In late August during the IFA conference in Berlin, Lenovo revealed the Miix 510, a 2-in-1 Window 10 device packing a sixth-generation Intel processor, a 12.2-inch screen, and a pen stylus provided by Wacom that supports Microsoft’s Windows Ink. It hit the market in early October with a starting price of $750, and now the Microsoft Surface alternative already has a successor on the way: the unannounced Lenovo Miix 520.
News of the next Miix 2-in-1 device is unofficial for now, and appears as a leak recently scooped up by German-based WinFuture. That means the provided list of hardware shown below isn’t etched in stone until Lenovo verifies the components. Until then, shove every detail into the rumor bin for now even though the rumored hardware details are rather juicy for a 2-in-1 device.
Take a peek:
Screen size: | 12.3 inches |
Resolution: | 1,920 x 1,200 |
Processor: | Intel Core i3-6006U Intel Core i3-7100U Intel Core i5-7200U Intel Core i7-7500U |
System memory: | 4GB DDR4 8GB DDR4 16GB DDR4 |
Storage: | 128GB PCIe SSD 256GB PCIe SSD 512GB PCIe SSD 1TB PCIe SSD |
Cameras (Back): | 1x 8MP 1x 2MP for augmented reality |
Camera (Front): | 5MP |
Fingerprint scanner: | Yes |
Connectivity: | Wireless AC Bluetooth 4.2 |
Audio: | 2x speakers Dolby Advanced Audio certification |
Ports: | 1x USB 3.0 Type-A 2x USB 3.1 Type-C 1x Micro SD card reader |
Battery: | Up to 10 hours, 41 watt-hours |
Included stylus: | Wacom, 2,048 levels of sensitivity |
For starters, Lenovo customers will likely see several different configurations and price points based on the four Intel processors listed in the table above. Three are from the latest, seventh-generation “Kaby Lake” mobile processor family released by Intel during this half of 2016 along with one new chip based on the previous “Skylake” generation. On their own, the two Core i3 units and the i5 unit costs $281 each whereas the i7 model costs $393.
Just for kicks, here are the specs of the four listed processors:
i3-6006U | i3-7100U | i5-7200U | I7-7500U | |
Release date: | Q4 of 2016 | Q3 of 2016 | Q3 of 2016 | Q3 of 2016 |
Generation: | Skylake | Kaby Lake | Kaby Lake | Kaby Lake |
Number of cores: | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Number of threads: | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Base clock speed: | 2.00GHz | 2.40GHz | 2.50GHz | 2.70GHz |
Boost clock speed: | n/a | n/a | 3.10GHz | 3.50GHz |
Cache: | 3MB | 3MB | 3MB | 4MB |
Power requirement: | 15 watts | 15 watts | 15 watts | 15 watts |
Integrated graphics: | HD Graphics 520 | HD Graphics 620 | HD Graphics 620 | HD Graphics 620 |
Graphics base speed: | 300MHz | 300MHz | 300MHz | 300MHz |
Graphics max speed: | 900MHz | 1,000MHz | 1,000MHz | 1,050MHz |
According to the report, the Miix 520 won’t come packed with cooling fans, as Lenovo went with a passive, fanless design and is keeping the components cool by lowering the power draw of the processor down from 15 watts to 10 watts. However, the 2-in-1 will utilize a cooling system based on traditional heatpipes and vapor chambers.
Finally, Lenovo reportedly went with a magnesium-aluminum alloy metal housing for the tablet portion, and a plastic strip along the top of the device’s backside to properly shield the built-in Wi-Fi antennas. The company is shooting for an overall thickness of just 9 millimeters, which translates into a superthin 0.354331 inches.
That’s all we have for now. However, given that the device is still under development, all of this could change before the company greenlights the final layout. When that will be is anyone’s guess at this point, but there’s a good chance it will make an appearance at CES 2017, which takes place in Las Vegas between January 5 and January 8, 2017.