Acer has been quick out of the blocks with its Computex 2021 content, holding a live-streamed next@acer global press conference from Taipei yesterday evening. If you want to catch up with the one-hour show, you can check out the recording I have embedded below. As is usual with these events there were a very wide array of devices launched. For further reading you can see plenty of product focussed official press releases here.
Everyone will identify some products of interest in Acer's sizable splurge of new products, but I'm going to focus on the new Acer Swift X thin-and-light premium laptop here, and tellingly it was chosen as the headlining product in an Acer email to HEXUS. Other interesting announcements from the next@acer event for me were of the new Predator HDR gaming monitors and revamped Predator Triton and Helios gaming laptops, and that Acer has decided to release the world's first 17.3-inch Chromebook.
Turning our focus to the headlining new Acer Swift X – this is the first Swift model to feature discrete graphics. Targeted at creative professionals, content editors and streamers, the new ultra-portable is powered by a formidable combination of AMD Ryzen 5000 Series mobile processor (up to Ryzen 7 5800U) and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti laptop GPU. Acer reckons that the Swift X has that attractive combination of mobile computing power, portability (1.39kg, 17.9mm thick), and extended battery life (up to 17 hours).
The Acer Swift X is built around a 14-inch IPS screen with 85.7 per cent screen-to-body ratio, 300 nits brightness, and 100 per cent sRGB coverage. This Acer BlueLightShield tech screen sounds like one of the biggest compromises of the design given its target market but obviously strikes a balance to help keep the price down.
Buyers can complement the AMD/Nvidia processing with up to 16GB RAM, and up to 2TB of SSD storage. Other design features of interest are the cooling system featuring a special fan with fifty-nine 0.3 mm blades and a pair of D6 copper heat pipes. An air inlet keyboard helps with cooling air flow too.
For ports you have USB-C, HDMI, Two USB-A ports, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The built-in battery supports fast-charging and you can use the full-function USB-C port for charging as well as data and video connections. A standard webcam is provided but you can log in via Windows Hello via the fingerprint reader.
The Acer Swift X (SFX14-41G) will be available in North America in June starting at USD 899.99; in EMEA in Summer 2021 starting at EUR 899; and in China in Q3’21, starting at RMB 6,499. Various chassis colours will be available depending on your location.
