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Acer’s new laptop, the Swift 16 AI is an impressive machine. Not only does it have an impressive OLED touch display, but it also has the world’s largest haptic touchpad. It is good for a lot more than that though, with impressive specs and useful enhancements in its design.
The ACER Swift 16 AI is a Copilot+ PC that blends premium design with performance, offering multiple hardware options so you can work anywhere.
At the core of the ACER Swift 16 AI is the world’s largest haptic touchpad. This massive touchpad dominates the lower deck of the laptop, offering an expansive, 8.15” edge-to-edge touchpad that’s covered in Corning Gorilla Glass, offering precise control, intuitive gestures, and seamless navigation – with stylus support.
The laptop includes a 16” 3K resolution OLED touchscreen built into an ultra-thin design that measures just 10.61mm at its thinnest point – and still comes with durable MIL-STD-810H build quality and lay-flat 180° hinge
The review laptop features an Intel Core Ultra Series 3 X7 processor, integrated Intel Arc B390 GPU, 120Hz 3K OLED Touch Display, 32 GB Ram, 1Tb SSD. Acer promises some impressive battery life numbers with these specs – up to 17 hours of video playback or 12.5 hours of web browsing – but we will have to wait and see if they hold up.
The chassis of the Acer Swift 16 AI is a stylish, lightweight aluminium, with the lid continuing this style with some elegant lines and branding on it. It offers some style without being over the top.
Weighing as little as 1.55kg, it is large yet portable, especially since it is only 14.8mm thick at its thickest point.
The laptop opens easily thanks to the lip formed by the world’s largest trackpad and the lid. You won’t be able to open it with one hand but how many 16-inch laptops can you do that anyway.
The hinge on the Swift 16 AI is a lie-flat 180-degree hinge, which apparently adds usefulness to it. I’m not sure where I would ever use this lie flat – maybe to present your display to a small group of people? A 360-degree hinge would have been more useful if this were the use case you are looking for.
The hinge can do that though, and feels solid while moving into position and will stay at whatever angle you place it at.
The keyboard is large, with the numpad on the right-hand side of the laptop. I’m not a massive fan of keyboards like this because you end up either moving your hands to the side or sitting off to the side of the laptop.
If you need a numpad, it is there, but how many people really need one that much? Sure, some do but why does every manufacturer insist on including the numpad, this isn’t a gaming laptop.
The keyboard itself is incredibly comfortable to type on, with keys that have a nice amount of travel, while at the same time being large enough and leaving enough space between each key to help with accuracy. The keys are very quiet while typing too, which is a very nice inclusion (or is it exclusion?).
The keys themselves are flat keys, which although I am getting used to, are not as accurate for me as those with a curve in them to fit the fingertips better.
The keyboard is backlit, with backlight brightness customisable using the dedicated function key.
The trackpad is, as mentioned above several times already, the largest haptic touchpad in the world. At 8.15 inches, it is massive and fills all the way from the keyboard to the front of the laptop. I love how big it is, but why do we need a trackpad this big?
You could use it for drawing with its stylus support, and it would be great for that. It would certainly do for basic sketching and drawing, but serious artists will no doubt have dedicated drawing hardware.
The touchpad is made of Corning Gorilla Glass and feels premium, with a nice, soft-sounding click and precise haptic feedback. I like it, I just question when you could ever need a touchpad this big. If that’s what you want though, then here it is!
The 16-inch touch display looks amazing – at 2880 x 1800 resolution (3K), 120Hz refresh rate and support for 100% DCI-P3 you’d expect nothing less. Whether you’re watching videos, editing photos, or even just browsing the web, the display jumps out at you with its vibrancy. The large display is also touch-enabled, with accurate, consistent touch.
The bezels on this 16-inch laptop are so thin that they make the display feel entirely edge-to-edge. Consuming media on this display was stunning.
