Acer Swift 3 - 2020 (SF314-42)

The Swift 3’s sturdy build, decent battery, and compact form render it a solid choice for its target demographic: students and anyone else looking for a portable device that won’t break the bank. It’s not the best laptop on the market in any of those categories — but it’s one of the best at its price point in all of them.

But just because the processor delivers the speed of a more expensive laptop, doesn't suddenly make everything else about the 14-inch Swift 3 as amazing. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty to like about it. For example, at 2.7 pounds (1.2 kg), it's incredibly light for a 14-inch laptop at its $620 starting price. It has an aluminum and aluminum-magnesium body, a backlit keyboard and a responsive fingerprint reader for quick sign-ins. Its Wi-Fi 6 gives you a little wireless future-proofing. And while its battery life is good -- it got just about eight hours in my testing -- it can be quickly charged with the included barrel-style adapter or through its USB-C port.

The Acer Swift 3 has a lacking display, and the keyboard probably won't be for everyone, but otherwise, this is a solid laptop. The AMD Ryzen 7 4700U CPU is powerful, the battery lasts all day, and it's all available at a very attractive price.

The latest Acer Swift 3 (SF314-42-R9YN) is an excellent ultrabook for most users, especially those looking for a reliable laptop for office, home or college use; and, one that can be had affordably but still offer a lightweight design and pretty decent battery life.

Acer offers, with the Swift 3 SF314-42, a high-performance 14-inch laptop that does not suffer from any serious weaknesses. The Swift 3 series continues to deserve a brighter and more colour accurate display, though.

The Acer Swift 3, armed with a Ryzen 7 4700U CPU, offers mind-blowing performance, but it has a dim display.

The Ryzen 7 4700U in the Acer Swift 3 delivers unheard-of performance at this bargain price range.

AMD’s new Ryzen 7 4700U processor breathes life into an otherwise unremarkable notebook, allowing it to surpass more-expensive competitors on performance, though the display and build quality aren't great.