If you prioritize portability and battery life, the Acer Swift 3 with its lighter weight and longer battery life may suit you better for on-the-go use. However, if you need more storage space and a larger screen for tasks like graphics work or multitasking, the ASUS Vivobook 16 offers a bigger display and double the storage but is heavier with a shorter battery life. For engineering, both offer similar performance, but the Acer Swift 3 is more portable. Neither is ideal for intensive gaming, though both can handle general use and less demanding engineering tasks well. 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 Swift 3
Very good portability
Very good battery life
Good keyboard
Advantages of the ASUS Vivobook 16
The ASUS Vivobook 16 has no clear advantages over the Acer Swift 3.
Key differences
Screen Quality
6.8/10
6.4/10
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
309.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
295.0 nits
The Acer Swift 3 has a better screen than the ASUS Vivobook 16 for general use, engineering and design, and software development.
For general use, the Acer Swift 3 delivers vibrant colors and sharper images due to its higher resolution and brightness, whereas the ASUS Vivobook 16, while adequate, doesn't match the visual clarity and illumination of the Swift 3. In engineering and design tasks, the Swift 3 surpasses the Vivobook 16 with better coverage of professional color spaces, allowing for more precise color work. However, neither laptop is ideal for 3D work or gaming, as they both lack high refresh rates, although they provide sufficient resolution and decent panel types for moderate graphic detail.
Battery
12.0 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Acer Swift 3 has 12 hours of battery life. The ASUS Vivobook 16 has 8 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
Good
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Acer Swift 3 has very good portability, while the ASUS Vivobook 16 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$500
$629
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
The Acer Swift 3 has a price of $500 and the ASUS Vivobook 16 costs $629.
The Acer Swift 3 and ASUS Vivobook 16 are both good for general use.
The Acer Swift 3 offers a balance of CPU performance and portability with its lightweight design and touch-enabled screen, making it a solid choice for everyday tasks and mobility. In contrast, the ASUS Vivobook 16, with its larger screen and more storage, caters more to those who prioritize screen real estate and data capacity over portability, but it trades off some battery life and lightness compared to the Acer.
Gaming and AI
6.3/10
6.3/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The ASUS Vivobook 16 and Acer Swift 3 are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Acer Swift 3 and ASUS Vivobook 16 are both considered fair for gaming and 3D largely because they are equipped with integrated graphics (Intel Iris Xe and AMD Vega 8 respectively), and standard screen refresh rates of 60Hz, which can handle some gaming and 3D tasks but aren't optimal for high-end gaming or professional 3D work. While suitable for casual gaming, the CPUs and screen quality are adequate but not exceptional for these purposes, with the Acer Swift 3 having a slightly higher brightness and color coverage which may slightly enhance visuals compared to the ASUS Vivobook 16.
Engineering and Design
7.1/10
7.0/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Acer Swift 3 and ASUS Vivobook 16 are both good for engineering and design.
The Acer Swift 3, with its capable Intel i5 CPU, Iris Xe integrated GPU, and high screen color coverage, offers balanced performance for engineering and design tasks; it's more portable with a lighter frame and longer battery life. On the other hand, the ASUS Vivobook 16 features a powerful AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and Vega 8 graphics, a larger storage capacity, and a higher resolution screen, which is beneficial for detailed design work despite its heavier build and shorter battery life.
Content Creation
7.6/10
7.5/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Swift 3 and ASUS Vivobook 16 are both good for content creation.
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
7.6/10
7.3/10
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.7/10
The Acer Swift 3 and ASUS Vivobook 16 are both good for software development.
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.
Build Quality
7.4/10
7.0/10
The Acer Swift 3 and ASUS Vivobook 16 both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Acer Swift 3 and the ASUS Vivobook 16 compare to other laptops
"With the Swift 3, Acer delivers a 14-inch laptop with a sleek, slim metal chassis. The latter is of high quality and sturdy enough for everyday use, which is a real plus point among the 700-Euro (~$798) models. A new feature is Thunderbolt 4 in the Type-C format for peripherals or even displays (DisplayPort via Type-C). Unfortunately, a card reader is still missing, and the RAM is completely onboard, so there are no upgrade options here. Acer's 14-incher is affordable, yet it does everything most would want from a truly mobile laptop: Long battery life, a great display, quality, sufficient ports, light weight, and low noise and heat emissions."
Olivier Martin, Ryan Lim, Yannick Khong | May 2023
"The ASUS Vivobook 16 M1605 (2023) is a budget Windows laptop. It's available with various AMD Ryzen 5000 and 7000 U-series CPUs and integrated graphics. You can only get 8GB of RAM; however, there's an empty SO-DIMM slot if you want to upgrade it. It has an FHD+ (1920 x 1200) 16:10 IPS display, a full-size keyboard with a Numpad, a 720p webcam, and Wi-Fi 6E wireless connectivity. Ports include three USB-As, one USB-C, an HDMI, and a headphone jack. The USB-C supports charging but no video output."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift 3 or the ASUS Vivobook 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.
About ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
125,295
Recommendations made
27,148
Consumer hours saved
About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.