A Closer Look - Outside

If you are familiar with the Lenovo design approach in the budget segment, you'll notice that the look of the IdeaPad Slim 3 15AHP10 isn't much different from what they've released in the past few years. I don't mind it. This unobtrusive aesthetic is suitable for all kinds of environments; home, school, library, university, office, etc.

The hinges are stiff, and the main body is light. As a result, you'll need both hands to open the laptop. At least the noticeable "hump" on the lid's upper side makes gripping and opening easy.

Dimensions-wise, it's all down to battery capacity, display type, and chassis material. The lightest possible configuration is with an OLED, and it stops the scales at just 1.49 kg. The "porker" of the series weighs 1.63 kilos, equipped with an IPS display and the bigger/heavier 60Wh battery.

The laptops that are made entirely of plastic are also thicker (17.9–18.9 mm) than those with a metal lid, like ours (16.9–17.9 mm). The aluminium top cover isn't overly flexible in the middle and only slightly twistable on the sides. Also, the metal surface picks up visibly fewer smudges than the plastic base. The latter is a bit flexible between the trackpad and the Space key, which is pretty common for many laptops. However, I did notice a bit of a bend in the middle of the keyboard. It's not something extremely bad, but you could feel it while using the device.


Onto the keyboard that has a long speaker grille on top. It has large keys, a NumPad, an AI shortcut, and uncomfortably small "Up" and "Down" Arrows. The backlight is optional. My unit lacks this kind of illumination, which is a real pain if you want to work during the night with the lights turned off or with dim background lighting. Key travel is decent at best, while the feedback is mushy. Overall, this board is okay for general usage, but it's not meant for the pro typists or keen gamers out there.


On the other hand, the touchpad isn't bad at all! Its Mylar plastic surface is pleasantly smooth (not quite like glass) while tracking is above average. The clicks are noisy, though.


The bezels around the screen aren't exactly thin but aren't as thick as laptops from the previous decade either.


The max opening angle is wide.


The protrusion above the panel houses a webcam with a privacy shutter. The base unit has a 720p resolution but those who value rapid unlocking of the device and higher quality video calls might prefer the optional 1080p model with facial recognition.


The stickers on the left palm rest indicate that this machine sports a Ryzen CPU and iGPU, plus a 16:10 display.


The bottom of the machine incorporates a 2-row ventilation grille and three rubber feet.


Hot exhaust air is expelled through a rear vent that directs heat towards the lower part of the screen.