Electronics

My experience with the Acer Swift 5 laptop after more than a week of use

New year, new generation of Acer notebooks. And in this year 2021 things have started strong with the Acer Swift 5 , which is renewed with interesting changes. The most important is that it is already a laptop on the Intel EVO platform, which means that it has the latest generation of Intel Core processors. Specifically, in the model I have tested, an 11th generation i5-1135G7. Although the most surprising thing about this Acer Swift 5 from 2021 not only has to do with its technical sheet, but also with its finishes. Who was going to tell us that a pandemic would help us become aware of the microorganisms that we can carry on our laptop if we telework from anywhere? Acer has thought about it and has coated its entire laptop, screen and included rubber feet, with an antimicrobial finish so that nothing that can stick to the device survive. But after a week of using this laptop there are a few more things from my experience with it that I must tell you.

Acer Swift 5 (2021), first impressions: lightweight, with touchscreen and Intel processors Tiger Lake

Neither bacteria nor microbes

Acer has thought about everything that teleworking really involves. And, it is of little use to have a light and portable laptop if we carry all kinds of viruses and microorganisms with it. Well, it has solved this problem with a finish coated by an antimicrobial agent of silver ions that is responsible for destroying up to 99.9% of the remains of life that can be left on any surface of the laptop. And when I say any is any. The keyboard, chassis, or even the little rubber bumps that serve as non-slip feet feature this compound. Which means that, even if you take your laptop to the bathroom, you know that you are not going to take anything that you shouldn’t back to the living room or wherever you go to work with this device.

Of course, the silver ions help deactivating bacteria and viruses is not total protection against Coronavirus, for example. So, even if you have extra protection in contact with this laptop, n or forget to continue washing your hands and wear a mask.

By True, there are not only silver ions around the entire surface of the laptop, there is also protection on the screen. And, in this case, Acer has included the glass Corning Gorilla Glass with antimicrobial protection . A good gesture as it is a touch panel that, to a greater or lesser extent, you will end up touching and pressing. So with this you can forget about having to disinfect your laptop if you take it anywhere to work.

14-inch screen with almost no frames

One of the most important keys of this Acer Swift 5 it is undoubtedly your screen. And it is that, although it is a panel FullHD , it gets a brightness, definition of the most interesting to enjoy work and, of course, also leisure. But the most interesting thing is the size of 14 inches that they have managed to introduce in such a small chassis. What makes this panel have a ratio 90% of screen compared to housing . Or what is the same: the bezels are really thin and the laptop has a large screen in a body that is closer to a notebook.

During my experience of use for more than a week I have worked and played on this laptop, taking advantage of some of the virtues of this panel. Although the ideal is for the resolution to reach 2K, the FullHD solves really well in day-to-day work thanks to the brightness, sharpness and contrast of this LED panel . The feeling of quality is noticeable from the moment you turn on the first second. And the 14 inches are amply large for any job and also to watch a movie comfortably in a one-person way.

And all this without forgetting that it is a touch panel , although it is somewhat slow in the interaction through this route in my experience, and protected against microbes. So Acer has done an overall good job of integrating this entire display into minimal frames. But don’t be put off by the data such as the resolution, it is a really attractive and comfortable panel to consume.

Very good to work, also good to play

This Acer Swift 5 from 2021 is fast. A lot. Even the model with an Intel i5 processor that I have tested, which is not the most powerful of its family, works like lightning. And this is something that I have verified from the moment I first pressed the power button. Just 10 seconds pass from when you press the button and you can quickly start moving through folders and programs. And this trend has been repeated in the rest of the tasks that I have been able to verify during these days. Whether I did day-to-day work or if I played a little game.

It seems that the Intel EVO platform has a reason to be, and although it is simply a new generation of processors, the power of this Intel Core i5-1135G7 with four cores at 2, 40GHz delivers more than enough. I have not had any problem moving a multitude of tabs in Google Chrome (and its usual RAM memory drain), while I keep programs like Discord, Spotify, Photoshop open … common elements in my day to day. Not a stop, not a delay. In fact, everything works really fast. Of course, this is not just a matter of the processor. Although this Acer Swift 5 from 2021 only includes 8GB of RAM instead of the 12 or 16 of other laptops of the same price range, this memory is of type LPDDR4X , and his solvency has been more than demonstrated to me during these days of work.

But not everything is going to be work. Every time I test a laptop I also like to know how capable it is when it comes to moving games. This is key to knowing that the computer also runs without problems jobs such as photo editing in Photoshop or even videos in Adobe Premiere . If you are youtuber there is no problem to edit your videos with solvency to 1080. You can even add some elements with After Effects . If you’re not too picky about mounting or don’t edit at 4K, this laptop can handle it. Just as he has been able to move games like Jurassick Parck Evolution , Star Wars Battlefront 2 and other titles from a few years ago in medium graphic quality. I mean, its Intel Iris Xe graphics processor is more than enough to deliver. Without graphic fanfare but with ease if we configure everything well .

