Acer unveils Swift 16 AI with Intel Panther Lake at IFA

Acer on Wednesday unveiled the Swift 16 AI at the IFA trade show in Berlin, marking the first laptop officially announced to use Intel’s upcoming Panther Lake processors. Acer showed off a 16 inch 3K OLED, a large haptic trackpad with stylus support and system-level AI features, while Intel executives say Panther Lake is on track to begin shipping in limited SKUs this year with broader volume ramping through 2026.

The Swift 16 AI pairs the Core Ultra 300 series Panther Lake APU, built on Intel’s 18A process node, with a dedicated neural processing unit, an Xe3 integrated GPU and up to 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory. Acer highlighted the device’s 2880 by 1800 OLED display at 120 Hz, a 75 Wh battery, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, WiFi 7 and a 1440p IR webcam with a privacy shutter. The company described the touchpad as the world’s largest haptic trackpad, adding AI-activity lighting and stylus readiness, and said security features will include deepfake detection through a McAfee partnership.

Intel CFO David Zinsner, speaking at a Deutsche Bank conference, stressed Panther Lake’s timeline and the importance of the 18A ramp. "Panther Lake is still on track to launch this year," he said, adding...