Acer Swift 3 is an affordable laptop with surprisingly good looks
You know the saying all that glitters is not gold?
That's how I feel about the Acer Swift 3. Featuring a stylish aluminum design that's only 18 millimeters thin, it looks like it could be an expensive notebook from far away.
Its glass front panel with protective rubber strip and [UNKNOWN] edges warrant some superficial comparison to the MacBook.
With models starting at $500, it's one of the only affordable laptops you can buy with an all-metal design that's this cool looking and has this many ports.
But spend some quality time with the Acer, and you'll understand why it's not quite a premium laptop.
It's 1080p HD screen, which can fold back 180 degrees Is satisfyingly sharp in resolution, but its luminosity is too dim.
The maximum brightness setting is too low and it does nothing to help deflect the many reflections the glossy screen attracts.
Another disappointment is it's shallow keyboard.
It's just not comfortable to type on.
For some reason the cursor keys are all cramped on the bottom right corner, and the [UNKNOWN] edges closest to the keyboard feel uncomfortably sharp.
It also has a short battery life.
It lasted 11 hours in our video streaming test, but I was only able to get.
About three and a half to four hours of battery life when using the lap top.
Granted, I was doing a lot of web browsing and streaming video, but I used it the same amount as I would any lap top during the work day.
Last thing about half a work day is just Unacceptable for me.
The Acer Swift 3 has an impressively stylish construction and it's worth a look if an affordable laptop with a sharp design is your main goal.
But if you just want a cheap notebook, you're better off looking elsewhere.