09 Sep
Blog

MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo Review: A Nice 2-in-1, At a Price

MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo sits on the tabletop.

MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo

RRP $ 1,900.00

"The MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo does almost everything right – except for the price."

advantages

  • Modern and attractive aesthetics

  • Thin and light

  • Excellent keyboard and touchpad

  • Great battery life

  • Solid productivity performance

disadvantage

  • Lid is a bit flexible

  • Display is badly calibrated

  • Too expensive

When looking for a convertible 2-in-1 laptop, MSI might not be the first brand that comes to mind. It's best known for its gaming laptops, but the company makes several other lines of laptops aimed at general consumers and business users. For the latter, MSI offers the Summit line, including the new Summit E13 Flip Evo 2-in-1, which offers a 16:10 display and an extremely attractive design.

I tested the high-end configuration, which costs $ 1,900 and includes an 11th generation Intel Core i7-1185G7 and a 13.4-inch IPS display in a productivity-friendly 16:10 aspect ratio. It immediately convinced me with its aesthetics and left a clear impression of quality. At a higher total price and without cheap basic equipment, however, the attractiveness remains limited.

draft

My first impression of the Summit E13 Flip Evo was that it bears a clear resemblance to the HP Specter x360 14. At least that's the case with my Ink Black version; the impression is not as pronounced with the Pure White color scheme.

I say this because the Summit E13 Flip Evo has case and display corners that are cut off at angles similar to the Specter x360 14, and the various edges of the laptop (including around the touchpad) are a familiar rose gold color. It's easy to tell the difference between the laptops, but it seems that MSI has adopted some aesthetic concepts from HP.

This does not apply to functionality – unlike the HP, the MSI does not have a USB-C port, which is conveniently placed in a corner. Regardless of its inspiration, the Summit E13 Flip Evo is a beautiful laptop with modern lines and attractive colors that add up to an overall elegant design. MSI makes a lot of the golden ratio (1,618) used to proportion the laptop, and I can't fault its math.

What I can criticize, however, are the large display bezels, which detract from the otherwise modern look. They're bigger at the top and bottom than they could be, and that makes the 13.4-inch laptop with its 16:10 display a little deeper than necessary. It's only a fraction of an inch away from the Specter x360 14 with its larger and taller 13.5-inch 3: 2 display, though it's a bit thinner at 0.59 inches compared to the HP's 0.67 inches.

The MSI is only slightly heavier at 2.98 pounds than the HP at 2.95 pounds. It's larger in width and depth than the Dell XPS 13, which also uses a 13.4-inch 16:10 display, and the Dell is slightly thinner at 0.58-inches and lighter at 2.64-inches. Part of the added depth of the Summit E13 Flip Evo is due to the convertible 2-in-1 hinge, but even so, MSI could have made this laptop a smaller laptop with a little more attention to the bezels.

The construction of the Summit E13 Flip Evo is certainly top notch as it uses CNC machined aluminum to carve the lid and chassis from individual blocks of metal. The lid bends only slightly when you press it lightly and the LCD becomes distorted in the process. However, the bottom chassis and keyboard deck are solid and give the laptop a solid feel overall. Thanks to the lid, it's not as stiff as the HP Specter x360 14 or Dell XPS 13, but it is close. The hinge allows the lid to be opened with one hand, but it also makes it a little wobbly when you move the laptop.

At that price point, the Summit E13 Flip Evo is expensive in its $ 1,900 configuration. It's worth the premium given the high-end design of the laptop, but most users will likely be put off by the high-end price. The $ 1,600 configuration with 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD is cheaper and on par with the competition. The Specter x360 14, for example, currently costs $ 1,460 for the same configuration as the $ 1,600 Summit E13 Flip Evo, but with a Core i7-1165G7 versus the MSI Core i7-1185G7. So it's $ 140 cheaper, but it also has a smaller processor.

With an identical configuration, the Dell XPS 13 costs almost exactly the same price at $ 1,620. MSI is asking too much to upgrade to 32GB of RAM, which most users in this class won't need.

Connectivity is good for a very thin and light laptop, with a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port and two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports with Thunderbolt 4 on the left and a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port ( no Thunderbolt 4) with a 3.5mm audio jack and a hidden microSD card reader on the right. Wi-Fi 6E – the Summit E13 Flip Evo is the first laptop with the latest Wi-Fi 6E standard that supports an exclusive 6 GHz band – and Bluetooth 5.2 ensures wireless connectivity.

power

MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo easel, foldable, sitting on the tabletop.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

In the Summit E13 Flip Evo, MSI activates the full 28 watts of the 11th generation Intel Core i7-1185G7 and theoretically promises the best possible performance of the chip. However, according to our benchmarks, the 2-in-1 does not necessarily jump to the top among similarly configured laptops.

In Geekbench 5, the Summit E13 Flip Evo was in the midfield. MSI includes a utility to tune performance versus fan noise, and it made a modest difference in some tests. For example, the Geekbench score jumped to 1,519 single-core and 5,310 in performance mode. The utility also improved the laptop's Handbrake Score, which measures the time it takes to encode a 420MB video as H.265, from 207 to 178 seconds. Both values ​​are more competitive. The utility made less of a difference in Cinebench R23 and PCMark 10. In the last-mentioned benchmark, the notebook was in the midfield across all included tests, including Essentials (web browsing etc.), productivity (Office apps etc.), and Creation (video coding and more).

Overall, the Summit E13 Flip Evo was a fast laptop for its configuration, which included 32GB of RAM and a fast 1TB SSD, but it wasn't dominant among the Intel machines. As mentioned above, the $ 1,600 base configuration comes with 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB solid-state drive. A model with 8 GB of RAM and less storage is not offered, which puts it behind its competitors.

In any case, the MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo will be fast enough to keep up with demanding productivity workflows, but it won't please creative types who crave a laptop that can handle CPU-intensive tasks. For this you need an AMD Ryzen 5000 series chip, an M1 MacBook or a larger 45 watt Intel laptop.

Geekbench (single / multiple) Handbrake
(Seconds)		 Cinebench R23 (single / multiple) PCMark 10 3DMark time spy
MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo
(Core i7-1185G7)		 1352/4891 207 1360/4392 4872 1751
Dell XPS 13 (Core i7-1185G7) 1549/5431 204 1399/4585 n / A 1380
HP Specter x360 14 (Core i7-1165G7) 1214/4117 236 1389/3941 4728 1457
Lenovo Yoga 9i 14
(Core i7-1185G7)		 1532/5415 207 1435/4409 4800 1648
Asus ZenBook 13 OLED
(Ryzen7 5800U)		 1423/6758 124 1171/7824 6034 1342
MacBook Pro 13 (M1) 1707/7337 n / A 1487/7547 n / A n / A

Like all laptops with Intel's built-in Iris Xe graphics (and AMD machines with Radeon graphics), the Summit E13 Flip Evo doesn't pretend to be a gaming laptop.

Its 3DMark Time Spy Score is inconspicuous and it only managed 26 frames per second (fps) at 1080p high settings in Fortnite. With the Epic graphics switched on, this dropped to 19 fps.

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Close up on the MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo laptop screen.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

I love seeing so many new devices with larger displays, especially in different sizes and form factors. The Summit E13 Flip Evo is such a laptop with a 13.4-inch 16:10 display in Full HD + resolution (1,920 x 1,200). That's the only choice that's unfortunate – I'd love to see a higher resolution display option.

Subjectively, the display seemed to me well suited for productivity tasks, as it was very bright and with good contrast, so that black text popped out of the white background (as an author, this is one of my most important display attributes). The colors seemed fine when looking at the display alone, though I did notice that things were a little out of place in color compared to some of the other laptops I had lying around.

This is where my colorimeter came in. So the display has some good and some not so good features. As I said, the panel appeared to be bright, at 471 nits (well above our 300 nit threshold), and the contrast ratio was 950: 1 – just below our preferred ratio of 1,000: 1. The colors matched at 73% AdobeRGB and 97% sRGB the average of the premium laptop (not creative). All of this is good enough for a machine in the Summit E13 Flip Evo's class.

