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What we think
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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Acer Swift 3 is a more budget-friendly laptop that provides a balance between performance and portability, with decent battery life and touch-enabled display, which makes it suitable for general use and light engineering tasks. It has a lower weight for easier transport. However, the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16, despite being a pricier option, offers a higher quality OLED touchscreen with a much higher resolution, larger storage, and more RAM, enhancing its capabilities for more intensive engineering tasks, 3D rendering, machine learning, and even gaming, albeit with shorter battery life and a heavier build. If you prioritize performance and screen quality over cost and portability, the ThinkPad Z16 could be a better choice. 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
Advantages of the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16
- Very good for general use
- Very good for engineering and design
- Very good for software development
- Very good for content creation
- Very good overall display quality
- Very good overall build quality
- Best in class speakers
- Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.7
8.6
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
309.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
393.0 nits
12.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
8.9/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.8/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for general use, while the Acer Swift 3 is good.
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 stands out for general use because of its superior screen quality with an OLED display, higher resolution, and better color accuracy, alongside a more powerful CPU and double the amount of RAM than the Acer Swift 3, which nonetheless offers decent performance and portability due to its lighter weight and longer battery life, making it a solid option for day-to-day tasks. While the ThinkPad Z16 excels with a larger storage capacity and enhanced keyboard and speaker quality, the Swift 3 maintains a competitive edge with excellent portability and heat management, though it may be less suitable for the most demanding tasks given its less robust CPU and GPU.
Engineering and Design
7.1
8.4
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Swift 3 is good.
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 stands out for engineering and design use with its high-resolution OLED screen, doubling both the RAM and storage capacity, and offering a potent AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and discrete AMD GPU, which are critical for intensive tasks; in contrast, the Acer Swift 3, while it includes a solid Intel i5 CPU and integrated graphics, has less RAM, a standard full HD IPS display, and less storage, putting it at a disadvantage for more demanding work. Despite these differences, the Acer Swift 3 is significantly lighter and smaller, making it more portable, but engineering professionals might prefer the ThinkPad Z16's superior CPU, GPU, and screen quality for their more complex computational and visual requirements.
Content Creation
7.6
8.5
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for content creation, while the Acer Swift 3 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
7.6
8.2
7.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for software development, while the Acer Swift 3 is good.
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
6.8
8.5
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
309.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
393.0 nits
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has a better screen than the Acer Swift 3 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Acer Swift 3 offers a screen that balances resolution and brightness, making it suitable for everyday tasks and detailed work in engineering and design due to its color accuracy. However, its lower refresh rate results in less smooth visuals, which is not ideal for gaming or 3D applications. The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16, with its higher color gamut coverage, delivers superior color precision for professional engineering and design tasks, yet like the Swift 3, its modest refresh rate hampers gaming and 3D performance.
Battery
12.0 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Acer Swift 3 has 12 hours of battery life. The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 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
Good
14.0in
SIZE
16.0in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
4.2 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Acer Swift 3 has very good portability, while the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4
8.0
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has very good build quality, while the Acer Swift 3 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$500
$1,120
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Acer Swift 3 has a price of $500 and the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 costs $1,120.
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Key similarities
Gaming and AI
6.3
6.7
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 and Acer Swift 3 are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 outperforms the Acer Swift 3 in gaming and 3D due to its dedicated AMD RX 6500M graphics card, which is more capable than the integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics in the Swift 3. Although both laptops have screens with similar refresh rates, the ThinkPad Z16's higher resolution OLED display also offers better screen quality, enhancing the overall visual gaming and 3D experience.
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How the Acer Swift 3 and the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Swift 3 | Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$500 | $1,120 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | May 1, 2023 | May 1, 2023 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 12.6'' x 8.3'' x 0.63'' | 14'' x 9.4'' x 0.62'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 2.76 lbs | 4.27 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 12.6" | 13.95" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 8.3" | 9.35" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i5-1240P | AMD Ryzen 7 6850H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 32 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 0 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 2048 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 12 Hours | 7 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 56 Wh | 72 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 14" | 16" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | OLED | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 3840 x 2400 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 60Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 309 nits | 393 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.4/10 | 8/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 8.9/10 | 7.9/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | Yes | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 8.8/10 | 8/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 7/10 | 9/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 9.6/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1080p | 1080p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | Yes | Yes | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 2 | 0 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 3 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 3 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | N/A | |
Shopping
Acer Swift 3
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Sebastian Jentsch | February 2022
"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."
Lenovo ThinkPad Z16
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Dig into reviews and images
PCWorld
Matthew S. Smith | September 2022
"Lenovo’s ThinkPad Z16 tries has some success in its effort to tweak the ThinkPad formula. The laptop is attractive, yet still tame, and material quality is on par with the best Windows competition. I also like the smooth, responsive haptic touchpad and the wide range of modern connectivity. Yet the Z16 doesn’t fix ThinkPad’s typical weakness: value. Starting around $1,550, and more typically near $1,700, the Z16 finds itself facing alternatives that have better performance or an improved display for the same price, or less."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift 3 or the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16
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 Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
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Why trust us
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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About the laptop team
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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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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.
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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.
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