When it comes to laptops and notebooks, Acer is one of the leading brand providing lots of products in every category.
Recently I had the opportunity to try Acer's budget laptop Swift 1 and in this article, I am going to share the detailed hands-on review of Acer Swift 1. This review is divided in many different sections, considering pros and cons of the device in each of them.
You can also watch our video review of Acer Swift 1 below if interested.
Acer Swift 1 is a budget laptop but if we are talking about the design, it looks so much more premium and out of its price segment. The design and build quality of Swift 1 is very impressive. Even though it is a budget laptop, it comes with an aluminium body that looks very premium from every angle.
Unlike the Acer Swift 3 , the lid and area around the screen, does not come with the brushed metal finish. Instead of that, it sports the matte finish all over it. Also the edges of the lid are not chamfered like Swift 3. Due to this, the design of Swift 1 looks unibody and classy. The body of Swift 1 is very slim and it is pretty lightweight device considering that it is a full metal body device.
On the sides of the Swift 1, you will find lots of ports for connectivity purpose including USB 3.1 and USB Type-C ports along with a Kensington laptop lock slot for the security purpose. But there is no RJ-45 LAN port provided and if you want to use it, you will have to get some adaptor for that.
The bezels around the screen are different in size. The side bezels are very thin but the bottom ones is really big with an Acer logo. The bezel above the screen is also a bit big but still acceptable. Just above the screen, there is a 720p HD camera provided. The hinge below the screen is a bit stiff and you will always have to use two hands to open the lid. But the good part is that the hinge can be moved 180-degrees to flatten the screen. This is a good featutre if you use your laptops while standing sometimes.
There are two downward firing speakers provided at the bottom of the Swift 1 and the due to the position of them, the audio coming out of the speakers will get muffed always but you will still be able to watch movies at night when there is less ambient noise. Most of the time you will have to use earphones to be able to listen anything. Also, the audio quality is not so great and you will find it quite tinnish . So better to stick with the earphones on Swift 1 always.
The keyboard of the Acer Swift 1 is exactly like the Swift 3. The keys in the top row are very small and a bit hard to use. Also, the travel of the keys are a bit less. Still the typing experience will be good enough. There is no backlighting provided in the keyboard. The touchpad is big and comes with matte finish. Its keys are integrated and because of that touchpad looks very minimalistic, elegant and premium. It is also compatible with Windows 10 gesture controls.
There is a fingerprint sensor provided as well and that is really impressive considering the fact that Acer Swift 1 is a budget laptop. Due to the small size of the fingerprint reader, it will take some time to learn how to put your finger properly on it for accuracy but still, it is welcomed on a budget laptop.
Overall the design of Acer Swift 1 is beautiful and elegant in every way and it looks way more premium than other products in its segment. It is one of the most beautiful, best build quality and premium looking notebook in its segment and price range.
Acer Swift 1 comes with 14-inch IPS screen with full HD resolution that is extremely hard to find in this price segment, specially along with the built quality and hardware Swift 1 is offering.
The display quality of the Swift 1 is nice. The viewing angles are very good, thanks to the IPS display. And the full HD resolution provides sharp images with good amount of details.
The brightness is average and good enough for indoor usage but you might feel issue while using it outdoors in bright sunlight. The screen comes with the matte finish that reduces reflection but also affect brightness negatively a bit. It would bne nice if the color saturation was a bit more.
Even with low brightness and color saturation, overall the display of Acer Swift 1 can be considered as one of the best in this price segment and you will enjoy it.
Acer Swift 1 is a budget laptop and it is totally visible from its hardware specs. It comes with Intel Celeron N4000 processor, 4GB RAM, integrated graphics card and 64 GB storage.
Considering the low-end hardware specs, Acer Swift 1 performed pretty good in daily usage. Usually it took a bit of time in loading content, launching apps and switching between them. But once launched and loaded, it was quick and smooth most of the time. Still, you must not consider this laptop for heavy usage like playing high-end games, doing graphics related work like video editing or browsing the Internet with dozen tabs open at the same time. Also, you need to consider the fact that it comes with low storage and act accordingly.
The fingerprint scanner provided on Acer Swift 1 is a nice integration and you will not be able to find this feature on nearly any budget laptop in this price segment. The speed and accuracy of the fingerprint sensor is not so great due to its small size, so you will have to be patient to use it as most of the time it was not able to detect my fingerprint and I had to enter the PIN to unlock the device. Still considering the price segment, a fingerprint sensor is very welcomed.
