Swift, sleek, smart

The Sun

13-05-2025

DO brick-and-mortar offices cramp your style? Do you do most of your business and meetings over the web? Are you among the envied few who have hybrid or full work-from-home privileges?
Then, the Acer Swift 16 AI was probably made for you – savvy, digital age professionals who are often on the move and prefer firepower in a svelte package. And svelte it is, measuring at 9.92mm thick and weighing a mere 1.46kg. You will not have any issues lugging this (essentially) thin crust pizza across the city or international borders. What is more impressive is what you get for all that weight.
If you are used to IPS monitors at the office, the first thing likely to blow you away is the laptop's absolutely gorgeous 16-inch WQXGA+ Oled display. Watching movies – or pretty much any kind of content – during your downtime is a mesmerising experience, thanks to its deep, inky blacks and exceptional contrast.
An indicator on the touchpad lights up whenever AI features are active.
When it is time to work, the wide colour gamut and near-impeccable colour accuracy make photo editing and digital art creation an absolute joy. And with an Intel Core Ultra 7 (Series 2) processor, the laptop can deliver over 120 TOPS of computational performance, easily handling general productivity tasks and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered workloads.
But what really impressed us is the thoughtful suite of quality-of-life features that Acer armed this thing with. Online meetings have exploded in popularity since the pandemic, but are still frequently plagued by low-quality video and sound. And given that first impressions matter – like it or not – your career may be riding on how you appear and sound on screen.
That is where Acer's PurifiedView 2.0 and PurifiedVoice 2.0 come in. Powered by AI sorcery, the former helps visually with automatic framing, gaze correction and advanced background blur, while the latter squelches unwanted background noise to ensure your voice comes in clear and crisp.
The laptop measures 9.92mm in thickness and weighs only 1.46kg.
Speaking of AI, the laptop has a nifty Activity Indicator LED light on the touchpad's top-right corner that lights up whenever its AI features are active. Perhaps drawing inspiration from Hollywood sci-fi – think KITT's red lights from Knight Rider – you will always know when the device is firing up its smart capabilities.
But if you know when it is 'thinking', it knows when you are around. Powered by the webcam sensor, Acer User Sensing 2.0 locks the laptop when you walk away and wakes it when you return – obviously useful against prying eyes and especially when you travel. You can also switch screens by glancing from your laptop's monitor to another.
These conveniences may seem small at first, but will be pleasantly welcomed by nomadic professionals and freelancers who are just as likely to frequent cafes as they are beaches. Combined with its processing muscle and stunning display, the Acer Swift 16 AI makes a compelling package at RM5,699. If you move around a lot and/or have ever laboured (painfully) on a heavy company-given laptop, you might want to consider this investment.