I checked out the new Acer Swift Go 16 at CES — and this is one seriously promising laptop

The new Acer Swift Go 16 AI could be a sleeper hit laptop for 2026. Sure, it’s not all that visually different from previous Swift Go laptops, but as they say, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. You see, this ultraportable packs the heart of a jungle cat. Or to be more specific, an Intel Core “Panther Lake” CPU.

I briefly got to check out the Acer Swift Go 16 AI during a CES event, and was amazed by how thin and light this laptop was. In case you’re wondering, its smaller sibling, the Acer Swift Go 14 AI, is also extremely light for its size. While the MacBook Air-rivaling design is almost enough to win me over, it’s the potential of that Intel Core Series 3 chip that has me truly intrigued.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Acer Swift Go 16 AI and my early impressions of this svelte notebook.

Acer Swift Go 16 AI (2026) hands-on review: Price and availability

Both the Acer Swift Go 14 AI and Swift Go 16 AI will release in the second quarter of 2026. We’ll get exact pricing closer to launch. Hopefully, the ongoing RAMageddon crisis won't affect the laptop's price too much.

Acer Swift Go 16 AI (2026) hands-on review: Specs

Acer Swift Go 16 AI (2026) hands-on review: Design and display

Whether it's the 16- or 14-inch model, the Swift Go is one thin and light laptop. For example, “whoa” was the first word that involuntarily escaped my lips when I held the Swift Go 14. At 2.4 pounds, it’s lighter than the 2.7-pound MacBook Air M4. Apple’s laptop is smaller since it’s a 13-inch notebook instead of 14, but the fact that Acer’s machine is lighter (even if just a tad) than the MacBook Air is certainly intriguing.

Besides its weight, the Swift Go 14 and Go 16 are simply beautiful laptops to behold. The laser-etched aluminum chassis not only looks great, but feels smooth to the touch. You can even open the sturdy lid a full 180 degrees. And despite being a thin laptop, there’s no shortage of ports, as you get a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, and even an HDMI 2.1 port. Few ultraportables pack that many ports, so color me impressed!

Display-wise, you can opt for a 2K or 3K OLED touch panel. I didn’t get to see much beyond the Windows desktop, but I was impressed by the deep contrasts, vivid colors, and overall brightness. We’ll have to benchmark the display in the lab, but I expect strong results, based on what my eyes saw.

Acer Swift Go 16 AI hands-on review: Potential performance

Ironically, the thing I’m most excited about is also the element I’ve yet to have full hands-on experience with — the Panther Lake CPU’s performance. That said, what I’ve heard about Intel’s third iteration of the Core Ultra processor has me extremely excited.

Panther Lake promises to deliver 25% faster performance and 38% better efficiency over last gen’s Intel Core Ultra 2.

AI-wise, Intel claims an uplift from 120 trillion operations per second (TOPS) to 180 TOPS, thanks to an updated NPU and a more powerful GPU that’s sporting 12 Xe3 cores, which is a 50% bump over Lunar Lake.

The updated GPU features the latest XeSS tech that could give AAA games a serious boost even on non-gaming laptops like the Acer Swift Go 16 AI. Lastly, Intel claims over 24 hours of battery life, which is in MacBook Pro territory.

Acer Swift Go 16 AI hands-on review: Outlook

I’m eager to get the Acer Swift Go 16 AI and its larger sibling into our testing lab to see what these ultraportables can really dish out, especially in performance.

If we get the perfect storm of performance, battery life, easy portability, and a gorgeous display, the Acer Swift Go 16 AI and its smaller sibling could be a contender for one of the. best laptops. But as I said, let's keep our fingers crossed and hope the ongoing RAM price increases don't place Acer's svelte laptop out of people's price range.