Why this 16-inch Acer is the ideal ThinkPad replacement (especially at this price)

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Acer Swift 16 AI is often priced at $1,250.
• Its 16-inch OLED show, well-designed light-weight kind, and marathon battery work collectively to create a laptop computer that feels extra premium than its worth would recommend.
• Its audio system, nevertheless, depart a lot to be desired, and it has its fair proportion of bloatware.

jul / 2025

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Acer’s Swift 16 AI is a skinny and light-weight laptop computer with a beautiful OLED show, good full-sized keyboard, and Intel Core Extremely 7 or 9 “Lunar Lake” processor beginning at $1,200: a aggressive worth for a tool that feels extra premium than you’d anticipate. 

I have been commuting with the Swift 16 AI for the previous two weeks, and it is change into a shock favourite of the yr. It stands out as a great-value ultraportable that is as versatile as it’s succesful and has implausible battery life. 

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The Acer Swift 16 AI includes a minimalist bodily construct, with an all-over, metallic matte black coating that appears lots just like the LG Gram Pro 16. Its full-sized keyboard and beneficiant number of I/O make it sensible for quite a lot of makes use of, and the bodily kind is smooth and well-designed. 

The configuration I examined had an Intel Core Extremely 7 256V, 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a 1TB SSD — a versatile loadout that may do some little bit of every little thing. It is notably well-suited as a piece system with Wi-Fi 7 and a responsive, very comfy keyboard with a slight upward tilt due to Acer’s hinge design. 

I used to be blissful to see that each USB-C ports assist Thunderbolt 4, which is nice for people who need their exterior displays. In any other case, you additionally get an HDMI port that helps as much as 8K decision. The webcam can also be surprisingly good, with 1440p decision for a crisp picture throughout video calls. 

The shiny, 3K OLED show at 120Hz is among the laptop computer’s strongest options. It is a crisp and vibrant picture that appears implausible whether or not you are gaming, enhancing video, or simply working in productiveness software program. Regardless of its very skinny clamshell design, I skilled little or no display wobble — one of many first issues I search for once I see a show this skinny. 

You too can get some surprisingly good gaming efficiency out of this laptop computer with the Intel Arc GPU, so long as you are not pushing the boundaries on top-tier titles. I ran a handful of my ordinary Steam titles, and though it is not a gaming laptop computer, it feels aggressive and responsive, solely stuttering with texture shaders turned as much as max. 

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The one factor is that the show is extremely shiny — we’re speaking near-mirror standing. You’ll need to regulate it for those who’re in an workplace or someplace with overhead lighting, one thing I discovered myself doing fairly continuously. If you happen to’re sitting along with your again to a shiny window, it turns into borderline unusable. 

That stated, the show appears implausible in any other case, so I would nonetheless advocate this laptop computer to most customers except you are particularly on the lookout for a tool to make use of outside or should not a fan of a shiny show. 

One other critique I’ve of this laptop computer (which is an inevitable results of its worth level) is its speaker system, which isn’t nice. Whereas it is true that laptop computer audio system are infamously missing in bass and depth, this one takes that popularity and runs with it.

Often, I’d say this can be a trade-off I do not thoughts, however it is a bit of a bummer that the sound is so shallow when the gaming efficiency is so good. If you happen to’re somebody who at all times has a pair of headphones on, nevertheless, this may not be a problem. 

Finally, the Acer Swift 16 AI’s strengths outweigh its drawbacks. On the subject of on a regular basis use, the efficiency is there, and as a transportable 16-inch laptop computer, it is well-designed and straightforward to commute with. 

The battery can also be a banger. The laptop computer has a really skinny kind issue, however nonetheless manages to slot in a big 20Wh battery with a 65-watt cost. Relying on how you utilize it, you will get a number of days of use on one cost, and it ranks up there with different environment friendly units I’ve examined this yr such because the Asus Zenbook A14, Microsoft’s Surface Laptop, and the Dell XPS 13 with the Snapdragon X Elite chip. 

Throughout our normal video playback check, I bought practically 18 hours of video playback on one cost. On the subject of utilizing this laptop computer for work, you may simply final by way of the work day and into the following, except you are pushing it with extra demanding workloads. Like the entire different Lunar Lake-powered units I’ve examined this yr, energy drain drops to a trickle when it is not in use. 

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The Intel Core Extremely 7 chip generates little to no warmth throughout on a regular basis use, however pushing it with heavier activity masses and plugging within the charger will lead to temperature will increase. 

Notably, the charging course of appears to be hotter throughout the first half-hour, or under 30%, then tapers right down to a a lot cooler temperature at greater battery percentages. Additionally, once you begin or cease charging, the laptop computer emits a chirp. All that stated, it prices very quick and might strategy 100% in about an hour in Balanced Mode. 

Past gaming, this laptop computer makes for a reliable laptop computer for creatives with its quick refresh fee and wonderful show. The 16GB of RAM may restrict high-end workloads with massive video information or 4K rendering, but it surely’s in any other case a pleasure to work on.

Evaluating this laptop computer to some friends, we see very shut (with one similar) benchmarking scores to Dell’s XPS 13 with the identical Intel Core Extremely 7 “Lunar Lake” chip. 

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ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

The Acer Swift 16 AI is a implausible worth and a sleeper hit from Acer’s lineup. The underside line right here is that for round $1,250, you are getting a 16-inch OLED show at 120Hz and 3K decision, a smooth, minimalist construct, full suite of I/O, and a marathon battery. These components alone work collectively to make a sensible, succesful principal driver that may do a little bit of every little thing. 

As a piece laptop computer, it feels premium and highly effective, regardless of the subpar audio system, which is a tradeoff I am prepared to take. 

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Why the Acer Swift 16 AI will get an Editors’ Alternative award

We have awarded the Acer Swift 16 AI our Editors’ Alternative award primarily for its options, {hardware}, and construct high quality relative to cost. The “Lunar Lake” Intel Core Extremely 7 processor future-proofs this laptop computer with commendable efficiency, and its bodily construct feels extra premium than its worth level would recommend. 

Finally, it is a wonderful alternative for anybody wanting a beautiful show paired with implausible battery life. Beginning at $1,250, it is already a price, and for those who can catch it on sale, it is even higher.