Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 - 59343897 Pro Reviews

If Lenovo had included a second bank of removable memory and a backlit keyboard, we'd have no technical qualms with the design. As it stands, the Yoga family has a viable future, and we definitely look forward to seeing what Lenovo has up its sleeves now that Haswell-based processors are available. Thinner, lighter, and more battery life, anyone?

While I didn't expect to become a Windows 8 convert, I'm certainly less of a sceptic and I'll admit I enjoyed using the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13, but I'm not convinced working on it is going to be plain sailing. Without hardware like this, Microsoft's big idea seems utterly confusing, but here it all fits rather nice and simply. To say it makes perfect sense would be pushing it, but with additions like Lenovo's QuickLaunch, migration is less irksome and quite a relief if you need to upgrade. As an Ultrabook it's a fast starter, slim and has a screen resolution that will suit most bemoaning the limitations of 1366 x 768-pixels. Yet, like all x86 touchscreen convertibles, it could do with a couple hours more on battery life. It seems a bit pricey too, but to use Windows 8 effectively a touchscreen is a must and that has to be paid for. Niggles aside, Lenovo's IdeaPad Yoga 13 certainly has plenty of appeal for those looking to buy a convertible Ultrabook, just how practical it is as a tablet with those exposed keys, remains to be seen.

Its keyboard could be better, but its excellent screen and long battery life elevate it above its rivals

If you ignore its awesome transformational abilities — which are a pretty great addition to a laptop, and are implemented really well — the IdeaPad Yoga 13 is just an average, pretty good laptop. It has a good keyboard, a nice-looking screen, and competent performance. It also has a frustrating trackpad, though, and a touchscreen that doesn't work as well as it should. It's a perfectly good laptop, and that's about what I expect for a $1,000 ultrabook. If you're buying a Windows 8 laptop right now, this is a really good option — it's definitely the best device I've tested since the new OS came out. But if you can wait, you should — there are many more cool devices coming soon, and even the Yoga should get better over time as the trackpad drivers and performance issues are fixed. What I want more than anything is the ThinkPad X1 Carbon with a Yoga hinge; this is a decent approximation, but not quite up to its level.

Lenovo deserves some credit for trying something new in the convertible notebook/tablet market. The Yoga 13 isn't "just a laptop with a touchscreen" like many of the new Windows 8 notebooks but Lenovo also wanted to try something different than the old-fashioned pivoting hinge we've seen on convertible notebooks for more than a decade. The problem is our editors aren't sold on this particular hinge design and we're not sure consumers are going to fall in love with it either. The biggest issue is the exposed keyboard; in tablet mode or stand mode the keyboard becomes the base of the device. Dirt found its way inside our keyboard from setting the Yoga 13 (in stand mode) down on a coffee table and the keyboard sometimes caught wrist watches, bracelets and rings on the edge of the keys when people held the Yoga in tablet mode. The bottom line is that the Yoga 13 is a powerful, full-featured Ultrabook but the 360-degree hinge design might be as much of a design flaw as it is a unique selling point. If you want a laptop that converts into a tablet without the exposed keyboard then there are other options like the Dell XPS 12 or Lenovo's own ThinkPad Twist. If you like the various screen positons of the Yoga 13 and don't mind the exposed keyboard then this is a fabulous Windows 8 PC.

Lenovo’s ingenious Yoga 13 is an unusually flexible Ultrabook, with tablet functions that come as a welcome bonus

Overall, I think Lenovo has shown that a convertible notebook can be a viable option in today’s market, especially for someone that is still on the fence about wanting a tablet but still requiring a notebook for productivity purposes. You can expect to pay a slight premium considering the hardware that’s included but that’s also expected given the flexibility and hybrid nature of the system.

Back in January, when we first saw the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga at CES, we declared it to be one of the most memorable things to come out of the show. That was 10 months ago, though, and thanks to that gap, there's a bit of a discrepancy between our initial impressions and our reaction following a week of real-world use. As we've discovered, it's an imperfect product, with a flaky trackpad, relatively limited storage and a fairly mediocre typing experience (this is usually Lenovo's strong suit). What's more, without the optional sleeve to cover the keyboard, the Yoga is awkward to use in tablet mode, since your fingers press up against the exposed buttons. Still, the Yoga remains an intriguing specimen; we haven't seen another Windows 8 convertible with quite this versatile a design. And what a great design it is: as much as we complain about the keyboard, the hinge is sturdy and well-engineered. The entire package feels thin and light, despite the fact that touchscreens usually add heft. Even if you rarely flip the screen around, this is a solid Ultrabook in its own right. Sure, there are other Windows 8 PCs with sharper screens and even faster SSDs, but those cost about $200 more. Compared to the competition, then, this is still a good option. Left alone in its price class, it's an even stronger choice. Let's just hope Lenovo can quickly update that flaky trackpad. That's not too much to ask, right?

All in all, we really enjoyed our time with this convertible ultrabook and feel the IdeaPad Yoga 13 is a solid, well-built machine that we wouldn't hesitate to recommend to our friends and family.

