The Yoga C740 15 is the form of laptop computer Lenovo ought to have knocked out of the park. Its higher-end cousin, the Yoga C940 15, already stands out as a fine MacBook Pro alternative, so the C740 15 may have been a step-down variant. Lenovo did simply that with its 14-inch Yoga C740, the cheaper counterpart to the C940 14 convertible. (Both of these laptops are wonderful.)
Sadly, the Lenovo Yoga C740 15 missteps. It has no discrete graphics card just like the C940 15, and it makes use of a a lot weaker processor, but it’s not a lot lighter (0.22 kilos). Its physique additionally appears flimsier, which detracts from the typing expertise, and it lacks a few of the intelligent design thrives from Lenovo’s fanciest convertibles, resembling a built-in stylus.
The Yoga C740 15 does have just a few saving graces: Its battery life and display brightness are wonderful for a 15-inch laptop computer, and it’s cheaper than loads of comparable rivals. But for a laptop computer that also prices over a grand, the Yoga C740 15’s trade-offs detract from its attraction.
This assessment is a part of our ongoing roundup of the best laptops. Go there for info on competing merchandise and the way we examined them.
Yoga C740 15 specs and options
As reviewed, the Lenovo Yoga C740 15 at the moment costs $1,100 at Best Buy (we’ve seen the worth drop often) and contains the next specs:
- CPU: 10th-generation Intel Core i7-10510U processor
- Memory: 12 GB of DDR4-2666 RAM
- Display: 15.6-inch show with 1920×1080 decision and 500 nits’ brightness
- Graphics: Intel UHD
- Storage: 512GB M.2 SSD storage with 32GB Intel Optane reminiscence
- Left aspect ports: Two USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 ports, headphone jack
- Right aspect ports: Two USB-A 3.1 ports
- Networking: Wi-Fi 5
- Biometrics: Fingerprint reader
- Webcam: 720p
- Operating system: Windows 10 Home
- Dimensions: 14.1 x 9.27 x 0.72 inches
- Weight: 4.19 kilos (4.94 kilos with energy brick)
The Yoga C740 15’s USB-C ports are on the left, and two USB-A ports are on the appropriate.
Best Buy and Lenovo’s website each supply different configurations, together with one with a a lot dimmer 250-nit show, Intel Core i5-10210U processor, 256GB of storage, and 8GB of RAM for $860. A totally decked-out laptop computer with a 1TB arduous drive and 16GB of RAM carries a listing value of $1,185.
Unlike the Yoga C940 15, which comes customary with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q graphics card, the Yoga C740 doesn’t supply discrete graphics at the same time as an possibility, and its U-series Intel processor is a giant step down for multi-threaded and graphics-intensive workloads. (More on that later.) The C740 15 can also be lacking Wi-Fi 6 and Thunderbolt 3 help, and it doesn’t have a stylus inbuilt.
Jared Newman / IDGLike different Lenovo Yoga fashions, the C740 15 folds right into a pill, however this one has no stylus inbuilt.
On the upside, the weaker CPU permits the C740 to make use of a USB-C charger, relatively than the proprietary cable Lenovo makes use of in additional highly effective laptops.
Design and show
At 4.19 kilos, the Lenovo Yoga C740 15 falls throughout the anticipated weight vary for a 15-inch convertible laptop computer, particularly when you think about the hefty 60Wh battery and the aluminum chassis (in lighter-gray “Mica” or darker “Iron Gray”).
Still, it is price stepping again to contemplate how applicable the 2-in-1 strategy is for a laptop computer of this dimension. This is not one thing you may comfortably cradle on the sofa. Even should you can look previous the majority, a 15-inch display is simply unwieldy for studying or taking part in touchscreen video games. Other high-end 15-inch clamshell laptops that use built-in graphics and do not remodel into tablets are sometimes a lot lighter.
Jared Newman / IDGThe Yoga C740 15 is fairly chunky regardless of its use of built-in graphics.
