The Acer Swift 14 (2023) is a 14-inch Windows ultraportable laptop. It's available with an Intel Core i5-13500H or Core i7-13700H CPU and up to 32GB of memory and 1TB of storage. You can configure it with an FHD + (1920 x 1200) or QHD+ (2560 x 1600) IPS display; both have a 60Hz refresh rate with no variable refresh rate support. Ports include two USB-As, two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4s, an HDMI 2.1, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It has Wi-Fi 6E wireless connectivity, a 1440p webcam, and a 56WH battery. There's a fingerprint sensor built into the power button for quick logins. You can see our unit's specifications and the available configuration options in the Differences Between Variants section below.
The Acer Swift lineup has changed slightly compared to previous generations. Acer no longer uses the Swift 3, Swift 5, and Swift 7 naming; instead, the lineup now consists of the Swift Go (14-inch and 16-inch), Swift 14, and Swift X 14. The Acer Swift 14 replaces the Swift 5.
Our Verdict
The Acer Swift 14 is good for school use. Its compact design makes it easy to carry around, and its battery lasts easily through a typical school day. You can configure the laptop with an FHD+ or QHD+ display; both look sharp and get bright enough to combat glare. The keyboard feels tactile but can be a little tiring to type on over an extended period, and while the touchpad is small, it's responsive to all movements and gestures. Its Intel 13th Gen. CPU can handle nearly every type of workload; however, its integrated graphics perform poorly, so it isn't ideal for students in technical fields like 3D graphics.
- Thin and light design.
- Sharp, bright display.
- Battery lasts a full day of light use.
- CPU can handle demanding workloads.
- Excellent 1440p webcam.
- Doesn't handle reflections well.
- Keyboard can be tiring to type on for an extended period.
- Small touchpad.
The Acer Swift 14 is mediocre for gaming. Although its Intel 13th Gen. CPU can handle demanding tasks like gaming, it's only available with integrated graphics, which aren't powerful enough to provide smooth gameplay in graphically intensive games. Also, you can only get this laptop with an FHD+ or QHD+ 60Hz display, both of which have a slow response time with no variable refresh rate support to reduce screen tearing.
- CPU can handle demanding workloads.
- Excellent port selection includes Thunderbolt 4 support and HDMI 2.1.
- Fast SSD.
- Quiet fans under load.
- No dedicated GPU.
- Memory isn't user-upgradeable.
- 60Hz display with slow response time.
- No variable refresh rate to reduce screen tearing.
- Keyboard can be tiring to type on for an extended period.
The Acer Swift 14 is good for media consumption. It's very portable, and its battery lasts over six hours of video playback, giving you plenty of time for a couple of full-length movies and TV show episodes. You can get this laptop with an FHD+ or QHD+ display; both displays look sharp and get bright enough to combat glare, but they aren't the best for dark room viewing, as their low contrast makes blacks look gray in dim settings. Unfortunately, although the speakers get very loud, they sound a tad tinny and lack bass.
- Thin and light design.
- Sharp, bright display.
- Battery lasts over six hours of video playback.
- Doesn't handle reflections well.
- Blacks look gray in dim settings.
The Acer Swift 14 is great for use as a workstation. It's available with Intel 13th Gen. CPUs, which are powerful enough to handle demanding tasks; however, because you can only configure the laptop with integrated graphics, it isn't suitable for anything that requires lots of graphical processing power. Also, its displays only have full sRGB coverage, so it isn't ideal if you need to edit photos or videos in Adobe RGB or DCI P3. On the upside, it has a fast SSD for quick file transfers and plenty of ports, including two Thunderbolt 4 and an HDMI 2.1 port. The CPU throttles slightly under load, but thankfully, the fans are relatively quiet.
- CPU can handle demanding workloads.
- Excellent port selection includes Thunderbolt 4 support and HDMI 2.1.
- Fast SSD.
- Quiet fans under load.
- No dedicated GPU.
- Memory isn't user-upgradeable.
- Keyboard can be tiring to type on for an extended period.
The Acer Swift 14 is good for business use. It's a well-built laptop that's easy to carry around, and its battery lasts easily through a typical workday. The display looks sharp, provides just enough space for split-screen multitasking, and gets bright enough to combat glare. The keyboard feels tactile but can cause some fatigue over an extended period, and the touchpad is small but responsive. Its Intel 13th Gen. CPU performs well and can easily handle productivity tasks like text processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. It has an excellent 1440p webcam for video calls as well as a wide port selection that includes two Thunderbolt 4 and an HDMI 2.1 port. The display's reflection handling is sub-par, so it isn't ideal for use in well-lit rooms with bright light sources shining directly on the screen.
- Thin and light design.
- Sharp, bright display.
- Battery lasts a full day of light use.
- Excellent port selection includes Thunderbolt 4 support and HDMI 2.1.
- Excellent 1440p webcam.
- Doesn't handle reflections well.
- Keyboard can be tiring to type on for an extended period.
- Small touchpad.
Changelog
- Updated May 10, 2024: Added mention of the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED (2023) as an alternative with a better touchpad.
- Updated Mar 05, 2024: Added mention of the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (2023) as an alternative with an OLED display in the Contrast section.
- Updated Dec 07, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.2.
- Updated Nov 03, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.1.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Acer Swift 14 (model SF14-71T-74RF) with a QHD display, an Intel Core i7-13700H CPU, 16GB of memory, and 1TB of storage. The display, CPU, memory, and storage are configurable; you can see the available options in the table below. Our review only applies to variants with a model number starting with 'SF14-71T'.
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You can see our unit's label here.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The Acer Swift 14 is a great ultraportable laptop. It stands out for its sharp and bright display and outstanding performance. However, its keyboard and touchpad aren't as good as other laptops in its class.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best laptops for college, the best business laptops, and the best laptops for programming.
The LG gram 14 (2023) is better than the Acer Swift 14 (2023) for most uses. The LG has a better keyboard and touchpad, longer battery life, and a more compact and lightweight design. However, the Acer has a better 1440p webcam and is available with faster H-series CPUs. The Acer's display gets brighter, but its glossy finish doesn't handle reflections as well as the LG.
The Acer Swift Go 14 (2024) is better than the Acer Swift 14 (2023) for most uses. The Go 14 is a newer device available with Intel Meteor Lake CPUs, which are faster in multi-threaded workloads than the Swift 14's Intel 13th Gen processors and more power efficient, leading to longer battery life. It also has a better keyboard and touchpad, and it's available with a nicer 90Hz 2.8k OLED display.
The Acer Swift 14 (2023) is better than the Acer Swift 3 14 (2020) for most uses. The Swift 14 is a more premium model with a sleeker design and sturdier build. It's available with faster Intel 13th Gen. H-series processors, a sharper and brighter QHD+ display, and a faster SSD. It also has a much better webcam and a wider port selection with the addition of a second USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 port and HDMI 2.1 support. However, the Swift 3 14's battery life is much better at over 13 hours of light use compared to the Swift 14's nine hours.
The Acer Swift 14 (2023) is slightly better than the Dell XPS 13 Plus (2022) for most uses. The Swift 14 is available with faster CPUs and doesn't lose as much performance as the Dell under load. It also has longer battery life and a much wider port selection. However, the XPS 13 Plus feels more premium and well-made, and it provides a better user experience with a more comfortable keyboard and larger haptic touchpad. Also, you can get the XPS 13 Plus with an OLED display. The OLED panel makes the XPS 13 Plus better for media consumption, and its full DCI P3 and Adobe RGB coverage means you can use it for color-critical work like photo and video editing. In contrast, the Swift 14's display only has full sRGB coverage.
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