The Lenovo 100w Gen 4 is a new Windows laptop PC for education customers but how does it measure up against Microsoft’s Surface Laptop SE?
Lenovo unveiled a handful of Windows laptop PCs for the education market, and among them is the Lenovo 100w Gen 4 which will be challenging Microsoft’s Surface Laptop SE. The $249 Surface Laptop SE was announced in late 2021 as the cheapest Surface Laptop and Microsoft’s latest attempt to challenge the dominance of Chromebooks in the classroom.
The Lenovo 100e Gen 4 and the Surface Laptop SE both share a number of similarities such as display size and resolution. Both laptops have an 11.6-inch display with a 1366 x 768 resolution, but Lenovo has settled for a TN anti-glare display while Microsoft’s computer has a TFT panel that automatically adjusts brightness level based on the lighting conditions.
Windows 11 vs Windows 11 SE
Powering both laptops are Intel chips, but they are not the same. The Surface Laptop SE can be configured with an Intel Celeron N4020 or Intel Celeron N4120 processor, 4GB or 8GB of DDR4 RAM, and 64GB or 128GB of eMMC storage. On the other hand, the Lenovo 100e Gen 4 is powered by the Intel N100 which belongs to the Intel Alder Lake-N series that was announced at the beginning of 2023. Following the announcement of the Lake-N series, Intel revealed that it will no longer use the Celeron and Pentium branding for its chips. The Lenovo 100e pairs the chip with up to 8GB of LPDDR5 RM and up to 128GB UFS or up to 256GB SSD storage.
When it comes to ports, the Lenovo 100e Gen 4 wins the round. It boasts a single USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port that can be used for charging, 1 HDMI port, 2 USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and an audio port. In contrast, the Surface Laptop SE has a single USB-C port, 1 USB-A port, an audio port, and a barrel-type connector for charging. Lenovo’s choice of a USB-C port for charging means students should be able to easily charge their laptop even if they don’t have their power brick at hand since USB-C chargers are pretty common. Both laptops have stereo speakers, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, and a 720p webcam but only the Lenovo laptop has a privacy shutter.
Both Microsoft and Lenovo have designed their laptops to be durable enough to survive the handling of schoolchildren. However, the Surface Laptop SE’s white finish has been reported to stain easily, and its keyboard isn’t water-resistant like the Lenovo 100e Gen 4 which comes in Slate Gray. With respect to battery life, the Surface Laptop SE claims “up to 16 hours of typical usage” while Lenovo doesn’t put a figure to the number of hours users will get from the 47 Wh battery of the Lenovo 100e. Another key difference is the software. The Surface Laptop SE ships with Windows 11 SE which is a cloud-based version of Windows 11.
This version of Windows is designed to take on Chrome OS but has a fair amount of limitations when compared to the full-version of Windows 11 which Lenovo ships its laptop with. There are no reviews yet of the Lenovo 100e, so it is impossible to say what the experience of running Windows 11 on its hardware feels like and how it compares to the Surface Laptop SE running Windows 11 SE. Nevertheless, the difference in Windows versions is an important factor buyers will have to consider. With a starting price of $249, the Surface Laptop SE is pretty cheap, but it can only be purchased by education customers (read schools). On the other hand, Lenovo didn’t reveal how much its laptop PC will cost when it becomes available later in Q1 2023.
Source: Lenovo, Microsoft