GROUP TEST WINDOWS LAPTOPS
Lappy go lucky
If you’re in the market for a backpack-ready Windows PC, your worries are over: we’ve tested out six of the latest contenders
[ Words Andrew Williams ]
UPTOWN LAPTOP RANKING
● Want to play games? Get a computer with a dedicated graphics card. Conversely, don’t buy a gaming laptop on a whim: they typically have much shorter battery life, and are heavier and noisier.
● If you demand a gaming laptop that’s also slim and light, there is a solution: an eGPU. This is a desktop PC graphics card in a box that plugs in via USB-C.
● Don’t believe makers’ battery life claims. Apple aside, these companies are usually – how to put this? – a bit optimistic.
● The ideal weight for a laptop you’re going to carry around all day is 1.3kg or less… or, for a 16in whopper, more like 1.6kg.
● OLED laptop screens used to be the stuff of nerd dreams; now they’re everywhere, bringing supreme contrast and colour. And touchscreens? They’re not a must-have for most of us, but this tech gets interesting when you add stylus support.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16 Gen 1
What’s the story?
Lenovo’s ThinkPad range is known for rather corporate laptops, distinguished by their utilitarian design, but the X1 Fold 16 is different.
Really a 16.3in tablet that folds in the middle, it has a separate QWERTY that can be placed over the bottom half of the screen if you don’t like virtual keys.
There’s an attachment that adds a fold-out stand, so you can also prop it up in either portrait or landscape to make the most of the whole display.
Is it any good?
Good? That really depends on how you choose to use it. It shines brightest when using the stand to become a rudimentary all-in-one PC, with its punchy speakers making it a strong movie machine, while the bundled stylus means it works well as an art tablet.
In laptop mode, though, with half the screen out of action, you end up with a resolution not dissimilar to plain old Full HD. And while the OLED offers rich colour and perfect contrast, view it from an angle and whites take on a slight blue tint that makes it look cool – and not in the ‘Fonz’ sense.