OLED laptop screens are kind of like washing machines: Once you’ve lived with one, you don’t ever want to be without it. But they’re typically reserved for high-end designs or pricey screen upgrades, putting them well out of the budget category. Today’s deal from Acer seriously lowers the bar, chopping $400 off the price of the 14-inch Swift 3 and letting it go for a cool $499.99. Yes, with OLED.
This variation of the Swift 3 comes with an impressive Core i5-12500H processor (a little under two years old, but still extremely capable) with surprisingly powerful integrated Xe graphics, 8GB of DDR5 RAM (the minimum for Windows 11, I would say), and a roomy 512GB of storage. Notable extras include a backlit keyboard, 1080p webcam, fingerprint reader for Windows Hello logins, plus full-sized HDMI and two USB ports so you can leave the expansion hub at home. The battery lasts a reported 8 hours, and at 3.1 pounds (1.4 kilograms) it’s on the lighter side for a laptop this size.
But the screen is definitely the star of the show here. OLED means it has vibrant colors and perfect contrast, giving the laptop the kind of image quality seen in the latest high-end smartphones. The resolution is a definite upgrade over the usual 14-inch model too, at 2880×1800. That’s a taller-than-normal 16:10 aspect ratio.
The Swift 3 isn’t the fastest or sleekest laptop on the market, and it won’t pump out the polygons like a dedicated gaming machine. But for $500 it’s an absolute steal. If you want something with more multitasking power, there’s a variant with a Core i7 processor and 16GB of RAM going for $599.99…but you do have to give up the OLED screen.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.