The color accuracy was not so great with a disappointing DeltaE of 3.94. That explains my subjective impression. Gamma (how light or dark an image or video is displayed compared to the original) was also extremely poor at 1.4. I usually don't mention gamma as most laptop displays measure the 2.2 standard. However, the MSI's display is way too bright, which I noticed again when using the laptop.

Close up on close up of the screen and bezels of the MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

It is possible that my device was poorly calibrated and could be repaired by anyone with the right tools – not many people have access to a colorimeter to do their own calibration. But it detracts from the experience of using the laptop including watching videos where the poor gamma has an impact. Creators will also find it too imprecise for their needs.

The sound was fine, with enough volume from the two down-facing speakers to enjoy a YouTube video without distortion when it was all the way up. The mids and highs were clear, but there was no bass. You will need a pair of headphones to enjoy Netflix and listen to music, but otherwise the sound quality is average for the class.

Keyboard and touchpad

Close-up of the trackpad and keyboard on the MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

The keyboard of the Summit E13 Flip Evo is characterized by excellent spacing and large keycaps with legible lettering and three useful levels of constant backlighting. The layout is standard for the most part and I was up to speed in no time. I enjoyed the 1.5mm of travel, especially considering the light switches that didn't cause fatigue. Floor motion was a bit soft, and I prefer the crisper HP Specter range of keyboards, but overall I found MSI's keyboard comfortable for longer tips sessions (like writing this review).

The touchpad was large and medium in size, but there is more room on the keyboard deck for a larger touchpad. It supports Microsoft's Precision touchpad drivers and responded well to Windows 10's multitouch gestures. The buttons were clicky and quiet, which is a nice combination. Apart from the fact that it would be a bit bigger, I have no complaints.

The active MSI pen is included in the scope of delivery and is attached magnetically to the lid or housing of the laptop. It supports 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt and is conveniently charged via USB-C. I found it to be as good a Windows Ink experience as any other modern 2-in-1 device I've used. The touch display also responded. An infrared camera and face recognition as well as a fingerprint reader on the palm rest offer Windows 10 Hello passwordless support. Both were quick and reliable.

Close up of the trackpad, keyboard, and fingerprint scanner on the MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

Interestingly, MSI has built a switch on the side of the laptop to electronically turn off the webcam. This is the same mechanism that HP used in some older Specter 2-in-1s, such as the Specter x360 13 and Specter x360 15. HP has since moved on to placing a key on the keyboard that closes a physical shutter over the webcam , but it's interesting that this is something else that MSI apparently borrowed.

I prefer the electronic version because it turns off the webcam completely and doesn't let hackers take advantage of it. The keyboard also has a button to turn off the microphone, another welcome privacy feature.

Battery life

MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo sits on the tabletop.Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

MSI packed 70 watt hours of battery into the Summit E13 Flip Evo, which is a lot for a 13-inch laptop. In combination with the Full HD + display, I expected a good battery life.

That's exactly what I saw, starting with our web browsing test, where the 2-in-1 lasted about 11 hours. This is a strong score that surpassed the seven hours of the HP Specter x360 14 (an OLED display was used in our test device, so that's not a really fair test) and the Dell XPS 13 Full HD + with around 8.5 hours. In our video looping test using a local Full HD Avengers trailer, the MSI achieved 16 hours, which is also a good value. The XPS 13 only lasted 12 hours, the Specter x360 14 was well behind with 10 hours.

I also ran the PCMark 10 Applications battery test which got the Summit E13 Flip Evo to reach 13.5 hours. The Specter x360 14 ran for nine hours and the XPS 13 for 10.75 hours in this test, which makes the MSI's score impressive. In the PCMark 10 gaming battery test, which stresses the CPU and GPU, the Summit E13 Flip Evo scores 2.5 hours better than many laptops – although this test seems to demonstrate how hard a laptop runs on battery power instead of directly testing battery life .

Ultimately, battery life is a strength of the Summit E13 Flip Evo. It runs all day, leaving some time for evening work or Netflix bingeing. You don't have to worry about taking your PSU with you unless you really put a load on the processors.

Our opinion

The MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo is a useful addition to the stable 13-inch convertible 2-in-1. It's fast, has a long battery life, and looks great. The lid is a bit flexible and a bit expensive in its high-end configuration, but I found it to be a comfortable laptop for real world use.

The problem is that there are a lot of competitors. The MSI is as good as most of them, just make sure you choose the right configuration to avoid spending too much.

Any alternatives?

The HP Specter x360 14 is a great alternative. It's not that fast (at least without activating the performance mode), but it has a spectacular 13.5-inch OLED display with a 3: 2 aspect ratio. It's almost as expensive as the MSI when configured with the OLED display, but it only comes with a maximum of 16GB of RAM compared to the Summit E13 Flip Evo's 32GB.

The Dell XPS 13 is another great option if you don't need a 2-in-1. It's just as fast, has good battery life, and is better built – there's a reason it tops several best-of lists.

How long it will take?

The Summit E13 Flip Evo is so well built that you don't have to worry about its longevity. In addition, it is future-proof equipped with modern components such as the fast Wi-Fi 6E. The one year warranty will always be disappointing.

Should you buy it?

Yes sir. You will love using the Summit E13 Flip Evo; Just be prepared to pay a few extra dollars if you go for the high-end version.

Editor's recommendations



20 Jan
Blog

HP Spectre x360 14 Review: The 2-in-1 Convertible, Perfected

HP ghost

"The HP Specter x360 14 is the perfect balance between performance and portability."

  • Spectacular 3: 2 OLED display

  • Pretty fast in performance mode

  • Surprisingly good battery life considering the display

  • Great keyboard and touchpad

  • Elegant and modern look

  • Requires some management to balance performance and fan noise

The HP Specter x360 13 has been my favorite laptop for a while. With its OLED screen and beautiful design, it was everything I wanted from a convertible 2-in-1 laptop.

However, given the tough competition, HP couldn't rest on its laurels. Expectations for performance, portability, and size are constantly changing, and the latest Specter 2-in-1 from HP seeks to drive its design into the future.

The Specter x360 14 uses a larger 13.5-inch display with an aspect ratio of 3: 2, two trends that promise improved productivity. The company sent me a test device with an 11th generation Intel Tiger Lake Core i7-1165G7, 16 GB of RAM, and a 1 TB solid state drive (SSD). It also has a 3,000 x 2,000 resolution OLED display and is priced at $ 1,700 at Best Buy. I've spent some time with the Specter x360 14 now, you know what? HP may have perfected the 2-in-1 convertible.

design

HP ghostMark Coppock / Digital Trends

HP hasn't dealt with the general design theme of the Specter – and why should it? The gem-cut aesthetic remains the boldest design you'll find outside of gaming laptops, though the Specter is more sleek than ostentatious. The Specter x360 14 is a beautiful laptop without looking over the top, whether in the color Nightfall Black with copper accents, which I received, or in the alternatives Poseidon Blue or Natural Silver.

The Dell XPS 13 is a good looking laptop too, but it's a simpler aesthetic that goes unnoticed. Which is better depends on taste, of course, but I prefer the polite Specter x360 14.

It's also very well built with no need to bend, bend, or twist it anywhere in the lid, case, or keyboard deck. In this respect, the Specter x360 14 fits the XPS 13 and the Apple MacBook Pro 13, which is highly praised. There are few other laptops in the class that can match these three. The XPS 13 scores some points for its two-zone hinge, which can be easily opened with one hand and then held firmly in place, but the Specter x360 14 is not far behind.

The Specter's hinge is almost light enough to open with one hand, and it holds the display in place in any of four modes – clamshell, tent, medium, or tablet. The 3: 2 aspect ratio makes tablet mode much more comfortable, as the panel fits better to an 8.5 x 11 inch piece of paper – thanks to Microsoft here, as its Surface line has had the same aspect ratio for several generations.

HP ghostMark Coppock / Digital Trends

The display changes the dimensions of the Specter x360 14 and is thus slightly deeper (8.67 inches) than the 13-inch model (7.66 inches), but not quite as wide (11.75 inches compared to 12.08 inches) . Compared to the tiny XPS 13 with a width of 11.64 inches and a depth of 7.82 inches, the Specter x360 14 is again deeper, although it has its own small bezels.

