Throughout the past couple of years, the greatest 2-in-1 laptops are becoming more powerful and diverse than previously. And, that the form factor is now omnipresent, we are starting to see some wonderful mid-range options, such as the Lenovo Flex 6 14.

While it does not incorporate an Intel Core i7 CPU, different graphics or a Thunderbolt 3 port, the Lenovo Flex 6 comprises all you will probably need on your day-to-day usage at a reasonable price. This laptop does not reach the peaks of some thing such as the Lenovo Yoga 920, but it does not have to.

The Lenovo Flex 6 handles to match modern components into a thin and light form factor in a bargain price. That in itself is enough to sell us . If you are a student, or even when you're just looking for an affordable laptop to get some work done, then it'll be challenging to perform much better.

Price and availability

The Lenovo Flex 6 14 starts off at $549 (about £TK, AU$TK). For that price you are getting an Intel Pentium Gold 4415U processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. We would not suggest this model unless you are going to do some really mild web browsing and other standard tasks and distractions. The 4GB of RAM along with the Pentium processor really will not be enough for more.

But for $849 (about £640, AU$1,136) that you can get the model reviewed . And, using its 14-inch, 1080p touch display, quad-core processor, double the RAM and storage of the entrance model, you are getting a bargain in every sense of the word. These components are frequently found in laptops costing hundreds more.

For comparison's sake, the US entry model of a few of our favourite laptops, the Dell XPS 13, comes in at $999 (about £750, AU$1,336) -- and you are getting half the RAM and half of the SSD space, while still paying $150 (about £113, AU$200) more. Sure,the Lenovo Flex 6 14 is not too attractive, but if you are just looking for a computer to get some work done that difference in cost is really stark.

Taking into consideration the purchase price of this top-end model, we actually can not find anything to complain about. It might use Thunderbolt 3, however we all know of more costly 2-in-1 laptops that are still missing that feature.

The pricing looks even better once you take into account that you're able to purchase the configuration we reviewed for only $719 (about £542, AU$962) via Lenovo's website in the time of composing.

Regrettably, too at the time of this writing, the Lenovo Flex 6 14 is just available in the United States. Hopefully it is going to get a worldwide release sometime in the not too distant future.

Design

The same as whatever the Flex 6 14 nails, the design punches way above its weight category. The laptop features this exceptionally luxury, brushed aluminum finish with the attractive gunmetal paint job. For the cost, this laptop is honestly too photogenic for its very good.

Regrettably, you can not do much in the means of customization -- the laptop looks the way it looks. If you don't would like to break out some magic markers and stickers, then it is going to remain that way.

The laptop is also very simple to carry around. Yeah, it is a 14-inch laptop, but due to its slim bezels, it really does not have much of a footprint. Measuring at 12.9 x 9.01 x 0.69 inches and weighing only 3.6 lbs, you're going to have the ability to choose the Lenovo Flex 6 14 regardless of where you go -- without needing your spine yell at you to the attempt.

What's really surprising with all the Flex 6 14, is the wide variety of ports on offer here. Sure, you are not going to get Thunderbolt 3 -- we would be amazed if a laptop at the price point did -- but you are still getting a USB 3.1 Type-C, two USB 3.0 Type An SD card slot, HDMI and a headphone jack. It is possible to lawfully cover all of your bases without needing to shell out to get any additional adapters -- a rare accomplishment in 2018.

The item even features a fingerprint reader! And, setting up our fingerprint to work with Windows Hello biometric login was quick and painless -- and also following logins just took a moment, substantially faster than the Windows Hello facial recognition in the HP Spectre x360, this reviewer's daily driver and also a premium-grade laptop.

And, we do not have to inform you that Lenovo understands the way to do keyboards right -- the company has made its name on the finest laptops for writer manual, and that one is no different. On such a small framework, the keys are big, ergonomically shaped and spread out well. The key travel is not all that profound either -- only 1.3mm -- but it feels nice to type on having a great clicky reaction.

