Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 720 - Review 2022

The Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 720 ($i,249) is a detachable Windows tablet that's so light it can actually be held comfortably with i paw. Like almost higher-cease detachable tablets, though, the Miix 720's expense makes information technology a relatively poor value compared with both conventional laptops and devices like the Apple iPad Pro. If that doesn't bother you, the Miix 720 is a fine choice for a tablet, occupying a heart basis betwixt the ultra-expensive Microsoft Surface Pro and the more affordable Lenovo Miix 520.

On the Lighter Side

At just ane.65 pounds excluding its keyboard comprehend, our review unit is refreshingly light, compared with the Acer Switch iii (1.98 pounds), and virtually the aforementioned every bit the Surface Pro (ane.75 pounds). It's sparse, too, at 0.35 inches or 0.57 inches with the keyboard attached. That's comparable with the 0.33-inch Surface Pro, but slightly thicker than the iPad Pro (0.27 inches). Once you attach the folio-style embrace, the weight is a more significant only still manageable 2.49 pounds. That'south more than the lightest ultraportables (the Apple MacBook and the LG Gram 13 both counterbalance nearly 2 pounds), simply less than the three-pound threshold that's considered light for a conventional laptop.

In addition to the tablet and cover, Lenovo also includes its battery-powered Active Pen with every Miix 720 purchase, a prissy affect because that even if you spend more than than $i,000 for an iPad Pro or more than $2,000 for a Surface Pro, you're still going to shell out extra if yous want a digital pen from Microsoft or Apple. The pen works well for quick sketches or doodles using the apps that come with Windows 10, although graphic designers used to precision tools will find information technology lags backside the 4,096 levels of pressure level sensitivity that the Microsoft Surface Pen offers.

Aside from two different retentivity and storage configurations, Lenovo offers no other options, meaning it comes in but one colour. Nearly every inch of the tablet is black, from its keys to the kickstand that props it up when you're using it on a desk-bound in Laptop way. The one color exception is the silverish watchband hinges that ballast the kickstand to the back of the tablet. They offer a taste of the massive, head-turning hinge that you'll notice in Lenovo's 2-in-1 convertibles, such as the Yoga 920. On the Miix 720, they add a small premium flare noticeable only to people who are sitting in forepart of you and have a view of the dorsum of the tablet.

Equally for memory and storage, you tin select either the 8GB of memory and 256GB SSD of our review unit of measurement, or step up to 16GB of memory and a 512GB SSD for $1,549. The latter choice is better if yous plan to plug the Miix 720 into a monitor and peripherals to use as a desktop when you're non on the get. In fact, if you can make use of the additional power, stepping upward to the top configuration makes the Miix 720 more competitive with similarly priced laptops, specially the Apple tree MacBook Pro.

If you do want to connect your tablet to peripherals at home or in the office, Lenovo'south generous I/O complement makes information technology easy. On the left side, there is a USB 2.0 port, a headphone jack, and a USB 3.1 Type-C connector with Thunderbolt 3 back up. Connect the USB-C port to a Thunderbolt dock that is in plow continued to a power supply and you suddenly accept access to charging and all of your peripherals with a single connection with 40GBps throughput. On the correct side, there'southward a USB iii.0 port, the power button, and a unmarried rocker button to raise or lower the volume.

The inclusion of Thunderbolt iii vastly increases the Miix 720'due south versatility at abode and in the part. That'due south versatility you won't become with the Surface Pro, which lacks both USB-C and Thunderbolt 3. The Miix 520 has USB-C, but no Thunderbolt support.

Lots of Pixels

Some other do good of the Miix 720 over its less-expensive just equally sized sibling, the Miix 520, is a higher screen resolution. To anyone who's used a smartphone in the by few years, the Miix 520's full Hd (ane,920-by-1,080) resolution will be noticeably grainy, especially when browsing the web or playing games. The Miix 720's 12-inch QHD (2,880-by-1,920) glossy multitouch display is far easier on the eyes. On the other manus, if you're primarily using your Windows tablet to watch HD movies and Telly shows, yous won't get a lot of benefit out of the extra pixels.