It's the larger chin compared to the XPS 13 that makes the Specter x360 14 appear so much larger when opened (beyond the sheer height of the 3: 2 aspect ratio). The 14-inch is the same as the 13-inch, 0.67-inch thick, both of which exceed the XPS 13's 0.58-inch, and the Specter x360 14 is also the heaviest at 2.95 pounds over the 13-inch and the XPS 13, both of which weigh 2.8 pounds.

Since I used the Specter x360 14, I appreciate its extra size. Both the Specter x360 13 and XPS 13 felt small at times, especially in terms of the palm rest and touchpad – both are slightly larger on the Specter x360 14. I find this model to be a solid compromise between the tiny 13-inch laptop and the hefty Specter x360 15.

HP ghostMark Coppock / Digital Trends

As with the Tiger Lake version of the Specter x360 13, the 14-inch version has two USB Thunderbolt 4 ports on the right, one on the edge and one in the notch under the display. On this side of the case there is also a 3.5 mm audio jack and a miniSD card reader. On the other side is the single USB-A 3.1 port. One difference to the 13-inch model is that the power switch is no longer in the other notch – this time on the keyboard, which is a bummer for anyone using their laptop with an external display closed.

Now you need to open the lid to turn on the laptop. Although some people may prefer to have all of the keys on the keyboard available, this is a regression in my book. Wireless connectivity is modern with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.

software

Before I dive into the performance of the Specter x360 14, let's talk a little about software. Most manufacturers have developed utilities that allow users to adjust the CPU clock and fan speed to adjust the performance versus heat and fan noise. In some cases, these utilities don't do much – run a benchmark in quiet / cool mode and then in performance mode and you will see at most a negligible improvement in speed. And quite often, you can't tell the difference between fan noise and heat.

The HP Command Center differs at least on the 13- and 14-inch models (the utility doesn't help much with the 15-inch Specter). Toggle the "Balanced" mode and the Specter x360 14 is noticeably quieter and cooler, and it's pretty slow too. In this mode, it falls behind other Tiger Lake Core i7 laptops (and some 10th generation laptops), but it runs noiselessly and can be used comfortably on a lap. However, if you toggle the "Performance" mode, the Specter x360 will sprout 14 wings and become quite competitive – and significantly louder and hotter at the same time.

I only mention these utilities in my reviews if they make a significant difference in performance. I mention the HP Command Center specifically because I don't want to make anyone think it's a slow laptop. This is not the case. You just need to use the utility wisely. It can be either a hassle or a blessing, depending on how much attention you want to give to such things. I like Command Center because I don't need super-fast performance most of the time, and I appreciate the cool and quiet performance more – but when I need sheer speed, it's just a click away.

HP ghostMark Coppock / Digital Trends

I will also notice that HP added some new folds to the Utility Suite. For example, the Command Center itself has a new "Smart Sense" mode that does things automatically based on the application, the location of the laptop, and the battery status. I didn't think it was particularly smart – the "Balanced" mode kept things quieter and the "Performance" mode was faster. HP also added a focus mode that highlights the active application and dwarfs the rest of the display. This is an interesting effect, but so far I've only found it annoying. Next, the system can tell if it's in a bag and prevent you from waking up. I carried it around in my backpack for a while and it was sleeping, but that's not a big test.

Then there are a couple of utilities to control the display. One of them is a standalone display control utility that allows you to set the color profile for your use. In addition, there is a system setting in the display area that allows you to enable Adaptive Color, which adjusts the color profile based on ambient lighting. It's like automatic brightness, only for colors. Whether any of these utilities are of value or add fluff depends on individual taste.

performance

Now let's get down to performance and begin our handbrake test, which encodes a 420MB video as H.265. It took the Specter x360 14 just under four minutes to complete the test in balanced mode and a little over three minutes in performance mode. That's almost a full minute of difference just by flipping the switch. Compared to other Tiger Lake laptops, the balanced mode is slower – for example, the Dell XPS 13 9310 took 30 seconds less in its own quiet mode, while it was three seconds faster than the Specter in both performance modes. The Lenovo Yoga 7i 14 with a Core i5-1135G7 was also about 30 seconds faster in balanced mode, and the Acer Swift 5 matched the results of the Performance mode on the Specter x360 14.

Cinebench R23 was similar. The Specter x360 14 achieved a strong multi-core value of 4,847 in performance mode compared to an anemic 3,941 in balanced mode. In performance mode, only the Porsche Design Acer Book RS (a strangely fast Core i5-1135G7 with 4,973 points) and the MSI Prestige 14 Evo with a Core i7-1185G7 (5,789) achieved higher scores among the Tiger Lake laptops. The Apple MacBooks with the Apple M1 chip were much faster (6,680 or higher), as were machines with 45-watt Intel H-series CPUs.

HP ghostMark Coppock / Digital Trends

I also ran the PCMark 10 Complete test where, interestingly, Command Center was much less important. The Specter x360 14 scores 4,728 in balanced mode and 4,795 in performance mode, as well as the basics (web browsing, video conferencing, app launch), productivity (spreadsheet and word processing), and creation (photo editing, video playback and playback, and video editing) scores similarly close.

Even so, the Specter was competitive with other Tiger Lake laptops, beating the Porsche Design Acer Book RS and losing just short of the MSI Prestige 14 Evo. The Specter x360 14 performed particularly well in the creation area of ​​this benchmark. Note that the Dell XPS 13 9310 would not complete the test.

In short, the Specter x360 14 is a fast Tiger Lake laptop in performance mode. It will run loud and hot, but it will keep up with most of the field – which, by the way, also tends to run loud and hot when fully tilted. I want to point out here that the fans of the Specter x360 14 have a wonderfully comfortable pitch at full force – the Specter avoids the annoying whining that some laptops do when the fans boot up.

HP ghostMark Coppock / Digital Trends

Can the Specter x360 14 play? Yes, about as good as other Tiger Lake laptops with Intel Iris Xe graphics. The 3DMark Time Spy score of 1,709 in performance mode is higher than any other Tiger Lake laptop we tested, and even the 1,457 score in balanced mode is competitive. Under Fortnite, the Specter x360 14 achieved 36 frames per second (fps) at 1080p and high graphics, which exceeded all but the MSI Prestige 14 Evo with 42 fps. This is of course in performance mode, but here too, even the 26 fps in balanced mode were competitive with the rest of the field.

The same goes for Epic graphics turned on, which makes the Specter x360 14 a decent entry-level slot machine that is on par with computers with discrete low-end graphics like the Nvidia GeForce MX350.

display

HP ghostMark Coppock / Digital Trends

The Specter x360 14 features the first OLED display with an aspect ratio of 3: 2 (3,000 x 2,000 resolution) and is a beauty. Like all OLED displays, it offers a spectacular contrast of 374,200: 1 – in comparison, the contrast of the 4K IPS display of the Dell XPS 13 9310 is 1,360: 1, which is well above our threshold of 1,000: 1 and particularly good for is an IPS display. However, the Specter x360 14's display gives you the deepest blacks in contrast to brilliant whites, which really makes black text pop on white backgrounds (which I love as a writer).

The brightness was good at 374 nits, but not great compared to the 420 nits of the XPS 13 and the 405 nits of the OLED display of the Specter x360 13.

This is an excellent display that is a pleasure to use.

The color gamut was also excellent at 100% of sRGB and 96% of AdobeRGB – ideal for creatives who need a lot of color – and the color accuracy was excellent at a DeltaE of 0.69 (anything below 1.0 cannot be differentiated with the human eye and is considered excellent). The XPS 13 managed 100% of sRGB but only 79% of AdobeRGB, placing it in a lower display class.

The XPS 13's color accuracy was 1.21, good, but nowhere near as good as the Specter's. The OLED display on the Specter x360 13 achieved a wider color gamut of 100% sRGB and 98% AdobeRGB, but the color accuracy wasn't as good at 1.29.

I get to the point here and say that this is an excellent display that is a sheer delight in real life. The only display that I like better is the OLED display of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 3, which performs similarly to the Specter display, but has a Dolby Vision High Dynamic Range (HDR), which the Lenovo does when playing Netflix makes HDR content so much better.

With the HP, you'll want to turn off HDR because Netflix isn't particularly good at handling it. However, this isn't such a terrible thing as the non-HDR OLED display is still better than most IPS displays with HDR (except for those that benefit from Dolby Vision). Also, the Specter x360 cannot manage 14 4K while streaming video. You have to be satisfied with a letterbox of 2,560 x 1,440.