In the top bezel is the 1080p FHD IR webcam with Acer TNR Solution:
“Acer TNR solution can capture better images by detecting and diagnosing noisy pixels and blend into other frames, resulting in better quality images in low-light conditions.”
I used it a few times for video calls and was impressed, though I still wonder why manufacturers don’t include better camera hardware. The software here makes up for it but it shouldn’t have to.
The IR webcam can also be used for secure Windows Hello login. It works well for that – I love Windows Hello login. There is no fingerprint sensor on this laptop so it is good that it works well!
The connectivity options for the Swift AI 16 are extensive, with the following port options:
Wireless connectivity is up to date as well, with support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.
Finally, we are seeing most manufacturers support Thunderbolt 4, along with DC-in in the same port and I love it. It means you can use different chargers to charge your laptop, wherever you are.
Unlike many manufacturers, Acer put a lot of work into the software they include on their laptops. They do include the slowest and most useless piece of software ever, McAfee, onboard but you can (and should) uninstall that. You can uninstall the Booking.com and Forge of Empires shortcuts in the toolbar.
AcerSense provides you with “important system information, hardware diagnostic tools, software updates and more in one dashboard.” It gives you a nice overview of the laptop, how hard it is working and its overall health. AcerSense is where you will find all the Acer AI apps and features.
Acer has leaned into AI once again, like so many others, but instead of just including the capabilities for AI, they have also included some useful features of their own to help you get the most out of the laptop.
All in all, if you are using the Acer Swift AI 16 for work and productivity, you will find its AI very handy. Most software that you use for these tasks though will already have some form of AI features built in. This way you can get a similar experience across all your video conferencing etc apps.
All the usual CoPilot AI features are also included as you would expect for an AI Windows laptop.
The 70Wh battery in the Acer Swift AI 16 is big enough to give you over 12 hours of web browsing. I was certainly able to get over 12-13 hours of web browsing and media consumption — enough to get everyone through a busy day.
Charging was quick, using the included USB Type-C 65W PD AC adapter. From empty, it took:
The Acer Swift AI 16 main feature is its massive haptic touchpad. It is indeed massive and easy to use. It includes MPP2.5 stylus support (Microsoft Pen Protocol) and although a stylus is not included in the box you can use your own supported stylus for drawing and sketching quite easily on such a big touchpad.
The keyboard is comfortable to type on, with decent travel and feel, although I would much prefer curved keycaps. The display is big and bright and vibrant, as you would expect from a 3K OLED touch display. There really isn’t much this laptop does not include and it should be considered because of this.
Acer AI is among the best manufacturer-included AI software I have ever used. It actually has some useful functionality, something rarely seen. It still includes the mostly useless Microsoft AI software but I doubt you will ever use that considering how much better the Acer software.
Overall, the Acer Switch AI 16 is a great laptop, and if you are looking for a big laptop that includes everything you could ask for in terms of productivity, as well as a massive, drawing- and sketching-compatible touchpad, then you should consider this laptop. Priced around The keys themselves are flat keys, which although I am getting used to, are not as accurate for me as those with a curve in them to fit the fingertips better. The keyboard is backlit, with backlight brightness customisable using the dedicated function key. The trackpad is, as mentioned above several times already, the largest haptic touchpad in the world. At 8.15 inches, it is massive and fills all the way from the keyboard to the front of the laptop. I love how big it is, but why do we need a trackpad this big? You could use it for drawing with its stylus support, and it would be great for that. It would certainly do for basic sketching and drawing, but serious artists will no doubt have dedicated drawing hardware. The touchpad is made of Corning Gorilla Glass and feels premium, with a nice, soft-sounding click and precise haptic feedback. I like it, I just question when you could ever need a touchpad this big. If that’s what you want though, then here it is! The 16-inch touch display looks amazing – at 2880 x 1800 resolution (3K), 120Hz refresh rate and support for 100% DCI-P3 you’d expect nothing less. Whether you’re watching videos, editing photos, or even just browsing