The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is a budget-friendly option with a smaller storage capacity and less memory, suitable for general use tasks. Its touchscreen and higher portability score make it a good choice for on-the-go productivity. However, the Acer Swift Edge 16, while more expensive, offers a larger, higher-quality OLED display and significantly improved performance for more demanding applications like 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering. It has ample storage, more memory, and a better processor. For intensive gaming or creative tasks demanding color accuracy, the Swift Edge 16's screen provides superior color coverage. While the Aspire 3 has a slightly longer battery life and is lighter for travel, the Swift Edge 16's advanced features account for its greater cost. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has no clear advantages over the Acer Swift Edge 16.
Advantages of the Acer Swift Edge 16
Good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Key differences
General Use
6.5/10
7.9/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
383.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.7/10
8.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.8/10
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
5.8/10
6.7/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.0/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is only fair for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
5.9/10
8.1/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.8/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.0/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is poor.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is better suited for engineering and design due to its higher-performing AMD processor, double the RAM, and superior AMD Radeon GPU, along with an OLED screen that provides better resolution and color accuracy critical for design work. The Aspire 3 Spin 14, while offering versatility as a convertible tablet, has a lower-tier Intel processor and less RAM and GPU power, which could limit performance in demanding engineering software, and its IPS display, while decent, doesn't match the screen quality of the Swift Edge.
Content Creation
7.0/10
8.1/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.8/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is very good for content creation, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
6.9/10
7.9/10
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.7/10
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is good for software development, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
6.2/10
8.8/10
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
3200 x 2000
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
383.0 nits
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has a better screen than the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 offers a satisfactory display for everyday tasks, but its lower resolution and modest brightness may not satisfy users looking for crisp, vivid visuals. The Acer Swift Edge 16 shines with its high-resolution screen that delivers sharp images and brilliant colors, making it ideal for professionals in engineering and design who require accurate color representation for their work. However, both laptops fall short for gamers and 3D work, as they lack high refresh rates that provide smoother visuals and enhanced responsiveness.
Battery
8.0 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has 8 hours of battery life. The Acer Swift Edge 16 has 7 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Very Good
Very Good
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
2.7 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.5in
The Acer Swift Edge 16 and Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 both have very good portability, though the Acer Swift Edge 16 has somewhat better portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.2/10
7.2/10
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has good build quality, while the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$418
$820
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 has a price of $418 and the Acer Swift Edge 16 costs $820.
Olivier Martin, Ryan Lim, and Yannick Khong | November 2023
"The Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 is okay for school use. It feels reasonably well-built, and its compact design makes it easy to carry around. The battery lasts around seven hours of light use, so you only have to plug it in for a short time to get through a typical school day. The overall user experience is so-so; the display looks sharp but dim, and the touchpad is fairly responsive, albeit small."
"The Acer Swift Edge 16 is a solid super thin-and-light that pairs a large, gorgeous 16-inch display with portable design that rivals the weight of LG’s superlight Gram 16. Remarkably, Acer achieves this at a lower price point without sacrificing performance. Boring design and disappointing battery life hold the laptop back from stardom, but its rivals frequently suffer in these areas, too. That makes the Swift Edge 16 an alluring value pick."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 Spin 14 or the Acer Swift Edge 16
About Acer
Acer is a prominent Taiwanese electronics brand which makes a wide range of laptops, with multiple product lines catering to personal use, gaming, and business use. They are renowned for having exceptional value for money, as they frequently offer good specifications at a lower price than other manufacturers.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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