HP ghostMark Coppock / Digital Trends

In terms of audio, the Specter x360 14 has quad speakers, two under the display on top and two under the case on the bottom. The volume is ample without distortion, and the mids and highs are excellent.

There's not much bass, however, which puts the Specter well below the MacBook Pro models that set the standard for laptop audio. You can certainly enjoy Netflix with a few friends without external speakers, but as always, I recommend good headphones for music.

Keyboard and touchpad

HP's Specter keyboards have long been my favorite on Windows 10 laptops. They offer keys that are the perfect size, wide spacing, and a lightweight but precise mechanism that allows me to type at maximum speed with minimal fatigue.

Dell's latest XPS 13 keyboards come very close, and the Magic keyboard on the latest MacBooks is the only one that can beat it. However, if you're a touch typist who needs accurate feedback when typing, you'll love the Specter x360 14's keyboard. The two-level backlight is also perfectly executed and outlines the letters without causing much, if any, bleeding under the keys.

HP ghostMark Coppock / Digital Trends

Thanks to the 3: 2 aspect ratio display, HP fits into a much larger touchpad on the Specter x360 14 than the 13-inch model and XPS 13. The extra space is appreciated – it's not a MacBook-like giant – but it's big enough that I don't feel cramped anymore. Of course, it supports Microsoft's Precision Touchpad protocol, making it incredibly responsive to all of Windows 10's multi-touch gestures. It feels nice too, with solid but quiet keys.

The touch display responds equally and supports the various active pens from HP. The pen in the box supports tilt and 4,095 pressure sensitivity levels, is charged via USB-C and, in the case of a Specter, is initially attached magnetically to the left side of the case.

HP ghostMark Coppock / Digital Trends

Windows 10 Hello support is provided by both a tiny infrared camera above the display and a fingerprint reader conveniently located next to the arrow keys. Both worked perfectly and signed me up without any fuss. Additional security is provided by a key on the keyboard that slides a cover electronically over the webcam, and a key to turn off the microphone.

Battery life

HP ghostMark Coppock / Digital Trends

The Specter x360 14 has a high-resolution OLED display, which usually means reduced battery life. I'm sure my test unit had a worse battery life than the Full HD + version (1,920 x 1,280), but thanks to a 67-watt-hour battery, the life was better than expected.

In our web browser test, the Specter x360 14 lasted almost seven hours, which is not a bad score considering the display. It was about an hour less than some other Tiger Lake laptops with Full HD displays like the Acer Swift 5 and Dell XPS 13 9310, and only 20 minutes less than the MSI Prestige 14 Evo.

In our video test of a Full HD Avengers trailer, the Specter x360 14 lasted a little over 10 hours. Again, this isn't a bad score for an OLED display – it's only 16 minutes less than the Dell XPS 13 9310 with its IPS 4K display and about 90 minutes less than the Acer Swift 5. The XPS 13 9310 with Full HD has two additional minutes lasted hours

The Specter x360 14 is one of the few OLED laptops that can work a full day on a single charge.

I also ran the PCMark 10 application test to see how long the Specter x360 14 could handle a typical productivity load, and it lasted a little over nine hours. It is no coincidence that this is exactly what is required for Intel to become Evo. The XPS 13 9310 4K lasted about 30 minutes less, while the XPS 13 9310 Full HD version lasted about 90 minutes longer.

I then ran the PCMark 10 gaming test, which is a significant workload on both the CPU and GPU, and the Specter x360 14 couldn't quite make it to three hours, which is about 40 minutes less than the XPS 13 9310 4K and more than an hour less than the Full HD version of this laptop. The MSI Prestige Evo 14 was more than an hour behind the Specter.

The large battery capacity pays off here, as the Specter x360 14 is one of the few OLED laptops that can work a full day on a single charge. It's nowhere near our longest-lasting laptops, but it's a strong performance for a machine with such a beautiful and performance-hungry display.

Our opinion

The HP Specter x360 14 may not be the best laptop you can buy. The Dell XPS 13 likely retains this top spot for various reasons. But I'll say this: The Specter is pretty damn close, and if I were forced to choose between the two, I would go for the ultra-flexible and oh-so-beautiful 2-in-1 from HP.

Seriously, this latest Specter is Goldilocks' choice – not too small like the Specter x360 13 and not too big like the 15-inch variant. The 3: 2 aspect ratio makes a real difference when viewing long web pages and documents, the OLED display is fantastic, and the build quality is superb. Yes, you have to be a little fussy to get the highest performance. However, this is offset by the ability to run with almost zero noise and heat. The choice is yours, and the choice is a good thing.

Are there alternatives?

The HP Specter x360 13 is a desirable choice for someone who likes 16: 9 (these folks exist) and a smaller chassis. It can also be purchased with Tiger Lake and an OLED display. It's a little cheaper, and while we haven't tested the Tiger Lake versions, we suspect they perform well.

The Dell XPS 13 9310 is a great alternative if you don't want a 2-in-1 device. It's also incredibly well built and attractive, has a great keyboard, and performs well. You don't get such a high quality display or performance with the XPS 13, but when it comes to overall cohesive design, Dell's offering is unbeatable. You'll spend a little more money climbing the configuration ladder.

Finally, you might consider the MacBook Air M1, which features Apple Silicon’s M1 CPU that is completely changing the ARM and Intel landscape. It's fast, lasts forever, and is built Apple-style. And it's a cheaper laptop to boot into.

How long it will take?

The Specter x360 14 is well built and should provide years of reliable service. It's also fully cutting-edge in its components, including pioneering the move away from 16: 9 aspect ratios. There is only a one year warranty which is industry standard and, as usual, disappointing.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The Specter x360 14 is the best Specter you can buy and by far the best convertible notebook out there.

Editor's recommendations




16 Nov
Blog

Lenovo Yoga 9i 15: Maybe the Fastest 2-in-1 You Can Buy

Lenovo Yoga 9i Featured Image

Yoga 9i (15 & # 39;) 2-in-1 laptop

"The Yoga 9i is very fast for a 2-in-1, and with the right display it could work well for creative people."

  • Excellent performance

  • Solid build quality

  • Very good keyboard and touchpad

  • Excellent audio performance

  • Attractive aesthetics

  • The battery life suffers from a small battery

  • The display has poor contrast

Lenovo recently renamed its Yoga line, for example changing the Yoga C940 15-inch 2-in-1 to the Yoga 9i. This is a purely marketing move – the Yoga 9i is the same as the C940 with updated components inside. Some other new yogas are a little more innovative, like the leather-covered Yoga 9i 14-inch, but Lenovo has chosen to play it safe with its largest, most powerful convertible laptop.

I received a $ 2,000 Yoga 9i review unit that came with a sixth generation Intel Core i7-10750H with six cores, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB PCIe solid state drive (SSD), and a 15.6-inch Full HD display (1920 x 1080) and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q GPU. The Yoga C940 was already a fast laptop with a mediocre display and poor battery life that put it off a higher rating. Does the Yoga 9i fix the laptop problem and make it a more competitive proposition?

performance

Lenovo Yoga 9i performanceMark Coppock / Digital Trends

Since the updated CPU is the main difference between the Yoga C940 and the Yoga 9i, we'll start there. And it's a good place to start as the Yoga 9i gets the most out of its components.

In Geekbench 5, the Yoga 9i achieved 1,285 points in single-core mode and 5,551 points in multi-core mode. That is moderately faster than the 1,106 and 5,117 points of the Yoga C940 and beats the closest competition at 1237 and 5013, the HP Specter x360 15. The Dell XPS 15, a logical clamshell competitor, managed 1,314 and 7,549 with a much faster core i7-10875H with eight cores.

In Handbrake, our test that encodes a 420MB video as H.265, it took the Yoga 9i 2.4 minutes to complete the test. Like many newer laptops, the Yoga 9i has a utility for adjusting performance by changing the fan behavior, and the Yoga 9i only dipped for eight seconds in high-performance mode – not particularly impressive. The Specter x360 15 took 16 seconds longer than the Yoga, and the XPS 15 was done in just over two minutes. I'll also mention the HP Envy 15 with its Core i7-10750H, which beat the XPS 15 by two seconds in HP Command Center Performance mode and five seconds faster than the Yoga 9i in normal mode – the HP utility did more The Envy 15 was the fastest in the handbrake test in this group.