This would possibly clarify why we don’t see loads of laptops like this within the first place. While one may stage the identical criticisms at Lenovo’s C940 15, we anticipate that laptop computer to be heavy due to its workhorse tech specs, plus it features a stylus for drawing in apps like Photoshop. The C740 15’s bulk feels tougher to justify.
Display high quality is a spotlight. The Yoga C740 15 has the identical slim bezels as its pricier counterpart, and it has an marketed peak brightness of 500 nits. We really measured a better brightness of 546 nits on the middle of the display, which is downright spectacular for any laptop computer. That functionality turns into particularly useful open air or towards a window, as it may overcome the reflectiveness of the laptop computer’s show. The display additionally helps Dolby Vision HDR in sure streaming apps, together with Netflix, iTunes, and Amazon Prime Video.
The solely nitpick right here is that the show’s colours appeared fairly washed-out by default. Reducing the brightness stage in Intel’s Graphics Control Panel made the show really feel much less harsh, whereas permitting colours to pop extra.
Keyboard and trackpad
Despite the liberal use of aluminum, the Lenovo Yoga C740 15 has some flex across the middle of the keyboard, which implies the keys squish down a little bit towards the bottom of the laptop computer. The keys themselves do have a satisfying quantity of journey and provides off a hearty pop if you press on them, however the typing expertise doesn’t really feel as strong as that of the C940 15, which doesn’t have any flimsiness points.
The keyboard format is similar, although, with a quantity pad and media keys on the appropriate aspect. Lenovo shaves down its backspace and modifier keys to make room for the quantity pad, however the format of the letter and quantity keys remains to be spacious.
Jared Newman / IDGNeed a quantity pad? The Yoga C740 15 has it lined.
The trackpad additionally feels the identical as what Lenovo makes use of throughout its higher-end Yoga vary. That means you’ll get a wonderfully easy monitoring floor—albeit one which feels prefer it should be greater—and a click on mechanism that, as with most different Windows laptops, begins feeling too stiff about midway up the trackpad. So it goes.
Webcam, safety, and audio
For laptop computer audio system, the Lenovo Yoga C740 15’s audio high quality is surprisingly clear and well-balanced, thanks largely to Dolby’s Atmos-branded software program optimizations. While these aren’t the loudest audio system you’ll discover on a laptop computer—once more, the C940 collection does higher on that rating, with audio system cleverly constructed into the laptop computer hinge—Dolby fairly clearly boosts the amount of spoken audio if you’re listening to somebody speak on YouTube. Music doesn’t come off as overly harsh both, even at most volumes.
The webcam is a extra typical 720p shooter. That’s adequate for well-lit rooms, however it will get grainy in any form of low-light state of affairs. The excellent news is that Lenovo managed to sneak in the identical sort of privateness shutter it contains on its fancier Yogas, so you may cowl up the digital camera by flicking a little bit swap above it. While the digital camera doesn’t help Windows Hello face recognition, the laptop computer’s fingerprint reader works rapidly and precisely.
Jared Newman / IDGBlock the webcam with the Yoga C740 15’s privateness shutter.
Performance
Here we get to the center of the Lenovo Yoga C740 15’s triumphs and tribulations. Once a laptop computer pushes into the four-pound vary, you need to begin anticipating some efficiency payoffs for gaming or content material creation. Unfortunately, the C740 15’s Intel Core i7-10510U and built-in UHD 620 graphics aren’t an awesome combo for both.
Intel’s U-series chips do exactly fantastic with single-threaded efficiency, which is what you’ll want for productiveness duties resembling doc modifying and net searching. PCMark 8’s Work benchmark simulates these very duties, and the Lenovo Yoga C740 15 predictably holds up properly. It even beats a number of laptops with G-series CPUs and isn’t far behind the Yoga C940 15’s workhorse Core i7-9750H CPU.
Melissa Riofrio/IDGThe Lenovo Yoga C740 15 excels at primary productiveness workloads.
