Acer Swift 3 OLED (2022)

Acer Swift 3 OLED: Two minute review

The Acer Swift 3 OLED is a follow-up to one of the finest laptops ever made, the Acer Swift 3, as well as the Acer Swift 5 touchscreen. However, not a touchscreen like the others, this laptop's main draw is its bright and absolutely stunning OLED screen which also supports HDR.

Unlike many of the best Ultrabooks, this one is priced exceptionally reasonably, with its most expensive model only $1,300 (around £1,065 / AU$1,815). Currently, though, its availability is very rough, with it being sold out at the limited retailers that had it in the US and nonexistent in other regions like the UK and Australia.

Hopefully, it comes back in stock soon as it’s a gorgeous laptop with a sleek and sexy silver chassis, beautiful backlighting on the keyboard that makes it looks almost crystal-like, and a smooth and responsive touchpad. It’s also incredibly thin and lightweight at only three pounds, ideal for portability. It’s genuinely shocking how easy it is to carry this laptop around.

Port selection is good with two USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, one HDMI 2.1 port, one audio jack, and one K-lock for security. It’s missing an SD card reader, which would have made the port selection perfect, but there’s still plenty of variety here.

CPU-wise, its performance is some of the best we have ever seen for an Ultrabook. The Core i7 is already an excellent CPU, but it’s clear this laptop is pushing it to the absolute max, meaning literally any computational task or movie and video streaming you throw at it, this machine can handle, and much more. 

You'd think the high price of a maxed-out CPU would be a below-average GPU, but it scores highly in various gaming benchmarks, which makes it even more impressive as a non-gaming laptop. So, while your work game will rival the best laptops out there, your leisurely gaming sessions can handle low and mid-range titles pretty well.

The sound on this laptop is a double-edged sword, as the quality is quite high. When playing classical music, such as an orchestra, the clarity of each instrument is very crisp. But the volume is the issue, and unless you have a pair of headphones handy, it’s hard to hear much. This can be a problem if you’re trying to watch videos or movies with others.

The webcam is 1080p and decent quality, but nothing spectacular. You’ll look just fine during conference calls, but nothing stands out, which is disappointing considering this is an Ultrabook.

Acer Swift 3 OLED: Price and availability

• Pricing is excellent
• Sells out frequently
• Not available in other regions

For an Ultrabook, the Acer Swift 3 OLED is quite affordable, with the top price at only $1,300 (around £1,065 / AU$1,815) and the less expensive model costing $930 (around £808 / AU$1,382). The OLED screen and excellent CPU performance make this laptop worth the price tag, and then there's the excellent keyboard and touchpad. The price could go even lower once you check out what Acer promo codes are available at the moment.

Availability is the issue, however, with the laptop frequently selling out. Currently, it’s sold out completely in the official US Acer store, and Amazon’s stock is constantly in flux. The availability issue is even worse in other regions, including the UK and Australia.

• Value: 4 / 5

Acer Swift 3 OLED: Design

• Sleek and sexy
• Great keyboard, touchpad, and port selection 
• Can customize fan speed

The design is our favorite part of the Acer Swift 3 OLED. It's incredibly svelte, portable, and has a lovely silver paint job. The OLED screen is stunning, one of the most beautiful we’ve seen on a laptop, and it not being a touchscreen doesn’t detract from it in the slightest. In fact, for those not too crazy about touchscreens, this laptop is perfect as it functions perfectly well without one. Its 500-nit brightness adds to the OLED, and the optional HDR makes the display pop even more. Thin bezels are always chic and these don’t disappoint, maximizing the screen real estate.

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We also adore the keyboard, which balances a smooth and sleek design with a satisfying almost mechanical feel as you type. It’s also backlit, a soft pearl-colored light that makes it glow like gems. And the touchpad is ultra smooth and responsive, perfect for portability considering there’s no touch option.

There's an excellent variety of ports with two USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, one HDMI 2.1 port, one audio jack, and one K-lock for security. The only port it needed to be perfect is an SD Card slot, but other than that it’s more than solid, especially considering the USB ports.

There’s one large visible air vent on the Acer Swift 3 OLED, which is directly above the keyboard. It’s a smart place, as it ensures that air gets out regardless of the surface it’s resting on. It’s well hidden by the slope angle that it’s resting on, and even when in view it fits the general aesthetics of the laptop. 

When you’re really pushing your machine, pressing the ‘Fn’ and ‘F’ keys changes the fan setting between off, normal, and maximum. Of course, this also affects the fan volume, so you have the option of adjusting it to best suit your needs. The normal setting for ventilation isn't bad but nothing amazing. While it never gets hot it can warm up rather quickly, so you’ll most likely find yourself using the maximum setting anyway.

• Design: 5 / 5

Acer Swift 3 OLED: Performance

• CPU is incredible
• GPU is great
• Solid webcam

The Acer Swift 3 OLED’s specs are excellent, with the most powerful version having an Intel Core i7, 16 GB of LPDDR5 memory, and 1TB of storage. But even the cheaper version still has a solid Core i5, 8GB of LPDDR5 memory, and 512GB of storage, which either matches or beats its competition.

CPU-wise, it’s one of the highest-scoring laptops we’ve ever tested. Almost every result is above 10,000 or at least the highest number you’ll see for that category, which is remarkable since it’s using a mobile version of the Core i7 chip. This means Acer most likely overclocked the CPU to maximize its work performance, which makes sense considering the main audience for Ultrabooks are business professionals looking for a stylish and portable work machine.

A ventilation system supports the CPU, which ensures that the hot air always has a way to escape, thanks to the vent being located above the keyboard. And when the fan is turned to maximum performance, it vents heat like a champ. The only complaint is that having additional bottom or side vents would have been even better for performance.

GPU-wise it's pretty solid, with benchmarks that surpass the Dell XPS series of ultrabooks and nearly match the Asus ZenBook 13X OLED. This means the laptop can double as a low and mid-range gaming machine just fine, though don't boot up Hitman 3 on maxed-out settings.

Which, honestly, you shouldn't be doing on this laptop anyway. If you want a gaming device, you can check out our best gaming laptops guide for something with more gaming prowess.

The webcam is 1080p HD, which visually doesn’t show up well unless there’s good-quality lighting. Its saving grace is the noise reduction features, which help to keep background sounds and voices to a minimum. A great feature for those in conference calls with unruly pets or children, to be sure.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

Acer Swift 3 OLED: Battery life

• Decent battery life for an OLED laptop  
• Charges fast

The average battery life for the movie test is just above six hours, with general work usage draining it at a faster rate. Usually, this would be some cause for concern with an Ultrabook, but considering the OLED screen, the battery length is actually decent. Unfortunately, turning on the HDR does drain the power even faster, so consider saving that feature for when it stays on the charger during a movie viewing.

Another benefit is that the battery charges with a Thunderbolt 4 USB, meaning it charges incredibly quickly to nearly full power in under an hour. So while you might have to recharge once during an average workday, it won’t be for that long.

• Battery Life: 4 / 5

Should you buy an Acer Swift 3 OLED?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

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Acer Swift 3 OLED: Report card

• First reviewed November 2022

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