This Acer laptop has a game-changing feature for media, and its price is just as nice

The skinny and light-weight kind issue of the Swift Go 14, one among its finest properties, makes this one of many extra compact laptops obtainable proper now, and for that purpose, has a spot on ZDNET’s best lightweight laptops list as the most effective light-weight laptop computer for AI performance. And at simply 2.87 kilos, it positively qualifies as an “ultraportable.”

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AI-powered duties like Windows Copilot and generative options in Adobe Photoshop work easily and effectively by profiting from the devoted neural processing unit (NPU) so you do not see successful to general efficiency. And this efficiency edge will doubtless turn into extra noticeable over time.

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The show is crisp and shiny sufficient for most individuals at 400 nits. The 1920 x 1200-pixel IPS touchscreen has an anti-glare, matte coating, which seems good but additionally makes it responsive and exact, and I discovered myself utilizing it extra typically than I sometimes do. 

The Intel Arc Graphics card on this machine additionally performs higher than I anticipated. Visuals are crisp and snappy, and the laptop computer is ready to shortly hop from tab to tab working YouTube and Twitch at excessive resolutions with near-instant loading occasions. You possibly can improve to an Iris Xe GPU on the level of sale, however I used to be in a position to do some gentle gaming on this machine as-is with spectacular outcomes, one thing I did not essentially count on.

The Acer Swift Go 14 was made for media, and that’s obvious if you take a look at the trackpad. Upon navigating to a browser tab with media playability, the trackpad mechanically lights up with LED icons for quantity management and mute performance, observe skipping, and maybe essentially the most helpful: the power to min/max the video window with a single faucet.

This illuminated fast menu on the trackpad itself is among the many first of its sort I’ve seen, and after a brief studying curve, turned second nature to make use of.

The obvious challenge with that is that it’s important to click on across the media controls once they’re illuminated, but it surely did not pose as a lot of an issue as I anticipated, because it fades out and in primarily based on what content material is lively. It does, nevertheless, stay illuminated even when the display turns off when idle. Using LED icons is one thing I noticed on the Dell XPS 14 (2024) as properly, which used this idea for its perform keys. 

This additionally makes the trackpad on the Swift Go 14 fairly giant. I discovered myself activating it with my palms merely when typing, requiring some adjustment to how I place my fingers.

Additionally: I tested Dell’s 2024 XPS 14 laptop and can’t recommend it enough

Concerning the ports, there may be fairly a bit to supply right here. Two USB-C ports on the left facet (one among which you will must cost with) are accompanied by an HDMI and USB-A. On the precise, there is a microSD slot, a headphone jack, and a Kensington lock. The Swift Go 14 additionally has a 1440p webcam that’s sharp and clear, and the AI-powered PurifiedVoice 2.0 noise discount and auto-adjustment make it seamless for video conferencing.

Upon totally extending the lid, the small rubber nodes on prime act as props, elevating the laptop computer to permit for higher keyboard entry whereas additionally enhancing air flow within the course of. It offers the laptop computer a sturdy basis, as I personally cannot stand a laptop computer that slides round.

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When speaking about a number of the much less fascinating elements of this in any other case stable machine, the very first thing to say is its sub-par audio system. For a machine that is so optimized for media playback, it could have been cool to have a bit extra oomph in these guys. That being stated, no laptop computer audio system are notably unbelievable, and most of us are going to pair with both a Bluetooth speaker or pair of headphones anyway. 

The opposite factor to notice is the bloatware and advert pop-ups that continued in Home windows, even over every week into regular use. I perceive that a part of this promoting technique is answerable for slicing prices on a last product, but it surely’s nonetheless not an excellent person expertise.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

When it comes to day-to-day efficiency, I labored on the Swift Go 14 for every week, and I can say that it is a snappy, responsive, and agile laptop computer, particularly for the value. The Intel Core Extremely 7 processor simply bumps this laptop computer as much as compete with higher-priced machines, and future-proofs it with AI readiness.

The Swift Go 14 brings stable efficiency, a crisp show, and helpful media playback controls that I can not cease fascinated with, leading to a well-rounded and succesful laptop computer. 

For these excited about one of many higher configurations of the Swift Go 14, Acer says Costco will supply a WUXGA contact show mannequin with an Intel Core Extremely 7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage for $799 beginning in Might. You may simply should be a bit extra affected person.