Lenovo adds high-end hybrid features to the Miix 700

Lenovo is adding another Windows 10 hybrid to its lineup, and this one starts off with a very familiar look. The new Miix 700 could easily be mistaken for Microsoft's Surface tablet from a short distance, and the functionality and features are certainly similar. But the Miix 700 adds a few new wrinkles, and solves one of the major problems of the Surface line.

The 12-inch Miix 700 has a keyboard cover that looks and feels a lot like the Surface one, and likewise attaches via a magnetic hinge. In our brief hands-on time with the system, the keys on the Miix 700 felt more substantial than the Surface keyboard, with chunkier, more defined key faces, very similar to Lenovo's consumer laptops. The big bonus is that the keyboard cover is included with the Miix 700, while Microsoft still makes you buy it separately, for $129.

The kickstand that allows the screen to stay upright in clamshell mode is also familiar-looking. It doesn't bend as far back as the one of the Surface 3 Pro, but it offers a wide range of positions, and the twin hinges connecting it are of the same cool-looking watchband style seen in last year's Yoga 3 Pro.

The Miix 700 also threads the needle between Microsoft's high-end Surface Pro 3, which uses a Intel Core i5 CPU and the Surface 3, which has an Intel Atom. In the Miix 700 you'll find Intel's Core M chip, as seen in Lenovo's own Yoga 3 Pro, Apple's 12-inch MacBook and a handful of other thin, light laptops. The Core M originally disappointed in terms of performance and battery life, but these will be newer versions from Intel's Skylake family of CPUs, up to the new Core M7, which we have not had a chance to benchmark yet.

Lenovo's Surface-like Miix 700

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The Mixx 700 is coming to the US in November, starting at $699. We'll update with international prices and dates when we have them.