Acer Swift 3: A laptop for on-the-go work

Acer Swift 3 Specifications (SF313-53-532J):

Processor: Intel Core i5-1135G7 11th generation; 2.40 GHz, quad-core

Graphics: Intel Iris Xe

Display: 13.5-inch LCD In-plane Switching (IPS); Screen Resolution: 2256 x 1504

Memory: 8 GB LPDDR4X

Storage: 512 GB Solid State Drive; PCI Express

Wireless LAN: IEEE 802.11 a/g/n/ac/ax

Bluetooth version: 5.0

I/O ports: 1 x HDMI; 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A; 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 4, USB charging)

Power supply: 65 W

Physical characteristics: Height - 15.95 mm; Width - 302.5 mm; Depth - 233.9 mm; Weight (approximate): 1.20 Kg

Operating System: Windows 10 Home

The first striking aspect of the Acer Swift 3 is the compact nature of the machine. Also, the minimalist design of the laptop with the aluminium body makes it look more premium for its price.

Considering the compact dimensions, it is right for those who are on the go all the time. It is not just about the machine being compact, but it is very light as well – 1.2 Kg to be specific – and it will not be like one is lugging a ton of weight around. So, portability is one of its main strengths.

Thanks to the metal body and good build, there is hardly any sign of flex. This metal body gives confidence in case of an ‘incident’.

The other thing that works incredibly well in the Swift 3’s favour is looks. There is a shiny company logo on the lid (which can be opened 180 degrees) and with the rest of it with a matte finish, it looks very classy.

The keyboard is a backlit chiclet one. The placement of the keys is nice and typing for long hours was comfortable. The top row has the usual brightness, volume, backlight on/off and other keys that double up as the Function keys. The power button is at the end of the row and the fingerprint reader is below the keyboard. However, during usage, the author ended up hitting the ‘backslash’ key instead of the ‘enter’ key as they are very close to each other. This takes a bit of getting used to if one has been using a full-sized keyboard.

The trackpad area is large and easy to use.

The left side has the DC power input, HDMI port, USB Type-A port and a USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 port. The right side has the audio out socket, USB Type-A port, power indicators and the lock slot.

The bottom has the heat vents, speakers and rubber feet, which are quite grippy.

The 13.5-inch display (in a 3:2 aspect ratio) is bright and the colours looked good. Viewing angles were also good and no complaints in that department. The bezels are quite narrow and the top features a webcam and mics.

Performance wise, this is where the big change is, and for the better. The Swift 3 we reviewed came with the new 11th generation Intel Core i5 processor, Intel Iris Xe graphics and 8 GB LPDDR4X RAM.

Being small and light, it is ideal for professionals who have to carry their work around. With the specifications this machine has, it performs routine office tasks like emails, surfing, video calls etc. with ease. It is also adequate for tasks like photo editing and light creative work. But other resource-hungry tasks might require one to opt for a machine with higher specifications.

Coming to sound quality, the mid and high frequencies are good. And bass cannot be expected with small laptop speakers.

The thermals were under control under normal usage conditions during our review.

Battery life is good and it can easily last more than the working day of about eight to nine hours with surfing the internet or emailing and such other routine tasks.

We recommend the Swift 3, particularly for its portability.

The Swift 3 retails at Rs 80,999, but prices are far less online.