In a yr wherein we’ve seen plenty of outstanding 2-in-1 laptops, Lenovo has saved probably the most effective till final with the Yoga 920, its follow-up to the improbable Yoga 910.

The Lenovo Yoga 920 options USB-C ports, an improved webcam location, a greater keyboard and boosted battery life, whereas retaining the 360-degree hinge that is an indicator of the Yoga vary.

Nevertheless, 2017 has been an exemplary yr for convertible laptops, with gadgets such because the recently-released Microsoft Surface Book 2 actually pushing the boundaries of what we should always anticipate from the shape issue. 

Meaning the Yoga 920 has its work reduce out if it is to actually stand out from the gang. Can it succeed? Learn on to seek out out.

Value and availability

As with different 2-in-1 gadgets, the Lenovo Yoga 920 is available in completely different configurations, although fortunately Lenovo hasn’t gone overboard by providing a complicated array of choices.

The bottom mannequin comes with an Intel Core i5-8250U processor, 256GB SSD, 8GB RAM, a 13.9-inch 1080p touchscreen and an Energetic Pen stylus, and prices $1,199.99 / £1,199.99. This mannequin is on the market within the US and UK.

A second mannequin comes with the identical spec as above, however encompasses a quicker Intel Core i7-855OU processor and bigger 512GB SDD. This prices $1,549.99 / £1,349.99 and once more is on the market within the UK and the US. From these costs you’ll be able to see that within the UK, the higher-specced Yoga 920 affords a lot better worth for cash.

Lastly, there’s a model that options an Intel Core i7-855OU processor, 16GB RAM, as much as 1TB of storage and a UHD (3840 x 2160) display screen. This mannequin is barely obtainable within the US and Australia, and prices $1,999.99 / AU$1,999.

Australian readers could also be a bit miffed about lacking out on the lower-specced variations, however at the very least the value conversion in comparison with US$ works out very properly. In the meantime, for those who’re within the UK you received’t have the choice of that 4K display screen.

Whereas these are fairly hefty sums to be parting with, they’re across the value we usually see high-end and premium laptops and ultrabooks promote for, and so they’re nonetheless a good bit cheaper than the Surface Book 2 (13.5-inch), the smaller model of Microsoft’s 2-in-1, which is akin to the Yoga 910 when it comes to measurement and energy. 

Costs for that gadget begin at $1,499 (£1,499, round AU$2,600) for which you get a Seventh-generation Intel Core i5 CPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB and an built-in GPU. The costs then rise to a fairly steep $2,999 (£2,999, round AU$5,200) for the top-of-the-range mannequin, which comes with an Eighth-gen Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD and a GTX 1050 graphics card. 

That’s fairly a distinction in value, although it’s price noting that not one of the Lenovo 920 configurations include a devoted graphics card. As a substitute they arrive with much less highly effective built-in playing cards which may deal with most duties completely advantageous, however will undergo with regards to gaming and video-editing.

General, although, we really feel the costs are fairly good for the varied Yoga 920 configurations, and whereas they’re definitely not low-cost, these aren’t ludicrous asking costs for the standard of gadget you’re getting.

Design

Once you’re paying a premium value you need a gadget that appears – and feels – premium as properly, and Lenovo has completed a superb job of that with the Yoga 920. It has a skinny but sturdy really feel to it, weighing three.zero kilos (1.37kg) and measuring simply 12.7 x eight.eight x zero.5 inches (323 x 223.5 x 13.95mm).

This implies it has a pleasant heft, with out feeling heavy or cumbersome. It additionally has a metallic end which provides to the premium really feel, though after only some hours of use the steel grew to become a veritable haven for fingerprints, so you could need to hold a small fabric helpful to maintain it smudge-free.

It’s a small value to pay, nonetheless, for such a handsome 2-in-1. The hinges alongside the again of the Yoga 920 are additionally eye-catching – we’ve fluctuated between pondering they’re trendy and discovering them a bit gaudy. There’s no doubting the power and construct high quality of the hinge although, which is important for a convertible laptop computer as that hinge is prone to see quite a lot of motion as you flip the display screen orientation, so that you don’t need it to be some extent of failure.