Even the trackpad is adequate -- and this reviewer is very picky in regards to trackpads. Not only can it be a Microsoft Precision trackpad, that can be amazing, but it is responsive, precise and Windows 10 gestures work perfectly every time we attempt them. The only problem using the trackpad is merely the bottom half of it's clickable -- but that's only us nitpicking.

Display, screen and speakers 

If you are thinking about working inside the majority of the time, away from bright lights, then the screen on the Lenovo Flex 6 14 is a massive winner. It is not terribly bright -- just arriving at 250 nits -- but if you are only hoping to watch any videos or type up any documents inside, it is perfect.

It is an IPS display with a reflective coating and everything just kind of pops. The touchscreen functionality can also be fantastic -- we can use this item in tablet mode without cursing beneath our breath as we do when utilizing a mid sized 2-in-1 laptop. It is compatible with all the Lenovo Active Pen stylus too -- but that did not arrive together with our review unit, therefore we're unsure how well it works.

Regrettably, there was bound for a negative thing eventually, and now we are: the speakers. We do not know why, in 2018, laptop makers continue to place speakers on the base of laptop foundations. While they are loud enough to fill the space, if you are looking to watch videos together with the laptop on your lap, you are not going to have a really excellent time. The sound is simply too easily muted.

We attempted listening to TESTING from A$AP Rocky with this laptop and it was not a really agreeable experience. After the device is in tablet mode, the sound is somewhat better, but it is still somewhat flat. It is not a dealbreaker, by any way, just be prepared to carry some headphones along with you is everything we are saying.

Performance

If you elect for the model we have reviewed , you are going to be amazed by exactly how well the Flex 6 14 performs.

Short of 4K video editing or gaming, this laptop will require pretty much whatever you can throw at it. We could work on this item with eight Chrome tabs and Spotify running at the background without it feeling as the laptop was under any pressure in any way.

That's mostly due to the utter power given to it by its own hardware. As a result of the quad-core, 8th-generation Intel U-series processor packed inside, the Lenovo Flex 6 14 performed far better than we anticipated on our CPU benchmarks. It scored a very respectable 515 at Cinebench along with also a 12,668 at GeekBench's multi-core test.

But don't expect to be in a position to do much with the integrated graphics here. The Lenovo Flex 6 14 did not work well at all in 3DMark, just netting 361 points in Time Spy, 920 in Fire Strike and 3,742 at Sky Diver. You could have the ability to play a number of the best indie games on this laptop, but any AAA game in the previous five years is probably going to be entirely out of reach.

Basically, for the cost and its planned use case, the Lenovo Flex 6 14 features best-in-class performance. Honestly, you are not going to find lots of better-performing 2-in-1 notebooks or Ultrabooks till you start hitting four amounts.

In case you're looking for a laptop to get some work done on the go, you won't need to be concerned about this laptop freezing upon you or dying in the midst of a project.

Battery life

When we were analyzing this laptop, we were sort of worried that the battery could be short lived. Thankfully, it turns out we'd nothing to fret about.

Throughout the TechTnet battery evaluation, at which we loop Guardians of the Galaxy in 1080p before the laptop shuts off -- the Flex 6 14 lasted a very respectable 6 hours and 28 minutes. For some perspective, the Flex lasted longer than the 2018 XPS 13 -- a laptop, again, that is quite a bit more high-end.

While doing a little work, we could write for a couple hours using the screen at 100% brightness (occasionally we'd like to spoil ourselves somewhat ) using the battery just attaining a 50% charge. In case your judicious with your energy use, you need to be able to eke out a full day of work with this item, simple.

General assessment

Honestly, the Lenovo Flex 6 14 deserves to charge far more than it will. When you take under account the aluminum end, the gorgeous display, comfortable keyboard and beefy hardware inside, you truly can not shed at $849 (about £640, AU$1,136).

Sure, it's less than perfect speakers and does not have Thunderbolt 3, but we actually do not believe that's a massive deal here. You are still getting a hell of a bargain.

In case you're looking for an affordable laptop that may get some work done without any high-end frills, we believe the Lenovo Flex 6 14 includes a great deal to offer. This laptop earns our recommendation without any hesitation in any way, together with Lenovo getting raised the bar for mid sized laptops in 2018.