I Tested the Acer Aspire 16 AI. It’s Proof That a 16-Inch Laptop Can Be Ultraportable

On the street to discovering your subsequent laptop computer, selecting a measurement is without doubt one of the first forks you come to, the place you need to select between getting an even bigger show or prioritizing portability and going with one thing smaller. With its beneficiant 16-inch display screen and sub-3.5-pound weight, the Acer Aspire 16 AI gives a best-of-both-worlds scenario. It is like a less expensive Home windows model of Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Air, which affords an optimum steadiness of display screen measurement and system weight for my cash. You will have to squint a bit to view the Aspire 16 AI as a finances Air, nevertheless, as a result of its total look cannot match the excessive fashion of the Air. However at simply $700, I wasn’t anticipating Apple class.

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The Aspire 16 AI’s efficiency is merely satisfactory, and the show is extra serviceable than beautiful, however this finances Acer has the 15-inch Air beat in a single necessary class: battery life. Based mostly on a Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor, the Aspire 16 AI lasted greater than 21 hours in battery testing — virtually 4.5 hours longer than the long-running 15-inch Air. If you’re in search of an inexpensive and moveable productiveness machine, the Aspire 16 AI checks numerous packing containers. So many, in actual fact, that it gained itself an Editors’ Selection award.

On the time of my evaluate, the Aspire 16 AI is a sequence of 1. The lone mannequin incorporates a Qualcomm Snapdragon X X1-26-100 CPU, 16GB of RAM, built-in Qualcomm Adreno X1-45 graphics and a 512GB SSD. The 16-inch show incorporates a 1,920×1,200-pixel decision and a variable 120Hz refresh charge. It is obtainable direct from Acer for $800, however it’s $100 cheaper at Amazon where it’s only $700.

The Acer Aspire 16 AI prices £699 in the UK and AU$1,499 in Australia. 

Acer Aspire 16 AI efficiency

The Snapdragon X X1-126-100 is the entry-level chip in Qualcomm’s lineup of Arm-based laptop computer processors. It sits one rung beneath the Snapdragon X Plus sequence and two rungs beneath the Snapdragon X Elite sequence. It has the identical 8-core CPU rely because the lower-end Snapdragon X Plus processors however runs at a barely slower clock velocity — 3GHz versus 3.2GHz — with no increase frequency. Nevertheless it has the identical neural processing unit able to 45 trillion operations per second, qualifying it as a Copilot Plus PC.

In testing, the Aspire 16 AI turned in aggressive outcomes on our multicore software benchmarks of Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024 however struggled on the single-core model of every check. It additionally posted a poor consequence on 3DMark Time Spy for graphics efficiency, however it should run it by means of emulation as a result of there is not a model that runs natively on Arm, highlighting the potential for Home windows-on-Arm compatibility points. Earlier than buying the Aspire 16 AI or one other Copilot Plus PC powered by a Snapdragon X sequence chip, you should definitely examine that the functions you employ are compatible with Arm for the very best efficiency.

The Aspire 16 AI did not set the world on fireplace in lab testing however it’s up towards costlier laptops within the charts beneath. I discovered that basic Home windows use felt zippy, even once I reached that time within the afternoon the place I had an embarrassing variety of Chrome tabs open. I would not suggest the Aspire 16 AI for media modifying or critical knowledge analytics work, however it has sufficient efficiency for basic residence, workplace and faculty duties.

Maybe the most important attraction of a Snapdragon X-powered laptop computer is the chip’s effectivity. The Aspire 16 AI lasted longer than 21 hours on our YouTube streaming battery drain check. That is almost 4.5 hours longer than the 15-inch MacBook Air. In comparison with two latest Intel-based laptops, its battery life was greater than 2 hours longer than that of the 14-inch Acer Aspire 14 AI and virtually 9 hours greater than that of the Acer Swift 16 AI. 

Glossy with some surprises

The Aspire 16 AI comes outfitted in a boring grey chassis, and whereas it may not flip heads, it is a step above the standard finances fare. It has aluminum high and backside panels that add some rigidity to the construct, and the plastic keyboard deck is pretty agency, too. And the entire thing may be very skinny and light-weight for a 16-inch laptop computer. It is simply 0.6 inches thick and three.5 kilos. That places it in MacBook Air territory. The bigger Air has a barely smaller 15.3-inch display screen and is a hair thinner at 0.5 inches and a smidge lighter at 3.3 kilos.