In Cinebench 20, the Yoga i9 achieved 2625 points in multi-core mode and 481 points in single-core mode. This is comparable to the Specter x360 15 (2523 and 469), the XPS 15 (3582 and 488), and the Envy 15 (2593 and 436). All of these functions were in the laptop's normal performance mode. The Yoga 9i and Envy 15 showed a slight increase in their respective performance modes, but not enough to catch up with the XPS 15 with its additional two cores and four threads.

Finally, I ran our Premiere Pro test encoding a two minute 4K video and this is where the Yoga 9i surprised. It took four minutes and 51 seconds (oddly enough in both normal and performance modes), which defeated the more powerful XPS 15, which lasted a little over five minutes. The Specter x360 15 lagged behind here and took 7.5 minutes to complete the test. The Envy 15 was the performance leader in performance mode, finishing in just three minutes and 53 seconds. It matched the XPS 15 in normal mode.

That's a lot of data that has to be digested. So let's simplify things. The Yoga 9i is the fastest 15-inch 2-in-1 we've tested, and we suspect it's the fastest you can buy. It can also be upgraded to a Core i9-10980H. If you're looking to spend the money, this 2-in-1 can get you even more performance. From this perspective, the Yoga 9i isn't just a laptop with high productivity and the flexibility of a 2-in-1 device. It's also a candidate for creatives who need quick photo and video editing. Whether the Yoga 9i really lives up to this standard depends on its display, which we'll cover next.

display

Lenovo Yoga 9i displayMark Coppock / Digital Trends

My test device was equipped with the 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display from Lenovo with a nominal output of 500 nits and supports Dolby Vision High Dynamic Range (HDR). Lenovo also offers a 4K IPS display, which is also rated at 500 nits.

According to my colorimeter, Lenovo's demands on brightness are a bit exaggerated. I saw 351 nits, which is way above our preferred threshold of 300 nits, but not nearly 500 nits of course. The colors for premium displays today were average at 97% of sRGB and 75% of AdobeRGB, and the DeltaE 1.42 color accuracy was good but not great (less than 1.0 is indistinguishable to the human eye and is considered excellent viewed). And Gamma was perfect at 2.2, which means photos and videos aren't too light or too dark. You will find that most Full HD displays these days are similar and you will have to switch to high quality 4K IPS and OLED displays to get better. For example, the 4K OLED display on the Specter x360 15 had 426 nits, 100% sRGB and 98% AdobeRGB, and a DeltaE or 1.21. The XPS 15's 4K IPS display was even stronger at 442 nits, 100% of sRGB and AdobeRGB, and a DeltaE of 0.65.

Where the display of the Yoga 9i fell behind was in its contrast, where it only managed 670: 1. This is a bad score for a premium laptop today, many of which meet or exceed our preferred threshold of 1000: 1. The Specter x360 16's OLED display was the typical ridiculous 426,180: 1, and the XPS 15 was great for a 1480: 1 IPS display. Such low contrast sometimes left the Yoga 9i's display a little washed out compared to its main competition appear, especially with black text on a white background.

Still, for the most part, I enjoyed using the display. I'll admit that I like high-resolution, high-contrast displays for the sharpest possible text, which is why I would have preferred a 4K panel – as a writer, the Yoga 9i's display would never make me happy. If you don't mind Full HD in a larger display, you'll find that it gets you through your productivity work with ease. I'll find that Dolby Vision HDR support means that Netflix HDR content is superior to most other Full HD displays – very bright and with dark scenes showing more detail than most other displays.

We haven't tested the Yoga 9i's 4K display yet, but they typically have wider, more accurate colors and better contrast. Whether the 9i is a true creative workstation depends on whether the 4K display meets your color requirements. Unfortunately, this is not a question that we can currently answer.

Audio

Lenovo Yoga 9i AudioMark Coppock / Digital Trends

I normally set the audio performance in the display area, but the Yoga 9i's audio system deserves special attention. Instead of banging a speaker or two somewhere in the case, Lenovo built a soundbar into the 360-degree hinge that houses custom tweeters with vibration buffers to reduce distortion and a pair of darting woofers under the case. When you put the soundbar into the hinge, you'll benefit from Dolby Atmos speakers in all orientations, including the media mode that is most likely to benefit you. And it's excellent audio with tremendous volume that never gets distorted, clear mids and highs, and even a hint of bass. You can use the Yoga 9i to play Netflix all by yourself without the need for headphones or external speakers, even if you share it with a friend. This is unusual for a Windows 10 laptop. The Yoga 9i can't quite compete with the latest MacBooks for the best laptop audio, but it's damn close.

design

Lenovo Yoga 9i designMark Coppock / Digital Trends

The design of the Yoga 9i is unchanged from that of the Yoga C940. First, and perhaps best, this means that the case is very solid with no bending, bending, or twisting of the lid, keyboard deck, or case base. It is made of machined aluminum and enjoys an excellent fit and finish. Small touches like a hinge that can be easily opened with one hand while staying in place during use are abundant and give a very high quality overall feel. The Dell XPS 15 and HP Specter x360 15 have nothing to do with the build quality of the Yoga 9i.

Aesthetically, the Yoga 9i fits Lenovo's very conservative overall picture. The angles are overall clean, and the back of the case and the bottom of the lid have matching rounded surfaces that work well with the rest of the machine. It's a solid dark gray, with the exception of the Dolby Atmos rotating soundbar, which is built into the hinge area and has a coppery hue. The Specter x360 15 is a much more eye-catching laptop with its gem-carved design and copper accents. However, if you prefer a cleaner and simpler look, then you'll love the Yoga 9i.

Like the Specter x360 15, the Yoga 9i has small bezels, while the Yoga uses an inverted notch to give something to grip when opening the lid and to make room for the webcam. The Yoga 9i ranges in thickness from 0.69 to 0.78 inches with a slight taper and weighs 4.41 pounds. That's comparable to the Specter x360 15 at 0.79 inches and 4.24 pounds. The Yoga is slightly wider and deeper than the HP, which ultimately offers a bit more size to take with you and more keyboard deck for working and a larger touchpad. This is a compromise that you will either love or hate. Both 2-in-1s are larger than you would like to use as a tablet, unless you've propped them up on a surface.

Connectivity is mediocre, with a proprietary power port, two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 3 support, a 3.5mm audio jack on the left, and a single USB-A 3.2 port on the right. Surprisingly, there is no SD card reader, which is a real disappointment, especially for creative people. The Specter x360 15 has a full-size HDMI 2.0 port and can be connected to additional displays without a dock. The wireless connection is via Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.

Keyboard and touchpad

Lenovo Yoga 9i keyboard and touchpadMark Coppock / Digital Trends

The Yoga 9i's keyboard looks just like the one you'll find on any other yoga. It has big, shaped keys with a lot of space between them and less travel than I like to see. In this model, however, Lenovo has adopted “TrueStrike” technology from its Legion gaming laptops, which use a “soft landing” switch to provide faster ground action. I will admit that I liked this version better than the others that I tried. They were never my favorite and found them more precise and responsive. The Yoga 9i's keyboard still doesn't match my favorites, the HP Specter line keyboard on the Windows 10 side, and Apple's Magic keyboard on the latest MacBooks. However, most of the people will love this keyboard and they will be typing at full speed in no time.

The touchpad is a good size, not as big as the Dell XPS 15, but still bigger (or at least bigger) than the touchpad on the Specter x360 15. It has a glass cover that makes wiping extremely comfortable. Thanks to the Microsoft Precision touchpad drivers, it is responsive and supports all multi-touch gestures from Windows 10.

The touch display reacts like pretty much all touch displays today. And it supports Lenovo's active stylus docked on the right side of the case to charge it and make sure you don't lose it. The disadvantage: it is smaller than a "real" pen and therefore takes some getting used to. The pen supports 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and this version has an elastomer tip that is supposed to better mimic the feel of a pen on paper.

Windows 10 Hello support is provided by a fingerprint reader that was fast and accurate. The Yoga 9i has the usual Lenovo privacy shutter for the webcam – slide it over it and it physically blocks the camera from potential spies.

