Lenovo Flex 6 11 review: Affordable, but worth it?

Lenovo's Flex series of convertible IdeaPad laptops offers a cheaper alternative to its Yoga line. Similarly sized models look, well, similar, though the Flex does indeed have its shortcuts to keep the price down. I reviewed the 14-inch Flex 6, noting that it was built well and had great performance, though the display was a allow down.

I have hither now the 11-inch version of the Flex 6, a seriously depression-cost convertible — the model I'g reviewing will set you back just virtually $280 — that, at first glance, seems to have the same loftier build quality every bit the larger Flex laptop. How do its hardware and brandish concur up under pressure? Let'southward notice out.

Budget, portable computing

Lenovo Flex 6 (11")

Starts at about $280

Bottom line: It's built well, but the eleven-inch Flex half dozen's display and performance leave a lot to exist desired.

Pros

• Loftier build quality.
• Overnice keyboard and touchpad.
• Decent port selection.
• Long, if flawed, bombardment life.

Cons

• Irksome performance.
• Low-res, dim display.
• Small-scale storage.

What you'll dear nigh the Lenovo Flex half-dozen (11")

Lenovo has seemingly taken its time to refine the blueprint of the Flex lineup, and the eleven-inch model looks great, especially for a sub-$300 device. The lines period smoothly with silver accents, the hinges are stiff and tin concord the display in place no affair how far you've rotated it around, and the PC/ABS plastic chassis seems like it volition hold up well. You could easily mistake it as an aluminum build, particularly since information technology weighs well-nigh ii.75 pounds (ane.25kg).

Category	Spec
Class gene	Convertible notebook
Display	11.six-inch HD (1,366 x 768) TN, touch
Processor	Intel Celeron N4000
Graphics	Intel UHD Graphics 600
RAM	2GB
Storage	64GB eMMC
Battery	36Wh
Wireless	802.11ac Bluetooth 4.one
Ports	USB-A ii.0 USB-A 3.0 USB-C HDMI SD bill of fare reader 3.5mm audio
Size	11.57 x 8.03 x 0.7 inches 293.88mm x 203.96mm x 17.78mm
Weight	2.75 pounds (1.25kg)

This is a modest laptop that's meant to be tucked nether an arm or placed at the lesser of a stack of textbooks. It'south non the thinnest at 0.vii inches thick, but there is a good choice of ports for your peripherals, including HDMI, USB-A 2.0, USB-A 3.0, USB-C, and an SD card reader. The laptop also has a port for the 65W butt charger that can accuse the laptop to full in just over an hour.

The keyboard isn't quite the aforementioned equally the one on the 14-inch model (which I idea was possibly its best feature), though information technology's nevertheless well-spaced, consistent, and comfy. Keys have plenty of travel, though there is no backlight. If you're often working without whatever outside light, this volition no uncertainty be an badgerer. The Precision touchpad is a skilful size for such a pocket-size device, and it worked without flaw.

Overall, this seems similar a well-built laptop that yous could mistake for costing a lot more than, though once you start really using it, the features that were cut or trimmed downwardly to keep the price low get apparent.

What you'll detest virtually the Lenovo Flex 6 (xi")

Upon opening the laptop, the TN affect display is probable the showtime thing you'll discover. Information technology seems very washed out from the showtime, and at 768p information technology's not exactly well-baked. The 11.vi-inch size means the resolution doesn't await as bad as on, say, a xv-inch laptop, but information technology'southward withal something to think well-nigh. Bezels are quite chunky — you have enough of room for your thumbs in tablet mode — and it doesn't have the same broad viewing angles every bit an IPS panel. Testing colour, I got just 63 per centum sRGB and 48 percent AdobeRGB.

A few years ago a depression-res brandish at this toll could be excused, only the upkeep market has grown, and you lot should be able to find at least FHD at a similar price. Unfortunately, performance isn't exactly stellar either. The dual-core Celeron N4000 is easily bogged downwardly, and 2GB of RAM isn't much fill-in. With Slack open and Edge running a few tabs, things ground to a halt before I could get to my word processor. Later on closing downward some background stuff and focusing on one app at a fourth dimension, functioning becomes much more manageable. This is a laptop designed for some very light productivity — write some words, browse the internet — and should keep upward every bit long as you don't attempt to do it all at once.

I ran some benchmarks to see exactly where the Flex half dozen sits. A Geekbench 4 CPU examination came back with a unmarried-core score of 948 and a dual-core score of 1,539. Compare this to an boilerplate 8th Gen Core i5-8250U (4,178 and 13,354 scores), and you can encounter what y'all're working with. A PCMark Home Conventional test also revealed nearly a third of the score of the new 13-inch Yoga 730, coming in at 1,240. Storage is capped at 64GB and is quite ho-hum (a symptom of eMMC), though there is an SD card reader for expansion.

The small 36Wh bombardment is outset some by the low TDP of the CPU and the low-res brandish, and it does concluding for about seven hours of video streaming. That'due south a corking battery, simply I institute that the laptop tends to shut off when it gets down to about the 15-percent mark. A recalibration would likely articulate it upwardly, though information technology's a process you normally have to perform afterwards using the laptop regularly for quite awhile. And finally, I noticed while watching some videos that the speakers, while loud and mostly clear, suffered from a crackle when a certain pitch was hitting.

Lenovo Flex vi (eleven") lesser line

Lenovo's Flex six has an affordable price tag, and before you plough the display on, information technology really does look like an expensive device. It seems to be built well, it feels sturdy in your hands, and the hinges are smooth and just stiff enough. It'due south meant for lightweight computing, and as long every bit you lot proceed information technology that way without doing as well much at one time, information technology should prove to be a good companion when you're on the become.

However, the dim and drab 768p display is quite noticeable, and if you're coming from a PC that was able to multitask, you'll no doubtfulness quickly become frustrated with having to look around while the Celeron CPU gets itself together. In that location is a higher-spec version of the 11-inch Flex half-dozen with a speedier Pentium CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of eMMC storage, though it'south using the aforementioned brandish and costs $150 more.

See at Lenovo

Oh Dearest

New report reveals Microsoft's future AR strategy; HoloLens 3 is dead

Business organization Insider has today published a follow-upwardly report with more details about Microsoft's canceled HoloLens 3 augmented reality headset. The partnership with Samsung is said to include a headset with a gear up of screens inside, powered past a Samsung phone in your pocket.

Keeping information technology affordable

Review: Surface Laptop SE is the new standard for K-8 Windows PCs

Starting at simply $250, Microsoft's start foray into affordable laptops for the education market is a winner. With a gorgeous design, excellent thermals, and a fantastic typing experience, Microsoft would practise correct to sell this directly to consumers also. Allow'due south just hope Intel tin make a meliorate CPU.

Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/lenovo-flex-6-11-review

Posted by: davisdorbacted.blogspot.com

Share this post