CES 2018 | Acer Swift 7 (SF714-51T) is less than 9 mm thick with an integrated LTE modem

We last published on the Acer Swift 7 back in December of 2016 and so now is definitely time for the manufacturer to refresh its premier thin-and-light notebook. The 2018 Swift 7 coming to CES next week accentuates narrow bezels, an always-on integrated 4G LTE modem, and an even thinner aluminum body form factor than the already thin 2016 model.

Firstly, the narrow bezels have allowed Acer to upgrade the size of the display from 13.3-inch on the outgoing model to a 14-inch Gorilla Glass touchscreen on this latest redesign. Resolution appears to be limited to 1080p for now whereas competing Ultrabooks, like the Spectre 13 or Yoga 920, have 4K UHD options. The second major addition is the built-in Intel XMM 4G LTE modem with eSIM capabilities that Intel was clamoring about early last year. Users can surf the net when away from a WLAN source without the need to insert any SIM cards so long as the carrier supports the feature. Fortunately, a nano-SIM slot is still available for users who prefer to connect the traditional way.

Lastly, the new chassis design is a hair thinner than the outgoing model (8.98 mm vs. 9.98 mm) which is apparently enough for Acer to call it the thinnest Windows laptop in the world. In comparison, the Spectre 13 and Zenbook 3 are 10.4 mm and 11.9 mm thick, respectively. The key disadvantage for Acer is that the Swift 7 utilizes passively cooled 4.5 W Intel Core ix CPUs whereas most Ultrabooks are equipped with 15 W U-class processors. Since there is no 4.5 W family of processors in the 8th gen Core ix series, the Swift 7 must continue to rely on the older 4.5 W 7th gen Core Y series.

Connectivity options are again limited to just two USB Type-C ports with up to 8 GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 256 GB PCIe SSD, backlit keyboard, 2x2 MIMO wireless-ac, and 10-hour battery life rounding off the core specifications. The outgoing model did not support Thunderbolt 3 and Acer has not mentioned if the 2018 refresh will be the same.

The Swift 7 launches in North America this coming March for a starting price of $1700 USD while users in EMEA will get it a month later for 1700 Euros.

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