Lenovo Miix 2 vs Acer W4: The 8-inch Windows 8.1 Battle

Both the Lenovo Miix 2 and the Acer Iconia W4 are some great Windows 8.1 tablets, at a very accessible price. But how do they fare when confronted? We go through their specs to decided who is the winner of this battle.

The Lenovo Miix 2 is one of my favorite Windows 8.1 tablets and it is already on my shortlist for what should I buy this holiday season. But, a friend of mine has asked me about Acer’s Iconia W4 Windows 8 tablet, so I’ve decided to compare this to in a head-to-head battle of specs. Previously, I have compared the Lenovo Miix 2 with the Toshiba Encore and the Dell Venue 8 Pro.

Lenovo Miix 2 vs Acer Iconia W4: battle of specs

• Price – both the Lenovo Miix 2 and the Acer Iconia W4 are affordable Windows 8.1 tablets, but the Lenovo Miix 2 is cheaper by $30, being available for $299, whereas the Acer Iconia W4 can be yours for 329.
• Display – the Miix 2 has a HD 16:9 widescreen with IPS technology and a 1280 x 800 with 10-finger multi-touch support while the Acer Iconia W4 comes with an Active Matrix TFT Color LCD WXGA screen at a 1280 x 800 resolution. My guess is that Lenovo’s display is slightly better here.
• Processor – here it gets interesting: while the Lenovo Miix 2 comes with the Z3740D Intel Bay Trail Dual Core of 1.80 GHz the Acer Iconia W4 has a quad-core Z3740 Intel processor, clocked at 1.33 GHz. From what I’ve seen, the performance of these two is pretty similar.
• Memory – the Lenovo Miix 2 comes with a 2 GB LPDDR2 while Acer Iconia W4 comes with a 2 GB LPDDR3 one. Acer’s Windows 8.1 tablet is a tad better (like 1-3%), but this is really negligible.
• Storage – no differences here as there is a 32 GB SSD internal storage for both tablets. To extend that storage, the Miix 2 comes with a Micro SD reader while Acer Iconia W4supplements that with an SDXC version.
• Audio and Video – the Lenovo Miix 2 comes with integrated audio and intel HD graphics while Acer’s Iconia W4 comes with just about the same specs
• Ports – the Lenovo Miix 2 has a small advantage as it has Micro USB 2.0, Micro HDMI and Headphone output while Acer Iconia W4 has the same features but the USB 2.0 port.
• Battery – both Windows 8.1 tablets have a 2-cell lithium-ion battery and what I’ve seen from the reviews is that both of them average somewhere around 7+ hours. But, the specs sheet says that the Lenovo Miix 2′s can be alive for up to 7 hours while Acer Iconia W4 promises 8 hours.
• Camera – the Lenovo Miix 2 has a 2 MP front camera sensor and a 5 MP in the rear and Acer’s Iconia W4 comes with the exact configuration.
• Dimensions – Now it’s time to compare the sizes of these Windows 8.1 eight inchers. Lenovo Miix2 comes with the following dimensions – 8.46 x 5.19 x 0.31 in (214.88 x 131.82 x 7.87 mm) while the Aces Iconia W4 has these Height 0.4″, Width 5.3″, Depth 8.6″. We can see that the Lenovo Miix 2 is a tad thinner, by around 1mm.
• Weight – the Lenovo Miix 2 wins the weight battle, as well, weighing only 0.77 lbs (349.26 g) versus Acer’s Iconia W4  15.17 oz (400 grams).

I don’t know about you but for me, the Lenovo Miix2 is the winner here. It is thinner, lighter, comes with just the same performance like the Iconia W4, but it is also cheaper by $30. What do you think?

Lenovo Miix2 versus other top tablets [update]

First of all, Lenovo Miix 2 has received an important update regarding its battery life. Now, all Lenovo Miix2 users with Windows 8.1 can install the KB2913236 Windows 8.1 update to put an end to battery problems.

After this update, Miix2 has increased its positions against other tablets, especially against Dell Venue 8 Pro and Toshiba Encore. If you are curious about who can be the winner against Lenovo’s tablet, here are the reviews:

• Dell Venue 8 Pro VS Lenovo Miix 2: Who Wins
• Toshiba Encore vs Lenovo Miix2: Specs Comparison

You will find all specs comparisons and even prices, so do not hesitate to let us know in the comments which tablet you like the most.

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