Note that there are other even more powerful models of this Acer Swift 5, with configurations that include the graphics card Nvidia GeForce MX350 with 2GB of RAM dedicated exclusively to all these processes. So you can have even better performance if what you are looking for is move more powerful projects or games.

After a few days of use I am still surprised with such a compact laptop, and not gaming, has reached this solvency capacity. And all this trying just enough. Its cooling system comes into play, but it is not uncomfortable. Even now Acer lets you control it with the command Fn + F to choose between normal mode, performance mode or silent mode . It doesn’t matter if you’ve been working on something powerful for a long time or playing a game for a long time, its fans solve any heating without you noticing.

Acer Swift 5, datasheet

Color spaces: NTSC 72% and SRGB 100%

Corning Gorilla Glass Antimicrobial

Touch screen

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
Screen 14 inches, diagonal of 35.56cm, with Full resolution HD (1,920 x 1080 pixels) in 16: 9 format with brilliant finish and IPS technology for the panel

90% screen-to-body ratio

Approached mfyView, 300 nits brightness
Processor Intel Core i7-1165G7 Tiger Lake or Intel Core i5 Tiger Lake

4 cores, 8 logical processors

Construction in 10 nanometers

12MB cache
Graphic card NVIDIA GeForce MX350 with 2GB GDDR5

Integrated: Intel Iris Xe
RAM 8GB LPDDR4X
Storage 512GB SSD M.2 PCIe NVMe
Sound DTS Audio

Acer TrueHarmony

Two stereo speakers

Two microphones
Camera Webcam
Operating system Windows 10
Connectivity and security Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201, wifi 802.11a / b / g / n / acR2 + ax

2 × 2 MU-MIMO

Bluetooth 5.0

Fingerprint reader

Intel EVO
Battery 56 Wh and up to 17 hours of autonomy

Fast charge
Connectors 2 x USB 3.2 (GEN2)

1 x USB-C ™ Thunderbolt 4

1 x Headphone Out / Microphone In 3.5mm (combo)

1 x HDMI 2.0b

1 x Kensington Security Lock

1 x Power Input
Dimensions Measurements: 14.95 mm x 318.9 mm x 207 mm

Weight: 1.05 kg
Power adapter 40 Wh

56 Wh
Release date Mid-October 20 twenty
Price From 1,100 euros

Crazy autonomy in a compact body

If the data of up to 17 hours of autonomy does not leave you out of position, you may need a little more context: a 1.42 cm wide body . The measurements of this Acer laptop, especially when folded, are closer to those of a notebook than a laptop for work and even play. And that’s where it is surprising that there is battery for up to 17 hours . Of course, cutting functions and in saving mode. However, in my experience, these 17 hours in a saving mode without limiting myself to many of its features, although focused on working and not playing, have meant around 9 hours of real autonomy. That is to say, to work on a regular basis, reducing the brightness and power a little, this laptop lasts all day. I also tell you that its power adapter is very compact and light, so it is no problem to carry it in a carrying bag next to the laptop.

By the way, another interesting fact about autonomy is that This Acer Swift 5 from 2021 features fast charging technology. So, if you find yourself in need, you can always connect the laptop to the power for a few minutes and enjoy several hours of extra life. Specifically 30 minutes charging offers up to 4 hours of autonomy .

Conclusions after more than a week of use

The Acer Swift 5 from 2021 brings a clear message: it is your laptop to work anytime, anywhere. He is solvent and potentially capable in his different models . This one that I have tested, with an Intel Iris Xe graphics and the 11th generation Intel Core i5 processor, has been a surprise in terms of performance. Write articles, retouch photos to upload to the Internet, move different editing programs or even play with solvency, although without having the graphics full, it is possible. It strikes me as the perfect laptop for the average user. Great performance, very good screen and really surprising autonomy. And all this prepared so that no microorganism sticks to it .

But there are also buts, of course. I have missed that in a 1,000 euro laptop like the one I have had in my hands, and with such a capable panel, Acer has not opted to offer a resolution of 2K . It’s nice that the frames are so small and the brightness is so remarkable, but it would not have hurt a little more detail to be able to work graphics in an almost professional way. Its connection WiFi 6 2XMIMO is also particularly pleasant. It is stable and this is appreciated both in games and in video calls. But since it’s a work-anywhere laptop, why not make the jump to 5G WWAN connections like other manufacturers? A pity because it is something that limits the laptop to teleworking from the comfort of home, but with a SIM card to provide it with 5G the possibilities are multiplied.

In short, this Acer Swift 5 from 2021 is ideal as a personal laptop to work and enjoy leisure with some ease at home. All of this is around 1,000 euros depending on the model. It has some absence for the future, but is really capable in the present present .

Other news about .. . Acer, ultrabook

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *