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The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·
The Acer Swift Edge 16 is less expensive and offers a larger OLED screen with high contrast and color accuracy, making it excellent for viewing and editing images; it also has a generous amount of storage and a more recent release date. It's lightweight and its AMD configuration is aimed at general use and multitasking, but its battery life is shorter than the MacBook's. In contrast, the Apple MacBook Pro 14, which is more costly, is designed with creative professionals in mind, given its high build quality, superior speaker and webcam, and longer battery life; the Apple M1 Pro chip excels in tasks like video editing, 3D work, and software development, making it ideal for engineering and performance-heavy tasks. However, it is heavier and provides less storage at its base price. The MacBook is also not suitable for intensive gaming despite its hardware boasting ray tracing and DLSS capabilities. 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
- The Acer Swift Edge 16 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021).
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
- Very good for general use
- Very good for software development
- Excellent overall display quality
- Best in class overall build quality
- Excellent battery life
- Best in class speakers
- Best in class keyboard
Key differences
Screen Quality
8.8
9.2
16.0in
SIZE
14.2in
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
3024 x 1964
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
383.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
479.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the Acer Swift Edge 16 for general use, AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 offers a sharp and bright display with high resolution, ideal for everyday tasks, and supports wide color gamuts, making it suitable for engineering and design work where color accuracy is key. The Apple MacBook Pro 14 excels in both display sharpness and brightness for general use, and its support for professional color spaces ensures precise color reproduction critical for engineering and design applications. However, both laptops have screens with lower refresh rates, meaning while they have vibrant, detailed visuals for static images, they aren't optimized for the smooth motion required for high-end gaming or detailed 3D work which would benefit from higher refresh rates.
Battery
7.0 Hours
13.5 Hours
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has 7 hours of battery life. The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 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 Pro 14 (2021) 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
$1,905
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Acer Swift Edge 16 has a price of $820 and the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) costs $1,905.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.9
8.4
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
3024 x 1964
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
383.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
479.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
13.5 Hours
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
8.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.5/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) to be very good for general use, while the Acer Swift Edge 16 is good.
The Acer Swift Edge 16 offers a balance with its ample storage and a light build suitable for portability, while its OLED screen delivers vibrant colors and deep blacks, making it good for everyday tasks. The Apple MacBook Pro 14, on the other hand, offers a longer battery life, a more color-accurate Mini LED display, and an overall higher build quality which contributes to it being considered very good for general use, despite a higher weight which slightly reduces its ease of carrying around.
Gaming and AI
6.7
6.8
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.7/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
3024 x 1964
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.7/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and Acer Swift Edge 16 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
8.2
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.8/10
4.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and Acer Swift Edge 16 are both very good for engineering and design.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) offers a custom M1 Pro chip with an integrated 14-core GPU that excels in engineering tasks, further supported by a high-quality Mini LED display, which results in exceptional color accuracy and brightness, thus it is very good for engineering and design use. The Acer Swift Edge 16, while lighter and featuring a capable AMD Ryzen CPU and Radeon GPU alongside a vivid OLED screen with superb contrast, falls short of the MacBook's screen quality, making it merely good for similar use cases.
Content Creation
8.1
8.4
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.8/10
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
3024 x 1964
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) and Acer Swift Edge 16 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
8.3
8.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3200 x 2000
RESOLUTION
3024 x 1964
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) 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
14.2in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
3.5 lbs
0.5in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Acer Swift Edge 16 and Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) 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 Pro 14 (2021) compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Swift Edge 16 | Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$820 | $1,905 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | May 1, 2023 | October 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.1'' x 9.7'' x 0.51'' | 12.3'' x 8.7'' x 0.61'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 2.73 lbs | 3.5 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.08" | 12.31" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.68" | 8.71" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 7840U | Apple M1 Pro (8C) | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 0 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 7 Hours | 13.5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 54 Wh | 69.6 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 16" | 14.2" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | OLED | Mini LED | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 3200 x 2000 | 3024 x 1964 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 120Hz | 120Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 383 nits | 479 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.2/10 | 10/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 8.9/10 | 8.6/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | Yes | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 8/10 | 8.8/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 6.8/10 | 9.5/10 | |
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 | 3 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | N/A | 4 | |
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 Pro 14 (2021)
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Andreas Osthoff | January 2023
"In the Apple MacBook Pro 14 2023, the M2 Pro is slowed down. From the improved 5nm process, the new M2 Pro is a very solid upgrade. Graphics performance has increased by about 25% in tandem with a clear improvement in efficiency. The processor has also seen a performance leap of up to 20%, but this is accompanied by an increase in consumption of up to 25%. Fundamentally, Apple its maintaining its advantage over AMD and Intel, particularly in optimized applications where the results are very good in view of the comparatively low power consumption."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift Edge 16 or the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021)
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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