Performance: Overall this laptop's performance was Very Good. Tasks like email, word processing and web browsing will be accomplished quickly and you can even accomplish some tougher tasks like photo editing and mid-range gaming near top speed. Compared to other tested laptops, it was among the fastest with common tasks such as web browsing and video conferencing. Applications start up almost instantly. It was fast when composing documents with images, calculating large data spreadsheets, and running other productivity tasks, and its speed was adequate for manipulating filters on images, converting and editing videos, and rendering models and calculating simulations.
Portability: This laptop is a Very Good choice for traveling. Battery life lasted 10 hours in a light load of web browsing tests, and 7 hours in a heavier load of 4K video playback tests. Results could get you through a typical workday, under a workload of mixed use. At 3 lbs, weight was typical for a laptop of this size category.
Ergonomics: The keyboard has large keys and was comfortably sized. Its low contrast letters were difficult to read, although the backlighting can be useful in dark rooms. Keys were conveniently positioned, good for touch typists who want to speed up typing. The power button was well labeled and conveniently located.
Display: The display quality was Good overall. Colors were in the ballpark, though not completely accurate. The display was anti-reflective, so there was little or no glare when viewing in a brightly lit room or outdoors. The display had a narrow viewing angle, so you'll have limited flexibility in how to position the screen for optimal viewability for one user, and it will be difficult for more than one person to look at the screen at the same time. Its display has worse contrast than on most other tested laptops.
Useful features and attributes on this model include: There's a 128GB solid-state drive, which uses less power and accesses data more quickly. You can connect common external devices such as hard drives and Blu-ray burners to the USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports for maximum performance. This laptop has a full-size HDMI port for connecting to an HDTV or monitor.
Downsides: There's no optical drive like a CD or DVD reader, so you'll have to buy an external drive if you need one.
