Read The Best Lenovo IdeaPad S340-15 Review

The Lenovo IdeaPad S340-15 is one of Lenovo’s most cost-effective 15 6-inch laptops. If you are on a rigid budget and don’t intend to settle on low-end specifications, then this Core i7-powered Lenovo is possibly for you. However, the system begins to warp when you are running games or anything demanding for prolonged periods. Indeed, the Lenovo IdeaPad S340-15 is a higher-end configuration furnished with Intel’s latest Core i7-1065G7 Ice Lake CPU. In fact, it also comes with 1080p IPS display, 512 GB SSD, and 8 GB of DDR4 RAM. All these exquisite features come for only about $700 to $800 USD retail. 

Case

The chassis is visually similar to the IdeaPad S540-15 except for a slight change in thickness. It is chiefly aluminium on the outer lid with a somewhat rubberized plastic keyboard deck to save on costs. However, for a budget laptop, the S340 gives the feel of smoothness and sleekness. Indeed, the rubberized matte surface tends to accumulate unsightly grease over time.

However, the lid can open up to 180 degrees approximately. Bar hinge is rigid, but we wish it would have been more stiff. In fact, when you are adjusting the angle you might hear slight creaking. Indeed, the dimensions are rather small for a 15.6-inch laptop due to the narrow bezel design. However, you can easily remove the bottom panel. 

Connectivity

Most of the ports that you would possibly expect are here. They include USB Type-C, USB Type-A, and HDMI. Port positioning is remarkable. However, the tightly-packed HDMI port is compressed in between the AC adapter port and USB Type-C port. 

SD Card Reader

Transfer rates from the integrated SD card reader are almost similar to what we recorded on the IdeaPad S540. Shifting 1 GB of images from our UHS-II test card to desktop takes around 14 seconds. A fully inserted SD card still sticks out by over half its length. Therefore, it is not safe for carrying. 

Communication

Wireless is supplied by an Intel 9560 for Wi-Fi 5 or 802.11ac speeds. You will be able to record real-world average transfer rates of almost 1200 Mbps when standing 1 meter away from your Wi-Fi 6-enabled Netgear RAX200 router. 

Maintenance

The ten T5 Torx screws secure the bottom panel. Once detached, you will have access to two storage bays and one SODIMM slot underneath the aluminium plate. 

Keyboard and TouchPad

The keys on Lenovo IdeaPad S340-15 come across as spongier, shallower, and overall cheaper. Indeed, the keyboard layout is similar to the IdeaPad S540 and S740. The clickpad provides smooth gliding with no cursor jumping even if moving slowly. In fact, clicking generates an audible click with soft feedback. Two-level white backlight lights up all keys and symbols. NumPad and Arrow keys are small and restricted. 

Display

To your surprise, you will find that graininess is minimal. In fact, contrast is better than what you would expect from a matte panel on an inexpensive laptop. However, the limited colour space and inaccurate colours do not allow the panel to be so colourful. Response times are slow for more perceptible ghosting when gaming. Indeed, the Lenovo IdeaPad S340-15 goes through slight to moderate uneven backlight bleeding along the edges and corners. In fact, the display is also a touchscreen which is rather unusual for a matte panel. Colour space is confined to just 38 percent and 58 percent of AdobeRGB and sRGB standards, respectively. 

Concluding lines

The Lenovo IdeaPad S340-15 is more modern and visually attractive than the competition. In fact, the matte touchscreen and accessible dual storage bays are also a pleasant surprise. However, the narrow colour space and mediocre battery life are possibly a turn off. 

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