Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 320 - Review 2022

At first glance, the keyboard and tablet of the Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 320 (starts at $199.99; $299.99 as tested) are so well-integrated that yous might not even know that this is a detachable 2-in-1. A basic Windows ten laptop, information technology tin can exist transformed into a 10-inch tablet past removing its magnetically fastened keyboard. As is the case with its budget-cost ilk, information technology's best suited for light-duty tasks every bit opposed to media creation or gaming, either for a relatively undemanding user or for someone looking for a second calculator for the route. All the same, you lot get a USB-C port and more thirteen hours of battery life making information technology an Editors' Choice for convertible laptops.

Laptop or Stealth Tablet

Measuring just 0.iv past 9.8 past vii inches with keyboard fastened and weighing ii.2 pounds (1.2 of them existence the tablet itself), the Miix 320 is minor and lightweight. Information technology'south non every bit light as some of its competition, though: The Acer Switch 3 weighs i.98 pounds, and the Asus Transformer Mini is a feathery ane.75 pounds with its keyboard cover. Its sleek matte-silvery frame feels reasonably sturdy, and you could hands think the it was solely a laptop until you explored it for a while.

Equally a detachable hybrid, in that location is a hinge on the keyboard portion of the machine with two magnetized tabs that fit into holes in the tablet portion's edge and securely hold the screen in place. You tin conform your viewing angle to 125 degrees by swiveling the screen in the hinge, simply as you would with a one-piece laptop. The screen is easy enough to pull free from the keyboard with a scrap of pressure when you lot want to go tablet-only, merely y'all're unlikely to accidentally detach information technology. Unlike some models, including the Asus Transformer Mini (T102HA-D4-GR), you tin't insert the tablet astern to fold it back on top of the keyboard.

The Miix 320 has ii cameras, a 2-megapixel forepart-facing selfie camera and a 5MP rear camera for conventional shooting. Unsurprising considering its 10-inch screen, the keyboard is a niggling more compressed than your typical xiii-inch laptop, with slightly less infinite between the chiclet-manner keys. The letter of the alphabet keys are full-size and run almost to the edge of the laptop's frame, making as total use as possible of the 9.eight-inch width. Although my typing experience wasn't quite as comfy as it normally is on a larger keyboard, I quickly got used to information technology. The touchpad is responsive, and its left- and correct-click zones at the lesser are set up to answer to a comfortable pressure.

The model I tested sports a 10.1-inch screen with native WXGA (1,280-past-800) resolution. That'south a common resolution for a detachable hybrid; the Asus Transformer Mini, Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 310, and HP Pavilion x2 (10-n123dx), to proper noun a few, have the same. The attribute ratio is 16:10, a little taller than widescreen models, offering more vertical space for office-type documents. (Higher-end versions of the Miix 320 use WUXGA (1,920-by-1,080) native resolution displays.) The screen is reasonably vivid and the audio system is of decent quality and should be suitable for a small room.

The 320 runs Windows 10 Abode. Nether the hood on our review unit, there's a ane.44GHz Intel Atom x5-Z8350 processor, integrated Intel HD Graphics, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of eMMC flash storage on board. (The $199 base model has half the storage and retentiveness.) The left and right side of the keyboard each have a USB ii.0 port. On the left side (when fastened to the keyboard) of the tablet are the power socket, an on-off button, and a volume-control rocker. Although you tin can also command the volume from the microphone icon in your tray or from the keyboard when it's attached, the physical volume control is a dainty convenience, particularly when yous're using the 320 in tablet mode.

On the correct side, at that place is a tiny pigsty for the born microphone, a headphone socket, a mini HDMI port, and, about important, a USB-C port. (Of the systems mentioned here, the HP Pavilion x2 is the just other one to include this connector.) Forth the tablet border that connects to the hinge, and hidden from view when the 320 is in laptop mode, is a microSD card slot.

A Laptop for Light-Duty Tasks

The combination of the Intel Cantlet x5-Z8350 processor and Intel integrated graphics produced criterion scores typical of the 320's ilk, making it best for emails, spider web surfing, business documents, and media consumption. In PCMark 8 Work Conventional, which measures overall arrangement performance in a multifariousness of tasks, the 320 scored i,451 points, at the low terminate of an extremely narrow range of scores (upwardly to i,478). Its scores in multimedia tests were near what I would await. Information technology narrowly earned the all-time score (106) in CineBench R15, which measures hardware and processing performance, and had an intermediate score in the Handbrake video encoding test. It took more than 17 minutes to complete our Photoshop examination, but then did the rest of our comparison systems. You won't exist doing video production with it, or using it in your photo studio, only at to the lowest degree it can run Photoshop, which some upkeep laptops are unable to practise.

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Equally expected for depression-priced detachable hybrids, 3D gaming isn't a strong arrange. When I tested it on both Sky and Valley at medium item settings and 1,366-past-768 resolution, it turned in rates of a mere 4 and 5 frames per 2d (fps), respectively, while we consider 30fps the threshold for smooth gameplay. At 1,920 by 1,080 with high detail enabled, it limped in at 2 and 3fps, respectively. In fairness, though, the other budget detachable hybrids turn in equally dismal scores.

We expect a long battery life from detachable hybrids, and nosotros weren't disappointed with the 320, which played our test video for 13 hours, 25 minutes before shutting downwards. Although it falls short of the Lenovo Miix 310, which turned in a astounding xvi:26, and the Asus T102HA, which we timed at 14:14, it'due south outmatched in the category, essentially outlasting the HP Pavilion x2'south ten:39.

A Winner on Value and Features

Detachable hybrids are the Transformers of the computer world, at home as either a tablet or a laptop, as needed. For loftier-stop detachable hybrids such equally the Microsoft Surface Volume , functioning is king and toll is no object. Budget detachables are at the other end of the spectrum, where low price and good user experience are paramount, and a slightly better feature set can make a big deviation.

During testing, my experience with the Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 320 was smooth and enjoyable, despite its modest keyboard. A sturdy feel and good magnetic connection between keyboard and tablet add to its appeal. Information technology is substantially improved from terminal year'south Miix 310, with more than retentiveness and storage, plus the add-on of a USB-C port. That too sets it apart from our previous peak pick, the Asus T102HA, which is nearly $100 more than expensive and adds a stylus and keyboard embrace to the mix, but lacks the 320'southward USB-C port. USB-C allows you to connect, through an adapter, with multiple sources at one time including HDMI, VGA, DisplayPort, USB two.0 and three.0, and fifty-fifty Ethernet. That along with its lower price are enough to make the Miix 320 our new Editors' Option budget detachable hybrid tablets.