The Acer Swift Edge 16 has a better screen than the MacBook Air 15 for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design, while the MacBook Air 15 has a better screen for content creation.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
7.0 Hours
15.0 Hours
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has 7 hours of battery life. The MacBook Air 15 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
10.0/10
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) 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
$1,299
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has a price of $820 and the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) costs $1,299.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) to be very good for general use, while the Acer Swift Edge 16 is good.
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
6.7/10
6.6/10
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.5/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1864
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 15 (2024) are both only fair for gaming and AI.
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
8.1/10
7.8/10
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Acer Swift Edge 16 to be very good for engineering and design, while the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) is good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
8.1/10
8.1/10
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1864
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Swift Edge 16 and Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) are both very 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
7.9/10
8.2/10
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1864
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
10.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) 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.
Portability
Very Good
Very Good
16.0in
SIZE
15.3in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
3.3 lbs
0.5in
THICKNESS
0.4in
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) and Acer Swift Edge 16 both have very good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Acer Swift Edge 16 and the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) compare to other laptops
"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 Swift Edge 16 or the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024)
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.
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
104,595
Recommendations made
22,663
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.