The Thomson NEO 10 (2020) is a budget laptop with a low-power Intel Atom CPU. It has a compact size that makes it easy to carry around, but it might easily get damaged as it feels poorly built, and its battery can only last a few hours at most. It has a small, low-resolution screen that doesn't provide much space for multitasking, and it produces a washed-out image due to its narrow color gamut and awful color accuracy. The keyboard is bad and feels tiring to type on, the touchpad is tiny, and the webcam's video quality is terrible. Its Intel Atom CPU can handle light tasks like web browsing and video playback, but it's nowhere near powerful enough for heavy multitasking, gaming, or graphically demanding workloads. On the upside, it doesn't get hot, and its fanless design means there's no fan noise at all.
We tested the Thomson NEO laptop with an Intel Atom x5-Z8350 CPU, integrated Intel HD Graphics 400, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage space. There's a model with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, but we don't recommend it as 2GB of memory will cause the system to hang or stutter.
Our Verdict
The Thomson NEO laptop is a poor option for school use. It's very portable due to its compact size, but the battery can't last through a full day, so you'll need to carry the power adapter as well. The keyboard and touchpad are bad, and its small, low-resolution screen doesn't get very bright, which isn't ideal for outdoor use. Its Intel Atom CPU can handle light web-based tasks, but it isn't powerful enough for demanding workloads like graphic design.
- Easy to carry around.
- Cheap plastic construction.
- Short battery life.
- Poor CPU and GPU performance.
- Bad 480p webcam.
- Keyboard doesn't register keystrokes at times.
The Thomson NEO laptop is bad for gaming. Its low-power Intel Atom CPU and integrated graphics don't have enough processing power to run games, though you might be able to play some web-based games through a browser. The screen is small, and it's limited to a 60Hz refresh rate with no VRR support. However, it doesn't get overly hot, and its fanless design means it remains quiet under load.
- No fan noise.
- Poor CPU and GPU performance.
- 60Hz refresh rate; no VRR support.
- No user-replaceable parts.
- Keyboard doesn't register keystrokes at times.
- Has very few ports.
The Thomson NEO laptop is bad for media consumption. The speakers sound tinny and hollow, and they don't get very loud. Also, the screen provides a poor viewing experience as it has a low resolution and produces a washed-out image due to its narrow color gamut. It has a compact size that makes it very portable, but you'll need to carry the charger as the battery only lasts a few hours.
- Easy to carry around.
- Speakers sound tinny and hollow.
- Low-resolution screen looks washed-out.
- Glare might be a problem due to low screen brightness.
- Low contrast not ideal for dark rooms.
- Short battery life.
The Thomson NEO laptop is bad for use as a workstation. Its low-power Intel Atom CPU and integrated GPU perform poorly, so it isn't ideal for heavy workloads like video editing or physics simulations. It also has a very slow storage drive and few ports. On the upside, it doesn't get hot under load and stays silent as it's a fanless device.
- No fan noise.
- Poor CPU and GPU performance.
- No user-replaceable parts.
- Keyboard doesn't register keystrokes at times.
- Has very few ports.
- Slow storage drive.
The Thomson NEO laptop is bad for business use. Although it has a compact size that makes it easy to carry around, it feels like it can easily break as it's entirely made of plastic. Also, the battery can't last through a typical 8-hour workday. The keyboard, touchpad, and webcam are bad, which results in a poor user experience. On top of that, it has a small, low-resolution screen that isn't ideal for multitasking, and its Intel Atom CPU can't handle demanding workloads.
- Easy to carry around.
- Cheap plastic construction.
- Short battery life.
- Poor CPU and GPU performance.
- Bad 480p webcam.
- Keyboard doesn't register keystrokes at times.
- Has very few ports.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Thomson NEO 10 (2020) with an Intel Atom x5-Z8350 CPU, integrated Intel HD Graphics 400, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of eMMC storage. You can also get a lower-tier model with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. There's a similar NEO 10 with an unspecified Intel Celeron processor, but since the Celeron CPUs are based on a different microarchitecture than the Atom CPUs and the laptop ships with Windows 10 S instead of the full version, we consider it as an entirely different model.
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Our display and performance results are only valid for the configuration that we tested. If you come across a different configuration option not listed above, or you have a similar Thomson NEO laptop that doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update it. Some tests, like black uniformity and color accuracy, may vary between individual units.
You can see our unit's label here.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The Microsoft Surface Go 2 (2020) and the Thomson NEO 10 (2020) are both ultraportable Windows laptops, but the Surface is a 2-in-1 touchscreen convertible model with a kickstand. The Surface is a superior laptop overall, with a more portable, better build, a far better-looking display, a faster CPU and SSD, and longer battery life. Also, its keyboard, touchpad, speakers, webcam, and microphone are much better, and you can use it in tablet mode without the keyboard. You can open the Thomson up to access the internals, but nothing's replaceable, and while it has a slightly better selection of ports, that's about it.
The Thomson NEO 10 (2020) and the Lenovo 100e Chromebook 2nd Gen (2019) are both compact, ultraportable laptops with power-efficient CPUs; however. the Lenovo runs Chrome OS, while the Thomson runs Windows 10. The Lenovo is a better laptop overall, with a better-performing CPU, a better display, and a far better battery life. Also, it has a better-feeling keyboard and touchpad and a significantly superior webcam and microphone. The Thomson is only a better option if you absolutely need a Windows device.
The Samsung Chromebook 4 (2019) and the Thomson NEO 10 (2020) are both ultraportables with power-efficient CPUs, but the Samsung is a much better laptop for all practical uses. The Samsung feels significantly more responsive thanks to its use of Chrome OS, and it has a far superior battery life. Also, its screen displays more accurate colors, it has a significantly better keyboard and touchpad, and its webcam, microphone, and speakers perform significantly better. On the other hand, the Thomson uses Windows 10, which might be necessary for some people.
The HP Stream 11 (2021) is better than the Thomson NEO 10 (2020) overall. The HP has a slightly larger, sharper, and brighter display. It also has a better keyboard, touchpad, and speakers than the Thomson. The HP's CPU and GPU are more powerful, so the system as a whole feels faster and more responsive. Both devices are only capable of handling simple tasks like web browsing and video playback, not demanding workloads like video editing or AAA gaming.
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