Are you searching for a new 16-inch productivity laptop that is perfect for school or work? We recently reviewed two quality products that we'd recommend in a heartbeat, each with its own positives and negatives: the Acer Swift Go 16 and the Asus Zenbook S16.
We pit the two laptops against one another in price, ports, display, performance, graphics, and battery life, and the competition got far closer than you might expect, which is bound to happen when two excellent laptops go toe-to-toe.
Without further ado, let's compare the Acer Swift Go 16 and Asus Zenbook S16 to see which 16-inch laptop is the king.
Acer Swift Go 16 vs Zenbook S16: Specs
Acer Swift Go 16 vs Zenbook S16: Price
Price is everything in a world where laptops can cost thousands of dollars. Although these laptops are similar in many ways and are fantastic options for your next 16-inch work or school companion, the cheaper one will be off to a headstart in this race.
The Acer Swift Go 16 that we tested is available for $1,199 at Amazon and comes with an Intel Ultra 9 185H processor, Intel Arc integrated graphics, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, and a 16-inch, 1,920 x 1,080-pixel display at 60Hz refresh rate.
The Zenbook S16 is quite a bit more expensive, with our review configuration coming in at $1,699 at Asus' website. However, there's a good reason for this: it includes an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, and a 16-inch, 2,880 x 1,800-pixel OLED display at 120Hz.
Due to its far superior panel, it's not much of a surprise that it's more expensive, but since the Swift Go 16 manages to hit a price point of $500 cheaper, the winner here is obvious. Even if we're generous and look at the Zenbook S16's starting price of $1,399 at Best Buy, the Swift Go 16's price point is still more competitive.
Winner: Acer Swift Go 16
Acer Swift Go 16 vs Zenbook S16: Ports
The Swift Go 16 and Zenbook S16 have similar port selections, but one comes ahead of the other with some additional inclusions.
Both have two Thunderbolt 4 ports, one USB Type-A port, an HDMI, a microSD slot, and an audio jack. However, the Swift Go 16 takes things a step further with an additional USB Type-A port and a Kensington Lock. Not much else needs to be said here; the Swift Go 16 wins.
Winner: Acer Swift Go 16
Acer Swift Go 16 vs Zenbook S16: Display
Sorry to spoil the verdict, but the Acer Swift Go 16 doesn't stand a chance in this competition. However, it barely comes ahead in one area.
The Swift Go 16 features a 16-inch, 1,920 x 1,080-pixel resolution LCD display at 60Hz, while the Zenbook S16 has a 16-inch, 2,880 x 1,800-pixel resolution OLED panel at 120Hz. In short, the Zenbook S16 has higher resolution with a higher refresh rate, all wrapped up in a gorgeous OLED panel that offers deeper, more alluring blacks.
The Swift Go 16 does beat the Zenbook S16 in color coverage, with the former's DCI-P3 of 86 percent just barely beating out the latter's 80 percent. This isn't going to make for a noticeable difference, but the Zenbook S16's OLED panel will yield a far more appealing look than the Swift Go 16's LCD. Considering its 357 nits of brightness also beats the Swift Go 16's 332 nits, there's nothing else to say.
Winner: Asus Zenbook S16
Acer Swift Go 16 vs Zenbook S16: Performance
The age old question of AMD vs Intel is a difficult one to answer, as both companies are constantly launching new chips with different purposes. However, in this case, each the Swift Go 16 and Zenbook S16 both have chips that are perfect competition for one another.
Not only do both laptops have 1TB of SSD storage and 32GB of RAM, but the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is an excellent competitor for the Intel Ultra 9 185H. So, which one is better?
On the Geekbench 6 overall performance test, the Swift Go 16's multi-core score of 13,088 is fantastic. However, the Zenbook S16's multi-core score of 13,282 puts it just a bit ahead, but these numbers are so close that it's practically indistinguishable.
When converting a 4K video into 1080p using the HandBrake app, the Swift Go 16completede the task in 4 minutes and 51 seconds, whereas the ZenBook S16 took a little longer at 5 minutes and 8 seconds. Again, this isn't a massive difference, and considering the previous test, it pretty much puts them on an even playing field.
However, the Zenbook S16's SSD wasn't good enough. When duplicating 25GB of multimedia files, the Swift Go 16 completed this task in 18 seconds with a transfer rate of 1,468 megabytes per second. The Zenbook S16 was far slower, accomplishing the same feat at a transfer rate of 908 megabytes per second.
While both have comparable CPUs, the weaker SSD leaves Zenbook S16 shy of victory.
Winner: Acer Swift Go 16
Acer Swift Go 16 vs Zenbook S16: Graphics
Neither of these laptops are meant for gaming, but they do boast the latest integrated graphics from Intel and AMD. There's no secret that AMD is going to come on top here, but Intel isn't that far behind.
When playing Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm at 1080p, the Swift Go 16 came in with an average of 48 frames per second. However, the Zenbook S16 took no prisoners with its average of 63 fps on the same test.
Winner: Asus Zenbook S16
Acer Swift Go 16 vs Zenbook S16: Battery life
We recommend 10 hours or more of battery life in a productivity laptop, and thankfully, both competitors make that threshold.
On the Laptop Mag battery test, which involves continous web surfing at 150 nits, the Swift Go 16 lasted 10 hours and 35 minutes before running out of juice. The Zenbook S16 comes in at exactly an hour longer, with a runtime of 11 hours and 35 minutes before its battery gives up.
This is a pretty simple numbers game, and since the Zenbook S16 lasts longer on a charge, it's the victor.
Winner: Asus Zenbook S16
Overall winner
Both the Asus Zenbook S16 and Acer Swift Go 16 are comparable 16-inch laptops, each with its own pros and cons, making it difficult to determine a winner.
On one hand, the Swift Go 16 is less expensive has more ports and a stronger SSD. On the other hand, the Zenbook S16's OLED display is brighter and has higher resolution, in addition to longer battery life and superior integrated graphics.
The Swift Go 16 is the better option for budget-conscious consumers, but if you want to splurge and get something juicier, the Zenbook S16 is the winner.
Winner: Asus Zenbook S16
