Acer Swift 5 announced at IFA 2018 as the world’s lightest 15-inch laptop

Acer has unveiled its new lineup of laptops, monitors and peripherals at this year’s IFA 2018 conference in Berlin, including a radically improved Acer Swift 5, which the company claims is the world’s lightest 15-inch notebook.

The Acer Swift 5 (SF515-51T), to give it its full name, weighs just 990 grams (2.2 pounds). It comes with a magnesium-lithium alloy body, so it’s robust as well as light, and it comes with 8th-generation Intel Core i7 and i5 processors.

We had some brief hands-on time with the laptop earlier this year, and we were very impressed by how light it was. At IFA 2018, Acer revealed that the Acer Swift 5 will be available in North America with a price tag starting at $1,099 (around £900, AU$1,500); we’ve asked Acer to confirm UK and Australian availability and prices.

Laptops galore

While the new Acer Swift 5 (SF515-51T) is arguably the most exciting laptop Acer showed off at IFA, it also announced a wide range of new laptop devices that will be coming our way soon.

The Acer Swift 5 (SF514-53T) is the 14-inch version of the Swift 5, and as expected is incredibly thin and light, with the same durable magnesium-lithium alloy design, a 14-inch 1080p display and 8th generation Intel Core processors.

Acer’s Swift 3 lineup of laptops has also been refreshed, with 13.3 and 14-inch displays coming with slimmer bezels to make the devices more portable and stylish. The Acer Swift 3 with 14-inch display (SF314-55) will be available in North America in November, starting at $799.99. 

The Swift 3 with 14-inch display (SF314-56) will be available in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in January, 2019, starting at €799 (around £750, AU$1,300). Again, we’ve asked Acer to confirm UK and Australian prices.

Acer’s Aspire 3, 5 and 7 notebook series have been updated with the latest components, including 8th generation Intel Core processors, and support for Intel Optane memory. These new models should appear on shelves by December.

Acer also showed off a new Chromebook, the Chromebook 514, which comes with a 14-inch screen, aluminium chassis and a 12 hour battery life. We don’t have exact dates and prices for this device just yet.

• IFA 2018 is Europe's biggest tech show. The TechRadar team is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on first impressions of new phones, watches and other tech as they're announced.