One of the first laptops with Intel's upcoming Panther Lake processors showed up at IFA 2025 with little fanfare. At Acer's press conference in Berlin, we found the Swift 16 AI, using the upcoming chip based on Intel's 18A process.
Acer Swift 16 AI |
|
Processor |
Intel's Panther Lake processors |
Display |
Up to 16-inch 3K, OLED, 120 Hz |
Memory |
Up to 32GB LPDDR5X |
Connectivity |
Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, Dual USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 |
Trackpad |
"World's Largest Haptic Trackpad with Stylus Support" |
The system wasn't prominently featured in the press conference, which included an AMD-based Swift Air 16 alongside a number of gaming laptops. What we know is limited largely to the placard that sat next to the system at Acer's showcase.
The system has a 16-inch, 3K OLED display (likely 2880 x 1800) with a 120 Hz refresh rate. It will support up to 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM and the latest connectivity standards, including Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. However, it's using Thunderbolt 4 rather than Thunderbolt 5.
The trackpad looks quite large (we don't have an exact size). Acer calls it the "largest haptic trackpad with stylus support," and the stylus support does heavy lifting. There aren't too many laptops that let you write on the touchpad.
This is the first system we've seen with Panther Lake that will head to market, but Acer is only saying that the system will launch in 2026.
We have seen the chip's progress throughout the year. At CES 2025, ODMs like Wistron, Pegatron, and Compal showed designs for systems. Then at Computex, we saw the chips in Intel's own validation systems.
At Deutsche Bank's 2025 Technology Conference, Intel Chief Financial Officer David Zisner said that "[Panther Lake] is still on track [to launch this year]... Things are looking good. Our first SKU will be out by the end of this year, and then we will have more SKUs in the first half of 2026, and you will really start to see the volume ramp as we kind of migrate through 2026." That's a long window where this laptop, as well as others using Panther Lake, could pop up. But it's likely we'll see more of Panther Lake at CES 2026 in early January.
