Apple has raised the industry standard for entry-level laptops with the MacBook Neo , as its unibody aluminum chassis, decent internal specifications, and strong battery life for just $599 are going to make the competition highly nervous. Fortunately, if you don’t want to abandon Microsoft’s Windows platform because you’re too attached to it, we have an alternative that doubles down on the specifications and is slightly cheaper than the MacBook Neo. Presenting the IdeaPad Slim 3X, a Snapdragon-powered machine with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, a 512GB SSD, and more, for just $562.99 on Amazon.
With its 8-core Snapdragon X SoC, the IdeaPad Slim 3X beats the A18 Pro in multi-core performance and has plenty of memory headroom thanks to its soldered 16GB RAM. Where the MacBook Neo ships with non-upgradeable storage, Lenovo’s affordable notebook has an SSD that can be swapped out if you think you’re low on internal memory. The IdeaPad Slim 3X also has a slightly bigger display, but you’ll get a lower 1,920 x 1,200 resolution, with its 45 percent coverage of the NTSC color gamut not favorable for creative professionals.
Still, for everyday use, for college students and the average Joe who doesn’t want to transition to macOS, spending $562.99 on a Windows notebook isn’t bad at all. As for the battery life, Lenovo claims that the 60WHr cell lasts for the entire day, which is some ambiguous marketing material, but knowing Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipsets, which are highly efficient, you’ll get a ton of endurance from these machines. The port selection on the IdeaPad Slim 3X is better-rounded than on the MacBook Neo, offering more versatility.
A combination of USB-C, USB-A, HDMI ports, and an SD card reader means you won’t have to be hunting for dongles anytime soon. Of course, it is important to remember that both the IdeaPad Slim 3X and the MacBook Neo have their strengths and weaknesses, and our recommendation is that if your budget is tight, but you only prefer one operating system, go for either of these.
- $562.99
- $599
- $689.99
If you buy something from a Amazon affiliate link, Wccftech may earn a commission. See our ethics statement .
Follow to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.