View from the Labs
Don’ t be suckered i n by gorgeous desig n : ma ke su re you choose t he rig ht mach i ne for you r specific needs
“You still need practicality, which is why the laptops I’ve enjoyed using most this month are the ones with both style and substance”
Believe me: working on a Labs like this is both a blessing and a curse. It’s the former because you get to spend time with some of the most expensive, most exciting devices around. It’s the latter because you know that time is limited and you’ll soon be going back to the everyday stuff. I imagine it’s like this for motoring journalists who get to test drive the latest Porsche or Ferrari. You’ve had the best, now get used to the rest.
I’ve spent a few weeks trying out the finest the laptop world can offer, but I actually spend most of my time working on a trusty but rather boring mid-range Lenovo ThinkPad. The ThinkPad isn’t glamorous in any way. It’s not what you might call sleek or stylish, while it’s a little too heavy to carry with me when I’m on a trip. Frankly, it’s a laptop frump. Yet it’s also extremely practical. For simply sitting down and getting work done, it’s better than some of the designs on test this month.
As much as style matters, you still need practicality, which is why the laptops I’ve enjoyed using most this month are the ones with both style and substance. I would love to have the Surface Pro as my travelling laptop, because everything from the Type Cover to the kickstand and the easy-to-connect magnetic charging cable makes it a smart, effective tool. The Surface Laptop might not have the most innovative design, but it gives you a large screen and keyboard to work with on a laptop that’s incredibly lightweight. I’d easily have it as my primary device.
What’s more, you only have to look at the Lenovo Miix 510 and 720, the Acer Switch 5, the Surface Pro and the Huawei MateBook E to see how five devices based on a very similar concept can vary. I’m not just talking about the screen and choice of processor, but all the little, practical details that make each easier or harder to live with. The Miix 510 is cheaper than both the 720 and the Surface Pro but it feels it. The proprietary power connector annoys me every time.
The Miix 720 and Surface Pro feel like laptops where attention to detail was paramount, and where huge amounts of effort have gone into improving an already good design. The same goes for HP’s EliteBook x360. It’s monumentally expensive and our review model didn’t even have a QHD+ screen, yet every element, from features to finish, feels designed to make the EliteBook an incredibly functional business tool. That matters to me when I’m working and travelling. After all, it’s not the laptop itself that really matters, but where I go and what I can do with it.