Acer Unveils Swift 16 AI: First Laptop with Intel's Next-Gen Panther Lake CPU

Panther Lake breaks cover in Acer Swift 16 AI -- company also touts world's largest trackpad with stylus support

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. 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.

I just got up close with the first Intel Panther Lake laptop -- and it looks incredible

Intel Panther Lake, or (probably) Core Ultra 300 series chips, are well on their way to launch. We've seen previews throughout this year including at Computex 2025, which really show off the improved performance, power efficiency and the capabilities of that integrated GPU. But one question we didn't think would be answered until CES 2026 was what laptops will get this new chip? Well, Acer jumped the gun at IFA 2025 and announced the Swift 16 AI -- the first laptop officially unveiled to come armed with Panther Lake. And while the specifics on how much faster or longer-lasting Team Blue's new silicon is are thin, nor was a release date announced, I can safely say that this system looks incredible. There is some information about Panther from previous demos. For example, we're seeing next generation Cougar Cove P-cores (performance cores) and Darkmont E-cores (efficiency cores), which are built on Intel's 18A node process. Intel claims this will make the chipsets 25% faster and 38% more efficient. As for the total AI performance, this looks set to get an uplift from the current Lunar Lake generation from 120 trillion operations per second (TOPS) to 180 TOPS. This beefing up will come from both that updated NPU and a more powerful GPU, which is rumored to sport 12 Xe3 cores -- a 50% bump on Lunar Lake. But it's that GPU I'm most excited about, as it should give access to the new wave of XeSS tech and really make AAA games run smoothly on an iGPU laptop. In something this thin, that could be a game changer. Of course, the jury is out on how this will compete with the likes of AMD's upcoming chips codenamed Medusa, or whether it stands a chance against the M5 MacBook Pro. But Intel is definitely on the right footing here. We're used to touchpads getting bigger and bigger, but this is something else. Acer is bigging this up as the world's largest haptic trackpad with stylus support, and it shows. This surface is huge in person, and it starts to cross over into being more than just a pointing device. Adding stylus support makes a world of sense here as a pad this big could easily be used for handwriting or even illustration. Plus, with a haptic engine over a physical click, it should give you that nice snappy feedback we've come to know and love from the likes of the MacBook trackpad. Then there's the display, and Acer is pulling out the big guns here. You can spec this machine with up to a 16-inch 3K OLED running at a buttery smooth 120Hz. If the AAA gaming chops of Panther Lake are legit, this is a mouthwatering proposition. Plus, the color accuracy of OLED means that you'll be able to do creative work with confidence in the correct hues of the panel. Specs-wise elsewhere, you've got up to 32GB LPDDR5X RAM, Wi-FI 7, Bluetooth 6 and 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports. Of course, this is just a first look. I'll have firmer thoughts about the Panther Lake-armed Swift 16 AI when we can properly test and review it. But pooling the times we've dabbled with Intel Core Ultra 300 series, the rumors and leaks, and seeing the Swift in person, I can't help but get hyped. It's a gorgeous-looking laptop with a tasty OLED display, a massive touchpad and sharp, premium stylings. So far, Acer is ticking all the right boxes. Now they've just got to stick the landing.

Acer shows off the very first Intel Panther Lake laptop with what's claimed to be the world's biggest haptic touchpad

Give it up, everyone, for the first laptop based on Intel's portentous Panther Lake CPU, the Acer Swift 16 AI. Acer has been showing off the new portable at the IFA 2025 show despite the fact that the new laptop isn't due to go on sale until early next year. Panther Lake, of course, is Intel's critical new mobile CPU that will debut the once all-important 18A node. Expected to be branded Intel Core Ultra 300 Series, Panther Lake sports Cougar Cove P-cores and Darkmont E-cores, with the mix rumoured to be four P-cores and 12 E-cores. Perhaps more exciting for us, Panther Lake will have Intel's next-gen "Celestial" Xe3 graphics tech, with the rumour being a maximum of 12 Xe3 cores. Intel's current Lunar Lake laptop chip has eight Xe2-spec iGPU cores and is pretty competitive with AMD's equivalent Strix Point laptop in gaming terms. So, 12 Xe3 cores should represent a decent gaming upgrade. Panther Lake is also going to bring a big boost in AI performance. Lunar Lake can hit a combined 120 TOPS AI performance from the combined power of its NPU and GPU, but Panther Lake is rumoured to lift that to fully 180 TOPS. That's critical because the big pitch for Panther Lake and the Acer Swift 16 AI, according to Intel VP Jim Johnson, is to "bring AI agents and agentic AI onto the local PC." In other words, to run AI locally on your actual PC or laptop instead of in the cloud. That aside, the Acer Swift 16 AI also claims to have the world's largest haptic touchpad and sports a 16-inch 120 Hz 3K OLED screen and up to 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory. Moreover, the fact that it's being shown off at IFA 2025 does at least suggest that Intel's new 18A chip remains on course to go into production later this year, with the first Panther Lake laptops going on sale early in 2026. There was once a time when everything seemed to hinge on Panther Lake and the 18A process node that it would debut. Former CEO Pat Gelsinger said he'd bet Intel on 18A and it was to be the basis of Intel's push into a new era as a customer fab, making chips for the rest of the computing industry. Under new CEO Lip Bu Tan, Intel has shifted tack pretty dramatically. The emphasis for its foundry business is now 14A, not 18A, and that's only if customers can be found. If they can't, then 14A might be cancelled altogether and with it, just possibly, Intel's ambitions to make its own chips, let alone those of customers. Ultimately, Intel remains in flux, and it's anyone's guess if 18A will be any good. The same is true for whether it will be used for other chips beyond Panther Lake, and if 14A will ever come to be, and along with whether Intel's status as an integrated chip design and manufacturing house has a long-term future.

