PC World - USA (2021-02)

74 PCWorld FEBRUARY 2021

REVIEWS LENOVO IDEAPAD SLIM^7

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 14IIL05

82A4000MUS

PROS

• Facial and fingerprint biometrics.


• Dolby Atmos sound.


• Thunderbolt 3 port.


• Discrete graphics.
  CONS


• Middling battery life.


• Pedestrian design.
  BOTTOM LINE
  The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 delivers both
  performance and value in a slim and trim shell, even if
  its battery life isn’t quite what we’d hoped.
  $791

battery will drain much faster during CPU-

intensive activities), we were expecting more

given the Slim 7’s sizable 60.7 watt-hour

battery. The Lenovo Yoga C740, for example,

pretty much matches the Slim 7’s

performance with a only a 50 watt-hour

battery, while our chart-topping Lenovo Yoga

C640 blows the Slim away with a 60.3Whr

battery that’s similar to the Slim’s.

So, what’s the deal here? First, let’s

consider the fact that the Slim 7’s quad-core

Core i5 Ice Lake CPU drains more power than

the Yoga C640’s dual-core Comet Lake chip,

which gives the less powerful C640 a big

advantage in terms of battery life. Then there’s

the Slim 7’s discrete graphics core, which

draws more power compared to the

integrated graphics used by the other laptops

in our chart. Finally, the Slim 7’s impressive

CPU performance—especially during our

HandBrake benchmark—may be exacting a

toll in the battery life department. (We ran our

battery drain tests using the Slim 7’s default

“Balanced” power plan.)

BOTTOM LINE

We wish the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 had more

staying power in terms of battery life, and we

wouldn’t have minded faster burst

performance, along with a touchscreen. Still,

with its Core i5 Ice Lake CPU, discrete MX350

graphics, fingerprint and facial biometrics,

Thunderbolt 3 port, and Atmos sound, the

IdeaPad Slim 7 delivers an impressive arsenal

of productivity tools for the price, as long as

you can live without all-day battery life.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7’s battery life fell a bit

short given its 60.7 watt-hour battery.

Battery life

(Video rundown)

Minutes

Lenovo Yoga C640-13IMLCore i3-10110U

LG Gram 14T90N-R.AAS8U1Core i7-10510U

Lenovo Yoga C940-14Core i7-1065G7

Lenovo C740-14IMLCore i5-10210U

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 14IIL05Core i5-1035G1

Dell Latitude 7310 2-in-1Core i7-10610U

Dynabook Portégé X30-LCore i5-10210U

HP Envy 13 Wood SeriesCore i7-1065G7

Acer Swift 3 SF314-57-57BNCore i5-1035G1

LONGER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE

985

645

784

828

575

654

512

464

557