​Kogan Atlas UltraSlim Pro laptop: full, in-depth review

Battery Life

The key feature of any ultraportable is portability and this relates to weight, build-quality and, above all, battery life. And here the Kogan was middling.

When performing the processor-hungry PC Mark battery test with High Performance power settings and moderate screen brightness, it lasted for three hours 15 minutes. That's almost two hours less than the Venom which only has a slightly-larger battery.

The Kogan also played back our 1080p movie for just four hours and seven minutes when set to Power Saving mode with moderate brightness and earbuds connected. That's two-and-a-half hours less than the Venom and you won't get near a full day out of it no matter what you do.

We should also mention the power adapter which eschews the usual two part clover lead for a smaller, one-piece, old-style phone-type charger. This is good in that it's light to carry but you're limited by lead length and we had some trouble plugging it in in some instances.

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Conclusion

In many ways this is a great foil to the Venom. Both do the same thing to a large extent but the Kogan really highlights Venom's attention to detail on components, build-quality and performance. If you need a no frills powerful laptop then the Venom is the one to buy - although maybe not if you're using it in a school-like environment where its lightweight build-quality will be shown up by regular rough and tumble. However, most people will simply want something light that they can work on easily and the Kogan is great for that and comes at a giveaway price. The battery life isn't great, the speakers are terrible but the days of expecting to pay through the nose for something so very useable at this size are over.