Lenovo Ideapad Miix 520
When powering on the Miix 520, you may notice one of the design touches that please habitual Lenovo users: the on-screen battery gauge. You also have the option (via the Lenovo Vantage software, discussed later) of placing a battery icon widget on your taskbar.
While the Miix 520’s 12.2-inch, 1920 x 1200 IPS panel taxes battery life and lacks the visual pop of, say, the OLED screen used by the Samsung Galaxy Book ( go.pcworld.com/ sagb), the experience is worth it. There’s a perceptible improvement in display quality compared to 1920 x 1080. The luminosity maxes out at just 298 nits, which is somewhat less than the competition, but we consider something between 250 and 270 nits to be comfortable for average use.
Unfortunately, one aspect where the Miix 520 skimps too much is Windows Hello. The tablet lacks a fingerprint reader, and the 5MP
PROS
• 8th-gen Core chip delivers outstanding perfor
mance
• Excellent value for the money
• Comfortable, sturdy typing experience
CONS
• Battery life falls far below the competition • Pen holder blocks a USB port
BOTTOM LINE
Lenovo’s Ideapad Miix 520 is an outstanding Windows tablet in terms of price and performance, held back only by shorter-than-expected battery life.
$999
front-facing camera is not Windows Hello– capable. The rear-facing 8MP camera is suitable for Mixed Reality Viewer ( go.pcworld. com/mxrv), a fun new feature in Windows 10 where you can snap a photo with your tablet and then drop in one of thousands of 3D objects to spice it up.
(In our original report [ go. pcworld.com/ip52] on the Lenovo Miix 520, we noticed one change: Lenovo had originally told us that the rear-facing camera, dubbed Worldview, would pair with a bundled Magicwindow app that would let you insert 3D images into regular images. That app has not been bundled, and it’s not clear—even after checking with Lenovo—what happened with Worldview.)