The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for general use, while the Acer Swift X (2022) 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.
Engineering and Design
7.5/10
8.4/10
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.5/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
5.0/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Swift X (2022) 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
7.8/10
8.6/10
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.5/10
2240 x 1400
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for content creation, while the Acer Swift X (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
7.7/10
8.6/10
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2240 x 1400
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for software development, while the Acer Swift X (2022) 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.
Screen Quality
7.0/10
9.4/10
14.0in
SIZE
16.2in
2240 x 1400
RESOLUTION
3456 x 2234
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
Mini LED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
330.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
497.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Acer Swift X for general use, AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
10.0 Hours
17.5 Hours
The Acer Swift X has 10 hours of battery life. The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 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.
Portability
Very Good
Good
14.0in
SIZE
16.2in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
4.7 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Acer Swift X (2022) has very good portability, while the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.6/10
10.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has best in class build quality, while the Acer Swift X (2022) has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) to be good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Swift X (2022) is only fair.
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.
Cost
$1,313
$1,319
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
$2,000
The Acer Swift X (2022) has a price of $1,313 and the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) costs $1,319.
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How the Acer Swift X (2022) and the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) compare to other laptops
"The Swift X is an Acer for entry-level gaming. With the entry-level graphics chip, our Acer not only beats every single current AMD and Intel iGPU, but also Intel's dGPU Iris Xe Max. However, despite being a GDDR6 version, the GTX does not match the expectations set by its own counterparts from our database. This may be a result of the single fan, which only produces moderate noise levels under load. The performance level of the thin and light 1.4 kg (~3.09 lbs) 14-inch laptop is impressive nonetheless."
"The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023: M2 Max challenges GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. The new MacBook Pro 16 2023 with the M2 Max SoC is the most powerful laptop Apple has on sale right now. While we do not get the expected performance and efficiency improvements from completely new 3 nm chips, which we expected ahead of the launch, the 2023 model is still a solid update. The CPU of the M2 Max can be up to 20 % faster than the old model and we also see an advantage of 25-30 % for the GPU with 38 cores. However, both components also consume more power, so the efficiency did not change that much under maximum load."
Get a great deal on the Acer Swift X (2022) or the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (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.
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
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Laptops evaluated
48,640
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13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
116,295
Recommendations made
25,198
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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.