For users looking for a budget laptop, the performance of Swift 1 will be good enough specially for the causal usage like browsing the Internet, watching movies, playing low-end games etc. It will perfectly serve the purposes of the consumer base for which it is designed and developed.
Acer Swift 1 comes with a great set of connectivity features, legacy ports and options. You will find nearly everything you need in its slim body for connectivity purpose.
There is a USB Type-C port, HDMI port, two USB 3.0 ports and another USB 2.0 port on the right side. There is a 3.5 mm audio port provided and you will also find a full sized SD card slot. One of the USB 3.0 port can be used for charging devices even when the laptop is off.
The only drawback is that there is no RJ-45 port provided for the LAN connectivity and considering the slim body and amount of other ports Swift 1 provides, it is justified and compensated. So if you are forced to use a LAN at your workplace or institution then you will have to use an adapter to connect an RJ-45 to your Swift 1.
This is one of the best thing about the Acer Swift 1. Acer claims that the Swift 1 provides up to 20 hours of battery life but in my test, I get a little more than 10 hours of battery life while continuously playing a full HD resolution video on 50% brightness.
Testing on a regular workday that includes listening a bit music, watching YouTube videos, lots of documents and email works etc Swift 1 was able to provide nearly 12 hours of battery life on 25% brightness and this is still impressive for sure.
Considering all factors of Acer Swift 1 as an entry-level budget laptop, it scored 4.5 star out of 5 in our review and test.
Acer Swift 1 is one of the most beautiful and premium looking laptop in its segment and price category. The build quality is great and design is elegant. It comes with lots of connectivity options and battery life is amazing. The display quality is mixed bag with good clarity but low brightness and color saturation.
The performance of the Swift 1 is good considering its hardware specs and segment. As a budget laptop, it serves the purpose with its performance.
Overall Acer Swift 1 is the best budget laptop and the best option in its price segment specially if you are looking for a laptop with premium design, good display quality and great battery life without spending lots of money.
Recently I had the opportunity to try Acer's budget laptop Swift 1 and in this article, I am going to share the detailed hands-on review of Acer Swift 1. This review is divided in many different sections, considering pros and cons of the device in each of them.
You can also watch our video review of Acer Swift 1 below if interested.
Acer Swift 1 - Detailed Hands-on Review
Design
Acer Swift 1 is a budget laptop but if we are talking about the design, it looks so much more premium and out of its price segment. The design and build quality of Swift 1 is very impressive. Even though it is a budget laptop, it comes with an aluminium body that looks very premium from every angle.
Unlike the Acer Swift 3 , the lid and area around the screen, does not come with the brushed metal finish. Instead of that, it sports the matte finish all over it. Also the edges of the lid are not chamfered like Swift 3. Due to this, the design of Swift 1 looks unibody and classy. The body of Swift 1 is very slim and it is pretty lightweight device considering that it is a full metal body device.
On the sides of the Swift 1, you will find lots of ports for connectivity purpose including USB 3.1 and USB Type-C ports along with a Kensington laptop lock slot for the security purpose. But there is no RJ-45 LAN port provided and if you want to use it, you will have to get some adaptor for that.
The bezels around the screen are different in size. The side bezels are very thin but the bottom ones is really big with an Acer logo. The bezel above the screen is also a bit big but still acceptable. Just above the screen, there is a 720p HD camera provided. The hinge below the screen is a bit stiff and you will always have to use two hands to open the lid. But the good part is that the hinge can be moved 180-degrees to flatten the screen. This is a good featutre if you use your laptops while standing sometimes.
There are two downward firing speakers provided at the bottom of the Swift 1 and the due to the position of them, the audio coming out of the speakers will get muffed always but you will still be able to watch movies at night when there is less ambient noise. Most of the time you will have to use earphones to be able to listen anything. Also, the audio quality is not so great and you will find it quite tinnish . So better to stick with the earphones on Swift 1 always.
The keyboard of the Acer Swift 1 is exactly like the Swift 3. The keys in the top row are very small and a bit hard to use. Also, the travel of the keys are a bit less. Still the typing experience will be good enough. There is no backlighting provided in the keyboard. The touchpad is big and comes with matte finish. Its keys are integrated and because of that touchpad looks very minimalistic, elegant and premium. It is also compatible with Windows 10 gesture controls.
