For everyday tasks, the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" is a cost-effective choice with a budget-friendly price tag, but it compromises on performance, display quality, and build. It's also not suitable for intensive tasks like gaming or engineering work due to its basic processor and lack of advanced features.
On the other hand, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" offers a significant upgrade in performance, battery life, and display quality with its high-resolution touchscreen and color-accurate IPS panel, making it suitable for a wide range of use cases, including general use, business applications, and light gaming or creative work. It's also more portable and has a better build quality, but it comes at a higher price point. If you value performance, display quality, and portability, and are willing to invest more, the Surface Laptop 6 is the better option. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14"
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" has no clear advantages over the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5".
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
Good for general use
Good for engineering and design
Good for software development
Good for content creation
Good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.1/10
7.7/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
239.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
8.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.6/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" is only fair.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
5.5/10
6.6/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is only fair for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" is poor.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
5.5/10
7.7/10
3.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
4.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" is poor.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
6.2/10
7.7/10
3.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
4.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is good for content creation, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
6.4/10
7.7/10
3.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
4.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" is good for software development, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
5.3/10
7.8/10
14.0in
SIZE
13.5in
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
2256 x 1504
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
120Hz
239.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Build Quality
6.0/10
7.4/10
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" has good build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$153
$1,200
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" has a price of $153 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5" costs $1,200.
"The IdeaPad 1 14 is a simple machine, but it’s well-designed and has nearly everything you’d expect from a no-nonsense laptop that allows you to check emails and get schoolwork or other light tasks done with relative ease. A "true" 128GB SSD (as opposed to an eMMC drive) and a roomy 14-inch full HD display are arguably the star attractions, with the comfortable keyboard and reasonably modern styling playing important backup roles."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad 1 14" or the Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
About Microsoft
Microsoft is an American technology corporation. Microsoft is best known for their Windows operating system and Surface laptop series. The Surface Laptop is their standard notebook offering, while their Surface Go, Surface Pro, and Surface Studio are their 2-in-1/tablet offerings in order of increasing capability. Although Microsoft charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a well integrated and packaged device since Microsoft develops the Windows operating system.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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