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Updated January 10, 2024·
If you prioritize battery life and an exceptionally silent device with an operating system exclusive to Apple, consider the MacBook Air. However, if you require more storage and a slightly larger screen with a higher refresh rate, which is beneficial for certain visual tasks, the Acer Swift Edge may be the right choice. Both laptops offer similar performance levels for general use, but for tasks that leverage unique Apple-designed chips and software integration, the MacBook Air may have an edge. The Acer comes with more ports which can be convenient, but if a sleek design and a lighter power brick matter to you, the MacBook Air stands out. Keep in mind, the MacBook Air may offer better build quality and more reliable onboard speakers. 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 (2022)
- Very good for software development
- Best in class overall build quality
- Excellent portability
- Excellent battery life
- Best in class speakers
- Best in class keyboard
Key differences
Engineering and Design
8.1
7.5
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.7/10
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air (2022) is good.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 offers a powerful AMD processor, ample RAM, and a dedicated GPU, along with a superior OLED screen suitable for engineering and design tasks, but it is slightly heavier and not as quiet in operation compared to the Apple MacBook Air. The MacBook Air, with the Apple M2 chip and high-quality IPS display, delivers a fanless, silent operation in a lighter and thinner package, emphasizing portability and silent working conditions, but has less storage and memory than the Acer, which can limit performance in demanding applications.
Screen Quality
8.8
7.6
16.0in
SIZE
13.6in
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1664
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
383.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
486.0 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, while the Apple MacBook Air has a better screen for content creation.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 boasts a high-resolution display with ample brightness, making it sharp and vivid for general activities and detail-oriented engineering tasks, while its color coverage appeals to design professionals. The MacBook Air (2022), with its renowned Retina display, provides clear and bright visuals along with wide color gamut support, well-suited for both general use and professional design work. Neither model, however, offers a high refresh rate, which is paramount for smooth visuals in gaming and 3D applications, leading to their less favorable performance in these areas.
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.
Portability
Very Good
Excellent
16.0in
SIZE
13.6in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
2.7 lbs
0.5in
THICKNESS
0.4in
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has excellent portability, while the Acer Swift Edge 16 has very good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.2
10.0
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) 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
$899
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has a price of $820 and the Apple MacBook Air (2022) costs $899.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.9
7.9
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1664
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
383.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
486.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
15.0 Hours
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
8.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.4/10
The Acer Swift Edge 16 and Apple MacBook Air (2022) are both good for general use.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 offers a larger screen, higher resolution, and more RAM which contributes to multitasking and visual clarity, making it a solid choice for general use; however, due to its larger size and weight, it offers less portability and shorter battery life compared to the Apple MacBook Air (2022), which has a highly portable design, longer battery life, and a quieter operation, alongside a lower resolution and less RAM which can still handle everyday tasks with great efficiency.
Gaming and AI
6.7
6.4
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.1/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1664
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 (2022) are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is better suited for gaming and 3D tasks because it has a dedicated AMD Radeon 780M graphics card and a high screen refresh rate of 120 Hz, which provides smoother visuals and better performance in graphic-intensive tasks and gaming.
Content Creation
8.1
7.9
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.7/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1664
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 (2022) 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
8.0
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1664
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Air (2022) to be very good for software development, while the Acer Swift Edge 16 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.
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How the Acer Swift Edge 16 and the Apple MacBook Air (2022) compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Swift Edge 16 | Apple MacBook Air (2022) |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$820 | $899 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | May 1, 2023 | July 1, 2022 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.1'' x 9.7'' x 0.51'' | 12'' x 8.5'' x 0.44'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 2.73 lbs | 2.7 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.08" | 11.97" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.68" | 8.46" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 7840U | Apple M2 | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 8 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
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 | 52.6 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 16" | 13.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | OLED | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 3200 x 2000 | 2560 x 1664 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 120Hz | 60Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 383 nits | 486 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.2/10 | 10/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 8.9/10 | 9.4/10 | |
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 | 10/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 10/10 | |
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 | 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
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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 (2022)
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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 (2022)
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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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.
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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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