The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 offers several advantages over its disadvantages, not the least of which is the affordable price at which it is now available. It certainly checks the price and durability criteria if daily computer duties are your main concerns.
If there’s one thing this Lenovo IdeaPad 3 review has shown us, it’s that it’s not overly pricey, which makes it one of the finest laptops available right now—not because of its striking appearance or potent performance. Lenovo laptops offer the best value for your money.
Of course, in recent months, we’ve seen far quicker and more sophisticated Lenovo computers, but the IdeaPad 3 has to be something to think about if you’re trying to find a low-cost laptop. We’ll go into detail about why in our comprehensive Lenovo IdeaPad 3 review.
While it won’t be able to handle demanding games or launch your video production career, it does have many impressive features. For example, it’s perfect for general computing tasks like web browsing and email management, and you’ll love its ability to stream TV shows and movies.
LENOVO IDEAPAD 3 REVIEW: WHAT’S DIFFERENT?
The Lenovo Ideapad 3 Series is a more cost-effective model that may be utilized for a variety of tasks at home and in the classroom, including composing papers and watching TV. In case you want a device with a bit more power due to your intensive job, the Ideapad 5 series provides sophisticated hardware in a similarly small package.
Looking for something even less expensive than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3? A better place to start will be with the Lenovo Ideapad 1 Series. Or is a 2-in-1 laptop sufficient? That’s where the IdeaPad Flex Series comes in handy.
LENOVO IDEAPAD 3 REVIEW: DESIGN AND SCREEN
The IdeaPad 3 has a small 14-inch screen that measures 1920 x 1080 pixels. The screen is sharp and adequately bright. The viewing angles and maximum brightness aren’t very excellent, and the bezels surrounding the display are bigger than on the finest laptops available, but you have to evaluate this laptop in light of its price, and we were rather happy with it for that amount.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3’s display is good enough for online surfing, essay writing, or just lounging back with some movies from your preferred video streaming service. It cannot be purchased as a touchscreen. nonetheless, you wouldn’t actually anticipate it to cost this much. We discovered via a brief YouTube binge that although the 16:9 aspect ratio isn’t as useful as 16:10 for papers and webpages, it works incredibly well for video material.
Naturally, Lenovo has been in the laptop business for a while, and the IdeaPad 3’s sturdy construction and comforting feel are testaments to that. You get the feeling that this laptop is built to endure a very long time because of the sturdy screen hinge and the outside plastic case. For example, you won’t have to worry about it breaking in half if the kids manage to get hold of it—probably.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3’s typing experience merits discussion. The keyboard is great overall, but it lacks a number pad and isn’t full-sized. The keys are properly spaced, the key presses feel strong yet soft, and the function keys at the top provide the standard set of shortcuts for brightness, volume, and other functions. The trackpad is modest, but it feels sturdy and snappy, and we can live without the keyboard illumination.
The privacy barrier on the camera just above the display is another great feature that provides you further peace of mind when your day’s worth of video calls is over. You’re quite well covered in terms of connecting peripherals and other devices to your laptop thanks to its three USB-A ports, 3.5 mm headphone jack, HDMI-out port, and SD card slot.
It’s safe to conclude that the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 appears to be a low-cost laptop. However, it’s also a well-made portable computer that weighs only 1.6 kg (3.5 lbs), making it quite easy to carry around the house or workplace. This laptop strikes the ideal balance between providing you with a large display to look at and not sacrificing too much mobility unless you require something really small or with a large screen area. We anticipate that it will last you a good several years despite the modest cost.
LENOVO IDEAPAD 3 REVIEW: PERFORMANCE AND FEATURES
The 10th-generation Intel Core i3-1005G1 CPU that powers our IdeaPad 3 review model is certainly sufficient for handling certain common computer activities, while it’s by no means the best or most recent Intel chipset available. Though gaming and other graphically demanding jobs (think high-end image and video editing) are beyond the capabilities of the laptop due to the integrated Intel UHD Graphics G1 configuration, it works well for the majority of functions that most people use computers for.
The review machine we received featured 4GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD internal storage; again, you can get by with this kind of specification, but you wouldn’t really want to try to run Windows 10 on anything less. We used the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 to browse the web, send emails, and play media, and all of these tasks went rather quickly. However, you may encounter issues if you attempt to overburden the laptop with several active programs or browser tabs.
It is important to note that the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 remained silent throughout our testing, only sometimes kicking on the fans when the laptop was under stress. It should be noted that the computer ships with Windows 10 S Mode, which is limited. Although you can convert to Windows 10 Normal for free in about a minute, you will forfeit certain speed and security advantages.
Overall, we discovered that the IdeaPad 3 operated webpages and apps with ease and efficiency. Though it’s not likely to take home any prizes anytime soon, the inbuilt Dolby audio system is better than you might think for a laptop at this budget and more than sufficient for brief musical interludes as well as the dialogue and audio that accompany movies and TV shows. Regarding the Lenovo IdeaPad 3’s media player, we experienced no issues.
With typical, light use, we saw 3–4 hours of battery life. This is with the screen at its highest brightness, so if you’re content to reduce it a touch, you’ll get longer between charges. While it won’t survive a full day without a power source, this laptop is suitable for a train ride or an afternoon at a coffee shop. Of course, some laptops have considerably longer battery life, but they also cost more.
In our test, two continuous hours of video streaming at full brightness reduced the battery life from 100 percent to 75 percent. This means that, if you’re not using the laptop for anything else, you may watch videos for up to eight hours at a time. That isn’t too horrible at all, because you may view videos from dawn to night.
LENOVO IDEAPAD 3 REVIEW: VERDICT
From everything we’ve reviewed thus far, you could conclude that the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is a rather mediocre laptop, but everything is relative when it comes to cost, and this one is really affordable. at the best online discounts, check out the widgets included on this page, but at around £400 right now, it’s usually available today, and at that price, we’re ready to overlook a few quirks.
Sure, you may spend more for a laptop with a more powerful processor, longer battery life, and crisper, brighter screen, but the IdeaPad 3 offers the finest value for the money, which is why we’re pleased to include it as a budget option in our list of the best laptops. The IdeaPad 3 can be the best investment for you, provided that you are aware of what you are and are not receiving from it.
The laptop’s 4GB of RAM makes it unsuitable for running anything but the most basic games or piling up a ton of photos in Adobe Photoshop, but the i3 CPU and SSD storage allows you to obtain some acceptable performance for everyday computer chores. With the IdeaPad 3, we could easily complete a workday without any issues, and it’s lightweight enough to carry along.
Since the keyboard and trackpad experience are among the nicest features of the IdeaPad 3 package as a whole, it is absolutely worth highlighting again. The Lenovo laptop is more than capable of handling heavy workloads if you have a lot of essays, reports, or spreadsheets to do. Although it may not be made with the best materials, it feels sturdy and long-lasting, making it suitable for prolonged work sessions.
Whether you keep your laptop in S Mode or not, Windows 10 is getting better and better. It can also function well on slower hardware. It’s important to remember that a Mac laptop at this price is currently unattainable. Of course, Chromebooks are an option, but if you install Google Chrome on the IdeaPad 3, you’ll have access to all of Chrome OS’s features and more.
The price of the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 should be your top priority when comparing it to other laptops. Although we believe the screen and battery life could be better, the laptop is still very well-rated for general usability, typing comfort, available connectivity, and its Intel Core processor. It’s worthwhile to include this to your shortlist if you’re looking for an affordable laptop.
