The Lenovo IdeaPad 530s-14IKB is a compact 14-inch subnotebook with a modern and simplistic design in four different colors. The base model (Core i5-8250U, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB NVMe SSD, FHD display, no dGPU, no operating system) is not available in the US yet, but given its European prices we expect a US price of around $600. The only model currently on sale on this side of the Atlantic is the one mentioned above, equipped with a GeForce MX130 dGPU and Windows 10 Home, and it starts at around $900.
The WQHD display is limited to the top model only, and the base model cannot be upgraded. All other configurations are thus equipped with an FHD panel instead.
Today, we have the said top model in review. In addition to the WQHD panel it is also equipped with a Core i7-8550U CPU, a dedicated Nvidia GeForce MX150 GPU with 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, and a 512 GB large SSD.
The IdeaPad’s main competitors are the HP Spectre 13, which is available with the exact same CPU, the Huawei MateBook X Pro, and the Asus ZenBook UX3430 – both of which feature a dedicated GPU. In order to see what exactly has changed, we have also included the 530s-14IKB’s predecessor, the IdeaPad 520s, in our comparison group. The following table gives you an overview over our test group.