Just like the hinge on the Floor Guide 2, it’s sturdy sufficient to angle the display screen with out the physique tipping up, whereas the display screen stays held in place. In contrast to the Floor Guide 2, nonetheless, the design of this hinge doesn’t stick out fairly as a lot, and, after all, it might probably flip the display screen a full 180 levels.

2-in-1 convertibles that flip their screens to show right into a tablet-like gadget battle to offer fairly nearly as good a pill expertise as 2-in-1s on which the display screen detaches from the keyboard, as you’re nonetheless left with a barely cumbersome gadget with a again that looks like a keyboard (as a result of it’s one).

Lenovo has managed to deal with at the very least considered one of these factors due to the thinness of the design – even with the display screen flipped all the best way again that is nonetheless a skinny gadget, although not fairly as slim as customary tablets. That keyboard again stays, and whereas it doesn’t really feel that good (in comparison with the sleek, flat again of a traditional pill), it is at the very least intelligent sufficient to show off the buttons, in order that they don’t intervene when in pill mode.

Due to this we’d advocate the Yoga 920 as a laptop computer that may sometimes flip right into a pill, reasonably than vice versa. Should you’re on the lookout for one thing that you just’ll use largely as a pill, however need it to additionally flip right into a laptop-like gadget for typing on, we’d advocate one thing just like the Floor Guide 2, or maybe a pill that comes with a bodily Bluetooth keyboard.

The bezel across the display screen is impressively skinny, and the webcam is now again on the high of the display screen, in a central location. On the Yoga 910 the webcam was housed within the backside bezel, which led to some unflattering pictures, and generally folks weren’t too proud of that placement. With the digital camera returning to the highest of the display screen movies look far more pure when utilizing VoIP software program – and fortunately, placing the webcam again there hasn’t required making the highest bezel any bigger.

Given the thinness of the design, it’s in all probability no shock that ports-wise there aren’t an enormous variety of connectivity choices. On the left-hand aspect there’s a headphone/mic jack and two USB-C ports (considered one of which can also be used as the facility provide), and on the proper is a full-size USB three.zero port. This isn’t essentially the most beneficiant providing, however it’s greater than the MacBook’s single USB-C port.

To be trustworthy, we did not discover the variety of ports restrictive, and it’s an affordable trade-off for the svelte design. When you have plenty of USB gadgets that you just need to connect you’ll want an adapter, although the Yoga 920 additionally has built-in Bluetooth assist.

The truth that it nonetheless options one full-size USB port means there’s some flexibility right here for utilizing legacy gadgets, in addition to reminiscence sticks.

Stylus execs and cons

One factor we complained about with the Floor Guide 2 gadgets was that regardless of their excessive costs the Floor Pen stylus wasn’t included, necessitating an additional outlay on high of an already costly buy.

Fortunately Lenovo hasn’t adopted go well with, and has included its Energetic Pen stylus as a part of the bundle. This battery-powered stylus has a pleasant design, and the Yoga 920 responds properly to it due to its display screen having the ability to detect four,096 ranges of stress. Gentle presses and laborious presses have been registered precisely within the artwork apps we tried, and the 920 stored up with even essentially the most frantic scribbles.

In contrast to the Floor Pen, which has a nifty function the place you need to use the opposite finish of the stylus as an eraser, it is advisable to maintain down one (of two) buttons on the stylus to have interaction erase mode. General, although, we have been happy with the Energetic Pen, and we’re more than happy that Lenovo noticed match to incorporate it with the Yoga 920 as customary.

Nevertheless, it isn’t all excellent news. Lenovo needed to discover a method to simply retailer the stylus inside such a slim design. Microsoft’s answer with the Floor Pen and its Floor gadgets is to magnetically connect the stylus to the physique of the principle gadget; it is a good function that’s helpful, although not utterly safe, and it helps to provide these gadgets a premium really feel.

Nevertheless, for the Yoga 920 Lenovo has selected a plastic holder that slots into the full-size USB port and holds the stylus there. This finally ends up feeling a bit low-cost and cheesy, and it additionally means you’re dropping entry to a USB port when you’re utilizing it. It’s a disgrace, as so many different components of the Yoga 920’s design really feel premium, and this simply looks like a fudge.