Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga Review

[joseCalderon]

Lisa, thanks again for another great review! I find your reviews the best in the business BTW. I'm already an owner of a Y2PRO, and if that wasn't the case, I would definitely have this instead. I love my YOGA!

[Dicer]

Great review all around. Spot on.
Some things that I could add: 

Thinkpad support is a completely different level of warranty support compared to Ideapad support. This is very important to people who take their device seriously.

The screen also is able to become not only very bright but very dim. This is overlooked by most but is important for anyone who may be working in a dark area. Also the back-lit keys have a dim and bright setting. 

The red Trackpoint feature is wonderful for situations where you are going back and forth from mouse to keys, and also perfect for those times where there is not much room for moving your wrist (ex: airplane). 

The comparison resolution of the Ideapad Yoga is so extreme that many programs display unreadable text and proper scaling does not take place making things difficult on the user. 

As for the speakers, you said that they are "from the keyboard deck area", if you look closely they are in fact in the crease of the double hinge. You will notice that ends up positioning them in an almost frontal direction when in "presentation" mode rather than firing directly into the supporting surface (ex: table, lap). I find that to be a very clever compromise by the design team. 

Lastly I would add that I purchased a TP Yoga refurbished recently and could not be happier so far. It appears to have had the active digitizer removed/disabled. This basically cut the price by %50 on the unit. Warranty and all. Even rang up the Lenovo Thinkpad support and they sent me a set of recovery disks to hold onto and were very friendly, but that is expected as the call center is in - can you believe this... Georgia, USA. Ideapad support is directed to a foreign land of difficult accents.

Coming from an HP Folio 13 (which I was very fond of) I can easily say that every single aspect of the Lenovo is executed better. Okay maybe I wish that the back-lit keys did not auto-off with the screen timer causing them to be re-ignited. But other than that minor complaint this is a wonderful machine. 

Don't forget that you can easily run Android on these machines too...

[tommulholland]

I've watched a lot of your videos and they are always fantastic, non-biased, and clear. Thanks for that!

You've sold me on this Thinkpad Yoga, which I had been eying for some time in addition to Sony's new Flip Fit and Duo. This will be my next choice for carry around laptops. Thanks for the reviews!

[kestutisan]

I bought ThinkPad Yoga just a month ago. Few points to notice:
1. Battery life is 3 hours (on "Baanced" mode, simple watching a movie or browsing, no hard duties).
2. Right touch-pad button is not working on Chrome links sometimes. 
3. If you are using it as a tablet - wear gloves, as it gets really hot!!!
4. USB ports with some devices (like Suunto watsh Ambit 2) act really crazy: they connect-disconnect tool every 5 s and you hear connecting-disconnecting sound...

Conclusion: 6.5/10.

[stnicholas]

I find a great comfort zone for finding a device that can handle and do much more than i would normally need it for day to day.  To me a device that can use a proper digitizer in a addition to superb specs is a must for anyone business or home use.

[maddmar]

after 8 years..
now i can buy this thinkpad

pray for me
im start self bussiness and had to buy this one

[zhenglinhuang]

Hi Lisa, thank you for your awesome review! Your reviews are actually my favorite.

For this specific machine, how's 100% scaling? would it be usable if users don't use 125% or even 150%?

Thanks!

[tomoth]

I bought this laptop in 2014. The best Ive ever owned. Still use it. However I realize that all laptops have a life span and at 6 years its coming up so I just bought a lenovo carbon x1. I still like the feel of the yoga better. I think I'll continue to use the yoga until it dies.

[StackerHero]

My school is buying these for all the students!!! I am looking forward to getting them!!!

[ravipeiris]

Great review and analysis. Truly, thank you. I had a T60 from 2006 and I did appreciate having the left/right click buttons beneath the Touchpad. IBM Thinkpads can't be beat, truly,

Ravi Peiris M.D.

[djross]

Great review, Lisa, as always!  Especially appreciated the comparison with the IdeaPad Yoga 2 Pro. You have the best tech reviews that I've seen on the net....

[RagnarokBW]

Excellent Review!  Gave me a wonderful overview on whether to decide to buy this Thinkpad or not!  Is this the successor to the Thinkpad Twist?  One of the main drawback of the Twist was the mediocre battery life and the low-res screen.  Did the Haswell refresh make any difference?  Thanks, and I can't wait for the smackdown between the two Yoga!

[PilotPlater]

very thorough look and review of this laptop. Great for getting a feel for how the laptop is built and such.

[MotiRadomski]

All your videos are such a treat! The best review one could hope for. Pro, deep, in depth. GREAT! Thanks for these. Do you know when you might get your hands on the new Dell XPS 13 for a review? Looks promising... thanks!

[nbbuddy]

Omg u just get to the point and I love it. Thank you for explaining everything beautifully!!!

[marklawrence]

Awesome timely and generous review Lisa. You are a really great reviewer, nice to listen to, thorough and informative. Thanks so very much.

[tiffsyw]

Lisa, thank you so so so much for review this!!! I would have totally bought the wrong one without the digitizer!

[Ryesagain]

God ! Why can't I get one with the pixel density of the IDEAPAD and the pen; and convient storage of the THINKPAD, with the external ports of the THINKPAD? I'm underwhelmed by this unavailable option.

[shutts]

To Lisa (or anyone who wants to shed some light on my situation),
I'm a soldier, so I'm always on the move and need a rough and rigid laptop that suits my needs, and I am extremely drawn to the thinkpad lineup for this reason, and the yoga aspect because let's face it... That's a nifty feature. I need a fairly decent laptop to handle my online courses, and don't want to sacrifice the 2-in-1 design and durability. My only question is how well do you think the core i7 model would stand up to light and moderate gaming (for the little down time we get.) I like that it has the Wacom pen, and had the yoga 14 model had this option I would have gone that route, however it does not. So I am at a loss. Please help? Thanks.

[ScottTMcColl]

Would you recommend this 12.5 yoga or the new 12.5 thinkpad yoga (2015). It seems like the same computer, just with updated processor, possibly better battery life. On amazon you can get the top of the line 12.5 with digitizer for 1300, but I'm sure the same configuration will be nearly $1700-$1800. Thanks for the help!