The BMAX Y11 Review: Premium Quality in Entry Level Devices

You know the drill. You're browsing laptops, and what do you see? A bunch of laptop reviews...lots of laptop reviews. Each one is claiming to be the best in its category. Every review says it’s the best, but they can't all be right.

So how are you supposed to choose which entry-level laptop is for you? With so many features, how are you supposed to pick the best option? It's with that in mind that today we tackle an extremely interesting proposition by BMAX, a relatively new company that has managed to accrue quite a reputation thanks to its habit of delivering excellent entry-level notebooks at extremely competitive prices.

The proposition at hand? The BMAX Y11, a stunning 11.6-inch convertible laptop with a good quality build, 8 GB of RAM, 256 GB of storage, and an Intel Gemini Lake CPU at an absolutely unbeatable price.

In a price range where we're used to seeing 4 GB of RAM as the norm and 128 GB of storage as the best-case scenario, BMAX has managed to garner stellar reviews - with reason - and has us wondering if we've been ripped off for years by other manufacturers. Today, we're taking you through everything there is to know about this popular notebook.

Who's this laptop suited for?

This laptop is best suited for professionals and students who are looking for a lightweight convertible that still packs a punch in terms of performance. People who are looking for a device to both boost productivity by editing spreadsheets and writing reports as well as chill streaming a movie on its Full HD display.

Review of the BMAX Y11 Laptop

Design & Display

The first thing you'll notice about the BMAX Y11 is its ultra-thin all-metal body. At just 10.8 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches and weighing a meager 2.2 pounds, it's one of the thinnest and lightest entry-level laptops on the market today, with an impressive design to match.

Its touchscreen display is nothing to scoff at with an 11.6-inch diagonal and a Full HD (1080p) resolution that manages to quickly set it apart from other entry-level models such as the recently reviewed HP 14-fq0090nr.

As far as the display quality is concerned, it's quite good. Obviously, you're not going to get a top-notch display comparable to high-end models but for the segment, it's competing in it's definitely managed to raise the standards by a bit.

How do I turn it into a tablet?

Switching the Y11 from laptop mode to tablet mode is fairly easy. All you need to do is flip the screen on the keyboard and you've got yourself tablet mode activated. Also, as some of you have asked, yes this laptop still supports touchscreen even when being used in laptop mode.

Keyboard & Trackpad

The keyboard is comfortable for long typing sessions. The keys of the Y11 are well spaced out and have a decent amount of travel. Also, it's backlit which is always a much-appreciated feature.

The trackpad is alright. It has a smooth finish and its trackpad buttons offer a comfortable press. It's also quite spacious, which is also something that I personally prefer.

BMAX Y11 Performance

BMAX has packed a quad-core Intel N4120 processor along with 8 GB of RAM inside its Y11 convertible laptop. It also delivers big with a 256 GB SSD storage unit, which can also be swapped out if you'd like to upgrade your storage down the line.

As we stated in the intro, these features alone coupled with the quality build of the laptop set this BMAX notebook apart from most entry-level notebooks which more often than not offer the 4 GB of RAM/ 64 GB of storage combo.

Overall, with this set of key specs, you can be assured that this machine will handle most standard tasks such as web browsing, streaming video, editing documents, coding, and even doing some light photo-retouching.

Finally, as far a graphics are concerned, this model packs an Intel UHD Graphics 600. This is a chip that won't let you do hardcore gaming by any stretch of the imagination, but it will manage casual games like Minecraft or SIMS on low settings.

Battery Life

Perhaps the only con we could find to the Y11 is the battery life. Specifically, this model delivers between 4-5 hours worth of battery life. This is not all that great and definitely gives an edge to competitors such as the Acer Aspire 5 A515-46-R14K or the Acer Aspire 5 A515-55-35SE which easily blow these numbers out of the water with 8-hour batteries.

Connectivity options

The BMAX Y11 has a variety of connectivity options. It has WiFi 802.11 AC (2 x 2) + Bluetooth 4.2, one USB-C port for connecting power and devices, one SD card slot as well as an audio combo jack.

Sure enough, the connectivity set is slightly limited, as is customary within this size, however, we do appreciate the inclusion of the dual-band WiFi ac (also known as WiFi 5), because it means that we can connect to both 2.4 and 5 GHz networks on our laptop.

There's also an HD webcam, which is quite par for the course, and a pair of stereo speakers that deliver a relatively decent sound. However, if you're going to use this convertible to stream movies and music on a regular basis then we'd definitely advise you in the direction of nice pair of headphones or an external speaker.

Bottom Line

If you're looking for an entry-level laptop that packs a punch, the BMAX Y11 is the one for you. At this price range, you'll be hard-pressed to find another entry-level that offers 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage.

Along with a good-quality build and the ability to handle everyday tasks aimed at productivity, it's a great machine at an extremely affordable price.