The 14-inch laptop computer is a comparatively current invention that makes essentially the most of contemporary show know-how to suit extra display screen and fewer bezel in the identical form of area you’d as soon as have anticipated from a 13-inch mannequin. It doesn’t precisely bridge the hole between 13-inch and 15-inch laptops, however as an alternative pushes the 13-inchers right down to pocket book or finances stage.
At simply 1.25kg the Acer Swift Go is an especially transportable laptop computer with a stunning OLED 16:10 show that makes one of the best of the 14-inch kind issue and carries a really first rate array of ports. It’s, nevertheless, slightly bit thick when closed, a downside which will solely turn out to be related in the event you’re very pushed for area when travelling.
Acer Swift Go 14 assessment: Key specs
| CPU: | Intel Core i7-13700H |
| RAM: | 16GB LPDDR5 |
| GPU: | Intel Iris Xe |
| Storage: | 1TB SSD |
| Display screen: | 14in 2880×1800 16:10 OLED, 90Hz non-touch |
| Connectivity: | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Kind-A, 2x Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, Micro SD, headset jack |
| Battery: | 65Wh |
| Dimensions: | 15 x 313 x 218mm |
| Weight: | 1.25kg |
Acer Swift Go 14 assessment: Design and construct
Acer laptops have a particular look about them. In reality, you would possibly name it a household resemblance. The silver plastic wedge is a typical theme throughout low-end Chromebooks and the Swifts, Spins and Aspire fashions that make up the majority of its vary. Solely the toughened Enduro and Predator gaming laptops escape.
The rationale for this design’s longevity is that it really works – there are solely so some ways you may push the form of a laptop computer earlier than it stops functioning as a conveyable laptop, and customers need issues like keyboards and trackpads to be within the locations they anticipate them to be. And that’s what you get on the Swift Go 14: a spot for all the things and all the things as an alternative. It’s a neat and compact laptop computer that manages to squeeze quite a bit right into a small area.
The lightness of the laptop computer can result in suspicions it’s fabricated from cobwebs and taffeta, however whereas there’s some flex to be discovered in the event you fear at its nook, the body beneath is stiff and the display screen hinge feels sturdy.
Acer Swift Go 14 assessment: Options
One of many standout options of the Go 14 is the quantity of I/O you get. Whereas there is not any Ethernet, you do get 4 entire USB ports – two of them Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 Kind-Cs. There is a full-size USB 2.1 on the left-hand facet to attach an exterior show, so that you gained’t be cluttering one of many Kind-C ports up with a video adapter (although you would possibly use one for charging), which leaves a heck of a variety of bandwidth obtainable for connecting peripherals.
There’s sufficient right here that you could possibly simply get away with not needing a Thunderbolt dock to copy lacking ports, as Wi-Fi 6 gives quick and secure community connections that may make an Ethernet socket out of date until you want one thing sooner than the gigabit vary.
One factor you’re prone to wish to plug in is a wi-fi keyboard and mouse dongle. The 14-inch kind issue doesn’t go away a variety of area for the tenkeyless keyboard and its companion trackpad, and so they’re one of many weakest components of the Go 14. There’s solely a small quantity of journey beneath the keys, and whereas we recognize the virtually full-size Return key (the apparently now-essential devoted # key touches and cuts into it in a curious mix of the previous and new) the half-height up and down arrow keys are tough to make use of. The trackpad is properly easy however a bit small, and it’s doable to expire of area when performing the two-fingered stroking gesture that scrolls pages.
The webcam will get a constructive point out, for as soon as, as this usually neglected however important a part of the machine now shoots video at 1440p and produces a pointy image for video calls that’s enhanced by the standard software program methods. It’s a disgrace, although, that it doesn’t help Home windows Whats up facial recognition, although there’s a fingerprint sensor constructed into the facility button.
The HDR OLED display screen is a superb implementation of the tech, hitting 100% of the P3 color gamut and with a pointy and vivid 5MP (2880×1800) 16:10 panel that’s excellent for putting two paperwork or net pages facet by facet with out feeling cramped in the way in which a 16:9 display screen can.
Acer Swift Go 14 assessment: Efficiency
| Cinebench R23: | Multi-core: 10,069 | Single-core: 1,533 |
| PCMark 10: | Whole: 10,767 | Battery check: 8h 23m |
| Geekbench 6 CPU: | Multi-core: 8,681 | Single-core: 2,157 |
| Geekbench 6 GPU: | 16,457 | Row 3 – Cell 2 |
| Handbrake: | 7m 10s | Row 4 – Cell 2 |
Intel’s Evo platform declares itself through a sticker on the Swift Go 14. This newish innovation from the chipmaker means you may be certain of getting a laptop computer with an excellent processor, set minimal ranges of RAM and storage, battery lifetime of 9 hours (with a 1080p display screen) and quick charging, plus Thunderbolt 4 and different issues which can be good to have.
The Swift Go hits the goal, its 14-core (6P, 8E) Thirteenth-gen i7 processor bringing a pleasant steadiness between usefulness and endurance, and 16GB of RAM is a lot for many duties, although extra is all the time higher. There isn’t any separate graphics processor, however the Iris Xe GPU constructed into the i7 gives sufficient oomph to drive the display screen and an exterior monitor, in addition to offering a level of acceleration for graphics apps (the brand new neural-network noise discount in Adobe Digital camera Uncooked is especially exhausting on this) and even permitting for slightly mild gaming at 1080p.
The battery lifetime of round eight-and-a-half hours of fixed use with the display screen on is available in beneath the 9 hours within the Evo spec, however that refers to a tool with a 1080p display screen. OLED shows are notoriously power-hungry, so pushing extra pixels takes extra juice. As it’s, there’s sufficient endurance right here to get by way of the day so long as you’re not pushing it exhausting on a regular basis. There is a dual-fan cooling answer within the case, which is unquestionably audible when working however doesn’t announce itself too inelegantly.
The Swift Go 14 posts benchmark outcomes that put it behind one other 14-inch OLED laptop computer, the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED, which options an i9 processor and an Nvidia GPU, however that machine prices twice as a lot. It’s additionally barely behind the 13-inch MacBook Air M2, however with the Acer, you’re getting 83% (we did the maths) of the efficiency for round half the worth of Apple’s ultraportable.
Acer Swift Go 14 assessment: Worth
The Acer Swift Go 14 OLED, as examined, is available in at £999 within the UK and $1,099 within the US, however the entry-spec is accessible for round $/£799. With the OLED display screen and the i7 processor the highlights right here, we advocate moving into for the higher-spec possibility in the event you’re this mannequin.
Ought to I purchase the Acer Swift Go 14?
As a skinny and light-weight laptop computer, the Acer Swift Go 14 retains some very aggressive firm. There are definitely thinner choices on the market, if having the ability to carry a laptop computer in a manilla envelope is necessary to you, however the Swift is extraordinarily mild, and gives an excellent quantity of energy. There’s little or no, past heavy 3D work, that you just gained’t have the ability to obtain with a laptop computer that hits this stage of spec, and with all of the ports it options you’ll have the ability to plug all method of screens, cameras and different peripherals instantly into the chassis while not having a dock. The Swift Go 14 is probably not a good looking laptop computer, however it’s an efficient one, and you need to respect that.
