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Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 (81WD00YTAU) review

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 (81WD00YTAU)

CHOICE Expert Rating

65%
What is the CHOICE Expert Rating?
Good points

Good Points

  • Very good touchpad
  • Full-sized HDMI port
  • SD card slot
  • Very good Wi-Fi speed
Bad points

Bad Points

  • USB ports are present only on the left side
  • Narrow viewing angles
  • Short power cord
  • Poor audio quality
  • Lacks USB-C
  • Keyboard is not backlit
  • Poor storage write speed

Type

Ultraportable
Ultrabook
Tablet mode
Operating system
Windows 10 S

Recommended products

Recommended
Not recommended
Recommended for tablet use

Test results

CHOICE Expert Rating
65%
Performance score
53%
Tablet use score
N/A
Ease of use score
77%
Battery life score
66%
Display score
60%
Audio score
40%
Wi-Fi score
83%
Storage write-speed (MBps)
283
Storage read-speed (MBps)
1545
Wi-Fi speed (MBps)
46
Average battery life – heavy usage (hours)
4:49
Charging time to 80% full (h:min)
1:48
Expert tester comments
Lenovo's IdeaPad Slim 3 is a very basic laptop aimed at budget-conscious users who need more speed than what a Celeron or other entry level CPU-equipped laptop can provide. It ships with a Core i3 CPU that gives noticeably better performance than entry level laptops, so it can be used comfortably not just in single application scenarios, but also for multitasking. Note, though, that its screen has a low resolution and narrow viewing angles, so it will benefit from an external monitor when used for long periods of time.

Sustainability

Shop Ethical rating
C
Warranty (years)
1
Replaceable battery
Not collected
Replace/upgrade RAM
Not collected
Slots for additional RAM
Not collected
Replace/upgrade storage
Not collected
Slot for additional storage
Not collected
Replace/upgrade Wi-Fi
Not collected
Country of origin
China

Related products

Availability
Discontinued model

Cost

Price
$636.00

Specifications

Screen size (inches)
14
Native screen resolution (pixels)
1920 x 1080
Processor (CPU) type
Intel Core i3-1005G1
CPU frequency (GHz)
1.2
RAM (GB)
8
Video graphics type
Intel UHD
Storage capacity (GB)
128
Available user space (GB)
81
Storage type
SSD
Wi-Fi version
5
Weight of laptop (kg)
1.4
Weight of power supply (kg)
0.2
Size (mm, H x D x W)
24 x 240 x 326

Features

Screen finish
Matte
Touchscreen
USB-C
USB 2.0 ports
1
USB 3.0 ports
2
USB 4 as USB-C port
0
USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 1 or 2, not Thunderbolt 3 or 4) ports
0
Thunderbolt 3 or 4 (as USB-C) ports
0
SD card slot (full-size)
SD card slot (micro)
HDMI port
Gigabit ethernet port
Rear camera
Backlit keyboard levels of brightness
0

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