Acer’s upgraded Swift Edge 16 is one well future-proofed laptop

At Computex 2023 in its native Taiwan, Acer has launched an updated version of its Swift Edge 16. It’s not a huge change compared to last year, but there are some significant upgrades. 

Unlike with smartphones, barely anyone is upgrading their laptop every year or two. These devices need to still be capable years into future, something the company has recognised. 

The first thing you’ll probably notice are the new CPUs. AMD’s latest Ryzen 7040 Series provide the power here, with a choice between the Ryzen 5 7640U and Ryzen 7 7840U. These aren’t quite the most capable chips AMD makes, but they’re not far off. 

While you’ll have to make do with integrated Radeon graphics from the same company (rather than a dedicated GPU), the device can be configured with up to 32GB of fast DDR5 RAM. Performance is likely to be a strong point.  

There’s no cellular connectivity, but you do get Bluetooth 5.1 and Wi-Fi 7 support. The latter is a brand-new standard that’s only beginning to roll out, so the Swift Edge 16 will be up to date for many years. 

Display has remained the same as on the previous model, but upgrades were by no means necessary. It’s a 16in, 3.2K (3200×2000) OLED panel, giving it a 16:10 aspect ratio. Acer claims the screen provides full coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut, while you also get a 120Hz refresh rate. 

However, the webcam is arguably the most impressive feature of all. The Swift Edge 16’s 1440p sensor is one of the highest quality sensors you’ll find in any laptop. With dual mics and dual front-facing stereo speakers, video calling is clearly a priority. 

Battery life isn’t quite so encouraging. The device is equipped with a 54Wh cell, which Acer says will get you 8.5-9 hours based on internal benchmarks. A full working day on a single charge may be touch and go, although there is a 65W USB-C fast charger included in the box. 

It’s joined by two USB-A ports, HDMI 2.1 and a 3.5mm audio jack. The microSD slot lets you add up to 512GB to the internal storage, with 512GB and 1TB SSD options available. 

At just 1.24kg, it’ll also be one of the lightest 16in Windows 11 laptops you can buy when it goes on sale.  

That’ll be July in North America and Europe, with a starting price of $1,299.99/€1,199. UK pricing and availability is yet to be revealed. 

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