Acer’s slick Swift ultraportable laptops get an Intel Core Ultra Series 3 overhaul

Thin and light has been the mantra of Acer’s Swift ultraportable laptop line for a while now, but the class of 2026 aims to add more power – and battery life – to the mix by making the jump to Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors. Other big ticket upgrades include OLED screens across the board and a new-found focus on usability.

The star of the show is the Acer Swift 16 AI, which might only be a scant 14.9mm thick and weigh under 1.55kg, but finds room (and cooling ability) inside for up to a Core Ultra X9 Series 3. Desktop performance should be a small step up from the previous generation, but Intel’s latest Arc graphics promise to be a lot better at 3D tasks – and even some modest gaming. Efficiency has also seen gains, with as much as 25 hours of video playback promised.

While there haven’t been too many chassis changes from the previous generation – it’s still super skinny and the hinge still opens up a full 180 degrees – Acer has found room to add what it reckons is the world’s largest haptic touchpad. Having seen one in person at a pre-CES event, it’s undeniably huge – eating up more room beneath the keyboard than the space for your wrists either side of it. You can use a stylus on it too, which creative types will appreciate. Other upgrades include noticeably larger keys with per-key backlighting, which seemed comfortable enough to tap away at during my brief hands-on.

It’s not short on ports for such a skinny machine – none of Acer’s new models are, really – with full-size HDMI, multiple USB Type-A and Type-Cs, a 3.5mm headphone port, and a microSD card slot. The 1080p webcam supports Windows Hello facial recognition, and it’s got both Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 onboard.

For me the highlight was the 3K resolution OLED touchscreen, which had colours that properly popped and a 120Hz refresh rate that guaranteed smooth motion. DisplayHDR and eyesafe certifications suggest colours will hold up well in a full review, too. Expect one later this Spring once the Swift 16 AI starts shipping.

If pure portability matters more than a titanic touchpad, the Swift Edge 14 AI and Swift Edge 16 AI might be more up your alley. Depending on spec they can dip under 1kg, but are built for a life of travel and on-the-go working. Acer has put them through military-grade toughness tests, with metal builds that can take a beating.

Inside, up to Intel Core Ultra 9 Series 3 CPUs are running the show, along with as much as 32GB of RAM and 1TB of speedy NVMe SSD storage. They also get up to 3K resolution OLED touchscreens, Copilot+ AI smarts and a generous helping of ports. Acer has also tricked out the touchpads with multi-function shortcuts, illuminated by a subtle backlight that shines through the glass when set to multimedia control or video conferencing tools.

I’m a fan of the darker colour option here, and Acer’s subtle yet stylish lid graphics.

Finally, anyone on more of a budget will want to check out the Swift Go 14 AI and Swift Go 16 AI. While not quite as slim or light as their bigger brothers, there’s been no skimping on spec, with Core Ultra Series 3 processors running the show and OLED screens still the norm.

All-day battery life should still be on the cards here, and the multi-control touchpad sticks around too. It didn’t feel obviously stripped-back or compromised when I briefly got my hands on one, so it’ll be interesting to see how affordable Acer can make it.

There’s no word on official pricing for any of the new models just yet. The Swift 16 AI will launch first, hitting Europe in March and the USA in Q1; the Swift Go 16 AI and Swift Go 16 AI are next in line, with the Swift Edge 14 AI and Swift Edge 16 AI due by the summer.

• Related: Acer’s newest release was a total surprise – you’ll never guess what it is

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