Acer Swift S5-371 review: All-round upgrade of the ultimate spirit

When it comes to thin and light notebooks, the "Hummingbird" must be mentioned.

When the concept of Ultrabook just appeared in the industry, Acer made its own mark in the industry with a product called "Hummingbird". Unlike some PC manufacturers who like to play freely based on the new version of Windows system and bend the screen and keyboard of the laptop to make yoga, Acer's idea of ​​​​Hummingbird is very simple. It is based on the most traditional form of notebook computers and strives to make it the lightest and thinnest. In the end, the simple concept of Hummingbird products left people with a simple, generous and refreshing impression.

Today, Microsoft has vigorously promoted Windows 10, and core components such as CPUs have become more and more efficient. The portability and battery life of mobile PCs have greatly increased, which undoubtedly gives thin and light computers new opportunities to move forward again. The latest generation of Acer Swift S5-371 is bound to rise to new heights.

The thinnest in its class

The Acer Swift S5-371 has a "good-looking" appearance that won the Red Dot Design Award. It comes in two colors, black and white. Taking the white version we experienced as an example, with the Acer Logo on the top cover, people who are familiar with this type of product can still quickly feel the consistent flavor of the Swift.

Different from the metal style that most laptops nowadays like to show, the Acer Swiftbird S5-371 uses nano-imprint lithography technology to create very exquisite patterns on the surface of the computer. It is not only green and environmentally friendly, but also unique in appearance and feel.

The design of the hinge is the finishing touch of the Acer Swift S5-371. The white version uses gold to highlight its elegance, while the black version uses silver to emphasize its calmness. This is also the biggest change in appearance between the new product and the previous Swift.

It is also worth mentioning that the Acer Swift S5-371 with an all-metal body also uses the CNC chamfering process commonly found in mobile phones at the corners of the body, making it look particularly refined.

The power button is integrated into the entire keyboard, similar to the Apple MacBook. The island-style keycap design does not affect the feel due to the ultra-thin body. The key travel length is moderate, and the essential keyboard backlight gives people a slightly bluish feeling.

If the previous hummingbird was light and thin, the current hummingbird is even lighter and thinner. This 13-inch laptop is officially claimed to be the thinnest among its peers. The thickest part of the Acer hummingbird S5-371 is only 14.58mm and it weighs only about 1.4kg. In terms of data, it is fully capable of challenging the industry benchmark Apple MacBook Air. In particular, the entire Acer hummingbird S5-371 series is equipped with a 1080P full HD display, which directly dethrones the Apple MBA.

Acer Swiftbird S5-371 chooses rear dual fans for cooling. External interfaces include a card reader, a headphone/microphone two-in-one interface, one standard-sized USB 3.0 interface on each side, and an HDMI output port of the same standard size. This means that in most usage scenarios, users can basically get rid of various interface conversion devices, which shows great sincerity on this ultra-light and thin notebook.

In addition, the right side of the Acer Swiftbird S5-371 also has a Type-C high-speed transmission interface that supports the USB 3.1 standard, which is quite forward-looking.

Performance? Not a problem either

At a media communication meeting not long ago, Acer made it clear that even if the laptop is to be lighter, thinner and more power-efficient, it will never sacrifice performance, nor will it use processors such as Core m for the purpose of saving power like some products. So on this top-of-the-line Acer Swiftbird S5-371 in our hands, it is not surprising to see the sixth-generation Skylake architecture Intel Core i7.

The Acer Swift S5-371 used in this experience is equipped with an Intel Core i7-6500U dual-core processor, 8GB of memory and a 256GB solid-state drive. The solid-state drive brand is Kingston with an M.2 interface specification. The boot speed is less than 10 seconds. Based on the usage scenario of a thin and light notebook, this configuration fully meets various needs.

As for graphics processing, which thin and light notebook products are not particularly good at, the Acer Swiftbird S5-371 has a built-in HD 520 graphics card in the processor, with a 3D MARK11 score of about P1600, which is enough to meet lightweight entertainment needs including online games such as LOL.

In terms of connectivity, which is particularly important for laptops, the Acer Swiftbird S5-371 uses 2x2 MU-MIMO technology and supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi communication standards, which is also at the industry-leading level.

Ultra-small power adapter and super long battery life

Since the Acer Swift S5-371 has become a product with a very balanced design and performance configuration, if the battery life also performs outstandingly, it will definitely meet the comprehensive needs of users.

First of all, from the perspective of the power adapter, the Acer Swiftbird S5-371 has greatly slimmed down this indispensable accessory for laptop travel, and will not bring too much burden to carrying the computer. It’s just that the shape of this adapter is still the common form of general notebooks. It would be better if the plug and adapter were integrated like the Apple MacBook.

More importantly, as a 13-inch compact notebook, the battery life of the Acer Swiftbird S5-371 can be described as impressive. Every time it is fully charged and turned on, the system-calculated battery life is more than 12 hours, which seems quite impressive.

In actual conditions, when we used the battery, we used the system's built-in player to play a 44-minute, 4GB high-bitrate 1080P video at 50% screen brightness. After half an hour of playback, the Acer Swiftbird S5-371 consumed about 5% of power. At this time, the system showed that the remaining battery time was still more than 10 hours. Based on this performance, the battery life of the Acer Swiftbird S5-371 is indeed the best in the Windows system notebook camp.

Best Hummingbird so far, did not disappoint

It can be said that since the birth of the Swift Swift series of products, Acer has been adhering to its own philosophy and continuously working in the product range of thin and light notebooks, resulting in the latest Acer Swift Swift S5-371 becoming a comprehensive product among thin and light notebooks, with comprehensive advantages in design, performance, battery life and other aspects.

Of course, when it comes to choosing a laptop that suits them, there will inevitably be many die-hard fans of Apple Mac, and game enthusiasts who attach great importance to high-performance independent graphics cards. But if you take productivity and portability as the starting point, especially for users who have higher requirements for computer battery life and are accustomed to the Windows system, the current Acer Swiftbird S5-371 is obviously an ideal choice.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.