Cinebench is the place the C740 begins to slide a little bit. This is a brief check that renders a three-dimensional scene utilizing the laptop computer’s CPU. Once once more, the Yoga C740 15 tops loads of different laptops with comparable specs. But if you herald an actual workhorse processor just like the Intel Core i7-9750H, there’s no contest in multi-threaded efficiency.
Melissa Riofrio/IDGAgain, the Yoga C740 15 does properly with single-threaded efficiency, however there’s a transparent benefit for H-Series CPUs when utilizing all threads.
For a greater real-world instance of what this implies, check out our HandBrake benchmark. In this check, we encode a 30GB .MKV video file right into a 1.4GB .MP4 file, which is a good way to gauge multi-threaded efficiency over an prolonged time period. The Lenovo Yoga C740 15 will get it finished in 57 minutes and 17 seconds, which is admirable for its class of CPU. We’d suspect that the 15-inch kind issue provides the Yoga extra respiration room to keep away from throttling down the CPU throughout heavy workloads. But once more, if you carry within the Yoga C940 15 and its H-Series processor, it does the identical job in practically half the time.
Melissa Riofrio/IDGSeeing the sample but? Lenovo’s higher-end Yoga C940 15 trounces its cheaper sibling on video encoding time.
Gaming efficiency is an unsurprising weak level, because of the UHD 620 graphics constructed into Intel’s U-Series CPUs. Obviously the Yoga C740 15 will probably be consuming the mud of any laptop computer with a discrete GPU, however even Intel’s G-Series CPUs supply far superior gaming efficiency by their built-in Iris Plus graphics. Lenovo’s personal Yoga C940 14 is a good instance, popping out manner forward in 3DMark’s Sky Diver graphics check.
Melissa Riofrio/IDGNo surprises right here: Intel’s UHD 620 built-in graphics simply aren’t nice for gaming.
The clear redeeming issue right here is battery life. Our check includes looping a video file with the laptop computer set to airplane mode and its show set at roughly 255 nits’ brightness. We additionally connect earbuds at medium quantity. The Lenovo Yoga C740 15 lasted for 11 hours and 5 minutes, which is frankly nice for a 15-inch laptop computer, although it’s price noting that HP’s Spectre x360 15t does higher even with discrete graphics. (Also: The HP mannequin examined right here has since been updated to an MX250 GPU and 10th-generation Intel CPU, which might presumably fare higher in our different benchmarks.)
Melissa Riofrio/IDGCAPTIONTK
The huge, not-so-beefy convertible
Is battery life sufficient to save lots of the Lenovo Yoga C740 15? Maybe for a particular sort of person, one who doesn’t want strong efficiency for gaming or content material creation, however insists on a 15-inch touchscreen that converts right into a pill and is on the higher sure of their funds at $1,100.
Outside of that tiny field, although, there’s a powerful case to contemplate alternate options. Lenovo’s 14-inch Yoga C940 14 has a smaller display, and the checklist value is $200 greater, however it weighs solely 3 kilos and has longer battery life, far superior graphics efficiency, higher audio high quality, a extra satisfying keyboard, and a built-in stylus.
Jared Newman / IDGYou’ll sacrifice some display dimension and pay a bit extra, however the Yoga C940 14 (proper) is a a lot better laptop computer general.
Meanwhile, should you can let go of your pill ambitions, Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 3 and the LG Gram 15 are a lot lighter whereas nonetheless providing 15-inch shows. And should you’re prepared to get spendy, Lenovo’s Yoga C940 15 and HP’s Spectre x360—each convertible laptops—are extra compelling as workhorses.
Presumably Lenovo’s Yoga C740 collection is supposed to achieve a broader viewers by providing decrease costs than the flagship Yoga C940 vary. But on this case, Lenovo reduce away a lot of what makes huge, cumbersome laptops price shopping for. The result’s a pocket book whose attraction is just too slim.