Battery life

Lenovo Yoga 9i battery lifeMark Coppock / Digital Trends

The biggest problem with the Yoga 9i's battery life is that it could be a lot better if only Lenovo had added more battery. It only takes 69 watt hours to power a 15.6-inch display and some powerful components. As we'll see, this results in battery life that isn't terrible but could be a lot better.

First, the Yoga 9i lasted almost 3.5 hours in our demanding Basemark web benchmark test, which is average for laptops with 45 watt CPUs. However, the Dell XPS 15 with its faster CPU and 4K display lasted two minutes less, which means that Dell's inclusion of 86 watt hours of battery capacity pays off here. The Specter x360 15 with its power-hungry OLED display lasted 44 minutes less than the Yoga 9i with its Full HD display (not that the display played such a big role in the Basemark test).

In our web browser test, which best mimics productivity performance, the Yoga 9i lasted a little over 7.5 hours, 40 minutes longer than the XPS 15, and nearly 90 minutes longer than the Specter x360. And in our video loop test, in which a Full HD Avengers trailer is played until the battery is empty, the Yoga 9i lasted a little over 12 hours – a good score that benefited from the Full HD display. The XPS 15 lasted less than 7.5 hours and the Specter x360 15 6.5 hours.

All in all, this is decent battery life for a powerful 2-in-1 with a 15.6-inch display, and the Yoga 9i will last longer than its predecessor. It is possible to spend a full day using the laptop if you save the CPU and GPU. However, if you want to perform demanding jobs, you should carry the power adapter with you. I still can't help but wish Lenovo had a bigger battery because then battery life could be a real strength.

Our opinion

The Lenovo Yoga 9i is even faster than the Yoga C940, which is already one of the fastest 2-in-1s you can buy. Lenovo did some magic with the thermal to get every ounce of power out of it, and it shows. The 2-in-1 is well built, attractive and offers great sound.

The biggest downside is the display, which had poor contrast that spoiled the overall experience. Creatives should check out the 4K display option, which has an impact on battery life but is likely to offer wider and more accurate colors. And I could repeat myself here, but I wish there was a bigger battery in there.

Are there alternatives?

The Dell XPS 15 is a direct competitor of the Yoga 9i in the 15-inch clamshell market and a strong competitor. It has a better display, at least as far as we've tested, making it a better option for discerning creative professionals. The XPS 15 is also cheaper than the Yoga 9i and currently costs almost $ 200 less for an equivalent configuration.

A direct alternative is the HP Specter x360 15, which offers the same configuration as the 9i for $ 300 less (on sale). Aesthetically, the Specter x360 15 is a much more eye-catching 2-in-1 device and offers slightly better connectivity. But the Yoga 9i is faster and can be upgraded to a Core i9 to really blow the HP out of the water.

Finally, you might consider the HP Envy 15, which costs a whopping $ 650 less than the configured Yoga 9i. And for $ 250 less, you get a spectacular OLED display and Nvidia RTX 2060 Max-Q GPU, making the Envy 15 a much more powerful and enjoyable laptop.

How long it will take?

The Yoga 9i is built like a tank and will last forever. Okay, maybe not forever, but as long as you need it. The one-year warranty is industry standard and, as always, is too short.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The Yoga 9i is the fastest 2-in-1 device we know. It has great audio quality and a great design. However, consider the 4K display if you plan to use it for photo or video editing.

Editor's recommendations




11 Aug
Blog

LG Gram 14 2-in-1 (2020) Review: Not Just a Light Laptop

lg grams 14 2 in 1 2020 review 05

"The LG Gram 14 2-in-1 is an extremely light laptop, but it does more than just that."

  • Solid productivity performance

  • Extremely light

  • Generally good input options

  • Strong connectivity

  • Expensive

  • The performance has decreased slightly compared to the previous generation

As you can tell by the name, LG's Gram laptops focus on weight – especially light weight. While thin and light laptops have gotten a lot thinner and lighter, the LG Gram line has managed to keep its place with some of the lightest laptops you can buy.

LG just updated its Gram 14 2-in-1, which weighs just 2.52 pounds. It's insanely easy, despite having all of the high-end specs you'd expect in a $ 1,600 laptop. But does this laptop have more to offer than just its light weight?

design

The Gram 14 weighs 2.52 pounds, which is definitely on the lower end of the scale for 14-inch 2-in-1 laptops. Imagine a direct competitor, the Lenovo Yoga C940, which weighs 3.04 pounds – a half-pound difference that you can tell when you hold it in either hand. Even a smaller 2-in-1, the HP Specter x360 13, is heavier at 2.88 pounds. Simply put, the Gram 14 achieves its goal of being a noticeably lighter alternative.

Much of this has to do with the choice of materials, especially the magnesium alloy that makes up the laptop's case. This metal manages to keep things lightweight while still being reasonably sturdy, though I've noticed a few bends in the lid and some keyboard flexes. The Gram 14 feels like it's made of plastic. That's not a bad thing in and of itself, but it hurts when you factor in the $ 1,600 price tag.

Despite its low weight, the Gram 14 is not the thinnest notebook.

However, once you overcome this mental hurdle, you will appreciate how LG managed to make the laptop so light and solid that you don't have to worry about its ability to endure abuse.

Despite its weight, the Gram 14 is not the thinnest notebook at 0.70 inches. The Yoga C940 is thinner at 0.57 inches and the HP Specter x360 13 is 0.67 inches. And you'll be pleased with that extra thickness as, as we'll learn, it improves connectivity and battery capacity.

In terms of aesthetics, the Gram 14 can best be described as "handsome". It's an attractive dark silver color (it's also available in white) with a bold white Gram logo on the lid and keyboard font that curiously compliments the design. There's nothing here to get a lot of attention, but I like the look. I would prefer it to Lenovo's yoga aesthetic, which is as conservative as it is boring. HP's Specter line is still the most extravagant, of course, and the Gram 14 doesn't come close.

Connectivity is impressive for a laptop this thin and light. There's a USB-C port with Thunderbolt 3 support (and an upgrade from the previous model without this useful connection), a full-size HDMI port, two USB-A 3.1 ports, and a microSD card reader. Wireless connectivity is provided by Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5, which keeps the laptop up to date with the latest in wireless technology.

performance

When I reviewed the 2019 version of the Gram 14, it was a strong performance for its CPU class. This time it fell off a bit.

In the synthetic Geekbench 4, for example, the 2019 version with its eighth generation Core i7-8565U achieved 5,013 points in the single-core test and 15,496 points in the multi-core test. The new Gram 14 with its quad-core Intel Core i7-10510U scored 5,244 and 14,789 points respectively and dropped out in the multi-core test. Looking at Geekbench 5, the Gram 14 scored 1,170 and 3,480, respectively, compared to the Asus ZenBook Duo with the same CPU that manages 1,183 and 4,221. The Gram 14 simply lags behind in this test.

When switching to our real-world handbrake test, which converts a 420MB video file to H.265, the 2019 Gram 14 took about 4.1 minutes to complete the test with an older version of Handbrake, while the new Gram 14 took five Took seconds longer. We didn't test the same CPU with the latest version of Handbrake, but it took the Gram 14 five minutes to complete the test compared to the Acer Spin 3, which took a Core i5-1035G1 in just over four minutes.

None of this is a tragedy, of course. These results mean you don't want to use the Gram 14 for high-level photo and video editing tasks, but it does work for just about any productivity, web browsing, and multimedia task you might want to do. And that's exactly the focus of this laptop – providing a lightweight platform that productivity workers love to take with them. In this respect the gram 14 shines.

With Intel UHD Graphics, this is of course not a gaming laptop. If you stick to older, low-resolution, graphical-detail titles, you can play light games, but that's about all you can expect.

Battery life

Somehow, LG managed to pack 72 watt hours of battery capacity into the lightweight housing of the Gram 14. That's a lot of battery for a 14-inch laptop, and I expected some strong battery results.

What I got was strong, but not spectacular longevity. Battery life has been one of the most notable improvements in recent laptops, and the Gram 14 sits on the top shelf in this category. It's not the most durable we've tested, but it does give you a good, long day off the hook.

