Acer's Swift 1 shows not all low-cost laptops need to be thick, clunky or bad on battery life.
Priced at $329, the 13.3-inch laptop is thin at 0.7 inches (14.95 mm), and weighs a trim 2.9 pounds (1.3 kg) with a body that's finished in metal for a more premium appearance. It has a few other nice touches like a full-HD IPS display, a fingerprint reader and a fair amount of ports and more than 9 hours of battery life.
Don't let the system's looks fool you, however: There isn't much going on inside this thing. Despite the "quad-core" processor it just doesn't have a lot of power for anything more than basics. But if that's all you need, the total package is more than fair for the price.
Acer Swift 1 (SF113-31-P5CK)
| Price as reviewed | $329 |
|---|---|
| Display size/resolution | 13.3-inch 1,920x1,080 display |
| CPU | 1.1GHz Intel Pentium N4200 |
| Memory | 4GB DDR3 SDRAM |
| Graphics | 128MB Intel HD Graphics 505 |
| Storage | 64GB flash storage |
| Networking | 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Operating system | Window 10 Home (64-bit) |
Acer makes a Swift 3, which also looks more expensive than it is, but is configured with more capable components. Oddly, though, a couple of the design choices Acer made with the Swift 3, namely its chamfered edges and anti-glare display, are a turn-off compared with the Swift 1's nicer rounded edges and matte display.
The 1,920x1,080-resolution display is also an IPS panel with better off-angle viewing than you'd get with a cheaper TN panel you typically find on budget systems. The matte finish cuts reflections, too, which is good because the display just doesn't get bright enough to fight bright lighting.
If you're considering a laptop to use part-time with external peripherals, the Swift 1 should handle most of your needs. There's an HDMI output for a display, a combo jack for speakers or headphones, one USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports, and one USB-C 3.1 (gen 1) port. There's also an SD card slot, but no Ethernet jack so you'll need an adapter if you don't want to rely on the 802.11ac Wi-Fi.
One thing that is particularly below average on the Swift 1 is the keyboard. It's spacious enough and there's no oddly sized or poorly placed keys given the laptop's size. There isn't much travel to the keys, though, so if you tend to strike your keys with force, you might find it uncomfortable after awhile. Putting a decent keyboard in something this thin would no doubt add to the cost, but if typing comfort is a priority, you might want to see about trying this one out before you buy.
The precision touchpad, on the other hand, was not bad at all. Performance was smooth and while it picked up the occasional palm drag, you can dial back the sensitivity if it bothers you, as well as configure multitouch gestures. To the right of the pad is a fingerprint reader that supports Windows Hello, so you can sign in with a touch.
Under the front edge are two downward-firing speakers. They're passable for watching a quick YouTube video, but they're not enjoyable for extended listening. Invest in an inexpensive set of desktop speakers or a good set of headphones.
Acer Swift 1
Best for beginners and basics
With its entry-level processor and integrated graphics, 4GB of memory and paltry 64GB of storage (a chunk of which is already loaded up), the Swift 1 is far from a powerhouse and not good for multitasking. But you shouldn't expect those from something this inexpensive.
Like its similarly priced Google Chromebook counterparts, it can run a browser window or two without getting sluggish or run web apps and stream movies and music. Just don't try and do all of those things all at once. Plus, if you need to run Word or iTunes or some other simple software you can do that, too, and that's something that can't be done with a Chromebook.
Battery life was very good, though, coming it at 9 hours, 16 minutes in our streaming video test. For web surfing or word processing, you should be able to get in most of a day's work without thinking about plugging in.
Basically, the Acer Swift 1 is sufficient for undemanding home office tasks done one at a time or for students who need access to web apps and little else.
Multimedia Multitasking test 3.0
Lenovo ThinkPad 13
Microsoft Surface 3
Lenovo Ideapad 110S
Acer Swift 1
HP Stream 14
HP Stream 11
NOTE:
Shorter bars indicate better performance (in seconds)Geekbench 3 (Multi-Core)
Lenovo ThinkPad 13
Acer Swift 1
Microsoft Surface 3
HP Stream 14
Lenovo Ideapad 110S
HP Stream 11
NOTE:
Longer bars indicate better performanceStreaming video playback battery drain test
Acer Swift 1
HP Stream 14
HP Stream 11
Microsoft Surface 3
Lenovo ThinkPad 13
Lenovo Ideapad 110S
NOTE:
Longer bars indicate better performance (in minutes)System Configurations
| Acer Swift 1 | Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 1.1GHz Intel Pentium N4200; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM; 128MB Intel HD Graphics 505; 64GB storage |
|---|---|
| Lenovo Ideapad 110S | Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 1.6GHz Intel Celeron N3060; 2GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 128MB dedicated Intel HD Graphics 400; 32GB eMMC |
| HP Stream 14 | Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 1.6GHz Intel Celeron N3060; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; Intel HD Graphics 400; 32GB eMMC storage |
| HP Stream 11 | Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 1.6GHz Intel Celeron N3050; 2GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 144MB (dedicated) Intel HD Graphics; 32GB SSD |
| Lenovo ThinkPad 13 | Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 2.3GHz Intel Core i3-6100U; 4GB DDR4 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 128MB (dedicated) Intel HD Graphics 520; 128GB SSD |
| Microsoft Surface 3 | Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z8700; 4GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz; 32MB (dedicated) Intel HD Graphics; 128GB SSD |
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