That’s all pretty typical as far as laptop speakers go, but don’t get your hopes up because of the Harman Kardon brand name.Being the 2-in-1 convertible system that it is, the Flex boasts a pair of 360-degree hinges, allowing you to use the laptop in clamshell mode, tablet mode, or a V-shaped "tent" mode in between. That’s not very elegant, but most Flex 6 customers will probably never even consider buying a pen. Meanwhile, the Flex 6 14’s 720p webcam (which sits in the top bezel of the screen) is fairly decent—a little grainy and noisy, as usual, but still it still manages to capture relatively clear and sharp video, handy for Skype chatting.Measuring 12.9 x 9 x 0.7 inches and weighing in at about 3.75 pounds (or four pounds if you include the compact, 7-ounce AC adapter), the onyx-black Flex 6 14 is slim and light enough to fall into the ultraportable category, although it's a tad heavier and thicker than some of its pricier competitors.An $800 ultraportable with a discrete graphics core: That’s the promise of the Lenovo Flex 6 14, and on paper, the prospect sounds enticing.
You’ll note that the USB-C port is not Thunderbolt 3-compatible, but that is acceptable at this price range. That’s a very low number, and the Flex 6 display is indeed one of the dimmer panels I’ve used recently. We measured the maximum brightness in the center of the screen at 224 nits (or candelas), which falls somewhat short of our 250-nit low-water mark for comfortable indoor viewing. My review unit, for example, came with a quad-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5-8250U processor, dedicated NVIDIA MX130 graphics, 8 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of PCIe-based SSD storage.The noise and heat level were as expected: The fans kick in from time to time, but not in any objectionable way.Yes, you still have to deal with the crapware and advertising that Microsoft provides with Windows 10 Home. We must have suddenly shifted into a golden age of laptop audio, and while the Flex 6’s output can’t quite match the quality of the MateBook X Pro’s quad speaker setup, it’s still really impressive.
On the left side, you get barrel-shaped charging port, a full HDMI video port, the first of two USB 3.0 Type A ports, a single USB 3.0 Type C port, and a combo audio jack.The Cinebench CPU test showed that the Lenovo Flex 6 14 can hold its own in single-threaded applications. It’s optimized for the traditional laptop use case, but it can be used as a slightly big, heavy, and awkward tablet as well.It also provides a nondescript 720p webcam (with no privacy shade, naturally), and excellent dual Harman speakers with surprisingly rich and spatial Dolby Audio Premium sound. It offers 2 full-sized USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB-C port, 1 full-sized HDMI port for video-out, a 4-in-1 smart card reader, and the standard combo headphone jack. The editorial team does not participate in the writing or editing of SponsoredPosts.The Flex's midsize trackpad felt smooth and responsive to my fingertips, and it never registered any false swipes during my testing, although it does require a fair amount of pressure to click.The Lenovo Flex 6 14's backlit keyboard feels adequate, with slightly concave keys that sport a tactile bump about halfway through each keystroke. Read on.The Lenovo Flex 6 14 probably took a little longer to finish the HandBrake encode because of thermal throttling as the CPU heated up.Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. It’s a great choice for those who simply can’t afford one of the firm’s more expensive convertible PCs, like the ThinkPad X1 Yoga or Lenovo Yoga 910.Unfortunately, this is the way the PC industry is going, where only those who can afford to pay more can get a cleaner (if not fully clean) Windows 10 software image. The editorial team does not participate in the writing or editing of BrandPosts.On the plus side, viewing angles on the Lenovo Flex 6 14's IPS-technology display were quite good. So I salute Lenovo for reaching out to me with this mid-market product, which I feel offers an excellent value for the money.The touchpad is mylar-surfaced rather than glass, another concession to cost.