Acer Swift 14 AI First Impressions

AI has been the hot topic of Computex 2024 with almost every brand featuring some laptop, device, or whatnot with AI. Over at the Acer booth, it was a similar story with the brand launching its first lineup of laptops featuring Microsoft’s Copilot+ AI system.

Specifically, we got to try out the new Acer Swift 14 AI Copilot+ which runs the new Snapdragon X chipset. Yes, you read that right, and it’s not a typo. It’s a Snapdragon-powered laptop – not Intel or AMD. Intel and AMD versions are also available, but at the Computex show floor and a private Acer conference, this is the one we got our hands on.

But how does the Copilot+ version of the Acer Swift 14 compare to the standard model?

Before that, we have to talk about Acer’s Swift lineup. It’s essentially the brand’s slim, lightweight, ultraportable model of laptops, and has been around for quite some time. The design has been relatively minimalist and clean.

For the new Swift 14 AI Copilot+, Acer decided to change things up a bit. The design is still somewhat reminiscent of the Swift laptops we’ve become familiar with. It is still quite thin and lightweight, making it easy to bring around and fit in your bag. For reference, it only weighs 1.36kg, and I could easily support the laptop with just a few fingers.

You get a wide assortment of ports to work with too. There are two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

In the aesthetics department, the brand did add a new dot logo at the upper left corner of the aluminum deck lid with an oil-slick finish. You get the same finish on the Acer logo opposite the dot. The rest of the deck lid remains clean, and feels very premium to the touch.

Open up the Swift 14 AI, and you’re greeted by a 14.5-inch IPS touchscreen panel with 2.5K resolution. We didn’t get to dive deep into the colors and blacks, but it does look nice. The screen is quite bright too, and the borders are relatively slim apart from the top portion which houses the 1440P camera.

Acer does say it has support for 100% sRGB color gamut and comes with TÜV Rheinland Eyesafe® Certified 2.0 to protect users’ eyes. It also comes with a 180-degree hinge for better user flexibility. There are even DTS X tuned speakers, but again, we were unable to test them out.

Moving down to the keyboard, the keys are soft and light, making it nice to type. This being a Copilot+ laptop, you also get the addition of the Copilot+ key at the lower right corner to bring up Copilot on the screen quickly. It’s similar to other Copilot+ laptops being offered by other brands on the show floor. It’s also here where you’ll find the Snapdragon sticker instead of AMD or Intel.

To distinguish itself from its competitors, Acer added a logo to the trackpad. The logo lights up when you use any of the AI functions of the laptop. According to the Acer, this feature gives users an idea of when the AI is being used.

The ergonomics feel nice, although I wish the trackpad could be bigger. What I did like is the Acer function key, which lets you access a bunch of the device’s AI features in place. Some might find it redundant since you have the Copilot key already, but it’s a nice feature to have especially for those who aren’t too versed with the laptop just yet.

In terms of performance, I do have a lot of questions about the Snapdragon X chipset found on the Acer Swift 14 AI. More often than not, Snapdragon chipsets are used on phones, and they perform very well there.

However, on the Snapdragon chipset and Windows, they will have to run emulated X86 software. Since we didn’t have time to run benchmarks, play games, or even install software, I’ll reserve my judgment until we get our hands on a unit to do a full review.

So far though, it runs Windows’ Copilot AI software well. You get the recall function which allows users to quickly backtrack what they have been doing. There is also the translate feature, which is great when you’re watching videos without English subtitles. Like the Asus Zenbook I tried, you do have to have it on speaker. The Copilot AI will also be helpful for artists and those who like to draw.

Overall, I enjoyed my brief time with the Acer Swift 14 AI with Copilot+. The addition of the Acer key did help me go through the AI functionalities a lot easier. At the same time, it still feels like the Swift laptops I am accustomed to.

The only question now is the price, and how the market will receive the Snapdragon X chipset. Fortunately, there will be an Intel version coming out. However, at Computex, the Intel-powered Swift 14 AI laptops were on display only, and we couldn’t try it out.

There’s no word yet when the Acer Swift 14 AI with Copilot+ will be coming to the Philippines along with the price. But after seeing them here at Computex 2024, it might not be long before they arrive in the country.

Acer Swift 14 AI specs:
14.5-inch IPS Touchscreen Display
2.5K Resolution, 120Hz
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite 12-core 3.8GHz (4.2GHz Boost)
Adreno GPU
Up to 32GB LPDDR5X RAM
Up to 1TB NVMe, Over PCIe 4.0, UFS 4.0 Storage
WiFi 7 support
Bluetooth 5.4
DTS X Audio, dual speakers
Two USB Type-C (supporting DisplayPort, USB charging), Two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, headphone/speaker jack
75 Whr 3-cell Li-ion battery
322.6 (W) x 225.95 (D) x 10-17.95 (H) mm (dimensions)
1.36 kg (weight)