ACER Swift 7, the thinnest and lightest laptop, beating Apple’s 12-inch Macbook when it comes to portability. This laptop is a pound lighter than iPad Pro with Apple’s Smart Keyboard being attached to it. But in all these new aspects, is it worth the price? Let’s find out! Basic Specs: Display: 14-inch (1920x1080) IPS touchscreen Processor: 1.3GHz Core i7-7Y75 (Kaby Lake) Graphics: Intel HD 615 Memory: 8GB LPDDR3 Storage: 256GB NVMe SSD Security: Fingerprint reader (Windows Hello) Ports: 2 USB 3.0 Type-C, 3.5mm headphone jack Wireless: 802.11ac, Bluetooth Cameras: 720p HD camera (front-facing) Battery: 45.8Wh Operating system: Windows 10 Home Dimensions: 12.9 x 9.3 x 0.35 in. (8.98 mm) Weight: 2.54 pounds (laptop); 3.10 lb with power brick; 3.56 lb with brick and sleeve Colors: Black, White Price: check with your local stores as it varies per country and availability. If you are looking for a laptop that is easy to carry, especially if you are the kind of person that is on-the-go, or even for a student, ACER stepped up the game in tech by releasing this Swift 7 laptop. ACER also emphasizes that they used magnesium-lithium and magnesium-aluminum alloy used in making this Swift 7 are lighter and stronger than aluminum alone and having the same thickness. Also, the cover is matte with a single LED to indicate its battery life. Swift 7 display has 14-inch 1080p screen, a 1.3GHz Core i7 processor, 8gb or 16gb ram 256gb to 512gb ROM. There are also two USB-C ports and a headphone jack. They also included a three-port dongle adapter with USB-A, another USB-C and an HDMI port. The LCD touchscreen panel is protected by Gorilla Glass. But if you are expecting to have it to a level like a Retina display, it is not. But it is not that bad at all. Since Swift 7 is being marketed as the thinnest ultrabook, they really did a good look on it is thin but there’s still a noticeable area as it is kind of wobbly when being open or closed, or even being fully reclined to being perfectly flat. When being viewed on the side, Swift 7 has its limits as the thickest portion of the chassis is unable to take a USB type-A port. For the sound and speakers, Swift 7 is supported by Dolby Audio. So it is required to have external speakers or headphones if you want to achieve the “bang” sound. For fingerprint reader, there is quite an issue to it as some users of this laptop doesn’t recognize their fingerprints, making them re-key their finger to it. But there’s a catch, ACER managed to have a chassis with a 45-watt battery, the CPU, motherboard, and SSD. If you are a minimalist and wanting to have an aesthetic feel, this laptop is perfect for you. Keyboard and typing experience which is somehow very poor in performance. The landing areas for the keys were too small which makes it very uncomfortable especially if you have big hands. Function keys are scattered within first and second rows. Delete key is just as small and Backspace next to it. It’s not surprising but a bit disappointed even if the laptop is designed for being thinness, I believe ACER could have done it better. Also, the touchpad precision is totally a mess and disappointing, and its glassy features remind me of like the Surface devices. For the camera, ACER made it’s webcam down to the body of the laptop and pops-up when it is used. If you are worried about being watched, this camera is blocked when not in use. But the downside, if the camera is used, has a nose cam effect. Not very great in dealing with video chatting either. For the performance: Swift 7 is like owning a notebook but with a processor. The challenge is that Swift 7 is no match with tablets like Microsoft’s Surface Pro 6. Swift 7 easily gets heat up during large file transfers but is cool when using it on a daily basis. If you are a gamer, then this laptop is not for you. Final Verdict:ACER really reached out to their goal in making this Swift 7 the thinnest and lightest laptop in the market, making it very portable as possible. If you are the type of person that is on-the-go, this made me really appreciate that they had heard and made this laptop possible. But for the cons, ACER disappointed me especially with the keyboard, the webcam, and its performance as they could have done it better. Price-wise? This laptop is a NO for me. I’d rather settle for another laptop with weight as the performance is better, build having a quality, long-life battery, and a usable webcam with the same price as Swift 7.
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Apple AirPods has made some noise in the technology world after it is being released. Even if you owned the second-generation AirPods or the new AirPods Pro, it is still worth your money. Their similar features have Siri voice assistance, 5-hour battery life, and a charging case that works in wireless charging pads as iPhones. The difference is, the AirPods Pro has its new design, noise cancellation, and a transparency feature which makes you listens to the music while hearing what’s going on around you. For the pairing, it will only take 3 seconds to pair it with your Apple device. Open your charging case and wait for the prompt of your phone, tap Connect and done! No need to worry as this is automatically paired to your Apple devices as long as you used the same iCloud account. Pretty cool, right? To those who don’t own an Apple device and worried if your AirPods can be paired with it. Yes, it can be paired with non-Apple devices. If you notice a small, flush button on the back of the charging case, that thing is going to be used when pairing your AirPods to your non-Apple device. To start pairing, put the AirPods on the case, flip the lid up, press and hold on the small button on the rear of the charging case until the LED light starts to white. Now it will show up in your non-Apple device Bluetooth-pairing settings. For the quality and its usage, please be reminded that since you paired your AirPods to the non-Apple product such as taking an AirPod out of your ear will not pause music, playback controls will not work as well. To check your AirPods battery life, you have several options when it comes to checking your battery life and also the charging case. First is open the charging case next to your iPhone which makes your phone display a popup of battery status. You may also add the battery widget on your Notification Panel. Keep in mind that the Battery widget will only include your AirPods if you are actively using it. If you have an Apple Watch, Place your open AirPods next to your watch, open Control Center and tap the battery option. Aside from showing its battery life, you may also find the stats for your AirPods and your AirPods case. Hey, Siri! The command works with the second-generation AirPods and AirPods Pro. So you can ask Siri to control the volume, for playing music, ask another command, etc. Siri can also read your messages with having the latest iOS installed on your iPhone or iPad. You can also reply to the message with a quick voice command. Very convenient and cool! To change your AirPods’ name, go to Settings > Bluetooth and tap on the ‘i’ icon next to your AirPods’ name. Tap on the Name field and enter your preferred name. The new name will now sync to the rest of your iCloud-linked Apple devices. To use AirPods as hearing aid, in iOS 12, they launched a feature called Live Listen which turned your AirPods into hearing aids. Once you are done setting it up, you can place your phone on a table closer to the person you are talking to, making the audio send to your AirPods. To set it, from your iPhone, go to Settings> Control Center> Customize Controls and tap the green “+” symbol next to the Hearing option. If you need to use the feature, you may put in your AirPods and head over to the Control Center on your iPhone > select the Hearing icon followed by Live Listen. To turn it off, you may repeat the final steps in your iPhone’s Control Center. To use your AirPods on your MacBook, you have to select it as an audio output device. Head over and click on the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar > Select AirPods > Connect.
To customize your controls on your AirPods, go to System Preferences > Bluetooth and click Options next to your AirPods, use the drop-down menu to adjust your settings according to your preferences. Make sure to always check if your firmware has been updated. You cannot update the firmware manually, but you can check and make sure that you have the latest version. Go to Settings > General > About on your iPhone when your AirPods are in your ears. At the bottom of the page, and AirPods tab will show up the model and serial number together with its firmware version. Wireless charging is optional. You do not have to buy the AirPods with the wireless charging case if you are the type of person who is saving. The prices of AirPods varies depending which country are you living. It is best to check with the local official Apple Stores near you. |
AuthorElin @ E's Digital Creatives Archives
January 2022
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