What’s in the Miix

Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 is a beast of a machine that takes mobile computing to a different level. However, Lenovo has a low-key secret weapon to battle the best in the Windows 10 arena. The design, features and performances are very impressive for a device that costs around $600 (starting price). While it’s not perfect, you really shouldn’t expect it to be – the Miix’s flexibility and wonderfully backlit keyboard cover (which Microsoft doesn’t have) is absolutely worth the purchase. The tablet has a single standard USB 3.0 port, combo headphone-and-mic jack but lacks a microSD card slot. Although, that might not be a deal breaker for most. Again, for a cheaper device compared to the Surface Pro, you’re also getting a 12.2-inch 1,920x1,200-pixel display, which is unfortunately lagging behind the Pro’s 2,736x1,824-pixel display. The latter also has that microSD slot, alongside a sharper display. Another slight kink is the extra $40 you’d have to pay to use the Active Pen on the 2-in-1 tablet. Now, if you can put those little differences aside, you’ve got yourself one heck of a doppelganger of the Surface Pro 4. The Miix 510 (the mid-level model of three variants) nearly has the same specs as the Pro 4: 12.2-inch 1,920x1,200 touch display 2.3GHz Intel Core i5-6200U 8GB DDR3 SDRAM 2,133MHz 128MG (dedicated) Intel HD Graphics 520 256GB SSD 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 Windows 10 Home (64-bit) If you’re looking for a much more affordable version of the Surface Pro 4, this is possibly your best bet. And let’s not dwell on the price either – the specs are solid and Lenovo has a very long history in producing quality mobile devices. They are reliable, durable and efficient in performance. No matter the budget, it’s always good to have a backup or an alternate option that gets the job done without heavy hitches.