A few weeks ago I reviewed one of the Intel Lunar Lake or Core Ultra 200V laptops that entered the market, the ASUS Zenbook S 14. Not long after, Acer Malaysia asked me if I would be interested in reviewing their laptops which will also be powered by the same series of processing chips, the Acer Swift 14 AI.
Of course I answered yes, because I was interested enough to confirm for myself whether the Lunar Lake processing chip used was like what I had experienced before.
Specifications And Design
Model Name Acer Swift 14 AI
Display Size 14.0″ 1920×1200, 16:10,
60Hz, 500 nits
Intel Core Ultra 7 285V processor
8 Core
Intel Arc 140V Graphics Chip
RAM 32GB LPDDR5X
Internal Storage 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD
Full HD 1080P camera
I/O plug 2 x USB 4.0 Gen 3 Type-C (Thunderbolt 4)
2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
1 x HDMI 2.1 TMDS
1 x 3.5mm audio jack
Windows 11 Home Operating System
Fingerprint Scan Security (Windows Hello)
Battery 63WHrs, 4-cell Li-ion
100W charger
Price RM4,999
Acer Swift 14 AI, as can be read from the name, comes with a 14.0-inch OLED screen display with a WUXGA resolution of 1920×1200 with a display ratio of 16:10 and a refresh rate of 60Hz. Not only that, this display also comes with a brightness value of 500 nits which I can say is quite bright. With this brightness value, it also comes with support for DIsplayHDR True Black 500 display technology which ensures that this display can show accurate and vibrant colors regardless of the brightness value.
Powering this laptop is an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processing chip, the same processing chip that I tested in the previous ASUS Zenbook S 14 laptop that comes with 32GB of LPDDR5X memory built into it. In terms of storage, the Acer Swift 14 AI comes with a 512GB PCIe4 SSD.
In terms of plug offerings, this laptop comes with two Thunderbolt 4 plugs that can be used to charge this laptop and to send data to and from this laptop quite quickly.
It also has two USB 3.2 Type-A plugs that can be used to attach accessories that require a USB Type-A plug to be attached to this laptop. If you want to use a larger screen display with this laptop, it also has an HDMI 2.1 plug that supports screen displays with resolutions as high as 4K without any problems.
In terms of the design of the laptop, it is made of aluminum metal, and the full weight of this laptop is only as high as 1.36KG, which in my opinion is not that heavy, and it is easy to use and carry anywhere.
Perhaps the one thing that I don't really like is the keyboard of this laptop, which in my opinion is a bit clumsy to use because the surface feels a bit rough and "cheap", and it feels a little "shallow". Even so, it comes with a backlight system that is quite useful especially if you type in the dark.
User Experience
As an Acer laptop user for several years (Acer Swift X 14), using this Acer Swift 14 AI laptop is like a breath of fresh air in terms of performance and efficiency.
Normally, my job at the office is to write online articles, and sometimes to edit the pictures used for those articles, or the comments I write. I will also use the laptop to write about any events I attend in the city or abroad.
In terms of performance, I dare say that the Acer Swift 14 AI performs on par with my previous Swift X 14 laptop, but comes with a thinner and lighter design that makes it easier for me to carry this laptop around with ease.
Combined with the long battery life, a full charge in the morning means that I can use this laptop all day long into the night if I want to with the display brightness setting allowing me to use this laptop for 10-11 hours without problem.
Perhaps the one thing I don't really like is the fat applications installed on this laptop, such as security software and VPNs that often show pop-up menus. I can usually just ignore the bloatware, but when it shows up as an ad when I'm using the computer, it's really annoying.
As I said before, the use of an OLED display on this laptop promises quite high color accuracy, and as long as I use this laptop to watch videos on YouTube and Netflix, I have no qualms about how the content is displayed.
In terms of audio quality, the volume is quite loud, but my recommendation is that you should probably set it to 50 percent only, because in my experience, at higher audio levels, the noise can be heard and this will spoil your viewing experience somewhat.
