The Acer Swift 3 14 (2020) is a 14-inch thin and light Windows laptop. It's available with Intel 11th Gen CPUs, integrated graphics, and up to 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage. It has an FHD 16:9 IPS display, a Wi-Fi 6 wireless adapter, and a fingerprint sensor. Its port selection includes an HDMI 2.0, a 3.5mm headphone jack, two USB-As, and one USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 support.
You can see our unit's specifications and the available configuration options in the Differences Between Variants section.
Our Verdict
The Acer Swift 3 is good for school use. It's a well-built laptop that's easy to carry around, with plenty of battery life to last through a typical school day. The keyboard is decent, but it may take some time to get used to the layout, and it can be tiring to type on for long periods. Unfortunately, the touchpad is on the smaller side, and the webcam is bad. Its Intel 11th Gen CPU performs well and can handle relatively heavy workloads. However, its integrated GPU isn't ideal for graphically demanding tasks, which might disappoint students in fields like 3D animation or graphic design.
- Thin and lightweight.
- Long battery life for light productivity and media playback.
- Aluminum chassis feels well-built.
- USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 support.
- Great CPU performance in general productivity tasks.
- Doesn't get bright enough to overcome intense glare.
- Keyboard has odd layout and is tiring to type on for extended periods.
- Bad webcam audio and video quality.
- Small touchpad.
The Acer Swift 3 is mediocre for gaming. Since it's a productivity-focused laptop, it only has a 60Hz display with a slow response time and no VRR support. Also, even though its Intel 11th Gen CPU is quite capable, its integrated GPU isn't powerful enough to handle graphically demanding AAA titles. There's some thermal throttling under load, but on the upside, it doesn't get hot or loud.
- Doesn't get hot or loud under load.
- Fast SSD storage drive.
- Integrated GPU isn't powerful enough for AAA gaming.
- 60Hz display with no VRR support.
- Some performance loss under load.
- Memory runs in single-channel mode and isn't user-upgradeable.
The Acer Swift 3 is decent for media consumption. It's very portable because it has a thin profile and is lightweight, and its battery lasts a long time, enough to get you through a couple of full-length movies. It has a reasonably well-calibrated display with full sRGB coverage, but it doesn't get very bright, and like most IPS panels, it isn't ideal for dark rooms. The speakers sound good overall; however, they have almost no bass, so they aren't the best for listening to music.
- Thin and lightweight.
- Sharp screen with full sRGB coverage.
- Long battery life for light productivity and media playback.
- Doesn't get bright enough to overcome intense glare.
- Blacks look gray in the dark.
- Screen doesn't support touch input.
The Acer Swift 3 is decent for use as a workstation. Its Intel 11th Gen CPU can handle some heavy workloads. However, it loses some performance over time due to thermal throttling, and its integrated GPU isn't powerful enough for graphically demanding tasks. Also, its memory runs in single-channel mode and isn't user upgradeable. On the upside, it has a fast NVMe SSD and a great port selection that includes a full-size HDMI and a USB-C port with Thunderbolt 4 support.
- USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 support.
- CPU can handle some heavy workloads like photo and video editing.
- Doesn't get hot or loud under load.
- Fast SSD storage drive.
- Integrated GPU isn't ideal for graphically demanding workloads.
- Some performance loss under load.
- Memory runs in single-channel mode and isn't user-upgradeable.
The Acer Swift 3 is decent for business use. It's a thin and light laptop that's easy to carry around, with a battery that lasts through a typical eight-hour workday with plenty of charge to spare. Its great port selection includes a full-size HDMI and a USB-C port with Thunderbolt 4 support so that you can connect to an external display for presentations. Its Intel 11th Gen CPU can handle general productivity tasks like text formatting and Excel spreadsheets, and it doesn't throttle much under load. Unfortunately, the keyboard feels tiring to type on for extended periods, and the webcam's video and audio quality are bad.
- Thin and lightweight.
- Long battery life for light productivity and media playback.
- Aluminum chassis feels well-built.
- USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 support.
- Great CPU performance in general productivity tasks.
- Doesn't get bright enough to overcome intense glare.
- Keyboard has odd layout and is tiring to type on for extended periods.
- Bad webcam audio and video quality.
- Small touchpad.
Changelog
- Updated Dec 07, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.2.
- Updated Nov 03, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.1.
- Updated Jan 17, 2023: We've updated the review to improve clarity and readability.
- Updated Mar 08, 2022: We've uploaded a new contrast photo because the previous picture wasn't accurate.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 14-inch Acer Swift 3 (model SF314-59-52BZ or SF314-59 series) equipped with an Intel Core i5-1135G7, integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. The CPU, memory, and storage are configurable; you can see the options in the table below.
Acer's Swift 3 lineup also includes the SF313-53 series, which have largely the same specifications (available with the same CPU, memory, and storage configurations) as the SF314-59 series we reviewed. However, they have a 13.5-inch, 3:2 QHD (2256 x 1504) display instead. Some of our test results apply to the SF313-53 series, but we can't speak to the display's performance other than that it looks sharper due to its higher pixel density. There may also be some differences in performance since the 3:2 aspect ratio necessitates a different internal design, which can affect the laptop's thermals.
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Our display and performance results are only valid for the configuration that we tested. If you come across a different configuration option not listed above, or you have a similar Acer Swift 3 that doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update it. Some tests, like black uniformity and color accuracy, may vary between individual units.
You can see our unit's label here.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The Acer Swift 3 14 is among the best thin and light laptops in its class. It provides more than enough processing power for general productivity tasks, as it's available with the same CPUs found in more premium ultraportables. However, the keyboard feels tiring to type on, the touchpad is a little hard to use due to its small size, and the web cam's video quality is bad.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best laptops, the best business laptops, and the best laptops for college.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 (2021) and the Acer Swift 3 14 (2020) are ultraportable Windows laptops. The Acer's display is smaller, but it's sharper and more colorful. The Acer has better-sounding speakers, a wider port selection that includes a USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 support, and longer battery life. However, the Lenovo has a much better webcam for video calls. It's available with AMD Ryzen 5000-series CPUs, while the Acer is available with Intel 11th Gen CPUs. Regardless of which laptop you choose, all the CPU options are more than capable of handling light tasks like web browsing, text formatting, and video playback. That said, if you need the best multi-thread performance, the Lenovo's higher-end AMD Ryzen 7 5700U is the best option as it has more cores and threads than any of the Intel CPU options on the Acer.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15 (2023) and the Acer Swift 3 14 (2020) are both budget ultraportable laptops. The Swift 3 is more portable since it's a smaller device, and its battery lasts much longer. It doesn't have as many ports as the IdeaPad Slim 3i, as it lacks an SD card reader, but its USB-C supports Thunderbolt 4, whereas the IdeaPad Slim 3i doesn't. On the other hand, the IdeaPad Slim 3i has a better keyboard, touchpad, and webcam, and it's available with newer and faster Intel 13th Gen. CPUs.
The Acer Swift 3 14 (2022) is better than the Acer Swift 3 14 (2020). The 2022 model has a sharper and brighter OLED display, a significantly better 1080p webcam, and a wider port selection with the addition of a second USB-C and HDMI 2.1 support. It's also available with faster Intel 12th Gen. CPUs that can handle more demanding tasks. However, its battery life is much shorter at around six hours of light use, while the 2020 model lasts over 13 hours.
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.
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