Acer Swift 16 AI Features Intel Panther Lake and 3K OLED Display

At IFA 2025 in Berlin, Acer quietly introduced the Swift 16 AI, a notebook that serves as one of the first public demonstrations of Intel's Panther Lake processors. The system presented to attendees included a CPU produced on Intel's 18A fabrication process, representing an early showcase of the company's upcoming consumer platform. Acer paired this hardware with a 16-inch OLED screen at 3K resolution and 120 Hz refresh rate, memory support up to 32 GB of LPDDR5X, and the inclusion of Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 wireless technologies. Storage specifications and real-world benchmarks have yet to be confirmed. Design adjustments set this model apart from previous Swift entries. The notebook introduces a large haptic trackpad, which Acer claims to be the most expansive in its size class. More significantly, the pad supports stylus input, enabling users to write or draw directly on the trackpad surface -- a capability rarely found in mainstream laptops. Accommodating this feature required a revised keyboard layout and modified chassis dimensions. Acer also highlighted weight reduction, with select builds expected to fall below 1 kg, appealing to users prioritizing portability. Connectivity is balanced between modern and legacy standards. The Swift 16 AI provides two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports for high-speed transfer and docking, while also retaining USB-A, HDMI, a 3.5 mm audio jack, and a microSD card slot. This approach ensures compatibility with both current accessories and older peripherals, broadening its usability across work and entertainment scenarios. The significance of this system extends beyond Acer's portfolio. Intel's head of consumer CPUs, Jim Johnson, attended the presentation and underlined that the Swift 16 AI is among the earliest retail platforms to incorporate Panther Lake. With an official launch scheduled for late 2025, Acer is positioning this notebook as an early preview of Intel's next generation of CPUs. Broader product announcements are expected at CES 2026, where Panther Lake is likely to feature more prominently in both laptops and desktops. This early unveiling suggests a clear trajectory: Intel is pushing its latest architecture into lightweight, AI-oriented notebooks designed for productivity and creative work. By combining advanced processing, high-refresh OLED visuals, stylus-enabled input, and sub-kilogram portability, the Swift 16 AI is shaping up to be a showcase product for what future Panther Lake laptops will deliver.

Acer's new Swift 16 AI is one of the first laptops powered by Intel's next-gen Panther Lake CPU

TL;DR: Acer's new Swift 16 AI laptop features a 16-inch 3K OLED display, Intel's next-gen Panther Lake CPU, 32GB LPDDR5X memory, Wi-Fi 7, and advanced AI capabilities. Weighing under 1kg, it offers cutting-edge performance and AI integration, launching in late 2025 ahead of CES 2026. Acer has just unveiled its new Swift 16 AI laptop which is powered by Intel's next-gen Panther Lake CPU, with a 16-inch 3K OLED display to boot. The company unveiled its new Acer Swift 16 AI laptop during IFA 2025 this week, with a slim 16-inch form factor, 3K OLED display, the world's largest haptic touchpad, a bunch of AI functionality, and it all weighs under 1kg. Intel said that its new Panther Lake CPUs will be making a full cycle launch in 2026, with new core IPs, faster graphics and gaming capabilities, longer battery life, and power next-gen AI. In previous leaks, we've discovered that Intel's next-gen Panther Lake CPUs will feature up to 16 cores using Cougar Cove P-Cores and Darkmont E/LP-E cores. We will see next-gen Xe3 LPG integrated GPU cores on a graphics tile, and a faster NPU with up to 3x more AI performance than Arrow Lake. Acer's new Swift 16 AI laptop will feature 32GB of LPDDR5X memory, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and dual USB-C Thunderbolt 4 support, ready for any user in 2026. Intel's new Panther Lake CPU-powered laptops -- like the new Acer Swift 16 AI laptop -- will sport Generative AI & Background change, changes to Windows settings, and the AI Experience Zone, which gives users multiple AI capabilities for local AI processing. There's also the Intel AI Assistant Builder that supports MCP (Model Context Protocol) which allows them to use local data, and then take it to the internet when connected. Acer didn't reveal any other specifications or pricing on its new Panther Lake-powered Swift 16 AI laptop, but we should expect it to be one of the first Panther Lake laptops to market in late 2025, with more Panther Lake-based products to roll onto the market in early 2026. CES 2026 is right around the corner, too, in January, where we should expect a boatload of new Panther Lake-powered devices.

Intel's Next-Gen Panther Lake CPUs Power Acer's Swift 16 AI Laptop: 16" 3K OLED Display With The World's Largest Touchpad

Acer has unveiled its first laptop powered by Intel's next-gen Panther Lake CPUs, the Swift 16 AI, with a 16 3K OLED display. At IFA 2025, Acer unveiled the Swift 16 AI, which is one of the first laptops coming this year with Intel's Panther Lake CPU. The laptop itself is very sleek and features a 16" form factor, equipped with an OLED 3K display, the world's largest haptic touchpad, and lots of AI capabilities, while weighing less than 1kg. During the presentation, Intel revealed that Panther Lake, which makes a full cycle launch in 2026, will feature new core IPs, faster graphics and gaming capabilities, longer battery life & power next-gen AI capabilities. We know from previous details that Panther Lake CPUs will pack up to 16 cores based on Cougar Cove P-Cores and Darkmont E/LP-E cores. These will be combined with an Xe3 LPG iGPU on the graphics tile and a faster NPU with 3x the performance of Arrow Lake chips.