First, it did nearly 4.5 hours in our demanding Basemark web benchmark test. That's on the high end of the average, which is a bit strange because the Gram 14 doesn't exactly push the CPU to its limits and I was expecting more here. The Asus ZenBook Duo lasted almost five hours longer and the Dell XPS 13 with its Core i7-1065G7 almost half an hour longer. So Gram 14 did well here, but not great.

The LG Gram 14 will get you through a whole working day and much more.

The switch to the web browser test and the Gram 14 was a bit stronger. It ran for roughly 11.3 hours, which is a strong – but also not class-leading – score that indicates a long-lasting productivity laptop. The ZenBook Duo only lasted 8.5 hours, while the XPS 13 lasted 13 minutes longer. Finally, watch our video loop test looping a local Full HD The Avengers trailer until the battery runs out. Here the Gram 14 lasted 16.6 hours, beating the 11.9 hours of the ZenBook Duo and the 14.5 hours of the XPS 13. You'll find the Gram 14 an excellent laptop for getting Netflix on the road .

Ultimately, I have to rate the Gram 14 as impressive in terms of battery life, all the more so since you don't pay a premium in terms of weight for total battery capacity. The Gram 14 will take you through a full day of work and more, which is all you can ask from such a featherweight machine.

display

If you look at our display database, you can see a remarkably consistent trend. Laptops like the Apple MacBook and the Dell XPS 15 have fantastic displays with brilliant and precise colors, deep contrast and high brightness. Then there are inexpensive displays with faint colors, poor accuracy, and dull panels with less contrast. Right in the middle is the premium average, which is almost exactly where the Gram 14's display drops off.

It's comfortably bright at 320 nits, which exceeds our preference of 300 nits, while its 830: 1 contrast falls below our preferred 1,000: 1 ratio. But that's similar or better than some other laptops like the Lenovo Yoga C930 (we haven't tested the C940 yet) which came in at 294 nits and a contrast of 650: 1. The Dell XPS 13 was much brighter at 377 nits and had a contrast ratio of 1,440: 1.

The display is one of the worst color accuracies we've seen in a while.

In terms of color, the Gram 14 managed 70% AdobeRGB and 95% sRGB. Again, this is roughly average for premium laptops. although the XPS 13 outperforms it with 77% and 97% respectively. Where the Gram 14 falls, the color accuracy is 5.11 (1.0 or less is considered accurate), which means colors can be found everywhere compared to a laptop like the XPS 13, which scored 1.53 were. The Gram 14's score is one of the worst we've seen in a while, and there's no excuse for an expensive laptop like this one.

Still, I enjoyed using the display while writing the review. Black text on a white background popped up in a way that was comfortable for long-term writing, and the only time I noticed the inaccurate colors was when I compared it side by side with another laptop. If you're the creative type who demands a wide gamut and accurate colors, control should be clear. For productivity users and multimedia watchers, however, the Gram 14's laptop is more than good enough.

The sound was clear and pleasant, although the volume was absent. There was little bass, of course, but few laptops outside of Apple's latest MacBook Pros can claim a lot of low-end reactions. Highs and mids were fine, so the speakers were fine for the occasional YouTube and Netflix sessions (in a quiet room), but headphones or bluetooth speakers would still be a boon.

Keyboard and touchpad

The keyboard on the Gram 14 appears to be the same as the previous model, which is generally a good thing. First of all, as mentioned above, it's a nice looking keyboard with a nice, clear, attractive font and effective backlighting. Second, it has a fast mechanism that is good for long writes, although it's a bit shallow for my tastes. Lots of people may agree, so I rate the keyboard very good – not quite on par with the excellent keyboard on the HP Specter x360 13, but not too far off.

The touchpad is average in size and supports Microsoft Precision drivers with solid support for Windows 10 multi-touch gestures. The display is of course touch sensitive, and the included active pen supports 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and works well with Microsoft inks. Overall, input is a strength.

Windows 10 Hello support without a password is provided by a fingerprint reader integrated into the power button. It works well, quickly and accurately and saves me the hassle of entering a PIN or password.

Our opinion

The LG Gram 14 2-in-1 fulfills its primary goal of being a lightweight 2-in-1 productivity that is particularly easy to transport. Performance is a bit slower than the last version, but it's not unusual – it's still fast enough for the productivity users' goal. Battery life is a strong point, as are the input options.

There is stiff competition out there, however, and some of them are much cheaper than the Gram 14. However, it's tough to beat the LG Gram 14 for the ultimate in portability.

Are there alternatives?

The Lenovo Yoga C940 is a strong competitor to the Gram 14. It is likely faster and more solidly built, with great audio performance and a better keyboard. While the battery life isn't that long, it makes up for it with a price tag that is about $ 300 lower.

You could also cut the price significantly (around under $ 1,000) and consider the HP Envy x360. Thanks to the powerful Ryzen 4000 CPUs from AMD and an overall better build quality, you get significantly faster performance without adding too much weight. However, you are giving up on battery life.

Finally, LG sells a Gram 14 clamshell that's even lighter at 2.2 pounds and the same basic size as the 2-in-1. It's only configured with a Core i5, but if you don't need the speed or the 2-in-1 functionality, you can save 14 cash compared to the 2-in-1 price of 1,600 grams – the clamshell is out now available at $ 950 and $ 1,200 at retail.

How long it will take?

The LG Gram 14 2-in-1 is built well enough that it should last for years. And with the latest components and Thunderbolt3, it's relatively future-proof. As always, we complain about the short one-year guarantee.

Should you buy it?

Yes, but only if you have a super light laptop. When performance or build quality are higher priorities, better laptops and 2-in-1 devices are available.

Editor's recommendations




25 May
Blog

Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Review: Astounding 2-in-1 Value

Lenovo Ideapad Duet Review 06

"The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet offers tremendous value for everything this affordable 2-in-1 tablet can do."

  • Outstanding build quality

  • Lighter than the iPad

  • Enormous value

  • Long battery life

  • Narrow keyboard layout

  • The whole package is a bit chunky

  • Mediocre performance

Google's Pixel Slate was promising. It was a 2-in-1 tablet with the flexibility of the Surface Pro, accompanied by the fullness of the Android app ecosystem. For one reason or another, the product was discontinued less than a year after its launch. It was such a failure that Google announced it would finally leave the tablet market and compete for products like the $ 400 Surface Go 2 from Microsoft and the $ 329 iPad from Apple in the lower price segment.

Now Lenovo is filling the hole that the Pixel Slate has left. The IdeaPad Duet is a compact 10.1-inch tablet with a starting price of $ 279. The best part? The stand cover and keyboard are included for this price. This is an attractive price for anyone looking for a tablet. Can the Duet for Chrome OS do what the Pixel Slate couldn't?

design

The Duet is in itself as slim a tablet as you would expect. It's 0.28 inches thick compared to the Microsoft Surface Go 2 at 0.33 inches and the base iPad at 0.29 inches. This is quite thin and makes it pleasant to hold the duet in one hand. The duets are also characterized by impressive build quality, with a combined metal and plastic case that feels solid and is exceptionally light at just £ 0.99. The Surface Go 2 costs £ 1.2 and the iPad £ 1.07.

Things change a little when you add the rear stand cover and keyboard. In this case, the duet, 0.71 inches thick and 2.03 pounds thick, gets pretty chunky. It's thicker and heavier than the Surface Go 2 with built-in stand and $ 130 type cover, and the iPad with $ 159 smart keyboard. Note that both the Duet and Surface Go 2 solutions include a touchpad, but not the iPad. You'll need to upgrade to the much more expensive iPad Pro and add the magic keyboard to include a touchpad in the keyboard cover.

The Duet is also an attractive tablet in its ice blue and iron gray color scheme, which is transferred to the fabric cover on the stand cover (at least the gray). It's a conservative design that's neither boring nor fancy, and ends up right in the goldilocks zone with good looks.

One disappointment is the only USB-C port that serves as the only connection. There's no 3.5mm audio jack and no included adapter – that's a shit that limits you to connecting headphones or speakers via Bluetooth. This is an area I wish it hadn't followed the example of the iPad. There is also no SD card slot, another disappointment. Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2 ensure that you are connected wirelessly.