There is a fingerprint sensor provided as well and that is really impressive considering the fact that Acer Swift 1 is a budget laptop. Due to the small size of the fingerprint reader, it will take some time to learn how to put your finger properly on it for accuracy but still, it is welcomed on a budget laptop.
Overall the design of Acer Swift 1 is beautiful and elegant in every way and it looks way more premium than other products in its segment. It is one of the most beautiful, best build quality and premium looking notebook in its segment and price range.
Display
Acer Swift 1 comes with 14-inch IPS screen with full HD resolution that is extremely hard to find in this price segment, specially along with the built quality and hardware Swift 1 is offering.
The display quality of the Swift 1 is nice. The viewing angles are very good, thanks to the IPS display. And the full HD resolution provides sharp images with good amount of details.
The brightness is average and good enough for indoor usage but you might feel issue while using it outdoors in bright sunlight. The screen comes with the matte finish that reduces reflection but also affect brightness negatively a bit. It would bne nice if the color saturation was a bit more.
Even with low brightness and color saturation, overall the display of Acer Swift 1 can be considered as one of the best in this price segment and you will enjoy it.
Hardware and Performance
Acer Swift 1 is a budget laptop and it is totally visible from its hardware specs. It comes with Intel Celeron N4000 processor, 4GB RAM, integrated graphics card and 64 GB storage.
Considering the low-end hardware specs, Acer Swift 1 performed pretty good in daily usage. Usually it took a bit of time in loading content, launching apps and switching between them. But once launched and loaded, it was quick and smooth most of the time. Still, you must not consider this laptop for heavy usage like playing high-end games, doing graphics related work like video editing or browsing the Internet with dozen tabs open at the same time. Also, you need to consider the fact that it comes with low storage and act accordingly.
The fingerprint scanner provided on Acer Swift 1 is a nice integration and you will not be able to find this feature on nearly any budget laptop in this price segment. The speed and accuracy of the fingerprint sensor is not so great due to its small size, so you will have to be patient to use it as most of the time it was not able to detect my fingerprint and I had to enter the PIN to unlock the device. Still considering the price segment, a fingerprint sensor is very welcomed.
For users looking for a budget laptop, the performance of Swift 1 will be good enough specially for the causal usage like browsing the Internet, watching movies, playing low-end games etc. It will perfectly serve the purposes of the consumer base for which it is designed and developed.
Connectivity
Acer Swift 1 comes with a great set of connectivity features, legacy ports and options. You will find nearly everything you need in its slim body for connectivity purpose.
There is a USB Type-C port, HDMI port, two USB 3.0 ports and another USB 2.0 port on the right side. There is a 3.5 mm audio port provided and you will also find a full sized SD card slot. One of the USB 3.0 port can be used for charging devices even when the laptop is off.
The only drawback is that there is no RJ-45 port provided for the LAN connectivity and considering the slim body and amount of other ports Swift 1 provides, it is justified and compensated. So if you are forced to use a LAN at your workplace or institution then you will have to use an adapter to connect an RJ-45 to your Swift 1.
Battery Life
This is one of the best thing about the Acer Swift 1. Acer claims that the Swift 1 provides up to 20 hours of battery life but in my test, I get a little more than 10 hours of battery life while continuously playing a full HD resolution video on 50% brightness.
Testing on a regular workday that includes listening a bit music, watching YouTube videos, lots of documents and email works etc Swift 1 was able to provide nearly 12 hours of battery life on 25% brightness and this is still impressive for sure.
Final Verdict
Considering all factors of Acer Swift 1 as an entry-level budget laptop, it scored 4.5 star out of 5 in our review and test.
Acer Swift 1 is one of the most beautiful and premium looking laptop in its segment and price category. The build quality is great and design is elegant. It comes with lots of connectivity options and battery life is amazing. The display quality is mixed bag with good clarity but low brightness and color saturation.
The performance of the Swift 1 is good considering its hardware specs and segment. As a budget laptop, it serves the purpose with its performance.
Overall Acer Swift 1 is the best budget laptop and the best option in its price segment specially if you are looking for a laptop with premium design, good display quality and great battery life without spending lots of money.