Is there a better alternative?

The Asus ZenBook 15 is a solid alternative to the Swift 5. It offers a smaller chassis that’s no heavyweight itself, and it adds in a discrete GPU for entry-level gaming. It runs $1,400 for a Core i7-8565U, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. That’s the same price as the Swift 5 with the same configuration, making the ZenBook a much faster option.

　　You could also consider Dell’s XPS 15, which offers up to a much faster six-core Core i7-8570H CPU, better Full HD and 4K display options, and a faster GPU. And if you drop down to a quad-core Core i5-8300H (that’s still faster than the U-series equivalent in the Swift 5), then you can spend just $100 more than the Acer.

　　Finally, you can save a little money and pick up the Lenovo IdeaPad 530s. It’s not as light but it feels a touch more durable, and when similarly configured it’s just $735. That nets you a non-Whiskey Lake 8th-gen Core i5-8250U, but performance is very similar, and of course, you save some serious cash.

　　

How long will it last?

The Swift 5 won’t win any prizes for the most robustly built laptop, but it won’t leave you feeling like it won’t last, either. And it has the latest components providing good enough performance to last for years of productive work. The 1-year warranty is industry standard, which we wished was longer.

　　

Should you buy it?

Only if you simply want the lightest full-size laptop possible. Otherwise, you can spend a little more money and carry a little more weight around, and you’ll get better performance and significantly longer battery life in the bargain.