Gaming
In my previous ASUS Zenbook 14 S review, I have said that the Intel Core Ultra 200V processing chip is powerful enough to be used for gaming purposes, especially with the Intel Arc 140V graphics processing chip built into this processing chip.
I previously tested the laptop with the video game Diablo IV, and found that with a few settings changes, it could be played at a rate approaching 60FPS at Full HD resolution.
This time, I tried two different games, namely Doom and also PUBG to see if this laptop has the ability to run modern computer games at 60FPS frame rate.
In my experience, both computer games can run at a frame rate of 45-50FPS at Full HD resolution, but if you want a higher frame rate, you may have to sacrifice deeper graphics settings.
As with previous laptops, our recommendation is to ensure that this laptop is always connected to a power supply to maintain the best possible performance.
Artificial Intelligence
With the Intel Core Ultra 200V processing chip, there is a lot of talk about how artificial intelligence will change the way we use laptops. Unfortunately, the features advertised by Microsoft, especially with the Copilot+ PC branding, have yet to see fruition.
The Windows Recall feature in particular, one of the AI features highlighted by Microsoft that allows users to find old information on your laptop has not yet been introduced, and most other features such as Copilot in particular still require an internet connection to use, and rarely take advantage of the AI processing power in computer.
Despite this, Acer seems to have introduced some of their own AI functions, such as the webcam camera and also the built-in microphone to ensure the quality of video and audio recording is as good as possible.
Apart from that, there is also Acer User Sensing 2.0 which houses several features such as Auto Lock and Wake on Approach which locks the laptop when the camera detects you leaving the laptop, and logs in automatically when it detects your presence.
The Adaptive Dimming feature also uses the camera to reduce the screen brightness value when it detects that you are not looking at the screen to reduce battery consumption and also to make it difficult for others to see the screen content.
Acer Swift 14 AI also comes with an "AI light" gimmick on the touch panel that will light up when the NPU component is used for artificial intelligence purposes. Strangely, during my time using this laptop, never once did this light come on, even using AI features like Copilot.
Benchmark
Here are some of the benchmark tests that we have used to demonstrate and evaluate the performance of this laptop.
PCMark 10
CPU Geekbench
Geekbench GPU
3DMark WIld Life
Battery
One "disadvantage" that appears on the Acer Swift 14 AI is that it comes with a battery of only 65Wh, compared to the 72Wh shown on the ASUS Zenbook S14 laptop. In the two weeks I've been using this laptop, I've found that I can get 10-11 hours of battery life on a single full charge, depending on the laptop's usage pattern.
For days where I would normally use this laptop specifically for the purpose of writing articles and editing photos , yes I can get around 10-11 hours on a single full charge.
However, if I add that usage with video viewing and so on, the lifespan seems to drop a bit to 9 to 10 hours. This is with the display brightness value lowered to around 30 percent brightness. This is not a problem for me because the OLED display with 500 nits is quite bright even when it is set to a low brightness value.
I'm sure that by tweaking the display's power and brightness settings, the battery life of this laptop could be improved further, but over the course of my usage, this is the best I've gotten out of it.
What's in the Box?
This is what comes in the laptop box when you buy an Acer Swift 14 AI.
1x Acer Swift 14 AI
1x USB Type-C 100W Charger
1x Manual book
Cover
At a price of RM4999, the Acer Swift 14 AI shows that a premium productivity class laptop that comes with the latest processing chip offering does not necessarily have to come with a high price tag.
For office productivity and simple leisure purposes, this laptop can be seen as a complete package in terms of performance, battery life and how easy it is for users to carry and use this laptop from anywhere.
The use of the Intel Core Ultra 200V processing chip, specifically the Intel Core Ultra 7 285V for this model looks very appropriate, and for me, this is the best Microsoft Windows productivity laptop option in terms of specifications and also the price tag on the market right now.
Pros:
Good specs for office productivity
Good battery life
Price tag
Thin and light design
Bright screen
Cons:
Plastic keys that feel cheap
Not very useful AI lighting gimmick