In comparison with different 16-inch laptops, the Aspire 16 AI is refreshingly mild. Take the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5i 16 Gen 9, for instance. It weighs 4 kilos, which is extra typical for this measurement of laptop computer.

The skinny design ends in shallow journey for the keyboard, however the keys have secure and agency suggestions that I actually appreciated. I am much less bought on the very slender quantity pad, however I suppose it will do in a pinch if you end up going through a bit of knowledge entry infrequently.

The touchpad beneath the keyboard is gigantic. Its beneficiant measurement makes transferring the cursor throughout the generously proportioned show really feel simple and pure. Just like the keyboard, it affords a shallow, regular and agency response when pressed. For a finances laptop computer that is beneath the value threshold for a haptic touchpad, the touchpad is great.

Regardless that the Aspire 16 AI is not a two-in-one that may convert into laptop computer mode, it has a contact show, providing you with one other enter possibility. The show additionally has one other shock in retailer, however it’s not the decision, which is a regular 1,920×1,200-pixel decision. Given the dimensions of the show, I might have appreciated to see a 2.5K decision that may lead to sharper textual content and pictures. However the Aspire 16 AI is already a terrific worth for what it affords, so I am keen to just accept the 2K panel. Textual content seems barely pixelated, however to not the purpose of being distracting.

The opposite shock the show affords is a variable refresh charge of as much as 120Hz. Most sub-$1,000 laptops present a fundamental 60Hz show, and even the pricier MacBook Air has a 60Hz panel. Refreshing 120 occasions a second ends in smoother motion, and the variability means it may well decrease the speed when the next charge is not wanted to assist lengthen battery life.

The show is rated for 350 nits of brightness, which is about as vivid as you’ll be able to rightly anticipate in a finances laptop computer when most provide a 250- or 300-nit panel. And it proved to be a bit brighter than its ranking. On my exams utilizing a Spyder X Elite colorimeter, it reached a max of 365 nits. The Aspire 16 AI is a uncommon finances laptop computer the place you will not have the brightness at all times set to 100%. 

The show additionally did properly on my coloration accuracy exams. It lined 100% of the sRGB gamut and produced respectable protection of the bigger coloration areas with 80% of AdobeRGB and 83% of P3.

Nestled notchless within the slender bezel above the show is one other shock: a 1440p webcam. Many finances laptops nonetheless include fuzzy 720p webcams, and the very best I’ve seen at this worth is a 1080p cam, so getting a 1440p webcam right here is borderline stunning. It produces a clear, almost noiseless picture with correct coloration and correct publicity. The webcam additionally has an IR sensor to make use of facial recognition for straightforward Home windows Whats up logins. With no fingerprint reader, the IR cam is the one safe biometric characteristic on the Aspire 16 AI. However one is absolutely all you want.

I am nonetheless ready for an AI laptop computer characteristic that I am unable to dwell with out, however Acer’s PurifiedVoice has been my favourite to this point. It makes use of AI to detect background noise once you’re on a video name to isolate your voice and scale back any chatter within the background. I examined it by taking part in podcasts and music on a speaker behind me whereas I made voice recordings. PurifiedVoice did an incredible job lowering the background noise to the purpose of almost eliminating it altogether. Actually spectacular.

Sadly, the audio system are not any higher than these of a typical finances laptop computer. They emit muddied sound that gives neither separation between excessive and mid tones nor any bass response. 

Fortunately, there is a headphone jack among the many Aspire 16 AI’s vast port choice. There’s additionally a pair of speedy USB4 ports and, in one other shock, a microSD card slot. Such a slot is normally discovered solely on higher-end fashions geared towards content material creators.

Is the Acer Aspire 16 AI the very best finances laptop computer?

It is undoubtedly the very best, big-screen finances laptop computer I’ve examined in latest reminiscence. And given its trim design and light-weight weight, I am keen to make the argument that it is without doubt one of the finest finances laptops no matter measurement. In case your laptop computer finances would not stretch so far as a MacBook Air (otherwise you choose Home windows to MacOS), then the Aspire 16 AI is a superb do-it-all laptop computer that almost all can afford.