in a row.
As I mentioned above, the keyboard is backlit, with white light shining through the gold key labels, which makes for a cool effect. More importantly, the main labels are easily visible regardless of whether the backlight is on or not, which I criticized with the Swift 3. The Swift 5 also seems to do a better job of blocking out the light. from bleeding around the edges of the key.
As for the touchpad, it’s fine. The touchpad is the kind of thing that I won’t say much about unless I’m being annoyed, so if I don’t have a lot to say, that’s a good thing. It works well and is a decent size. There seems to be some empty space that could be used to make it even bigger, but I have no problems with this.
Overall, the 2022 Acer Swift 5 looks to be a great laptop, although it has some tough competition at this price point. It’s a beautiful device, which gets a lot of points in my book. In addition, it has a great looking screen, and typing on it is also fairly comfortable. While I can’t discuss performance, you can look at other devices powered by Intel’s new processors to get an idea of what to expect, it shouldn’t be too far off from that.
We’ll have to wait a little longer to test a finished unit that we can review, but I’m looking forward to testing the Acer Swift 5 further.
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