Acer Swift 5 (2022) Review – Portable Excellence

Unboxing the Acer Swift 5 (2022)

Kicking off the Acer Swift (2022) review with the unboxing, the packaging looks rather bland given its just your average brown cardboard boxes. However, it hit me afterwards that this is part of their eco-friendly initiative as the material is recyclable. Inside the box, you can find the following items:

• International Travelers Warranty
• Warranty booklet
• Setup Guide
• 65W USB-C charger
• The Acer Swift 5 (2022) laptop itself

Specifications

CPU	Intel Core i7-1260P @ 2.1GHz (up to 4.7 GHz Boost), 18M, 12C/16T, Intel 7 (10nm), 28W TDP
RAM	16GB LPDDR5 4800MHz
GPU	Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Storage	1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 Performance SSD (WD PC SN810)
Software	Microsoft Windows 11 Home
Connectivity	Wireless Killer Wireless Wi-Fi 6E 1675i Bluetooth 5.2 Wired 2 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A (supports power-off charging) 2 x Thunderbolt 4 1 x HDMI 2.1 1 x 3.5mm combo audio jack
Display	14″ WQXGA (2560 x 1600) 60Hz IPS Acer CineCrystal LED-backlit LCD display (16:10) Multi-touch, antibacterial cover glass, mercury-free, 100% sRGB
Audio	2 x front-facing speakers 2 x digital microphones with Acer PurifiedVoice Acer TrueHarmony
Power	65W power adapter (USB-C) 56 WHr 4-cell Li-ion battery
Dimensions	310.5 x 213.3 x 14.95 mm
Weight	1.2 kg

Performance

Starting off our benchmark suite with CrystalDiskMark, you can see that the speeds we get here is pretty darn fast. This shouldn’t be a surprise since it’s a PCIe 4.0 SSD, and it’s the 1TB WD PC SN810 SSD to be precise.

In Cinebench R20, the single core performance is pretty strong, being the 3rd highest in our list of benchmarked devices. The multi-core score isn’t as impressive but that’s to be expected since this isn’t a full-fledged performance CPU, but it’s still pretty strong nonetheless.

Moving on to Unigine SuperPosition’s 4K Optimized benchmark, the score is pretty low but that is to be expected given the lack of a discrete GPU. Sure, the Intel Iris Xe allows it to pass the 1,000 mark, but it’s not much in the grand scheme of things.

A similar pattern can be seen in 3DMark Time Spy as the Acer Swift 5 (2022) nearly breaks the 2,000 mark. Again, it fares better than laptops with iGPUs from years ago, but it still doesn’t amount to much.

As expected, the Acer Swift 5 (2022) fared well across all areas except for Digital Content Creation. This would require a stronger GPU to do well but basically, you can do anything on this laptop as long as it doesn’t require intense 3D power.

One of its strongest points is the battery life and PCMark’s Modern Office endurance test has proven that. The Acer Swift 5 (2022) managed to last 8 hours and 55 minutes (535 minutes) before the battery dies out on me. Generally speaking, this should translate to nearly a full day’s worth of use without breaks assuming you’re not running anything resource-intensive.

If you’re looking for a gaming laptop instead, check out our review of the Acer Predator Triton 500 SE by clicking right here.

The Good

The Acer Swift 5 (2022) has a pretty eye-catching design. It differs itself from their other ultraportables, especially with its gold accents, while still maintaining its portability and solid build. Keep in mind that it weighs a mere 1.2kg. I hope this is the standard that they will adhere to moving forward with future laptops.

Compared to its competitors with a similar offering, this one has a good array of ports. With two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, a HDMI 2.1 port, and a combo audio jack. Sure, it could be better but given its size, it would be difficult to do so. Not to mention, some competitors only have two Thunderbolt 4 ports and an audio jack.

The display is one of the better ones out there as far as quality goes. You get a bright and punchy 14-inch display with a 2K+ resolution, 16:10 aspect ratio, and touchscreen support. The aspect ratio alone makes it feel like you’re seeing noticeably more for a 14-inch laptop, which is great.

One thing that I’m surprised about is how good the keyboard is. It has a solid, metallic feel to the low-profile keys with good tactility, and I’m genuinely amazed by it. With most of their ultraportables, the keyboards is rather generic but not this one. It’s not the perfect laptop keyboard, but it’s an excellent job nonetheless.

The Bad

As much as I praised the display, the Acer Swift 5 (2022) does have on weakness, which is glare. It works great indoors but when you’re outdoors, especially when there’s bright sunlight, it’s rather hard to see. I thought it uses an anti-glare display but I guess I was wrong there.

Another thing is that the hinge only allows the lid to open up to roughly 135°. I don’t expect a full 360° turn like a 2-in-1 but at least a 180° opening would have been nice. I wouldn’t call it a dealbreaker however as it depends on how one would like to use a thin and light laptop.

I also mentioned earlier about how good the keyboard is but the metallic build does bring one issue, which is that it can get a bit slippery. This isn’t necessarily a problem for most people but if you’re the kind of person with sweaty hands, I would recommend avoiding this laptop as it would annoy you.

Lastly, while the speakers can produce decent quality audio for what it is, volume is on the softer side of things. At max volume, it’s not particularly enough for dialogue-focused audio. Best to have external speakers, headphones, or earphone ready at your disposal.

Acer Swift 5 (2022) Verdict

The Acer Swift 5 (2022) is an excellent laptop but it’s not meant for everyone. It depends on the person as some issues will not be apparent to everyone. If you’re looking for an ultraportable laptop with good performance and versatility, this should definitely be considered, especially if you can afford its asking price of RM6,599.

At the end of our Acer Swift 5 (2022) review, I award this laptop with our coveted Gold Pokdeward.

Big thanks to Acer Malaysia for sending us this laptop for the purpose of this review.