Acer Swift X 16 (2022) tested: 16-inch laptop with many upgrades uses Intel Arc A370M

In our test, the Acer Swift X 16, a 16-inch multimedia laptop, shows many improvements compared to its predecessor: an excellent performance with the Intel Core i7-1260P, a very fast Western Digital Black PCIe 4.0 SSD with a 1-TB capacity, 16 GB of soldered DDR5-4800 RAM (quad-channel), and Intel Arc A370M graphics unit.

However, the latter isn't as fast as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti in comparison devices such as Dells' Inspiron 16 Plus or Asus' Vivobook Pro 16X. The bright, 380 nits display with a high, 2,560 x 1,600 pixel resolution in the 16:10 format is another welcome improvement compared to the too dark FHD display in the 16:9 format from the predecessor. The new display also covers 100% of the sRGB color space, allowing simple video and image processing.

Despite the powerful CPU, the battery life has increased by 1 hour to an acceptable 9 hours. The metal case continues to be robust, even if the lid can be depressed easily, and the device is compact and light at 1.75 kg (~3.86 lb). The equipment has improved with HDMI 2.1 and a 1080p webcam and otherwise continues to offer two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, and two M.2-2280 slots. However, the otherwise fast SSD suffers from thermal throttling.

Despite a short keystroke, the keyboard is one of the better ones that we can find in multimedia laptops, since the keys have a clear and well-adjusted pressure point with sufficient resistance. The newly introduced touchpad called "OceanGlass" by Acer is slippery, which makes it imprecise.

In addition, there are some hotspots under heavy load, although they shouldn't be much of a problem in stationary use. The fan behavior is less than optimal, so you should use the available Silent mode, which only limits the graphics performance. The speakers are abysmal, which is incomprehensible for a multimedia laptop, and the soldered-in RAM is limited to 16 GB.

On the other hand, the (German) price is hefty at 1,500 Euros (~$1,482). The only alternative model is available for about 1,300 Euros (~$1,285), and while it is just as fast with a Core i5-1240P, it offers a slightly lower 512-GB SSD. (In the US,) Amazon offers an alternative model for currently $1,049.

You can find additional details and in-depth analyses in our extensive review of the Acer Swift X 16 (2022).