Hands-on: Lenovo’s Miix 700 looks and feels like a Surface, but better - lanetwentortund

The Lenovo Ideapad Miix 700 is simply a Lenovo Come on – just a bit better.

That might not be the most intriguing way of introducing Lenovo's Superficial ringer, just it's the to the highest degree accurate. Place them side aside position, eliminate much of the external markings, and you'd be hard pressed to tell the deviation between the ii.

But which Surface? It depends on which one you're comparing Lenovo's tablet against. The Miix 700 is a 12-column inch tablet, the same form factor as the Surface Pro 3. But with processors reportedly ranging up to the spic-and-span Skylake Core m7 (Lenovo incontestable it with a Core m5 at its stand at IFA) IT mightiness be more on par with the Surface 3. The Miix 700 can be configured with up to 8GB of memory, and will outpouring Windows 10.

As for the price, well, it's somewhere in the middle: $499 for the Turn up 3, $799 for the Surface Pro 3, and a starting price of $699 for the Miix 700. We've heard that it should be out in the United States of America this free fall, about verisimilar Nov.

Why this matters: We've yet to see the Surface Affirmative 4 surgery Rise up 4 from Microsoft (reportedly, that's all happening in November). But for now, Lenovo is offering a cheaper Surface Pro 3 that steps down a fleck in performance. Yes, it's a Surface clone – simply don't mock Lenovo for that. I suspect that this was done with Microsoft's benediction, equally Microsoft has indicated that information technology plans to blaze a trail with modern products to empower the industry, and non just itself.

Surface, reMiixed

If you've ever used a Surface, you'll embody right at home with the Miix 700. Yes, there's a kickstand, with the full range of gesture as found in the Surface Pro 3. The Miix as wel adds the styling of the Yoga hinge, although that doesn't look to draw whatever operative difference.

The screen declaration is 2160×1400, the same American Samoa the Surface Pro 3. Even the way that the keyboard folds back and connects via a long rectangular hinge is similar to the way that Microsoft does things. If I had to guess, Lenovo likely crowded that space behind the tab screen with A battery. With a 4.5-watt Core M chip hiding keister a larger, SP3-style screen, I'd estimate the Miix 700's battery life to glucinium pretty darn healthful – leastwise 8 hours.

And that keyboard is decidedly Lenovo. Rather of the closely spaced keys of the Surface and Surface Pro Type Covers, the Miix 700's keys are little, spaced out a bit, and offer untold more resistance. I keister't say which you'll prefer; my fingers have become used to gliding over the smooth expanse of the Surface keyboards, but Lenovo fans testament undoubtedly incu much to like here.

Reportedly, Microsoft plans to launch a Aboveground Pro 4 and possibly a Aboveground 4 at an issue in October. It's a safe bet that the next Surface Pro 4 will minimal brain dysfunction an Intel Skylake chip, and thus more performance. That's exit to help information technology pull inaccurate from the Come up Pro 3 and the Miix.

If you own a Surface 3 operating room a Surface Pro 3, keep them – they'Re solid products. But if you're interested in a parvenu Surface-fashio Personal computer, definitely add Lenovo's tablet to the, um, mix.