Keyboard and touchpad

As already mentioned, the Duet comes with a stand cover and a removable keyboard in the box, which makes the tablet an enormous value. With Surface Go 2 and iPad, spend at least $ 130 more to get the same functionality. The question is, what is the quality of these components?

The stand cover is attached to the back of the tablet with an amazingly strong magnet that makes for a surprisingly safe combination. The stand reaches up to an impressive 135 degrees. This fits the Surface Go 2 and leaves the tablet lying in a comfortable angle for coloring. It also holds the tablet at a good angle on a flat surface. However, like most detachable tablets, it's awkward in a round.

You'll spend hundreds more on a Surface Go 2 or iPad to use the same functionality.

The keyboard itself is a little less impressive. It is connected to the tablet via pogo pins and other magnets. It's safe to say the key spacing (the distance between the center of each key) is a healthy 18mm and the travel is 1.3mm. The layout still felt tight – especially the tiny punctuation marks on the right. However, the key mechanism was clicking and quiet, which is great. In contrast to Microsoft's award-winning Type Cover, the keyboard of the Duet cannot be supported at an angle, so that only the flat option is available.

The glass touchpad performs better. It is inevitably rather small due to the overall dimensions of the tablet, but it works smoothly and has a satisfactory click. Moving and using Chrome OS multi-touch gestures felt natural and precise. Then remove the back cover and keyboard and you get a slim tablet that is great for swiping through websites and reading e-books and other documents. The touch display reacts and everything feels natural again. You can pick up an active pen as an optional purchase.

There is a lot of value here. You'll spend hundreds more on a Surface Go 2 or iPad to use the same functionality – and value is the real story. The keyboard isn't perfect, but the fact that Lenovo includes it in the duet's low price makes things far more palatable.

Display and audio

Lenovo rates the display at 400 nits. Although I can't measure it with my colorimeter due to a lack of Chrome OS support, the screen seems bright enough for everyone except to work outdoors in direct sunlight. The colors of the display seem to be sufficient for internet surfing, productivity work, and watching Netflix, but they're probably not wide and not accurate enough for professional photo editing. And that's fine, because you don't want to work that way on this tablet.

You can get a better display on other tablets. The aspect ratio of 16:10 enables comfortable use in portrait format, and the resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 is sharp on the 10.1-inch panel. The larger 10.5-inch display of the Surface Go 2 with 3: 2 and 1,920 x 1,280 only offers a slightly higher resolution, but the difference is not noticeable. For comparison: The 10.2-inch 16:10 display of the iPad offers a much sharper resolution of 2,160 x 1,620 and a brightness of 500 nits.

The duet's audio is fine. There are two first-class speakers above the display that produce a decent sound that is sufficient for occasional YouTube videos or melodies. However, you should connect Bluetooth headphones or an external Bluetooth speaker.

performance

The Duet is based on a MediaTek Helio P60T processor with eight cores and has 4 GB RAM. Storage is eMMC, which is common for Chromebooks, but not as fast as a solid-state drive. It can be configured with 64 GB for $ 279 and 128 GB for $ 299. It's clear that double the storage is worth the $ 20.

In terms of synthetic benchmarks, the first test I ran was Geekbench 4 (Geekbench 5 is probably not available for the Duet due to the processor). The duet scored 1,376 in the single-core test and 5528 points in the multi-core test. This is almost the end of our database, especially the single-core test, which is outperformed by older Intel Pentium processors. Next, I ran the Tachometer 2.0 test to see how well the MediaTek CPU performed on web-related tasks compared to the Intel alternatives. The duet scored 27 points in the test, which puts it at the bottom of our ranking. Again, you need to look at older Intel Pentium processors to get the same performance.

This isn't the fastest Chrome OS device I've used. By far not.

This isn't the fastest Chrome OS device I've used. By far not. For example, the Asus Chromebook Flip C436 achieved a much faster 97 with a relatively inexpensive 10th generation Intel Core i3 processor. The Chromebook Flip C436 was also much faster subjectively. Where the duo sometimes lagged behind when several Chrome tabs were open and some Android apps were running in the background, the Asus did not miss a beat. The difference is noticeable.

However, this does not make the duet perform poorly. Ultimately, I found it more than fast enough for the tasks I can imagine it to be: surfing the web, quick notes and changes with the Android version of Microsoft Office apps, and watching YouTube videos and Netflix. It would be an excellent device for children and could even work well if brought to college. Chrome OS really helps here as it is so thin and light compared to Windows 10, but I will find that the Apple iPad is a bit smoother than the Duet.

The Duet can run Android games, but they're not as smooth as some other Chrome OS devices. A more demanding title like Asphalt 9 sometimes showed some choppiness, and you won't see that with the iPad. If gaming is important to you, consider Apple's tablet.

Battery life

Being a slower and more energy efficient CPU – because that's another important aspect here – has its advantages. Although the Duet only has a battery capacity of 27 watt hours, which is fairly light, it showed excellent battery life.

For example, the duet in our most demanding Basemark web benchmark test lasted an impressive eight hours. This is one of the longest periods we've seen in this test, and it's much longer than the Surface Go 2 or iPad.

In our web browser test, the duet lasted almost 14 hours, which in turn is an excellent score and is more than three times as long as the Surface Go 2. This laptop will have to get you through a day and a half or more of work in front of you. If you want to watch videos, you are less impressed by the duet. We managed to go through our local Full HD Avengers trailer for 12.5 hours, which is good but not great. The Surface Go 2 managed around an hour less, which is the only battery test that it could keep up with the Duet.

Chrome OS

A tablet is only as good as the software that runs it, and Chrome OS has come a long way. Thanks to the new software update, Chrome OS can now be run much better on a tablet than it was just a few weeks ago.

When you remove the tablet, the Duet automatically switches to Chrome OS tablet mode. In tablet mode you get some additional gestures, e.g. For example, swipe up to see all apps running, and swipe up and hold to open the app drawer. In the "Running apps" view, you can drag apps left and right to use Chrome OS's split screen view. Finally, Chrome has a new feature for showing open tabs. Switch to tablet mode and the tabs will disappear. They are replaced with a thumbnail view that you can access by tapping a number icon that indicates how many open tabs you are running.

All of these features are fluid enough to use, and they improve Chrome OS on a tablet like the Duet. It's more than what Windows 10 offers in tablet mode. More importantly, you can run Android apps for touchscreen devices directly from the Google Play Store. They run without problems and – apart from games – with a lot of performance as long as not too many apps are open at the same time.

Of course, Chrome OS iPadOS, which was developed exclusively for tablets, cannot withhold a candle. They don't have that many gestures at their disposal, and iPad apps tend to be more elegant and refined than many Android alternatives. Still, the Duet is a functional and usable tablet, and I can see that it takes a few minutes from my iPad.

Our opinion

The IdeaPad Duet is an OK tablet for the price. That said, if your budget is tight and you really want a Chromebook, the Duet will meet your needs without killing you.

But throw in the included stand cover and keyboard and suddenly the duet is a serious value. You'll spend hundreds more on another tablet to get the same functionality, and that makes the Duet a very attractive option indeed.

Are there alternatives?

It is obvious which products are most likely to compete with the IdeaPad Duet, and I compared them in this review. The Microsoft Surface Go 2 is the Windows 10 competitor. It costs about $ 100 more and has great options for Type Cover and Surface Pen that make it even more expensive. If you'd rather run Windows 10 than Chrome OS, Surface Go 2 is the natural alternative.

Then there is the entry-level Apple iPad for $ 329. There is no pen support that puts it behind the duet for anyone who wants to write or draw on the display, and the keyboard is an expensive addition. Here, too, it depends on the choice of operating systems: If you want iOS instead of Chrome OS, the iPad is the obvious choice.

If you're looking for Chrome OS, but would rather use a Clamshell laptop, the $ 650 Pixelbook Go is probably your best bet. Yes, it's more expensive, but you get a better display, an excellent keyboard, and an overall improvement in build quality.

How long it will take?

Chrome OS is pretty efficient and is updated regularly. Therefore, the duet should take a while to become obsolete. And its physical construction should keep it well beyond the one-year warranty.

Should you buy it

Yes. At $ 279, the Duet is a bargain with the included stand cover and keyboard. You can even use it as a second or third device to surf the Internet more than enough. If you need something very portable to search a document, the Duet can do it too.

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