Good design on the inside and out, but VAIO’s return to the laptop market is hampered by a high price and poor battery life.
Good
Slim, sturdy and attractive design
Decent components and screen
Superb connectivity
High-quality keyboard
Bad
Disappointing battery life
More expensive than rivals
Small, fiddly trackpad
Better screens available elsewhere
The new Vaio SX14 is a very attractive laptop in many respects, with a slim, lightweight design that’s well suited for life on the road. It also provides strong, desktop levels of performance, along with a wide range of connectivity features that will be useful when you get back to the office. However, battery life leaves room for improvement, and UK customers might wonder if Vaio’s spring price cuts will be transferring from the US to Europe as well.
Inconsistencies throughout mean that this old brand doesn’t make an entirely successful return to the laptop market.
It looks good and has impressive build quality, and it weighs less than its rivals. The keyboard is solid, screen quality is decent, and there’s enough power to handle day-to-day computing and work. It’s cool and quiet, too, and has loads of ports.
However, the Vaio isn’t as quick as the Huawei and its discreet GPU, and its battery life is a little behind. The trackpad is tricky, and the speakers are poor. The SX14 is also more expensive than either rival.
If you need a lightweight machine with a good keyboard and loads of ports, then the VIAO may justify its cost but for most people the Dell and Huawei machines will be better and more affordable all-rounders.
Sony VAIO SX14 Specifications
Review Price: £2149
1.8GHz Intel Core i7-8565U processor
Intel UHD Graphics 620
14in 1,920 x 1,080 IPS screen
16GB LPDDR3 memory
512GB Samsung PM981 SSD
Windows 10 64-bit
2yr RTB warranty
