Tech Advisor - UK (2020-06)

JUNE 2020 • TECH ADVISOR 51

Which is not to imply the Swift 5 isn’t sleek-looking.

It is, once you get past the size. Acer’s settled on a blue

steel colour for the metal chassis (a magnesium-lithium

alloy), and while I usually prefer to stick to neutral tones

I have to admit that the Swift 5 looks pretty stunning in

person. The effect is heightened by using gold for the

keyboard lettering, which could have been tacky if it

weren’t such a subtle contrast.

Did I mention it’s small? It’s small. I can’t say it

enough. The 300-nit 1,920x1,080 IPS display is cradled

by ultra-thin bezels (Acer cites 3.97mm), which make

it feel bigger than 14 inches. But no. Measuring

318.7x210.5x14.95mm total, the real coup is the

Swift 5’s 990g weight.

That’s not the lightest device we’ve ever used, not

by a long shot. The Microsoft Surface Pro X tablet for

instance weighs in at a feather-light 774g. Nevertheless,

this is one of the lightest clamshell laptops out there,

and certainly lives up to Acer’s marketing in that regard.

By comparison, the HP Spectre x360 13t – a 13in

laptop with the same Core i7-1065G7 part – weighs a

‘whopping’ 1.3kg. Sure, that 990g isn’t going to break

your back, but it goes to show just how small Acer’s

got the Swift 5.

And for a thin machine, it’s surprisingly

accommodating. My colleague Gordon Mah Ung can

rant for days about companies sacrificing USB-A ports

(as on the latest Dell XPS 13 2-in-1) to shave off a few

millimetres of thickness.

What do we find on the Swift 5 though? Not one,

but two USB-A ports, one on either side. They join a

pinhole charging port, USB-C Thunderbolt 3 port and

JUNE 2020 • TECH ADVISOR 51

Which is not to imply the Swift 5 isn’t sleek-looking.
It is, once you get past the size. Acer’s settled on a blue
steel colour for the metal chassis (a magnesium-lithium
alloy), and while I usually prefer to stick to neutral tones
I have to admit that the Swift 5 looks pretty stunning in
person. The effect is heightened by using gold for the
keyboard lettering, which could have been tacky if it
weren’t such a subtle contrast.
Did I mention it’s small? It’s small. I can’t say it
enough. The 300-nit 1,920x1,080 IPS display is cradled
by ultra-thin bezels (Acer cites 3.97mm), which make
it feel bigger than 14 inches. But no. Measuring
318.7x210.5x14.95mmtotal,therealcoupis the
Swift5’s 990g weight.
That’s not the lightest device we’ve ever used, not
by a long shot. The Microsoft Surface Pro X tablet for
instance weighs in at a feather-light 774g. Nevertheless,
this is one of the lightest clamshell laptops out there,
and certainly lives up to Acer’s marketing in that regard.
By comparison, the HP Spectre x360 13t – a 13in
laptop with the same Core i7-1065G7 part – weighs a
‘whopping’ 1.3kg. Sure, that 990g isn’t going to break
yourback,butit goestoshowjusthowsmallAcer’s
gotthe Swift 5.
And for a thin machine, it’s surprisingly
accommodating. My colleague Gordon Mah Ung can
rant for days about companies sacrificing USB-A ports
(as on the latest Dell XPS 13 2-in-1) to shave off a few
millimetres of thickness.
What do we find on the Swift 5 though? Not one,
but two USB-A ports, one on either side. They join a
pinhole charging port, USB-C Thunderbolt 3 port and