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Updated January 10, 2024·
Choosing between the Acer Swift Go 14 and the Apple MacBook Air (2020) depends on your priorities. If extensive battery life and a top-notch build quality are crucial, the MacBook Air excels and also offers a silent, fanless operation. However, it has less storage and memory than the Acer, and if a touchscreen or additional RAM slots for future upgrades are important for you, then the Acer is the better option. For more graphically intensive tasks or engineering, the MacBook Air may fall short compared to the Acer. Also, the Acer is often slightly less expensive, so it's a more budget-friendly option with solid general use performance. 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 Go 14
- Excellent portability
Advantages of the Apple MacBook Air (2020)
- Good overall display quality
- Best in class overall build quality
- Excellent battery life
- Best in class speakers
- Best in class keyboard
Key differences
Screen Quality
6.8
7.5
14.0in
SIZE
13.3in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
300.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
395.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air has a better screen than the Acer Swift Go 14 for general use, AI, and engineering and design.
For general use, both the Acer Swift Go 14 and the MacBook Air provide pleasant viewing experiences due to their high-resolution displays with vibrant colors and ample brightness, which makes text sharp and video viewing comfortable. When it comes to engineering and design, these laptops cover a wide color gamut, vital for color-sensitive work, ensuring that designers see accurate colors when working on projects. However, for gaming and 3D applications, neither laptop excels, as their screens lack high refresh rates that are crucial for smooth motion and responsiveness, which are characteristics highly sought after in performance-oriented visual tasks.
Battery
8.0 Hours
15.0 Hours
The Acer Swift Go 14 has 8 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
7.4
10.0
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) has best in class build quality, while the Acer Swift Go 14 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$795
$1,000
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
The Acer Swift Go 14 has a price of $795 and the Apple MacBook Air (2020) costs $1,000.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.7
7.6
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
300.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
395.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
15.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
9.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.9/10
The Acer Swift Go 14 and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both good for general use.
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
6.4
6.2
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.9/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
10.0/10
The Acer Swift Go 14 and Apple MacBook Air (2020) are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The Acer Swift Go 14, with an Intel Iris Xe GPU, offers moderate gaming and 3D capabilities, but its 60Hz screen refresh rate doesn't support the high frame rates preferred for fast-paced games. The Apple MacBook Air struggles with gaming mainly because many popular games are not compatible with macOS, although its Apple M1 GPU is sufficient for fair 3D performance; it also shares the same screen refresh limitation as the Acer Swift Go 14.
Engineering and Design
7.2
7.3
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Acer Swift Go 14 are both good for engineering and design.
The Acer Swift Go 14 is equipped with a power-efficient Intel CPU and more RAM, making it suitable for demanding engineering software, while the MacBook Air offers an Apple M1 chip with integrated graphics that's known for efficiency and smooth performance in design tasks. Screen quality is superior on the MacBook Air, which has a higher resolution display with better color accuracy, although the Swift Go 14 is no slouch with a solid IPS panel; both laptops are comparable in portability, with the MacBook Air having a slight edge in speaker and keyboard quality along with silent operation, while the Acer has a touchscreen and more connectivity options.
Content Creation
7.6
7.8
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Acer Swift Go 14 are both 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
7.6
7.7
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
16.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
The Apple MacBook Air (2020) and Acer Swift Go 14 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
Excellent
Very Good
14.0in
SIZE
13.3in
2.7 lbs
WEIGHT
2.8 lbs
0.5in
THICKNESS
0.6in
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Acer Swift Go 14 to have excellent portability, while the Apple MacBook Air (2020) has very good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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How the Acer Swift Go 14 and the Apple MacBook Air (2020) compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Swift Go 14 | Apple MacBook Air (2020) |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$795 | $1,000 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | April 1, 2023 | November 1, 2020 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 12.3'' x 8.6'' x 0.59'' | 12'' x 8.4'' x 0.63'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 2.76 lbs | 2.8 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 12.32" | 11.97" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 8.58" | 8.36" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i7-1355U | Apple M1 | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 8 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 0 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 256 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 8 Hours | 15 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 65 Wh | 49.9 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 14" | 13.3" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1200 | 2560 x 1600 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 60Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 300 nits | 395 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.4/10 | 10/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 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 | 8.8/10 | 10/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8/10 | 9.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 6.5/10 | 9.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 1440p | 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 | 4 | 3 | |
Shopping
Acer Swift Go 14
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Dig into reviews and images
PCMag
Mark Knapp | May 2023
"The Acer Swift Go 14 is a surprising machine. Its performance, display, and battery life leave little to be desired from a device at this price. You might think it’d be cheaper given the “Go” in the name, or thinner given its close competition with thin-and-light laptops, but it manages to strike a decent enough balance between its capabilities and hardware to really stand out as an exceptional value."
Apple MacBook Air (2020)
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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 Go 14 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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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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