the web, the display jumps out at you with its vibrancy. The large display is also touch-enabled, with accurate, consistent touch. The bezels on this 16-inch laptop are so thin that they make the display feel entirely edge-to-edge. Consuming media on this display was stunning. In the top bezel is the 1080p FHD IR webcam with Acer TNR Solution: “Acer TNR solution can capture better images by detecting and diagnosing noisy pixels and blend into other frames, resulting in better quality images in low-light conditions.” I used it a few times for video calls and was impressed, though I still wonder why manufacturers don’t include better camera hardware. The software here makes up for it but it shouldn’t have to. The IR webcam can also be used for secure Windows Hello login. It works well for that – I love Windows Hello login. There is no fingerprint sensor on this laptop so it is good that it works well! The connectivity options for the Swift AI 16 are extensive, with the following port options: Wireless connectivity is up to date as well, with support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. Finally, we are seeing most manufacturers support Thunderbolt 4, along with DC-in in the same port and I love it. It means you can use different chargers to charge your laptop, wherever you are. Unlike many manufacturers, Acer put a lot of work into the software they include on their laptops. They do include the slowest and most useless piece of software ever, McAfee, onboard but you can (and should) uninstall that. You can uninstall the Booking.com and Forge of Empires shortcuts in the toolbar. AcerSense provides you with “important system information, hardware diagnostic tools, software updates and more in one dashboard.” It gives you a nice overview of the laptop, how hard it is working and its overall health. AcerSense is where you will find all the Acer AI apps and features. Acer has leaned into AI once again, like so many others, but instead of just including the capabilities for AI, they have also included some useful features of their own to help you get the most out of the laptop. All in all, if you are using the Acer Swift AI 16 for work and productivity, you will find its AI very handy. Most software that you use for these tasks though will already have some form of AI features built in. This way you can get a similar experience across all your video conferencing etc apps. All the usual CoPilot AI features are also included as you would expect for an AI Windows laptop. The 70Wh battery in the Acer Swift AI 16 is big enough to give you over 12 hours of web browsing. I was certainly able to get over 12-13 hours of web browsing and media consumption — enough to get everyone through a busy day. Charging was quick, using the included USB Type-C 65W PD AC adapter. From empty, it took: The Acer Swift AI 16 main feature is its massive haptic touchpad. It is indeed massive and easy to use. It includes MPP2.5 stylus support (Microsoft Pen Protocol) and although a stylus is not included in the box you can use your own supported stylus for drawing and sketching quite easily on such a big touchpad. The keyboard is comfortable to type on, with decent travel and feel, although I would much prefer curved keycaps. The display is big and bright and vibrant, as you would expect from a 3K OLED touch display. There really isn’t much this laptop does not include and it should be considered because of this. Acer AI is among the best manufacturer-included AI software I have ever used. It actually has some useful functionality, something rarely seen. It still includes the mostly useless Microsoft AI software but I doubt you will ever use that considering how much better the Acer software. Overall, the Acer Switch AI 16 is a great laptop, and if you are looking for a big laptop that includes everything you could ask for in terms of productivity, as well as a massive, drawing- and sketching-compatible touchpad, then you should consider this laptop. Priced around $2,999, it is not cheap but will fulfil all your needs. The reviewed Acer Swift 16 AI model is now available at Harvey Norman, with the 16GB and 512GB models to arrive in late Q1 2026. Scott is our resident open technology expert. If you can mod it, or want to use it your way, Scott has probably done it. From Laptops to phones, headphones and game consoles, he’s played with it and wants to see the next generation.Display
Connectivity
Software + performance
AI
Battery life
Final thoughts
The reviewed Acer Swift 16 AI model is now available at Harvey Norman, with the 16GB and 512GB models to arrive in late Q1 2026.
Scott is our resident open technology expert. If you can mod it, or want to use it your way, Scott has probably done it. From Laptops to phones, headphones and game consoles, he’s played with it and wants to see the next generation.
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