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The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·
If price is a primary concern and your tasks are mostly general usage, like web browsing or office productivity, the Apple MacBook Air (2020) will serve you well with good battery life and portability. Choose the Acer Swift Edge 16 if you need higher performance for activities like video editing, 3D modeling, or if future-proofing is important, acknowledging that it's less portable and will cost more. The MacBook Air is also preferred for those within the Apple ecosystem, ensuring seamless integration with other Apple devices. 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 Edge 16
- Very good for engineering and design
- Very good for content creation
- Very good overall display quality
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air (2020)
- Best in class overall build quality
- Excellent battery life
- Best in class speakers
- Best in class keyboard
Key differences
Engineering and Design
8.1
7.3
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) is good.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is well-suited for engineering and design tasks owing to its powerful CPU, discrete GPU, ample RAM, and high-resolution OLED screen, providing vivid colors and sharp images for detailed work. Meanwhile, the Apple MacBook Air (2020) with its efficient M1 chip offers great battery life, a silent fanless design, and excellent build quality, making it extremely portable and reliable for on-the-go engineering tasks despite having less RAM and no discrete GPU compared to the Acer.
Screen Quality
8.8
7.5
16.0in
SIZE
13.3in
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
383.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
395.0 nits
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has a better screen than the Apple MacBook Air for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, and content creation.
When selecting a laptop for general use, the Acer Swift Edge 16's high resolution and brightness make it stand out, providing clear, vivid images for everyday tasks; however, its refresh rate is lower, which detracts from the gaming experience where smoother motion is key. For engineering and design professionals, the Acer Swift Edge with its wide color gamuts will display more accurate colors, which is crucial for detailed design work. Despite having good resolution and brightness, the MacBook Air's more moderate color gamut coverage and lower refresh rate make it less optimal for color-critical tasks and high-speed gaming, respectively.
Battery
7.0 Hours
15.0 Hours
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has 7 hours of battery life. The Apple MacBook Air has 15 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.
Build Quality
7.2
10.0
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has best in class build quality, while the Acer Swift Edge 16 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$820
$1,000
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has a price of $820 and the Apple MacBook Air (2020) costs $1,000.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.9
7.6
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
383.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
395.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
15.0 Hours
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
8.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.9/10
The Acer Swift Edge 16 and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both good for general use.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 offers a robust performance for general use with a higher RAM capacity and a powerful AMD CPU, alongside a larger, high-resolution OLED screen, making it suitable for multitasking and viewing rich content. In comparison, the Apple MacBook Air (2020) provides an excellent balance of performance with its efficient Apple M1 chip and great battery life in a slightly more portable package, alongside a high-quality display and keyboard, better suited for on-the-go usage with reliable performance.
Gaming and AI
6.7
6.2
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.9/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
10.0/10
The Acer Swift Edge 16 and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is equipped with an AMD Radeon GPU and a high screen refresh rate of 120, which makes it superior for gaming and 3D applications compared to the Apple MacBook Air (2020) with its Apple M1 GPU and a lower refresh rate of 60. Additionally, the MacBook Air's macOS may limit the availability of popular games which predominantly support Windows.
Content Creation
8.1
7.8
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Acer Swift Edge 16 to be very good for content creation, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) 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
7.9
7.7
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
The Acer Swift Edge 16 and Apple MacBook Air (2020) 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.
Portability
Very Good
Very Good
16.0in
SIZE
13.3in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
2.8 lbs
0.5in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Acer Swift Edge 16 both have very good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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How the Acer Swift Edge 16 and the Apple MacBook Air (2020) compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Swift Edge 16 | Apple MacBook Air (2020) |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$820 | $1,000 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | May 1, 2023 | November 1, 2020 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.1'' x 9.7'' x 0.51'' | 12'' x 8.4'' x 0.63'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 2.73 lbs | 2.8 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.08" | 11.97" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.68" | 8.36" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 7840U | Apple M1 | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 8 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 0 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 256 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 7 Hours | 15 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 54 Wh | 49.9 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 16" | 13.3" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | OLED | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 3200 x 2000 | 2560 x 1600 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 120Hz | 60Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 383 nits | 395 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.2/10 | 10/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 8.9/10 | 9/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | Yes | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 8/10 | 10/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 6.8/10 | 9.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 9.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1080p | 720p | |
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 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 1 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | N/A | 3 | |
Shopping
Acer Swift Edge 16
See more
Dig into reviews and images
PCWorld
Matthew S. Smith | October 2023
"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."
Apple MacBook Air (2020)
See more
Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Andreas Osthoff | July 2022
"The Apple MacBook Air M2 Entry is a very good, but too expensive daily MacBook. The new MacBook Air M2 is undoubtedly once again a very good mobile companion, but we are still a little bit disappointed on a very high level, which is definitely connected with the increased price point. The new chassis is extremely slim and the front edge is no problem during typing, but the bezels are pretty wide for a modern device and in addition with the vertical space required for the notch, the new Air has larger footprint than some Windows rivals."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift Edge 16 or the Apple MacBook Air (2020)
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 Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
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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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CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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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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