Acer’s Swift 5 laptop is getting a major upgrade when it gets refreshed this fall. Though Acer was coy about mentioning Intel’s 11th Gen processors by name, the Swift 5 SF14-55 could be one of the first Ultrabooks to ship with Intel’s next-generation CPU.
Acer stated that the Swift 5 will be arriving with next-generation Intel processors alongside Intel Xe integrated graphics and optional Nvidia MX350 discrete GPU. Intel’s Xe graphics, which will succeed the company’s current Gen 11 integrated graphics architecture, is widely believed to launch as part of its 11th Gen processor lineup and the underlying architecture is what Intel will be using on its own line of discrete graphics cards.
Xe graphics is expected to provide a 100% uplift in graphics performance over Gen 11 graphics, and this could help Intel better compete with AMD’s Ryzen 4000 mobile processors, which are gaining popularity. Of note, Acer also has a Swift 3 laptop with AMD’s Ryzen 4000 onboard, so it will be interesting to see how the two models perform.
The Swift 5 can be configured with up to 1 TB solid-state drive and 16GB LPDDRAX memory. Acer is also bringing cooling controls to the laptop, so you can now tune the fans to silent, normal, or performance modes based on your task or environment.
Like the model that it will replace, the new Swift 5 will come with a 14-inch FHD display, but Acer is making this laptop even more compact by reducing the bezels surrounding the screen. The effect is that this notebook will sport a 90% screen-to-body ratio. The screen can reach up to 300 nits of brightness and supports 72% of the NTSC color space, Acer claimed.
Another potentially useful feature — and a very timely one given the state of the current global health pandemic — is that this laptop comes with an antimicrobial coating on the Corning Gorilla Glass screen.
In addition to Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, Acer also includes some of its own tuning to the mix. Voice tracking, adaptive beamforming, voice recognition enhancements, and clearer conference call optimizations help to complement the built-in far-field microphones. Acer’s True Harmony audio tuning along with DTS Audio tuning will help with content consumption.
The whole packages weighs just under 1kg, and the laptop has a chassis made from magnesium alloy for durability. The Swift 5 will be available in either mist green or safari gold hues.
Pricing for the laptop starts at $999 when it launches in October, and the company will offer different configurations of the Swift 5.