As part of Intel’s rollout of its 11th-gen Core mobile processors with Iris Xe graphics, Acer on Wednesday announced updates to its line of slim, lightweight laptops, the Swift 5 and Swift 3. At launch, the Swift 5 will also be one of the first laptops to meet the requirements of Intel’s Evo platform as part of the chipmaker’s Project Athena innovation program. The Swift 3, which will be available in two screen sizes, is part of Project Athena but is still getting tuned to meet the Evo requirements.
With Intel Evo verification, the laptops will meet specific “key experience indicators”:
- Consistent responsiveness on battery
- System wake from sleep in less than 1 second
- 9 or more hours of real-world battery life on systems with FHD displays
- Fast charging with up to 4-hour charge in under 30 minutes on systems with full HD displays
The 14-inch Swift 5 hits these KEIs, Acer says. It also only weighs a little over 1 kilogram (2.3 pounds) and its touchscreen covers 100% of the sRGB color space, has a top brightness of 340 nits and uses antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass. You’ll also be able to buy it coated with an antimicrobial solution on the rest of the laptop’s surfaces.
The Swift 3 will be available with a 14-inch, full-HD widescreen display or a tall 2K-resolution 13.5-inch display (pictured).
Acer
The Acer Swift 3, which already impressed us with an AMD Ryzen 4000 series processor, will be updated with Intel’s 11th-gen CPUs, too. You’ll be able to get it with either a 14-inch full-HD widescreen display or a tall 13.5-inch display with a 2,256×1,504-pixel resolution and a 3:2 aspect ratio.
The Acer Swift 5 is expected in stores in November starting at $1,000 (£899). Both versions of the Swift 3 are also expected to ship in November, with the 14-inch starting at $700 and the 13.5-inch at $800 (£800). Australian prices were not immediately available, but £899 converts to about AU$1,635.