Meanwhile, the Miix 720 has many—but not all—of the cracking features for on-the-get use that you'd expect from a much larger laptop. For instance, there's a front-facing webcam with IR sensors to let you log into your Windows 10 business relationship using confront recognition. As y'all'd expect from a tablet, there's too a rear-facing webcam, just both cameras endure from grainy photos and video, especially indoors. At that place are stereo speakers, too, cleverly integrated into the cutouts for grabbing the kickstand so that they face up outward. They offer true-blue audio thank you to Dolby processing, although it's far from voluminous and prone to muffling if you grab the tablet past its sides.

I pocket-size drawback that might frustrate you on the become is the plastic stylus holder that attaches to one of the ii USB ports on the Miix 720. Non only does it occupy a port, but when the pen is in the holder, it volition block access to the other ports or buttons forth the edge. To my chagrin, Lenovo uses this impractical plastic USB holder for many of its pen-enabled products, and we tin can only hope that the company will switch to a far superior magnetic pattern like the one Microsoft offers in the near future.

When you lot're using the Miix 720 as a laptop, you lot'll probable luxuriate in its excellent keyboard and touchpad, which are included instead of an optional actress like the Surface Pro's keyboard encompass. Not only are the keys backlit, but they're also the same size and shape as the ones you'll find on Lenovo'south ThinkPad lineup, which we think offers the most comfortable typing experience of any laptop. Because of the thinness of the comprehend, the Miix 720's keys offer less travel than the ones on a ThinkPad. As a consolation you lot can cull from a apartment or angled orientation thanks to the cover'due south two magnetized zones, and yous even get rare full-sized directional pointer keys.

Lenovo includes a standard one-year warranty with the Miix 720.

And then-So Performance

Detachable tablets typically offering lackluster computing performance compared with their laptop competitors, which is i of the factors that reduces the Miix 720'southward value proffer. The tablet's 7th-generation Intel Cadre i7-7500U processor is nix to scoff at on paper, merely on our criterion tests, it fell significantly short of the performance that the CPUs on competing tablets offer. Its score of two,837 on the comprehensive PCMark 8 benchmark is significantly worse than the Miix 520, which managed an impressive three,436 thanks to its newer 8th-generation CPU.

Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 720 Performance Chart

These proprietary scores are calculated from a battery of tests that measure common tasks like video conferencing, web browsing, and spreadsheet editing. While a score below iii,000 is relatively unusual for a Core i7 car, I didn't detect significant languor while using essential apps like the Microsoft Edge browser or Microsoft Excel. The Miix 720 is also fine for light photo editing, as evidenced by its competitive time on our Photoshop test (3 minutes and 41 seconds) simply it lags far behind the Miix 520 when information technology comes to 3D rendering and video encoding. For instance, it was more than a infinitesimal slower than the Miix 520 when encoding a 1080p video using Handbrake.

Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 720 Graphics Performance Chart

While it'due south fine to play simple games like Solitaire or Minecraft on the Miix 720, information technology can't handle the detailed graphics of more than circuitous titles. Neither can about of its competitors, every bit evidenced past their dismal scores on our Heaven and Valley game simulations. The one exception is the Surface Pro, which has a superior Iris Plus GPU that helped it achieve frame rates to a higher place the minimum 30 frames per 2nd we generally consider to be adequate for hardcore games.

With a battery that lasted 8 hours and 30 minutes on our rundown test, the Miix 720 should exist up for a day of light utilize without making a trip to a power outlet. This is nearly an hour longer than the Miix 520, but significantly shorter than the Surface Pro, which lasted for almost 14 hours on a single charge.

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Consider the Tradeoffs

The Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 720'south brilliant display offers the experience you'd wait from the Microsoft Surface Pro at a significantly lower cost. Information technology too offers Thunderbolt iii support for much better connectivity at habitation, a comfortable keyboard, and an included digital stylus. But those advantages come at the cost of computing operation, which lags behind both the Surface Pro and the less-expensive Miix 520.

Assuming you tin can do without a QHD display, the Miix 520 offers a better blend of value and performance, which means information technology remains our Editors' Choice for midrange detachable tablets. Meanwhile, if you're looking for the ultimate Windows tablet and accept a big budget, information technology'south hard to turn down the Surface Pro, which pioneered the category and continues to be a better tool for professional person use thanks to features similar its superior pen and graphics card.