How to distinguish between notebooks with similar configurations at the experience level? In addition to the lighter, thinner and cooler appearance design, the opening and closing angle of the screen also needs to be included in our investigation scope.

From 130 to 360

In addition to products in the form of PC tablet two in one (separation of screen and keyboard) such as Microsoft Surface pro, most other types of notebook screens can be opened and closed at 130 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees and 360 degrees.

Generally speaking, the larger the opening and closing angle of the screen, the superposition of the touch operation function of the screen can bring more use forms, such as the familiar notebook mode, tent mode, demonstration mode and tablet mode.

Since the larger the angle, the better, why can't all notebooks turn 360 degrees?

Restraint from shaft

The opening and closing angle of a notebook screen depends on its own rotating shaft design. The rotating shaft, also known as hinge, hinge, etc., is the bridge connecting the screen and the fuselage, and it is also the most key component driving the opening, closing and turning of the screen.

The matching and design of the rotating shaft belongs to a very complex systematic project. The designer needs to consider the interface arrangement on the back of the notebook and the position of the heat dissipation air outlet, avoid the fracture of the rotating shaft and damage to the shell that may occur during frequent or vigorous use, and take into account the reliability of the connection and use of the internal screen cable.

At present, the rotating shaft can be roughly divided into three categories. One is that the rotating shaft is located on the fuselage. The advantage is that the screen can be turned up to 180 degrees, and will not block the interface and cooling air outlet on the back. It is usually used for heavy game books.

The second is the sunken rotating shaft, which is located in the inner layer of the rear of the fuselage. When turning over, some screens will sink to a position lower than the horizontal plane of the fuselage, which can compress the thickness of the notebook thinner. At the cost of covering the rear of the fuselage, interfaces and air outlets cannot be arranged at these positions.

Therefore, the sunken rotating shaft has always been the favorite of light and thin books. Now some products will introduce the "hip up" design on this basis. After opening the screen, the rear end of the screen can support the body and raise the distance between the bottom cover and the desktop, so as to improve ventilation efficiency and heat dissipation.

The third is the rotating shaft of the two-stage structure, which can make the screen and the host part in a parallel position, and drive the notebook screen through two chain linked rotating shafts, so as to realize the turnover ability of up to 360 degrees.

Rational view of rotating shaft angle

Theoretically, the larger the opening and closing angle of the notebook screen, the better. However, for ordinary consumers, we need to measure whether it is necessary to spend more money on screens with higher opening and closing angles. For example, when the notebook screen is at 180 degrees, it is very suitable for the presentation environment of business meetings, but if you don't need to share the screen content with many people, it's not necessary to deliberately pursue similar design. Similarly, the 360 degree flip touch screen is cool, but the price of such products is usually 1 / 3 higher than that of products with the same configuration. Whether you need to spend more money to "guide the country" depends entirely on your consumption ability.

Compared with the opening and closing of the screen, we should pay more attention to the experience of the screen flipping process. For example, damping coefficient, torque and self-locking function.

When we lift the laptop screen, we will feel a reaction force, which we can call "damping coefficient". The greater the damping coefficient, the better the shock absorption and stability (the screen can be stably fixed at any angle), but the defect is that it requires more force to drive the screen. It often requires one hand to press the fuselage and the other hand to lift the screen, which is more laborious. Although the smaller damping coefficient can open and close the screen with one hand, it cannot be fixed at any angle. Accidentally touching the screen will shake. Therefore, moderate damping coefficient is the most important. Only screens supporting touch operation need to be matched with larger damping coefficient.

In addition to the damping coefficient, the torque also affects the tightness of the shaft. The amount of torque needs to be calculated according to the actual weight of the screen. The wrong calculation of torque will also affect the looseness or tightness of the rotating shaft of the notebook, which will bring users a very poor experience effect. The self-locking function refers to that the notebook screen achieves the self-locking effect when it is less than 30 ~ 15 degrees, but if the damping coefficient and torque are too small, the screen may close slowly when it is less than 60 degrees, which is obviously not what we want to see.