Sony VAIO Fit 14A multi-flip review

Fusing the best of both laptop and tablet worlds is a tricky ask, but the VAIO Fit 14A multi-flip – the middle child of Sony’s new 13in, 14in and 15in hybrid family – is hoping to manage the feat. And despite the Full HD display and novel design, the price comes as a pleasant surprise – the cheapest model starts at £699 inc VAT.

Whichever specification you opt for, the Fit 14A’s striking physique remains the same. Brushed metal spreads across the lid and keyboard surround, a fissure running through the centre of the lid accommodates the “multi-flip” hinge, and soft-touch black plastics curl around the lid’s edges and cover the base. If the silver finish is too showy, the Fit 14A is available in a more sombre black; and if it isn’t showy enough, it also comes in pink.

Initially, there’s little evidence you’re looking at a hybrid device at all: the Fit 14A is indistinguishable from a standard laptop. Until, that is, you glimpse the switch along the keyboard’s top edge. Flick this to the side and the catches securing the display release, allowing it to spin backwards through 180 degrees. It’s necessary to use two hands to unhook and spin the display around – strong, hidden magnets hold the display in place even once the catch is released – but, that done, those same magnets snap the display solidly into place in its secondary position.

In laptop mode, the Fit 14A is refreshingly free from compromises. There’s a full-sized, backlit keyboard and a wide, buttonless touchpad, and while we’re not keen on the keyboard surround’s sharp edges, the wristrest is deep and wide enough not to dig into your wrists in normal usage.

The 14in touchscreen is a cut above. Both multitouch and pressure-sensitive stylus input are on the cards, and the Full HD resolution makes for pin-sharp clarity. Put to the test with our X-Rite colorimeter, the Sony’s IPS panel provided a maximum brightness of 322cd/m[sup]2[/sup] and a contrast ratio of 685:1, and its palette of delicious, bold colours covered almost every corner of the sRGB gamut. If there’s a criticism to be made it’s a minor one: the crisscross pattern of the digitising layer is faintly visible.

Thanks to the presence of Intel’s Haswell processors, there’s also ample power for most applications. While the cheapest £699 model makes do with a Haswell-based Pentium chip, the 1.7GHz Pentium 3556U, our review unit came equipped with a 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-4200U, 8GB of DDR3L RAM and a 1TB hard disk – a combination that scored a respectable 0.67 in our Real World Benchmarks. Should you so wish, though, it’s possible to improve the performance – and send the price soaring to £1,354 – by equipping the Fit 14A with a 512GB SSD and Core i7 CPU.

Spend some time with the Fit 14A, and flaws bubble to the surface. One of its biggest issues is weight: at 1.92kg even without the charger, it isn’t only a hefty laptop – it’s a seriously overweight tablet. Sony has done its level best to mitigate the problem. The lip on the Fit 14A’s thickest edge provides a solid enough handhold. However, it’s far too weighty to hold one-handed for any length of time. Factor in the uncomfortably sharp edges of the keyboard surround, and the Fit 14A’s usefulness in tablet mode is rather limited.

The overall design disappoints in other areas, too. The way the keyboard surround overhangs the underside might look striking, but it isn’t practical: the recessed ports make it tricky to fully insert chunky USB devices or high-end headphones with thick 3.5mm plugs. Nor were we much enamoured with the keyboard itself, with a disappointing amount of flex in the base making for an unpleasantly wallowy, indistinct feel while typing.

If there’s a final nail in the Fit 14A’s coffin, it’s hammered in by disappointing battery life. Despite the power-efficient Haswell processor, the Sony struggled through our light-usage battery test to a final result of 5hrs 48mins. Considering that’s with single-band 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4 and NFC communications turned off, and the screen dimmed to only 75cd/m[sup]2[/sup], that’s barely enough to get through an afternoon of heavier use.

It’s no secret we wanted the Fit 14A to succeed: it’s a good-looking device, and the hinge design is very nicely executed. Indeed, had Sony afforded the rest of the design the same level of care and attention, this would likely have been the best hybrid to ever grace the PC Pro labs.

In reality, though, it’s a disappointment: the mushy keyboard and overweight chassis leave it feeling out of its depth as laptop or tablet, and poor battery life further dampens its appeal. For all its promise, and despite that luscious Full HD screen, the Fit 14A multi-flip isn’t the Windows 8 hybrid we’ve been waiting for.

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