Our Take

At first glance, the Acer Swift 3 is underwhelming. It’s not great looking, its build quality is good but not great, and its price seems a little high. But then when you consider the discrete GPU, look at its strong performance, and then consider its very good battery life – suddenly, the Swift 3 becomes a more compelling choice.

　　

Is there a better alternative?

If we look exclusively at 14-inch laptops, the Asus ZenBook 14 is the most direct comparison. It’s much smaller thanks to some tiny bezels, it provides similar performance, but its battery life can’t keep up. If you want to buy the MX150 version in the US, then you’ll have to buy it from Costco (for now) at $1,300 with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. If you can live with integrated graphics, then the ZenBook 14 is also $1,000 for a Core i5-8265U CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD.

　　You could also consider the Asus ZenBook 13 if you’re willing to drop down a bit in screen size. The latest UX333 version sports the same good looks as the ZenBook 13. You’ll lose the discrete GPU and you’ll step down in processor performance, but you’ll also pay only $850 for a Core i5-8265U, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. And the ZenBook 13’s display has much better contrast and is a very pleasant panel overall.

　　If you’re willing to jump up in price, then the Huawei MateBook X Pro is a good option. It offers a lovely 3:2 display that’s great for productivity, fits into a small footprint thanks to thin bezels, and offers solid build quality. It’s significantly more expensive, though, at over $2,000 for similarly equipped device.

　　

How long will it last?

The Acer Swift 3 isn’t the most robust build around, but it should still last you as long as the components can keep up. There’s a standard 1-year warranty that, as usual, is disappointing but an industry standard.

　　

Should you buy it?

Yes. If you’re in the market for a workhorse 14-inch laptop with some gaming and creative chops that keeps you working all day long and won’t break the bank, then the Swift 3 is a good choice.

　　Check out other models and score discounts with our list of the best laptop deals.