Acer Swift 5 (2020), review with opinion and specifications

Acer Swift 5 (2020) Data Sheet

In the Acer Swift 5 (2020) we find a team focused on mobility, not at maximum power, but not for that reason it leaves aside a complete hardware, capable of performing fluently in the vast majority of tasks. This is what it offers:

Display: 14-inch IPS with Full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080 pixels).
Processor: Intel Core i7-1065G7 4-core.
RAM memory: 16 GB.
Internal Storage: 512 GB SSD made by Kingston.
Graphics card: Intel Iris Plus Pro Graphics.
Camera: HD 720p.
Connectivity: WiFi 6 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.0.
Ports and sensors: 2 x USB, 1 x USB Type C, 1 x HDMI, 1 x 3.5mm jack.
Battery: 63 Wh.
Operating system: Windows 10 Pro.
Dimensions and weight: 14.95mm x 318.7 x 210.5mm and 990g.
Price: 999 euros.

Even smaller and lighter than the previous generation

Acer Swift 5 (2020), review with opinion and specifications

It is clear that, to achieve that weight of 990 grams, they could not use materials such as aluminum. And so it has been, since the Acer Swift 5 (2020) is constructed of plastic in all its parts.

This causes us to have two sensations that we can even consider to be conflicting. On the one hand, it's a notebook that's well-rounded and feels sturdy quite high.

On the other hand, plastic, no matter how well finished, is noticeable in daily touch and gives it a perception of lower qualitythan other materials.

Something that we really liked is that, despite its small size and weight, Acer has placed enough ports to avoid having to resort to adapters, as in other ultralights.

On the right side we have a USB port and the 3.5mm jackfor headphones.

If we go to the left side we will see a USB Type C, a port USB, a HDMI , and the pin-style connector for charging your computer.

It may be a little surprising that Acer continues to use this type of connector to charge the device, but the truth is that the USB Type C port that it comes with also serves to upload.

On the front we have a notch to facilitate the opening of the lid, something that many laptops do not have and which is appreciated.

On the lid we only see the Acer logo. This cover is quite prone to fingerprints, and we found the opening system a bit harsher and noisier (maybe the unit we received) than we expected.

Fair keyboard, basic touchpad

If we look at the keyboard, the separation between the keys is correct, with a touch that we were not enthusiastic about and with a pulsation style, chiclet type, which we think could be improved.

We have little touch travel, as well as being too dry, which is also not surprising when you consider that the Acer Swift 5 is less than 1.5cm thick.

This keyboard is backlit, a feature that always helps, especially when the ambient light is not enough.

When we use the touchpad our feeling is of poor quality, excessively flat and with a touch with hardly any travel and not at all spongy. It would have been nice if they chose to put two physical buttons on it, like on the external mice we all own.

Good screen, sound without bass

The display of the Acer Swift 5 (2020) is a 14-inch IPS panel with Full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080 pixels), where the frames have been extremely cared for, especially the sides. This makes the notebook's dimensions smaller than the previous generation, dropping from 15mm x 329mm x 228m to just 14.95mm x 318.7 x 210.5mm.

It's a touch screen which, in this sense, has worked really well, and we found it very practical to use it with our fingers from time to time.

We found the screen quality more than decent, as the color representation is good and themaximum brightness is quite well achieved . The viewing angles can be slightly improved, but sufficient.

The two speakers of the Acer Swift 5 (2020) are on the sides at the bottom. If we talk about quality, we notice above all lack of bass, which are practically non-existent. The volume, despite not being too loud, can be enough for most situations.

The sound of the fans is not excessively annoying, but it gives the impression that they are always on.

No performance issues

The Acer Swift 5 (2020) has some internal specifications that will allow us, a priori, to demand it without having any problem, since it mounts the following hardware:

Intel Core i7-1065G7 as a processor with 4 cores at 1.3 GHz.
16 GB RAM memory.
Intel Iris Plus Pro Graphics integrated graphics card.
512 GB SSD Made by Kingston.

The performance is really good both for our daily tasks and when we demand it. You can even do photo and video editing, since the processor is powerful enough, together with 16 GB of RAM and an integrated graphics card, which has taken a step forward in visual efficiency.

The Time Spy test, which we normally do, corroborates this with a score of 841 points.

In the test we do with PCMark the results have been the following:

Home: 4,014 points.
Work: 4,921 points.
Creative: 5,788 points.

The 512 GB SSD, manufactured by Kingston, has achieved a reading speed of 1,634 MB/s and writing speed of 981 MB/s, some results that are not spectacular, but they are not bad.

The Acer Swift 5 (2020) comes with Windows 10 Pro, plus the occasional pre-installed program like Netflix or PowerDirector.

In the Acer Swift 5 we have several applications of the brand such as Acer Collection S, where it advises us on very diverse programs and utilities types. It is distributed in:

Acer Pick: Top manufacturer recommendations.
Lifestyle: show us programs depending on the use of the PC.
Games: Simple titles to suit various tastes.
Entertainment: some programs for entertainment and multimedia.
Starter Kit: the software that we are asked to install to start using Swift 5.

It's nice to have facilities to install programs, although perhaps the Acer Swift 5 comes with too much pre-installed software. In any case, it is easy to remove if we are not convinced.

To protect our privacy in the Acer Swift 5 (2020) there is a fingerprint reader with which we have not had any problems in the operation as it is reliable and fast What we did not like is the shape of the sensor, too small and elongated.

Autonomy is good

The Acer Swift 5 (2020) mounts a 63 Wh battery, whose behavior has been better than we expected.

If we use the Acer Swift 5 (2020) to browse, see some mail, social networks and also some Word, with the brightness at 60% and connected by WiFi, we have been around the10 hours of autonomy , close to the 12 hours that the brand says.

If we demand it with powerful programs or games, the autonomy time drops to approximately 8 hours and a half.

The Acer Swift 5 (2020), of which we have just finished our review, we liked it because it has many virtues. From the brand they have achieved a light laptop without giving up a solvent screen, good features and, above all, without having to do without theminimum connection ports that we all need.

We are talking about a price of 999 euros which, despite not being the tightest in the world, does allow the range of users who can afford to buy this ultraportable from Acer is broader. There are areas where the price is not justified, such as the excessive use of plastic, but there are others such as its power or its weight, where we find its value quite consistent.