The mix of positives and negatives—and the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13's unique price point—make this a hard laptop to call. There's no questioning that it's an appealing all-around option, especially from a laptop-first perspective. The high-resolution IPS screen, slim-and-sleek design, and top-notch keyboard make this convertible a solid choice for travelers who plan to spend most of their time in laptop mode. Then again, if you're looking primarily for a laptop, the HP Envy TouchSmart 4t-1100 and Sony VAIO T Series 13 deliver perfectly fine touch-screen clamshell experiences for less money, and neither has the gesture-control quirks that frustrated us on our Yoga 13 test unit. Each offers a 500GB hard drive plus 32GB cache instead of a 128GB SSD, but given the Yoga's limited space available, that's not necessarily a bad thing. So, then, the Yoga 13 is best for people who are looking for a laptop that can double as a tablet on occasion—and there, the Yoga shines. You'll need some elbow room to flip the system's screen the full 360 degrees, but the innovative conversion mechanism makes the IdeaPad Yoga one of the most versatile mobile devices we've ever seen. Watching movies in tent mode rocks, and even better, the $999 price point undercuts the convertible competition.

I’ll admit it – at first I was a bit skeptical of the Yoga as a concept. In theory, it seems like an Ultrabook-slash-tablet is doomed to be mediocre at best. But the Yoga is surprisingly awesome. Sure, it’s not going to replace your iPad, but for a laptop it does the tablet thing very well (and it does the laptop thing pretty well, too). It helps that the keyboard, trackpad, and touchscreen are all top-notch – the Yoga is so eminently usable that I barely care what its performance scores are.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 is a solid ultrabook, but as a tablet, it's a little too big for comfort. Otherwise, the Yoga 13 has the best hybrid design we've seen so far.

At the end of everything, I have to say that I’m impressed. The folding design of the Yoga 13 definitely takes some getting used to, and it will like elicit a few strange looks from people you see on the street, but no matter – the Yoga 13 is one solid device, and I would even say that it’s one of the best Windows 8 machines on the market at the moment. That’s because it’s so versatile. That 360-hinge is just plain cool, and it opens up a lot of possibilities when it comes to actually using the Yoga 13. Yes, the hardware in the Yoga isn’t anything we haven’t seen before, but that’s not where Lenovo needed to wow us. It needed to make a machine that not only stood out from the crowd, but also had some useful applications. Lenovo succeeded in doing both.

The Yoga 13 is both a cautious and valiant effort at introducing a unique, yet ThinkPad X220T-like experience for the first time to IdeaPad users. The patented hinges are more than a novelty and the tablet functionality works wonders after acclimating to the uneven weight distribution. It’s not as easy to pick up and play as with a tablet, but the duality and versatility of the Yoga combined with Windows 8 make the convertible leagues beyond what any available dedicated tablet can offer. On the hardware front, the Yoga has one of the sleekest designs and form factors for an IdeaPad to date. Build quality is better than expected with no overly plastic textures that can normally make an expensive notebook feel cheap. It’s clear that some girth and weight have been added in order to incorporate the touchscreen, which may turn off some users who prefer thinner and lighter Ultrabooks. The keyboard could have provided more feedback and travel as well and the small Backspace and Enter keys may take some time to get used to. Luckily, arguably the most important piece of the hardware – the hinges – are far from weak and do a fantastic job at holding the display relatively stable on its multiple modes. Those who have no interest in the tablet form may want to opt for a lighter, thinner, and more portable Ultrabook for around the same price or even less. For example, similar battery life expectations and likely better system performance can be had with the HP Spectre XT, Samsung Series 9, or Acer Aspire S5. Even so, the Yoga 13 is aggressively priced and is ultimately a fresh, well-designed hybrid that is both fun-to-use and practical all at once.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga is a good Ultrabook for the price, even without some of the fancier features. The design, display, and performance are enough to capture our attention. But the touchscreen and versatile convertibility put it over the top. The Yoga showcases everything that Windows 8 has to offer. Plus, the $999 price feels like a bargain when you take all the features and specs into consideration. Though we wish it had more ports and the keyboard didn’t have those minor frustrations, overall, we have no trouble recommending this Ultrabook.

There's a good reason companies such as Intel and Microsoft have used the Yoga 13 as a prime example of a Windows 8 laptop done right. The folding screen opens up many possibilities for sharing and display, and the tablet mode, while not perfect, isn't really any worse in practical terms than that of any other Windows 8 convertible. The Yoga 13 has a great, premium feel at a semipremium price, and most importantly, the folding hinge design doesn't compromise either aesthetics or mechanics when it's used in clamshell laptop mode.

Yoga by name and by nature, the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga is a revolutionary touchscreen Windows 8 laptop that doubles as a 13-inch tablet, offering users the choice of the two styles of use. The Yoga moniker comes from the lid's ability to bend backwards on itself, so that the traditional laptop design transforms to become a tablet, which makes it better suited to watching videos or using apps, while losing none of the standard laptop usability.

We've only spent a short amount of time with the IdeaPad Yoga so we'll post a full verdict along with the full review.

The Yoga is designed for Windows 8, and will arrive as soon as Microsoft releases the OS, retailing for between $1,000 and $1,200 (a reasonable amount considering what's on offer). It's a shame we'll have to wait that long for both as the combination on this demo model was very slick - all this talk of it feel disjointed having a touch skin on Windows is just silliness.