Sarah Tew/CNET
Whenever somebody asks me for a Windows various to the MacBook Air, my reply for greater than a 12 months has been the both the Lenovo IdeaPad 730S or the two-in-one Yoga 730 usually as a result of they value much less, however provide you with an identical feel and appear and doubtlessly higher efficiency. They’re simply nice ultraportables for regular, on a regular basis dwelling workplace or faculty work and the Lenovo Yoga C740 isn’t any totally different.
LikeSlim, light-weight all-metal physique.Privacy shutter for webcam.Excellent on a regular basis efficiency and battery life for the cash.
Don’t LikeMemory is soldered on.No Thunderbolt 3.
The C740, obtainable in 14- and 15.6-inch sizes, is the replace to the Yoga 730. It falls in the course of the present Yoga two-in-one convertible lineup with the C940 above and 13.3-inch C640 under. The 15.6-inch C740 is actually the identical because the 14-inch I examined, however with a bigger show and a keyboard with a quantity pad. My configuration lists for $870, however Lenovo repeatedly runs gross sales on it and, in the meanwhile, it is $730. An identical configuration is offered within the UK for £681 and in Australia for AU$1,800.Lenovo Yoga C740-14IML (14-inch)
Price as reviewed
$870
Display dimension/decision
14-inch 1,920×1,080 contact show
CPU
1.6GHz Intel Core i5-10210U
Memory
8GB DDR4 2,666MHz (soldered)
Graphics
128MB Integrated Intel UHD Graphics
Storage
512GB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe NVMe
Networking
Intel 9560 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0
Operating system
Windows 10 Home 64-bit model 1903
Sarah Tew/CNET
Less chin, extra screenAt 3 kilos (1.4kg), the C740 is a few half pound heavier than its predecessor, but it surely additionally jumps from a 13.3-inch show to a 14-inch one. Oddly, although, their our bodies are related in dimension and the C740 is definitely shorter as a result of Lenovo eradicated a lot of the show’s backside bezel.
The show itself has good shade and brightness, although you may nonetheless need to see previous reflections exterior or below vibrant workplace lighting. The 720p webcam above the display screen has one among Lenovo’s little sliding shutters that bodily blocks the digicam. And should you like utilizing digital assistants, the C740 has far-field mics and Amazon Alexa help, too. You can entry it even if you’re not actively utilizing the laptop computer. The C740 has a cushty keyboard with two ranges of backlighting and a clean and responsive precision touchpad.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Lenovo presents just a few configurations of the C740 that embrace a alternative of 10th-gen Core i5 or i7 processors (Comet Lake, not Ice Lake structure), as much as 16GB of reminiscence, built-in UHD 630 graphics and as much as 1TB SSD PCIe storage. My configuration was excellent for typical work and leisure use, and battery life was spectacular at greater than 11 hours on our streaming video take a look at. You may need to get 16GB of reminiscence to assist with multitasking, although. The reminiscence is soldered on, which suggests you possibly can’t add extra post-purchase. Storage, alternatively, might be elevated by yourself simply sufficient.
The C740 has two USB-C ports, however they are not Thunderbolt 3.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Stay with C740 or go as much as the C940? Most folks searching for a general-purpose laptop computer will likely be properly served with the Yoga C740, even should you by no means intend to make use of it as a pill. The show is pen-enabled, nonetheless, so should you resolve you need to use it for informal sketches or note-taking, you may simply want to choose up a pen. On the opposite hand, if you already know you need a pen, the C940, which begins at $1,250, comes with one and it has a storage and charging storage constructed into the laptop computer’s physique. It additionally has Thunderbolt 3 help for its USB-C ports, whereas the C740 doesn’t. Sound is best on the C940 additionally, due to its soundbar hinge that delivers clear audio whatever the display screen place, and it has 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) wi-fi, which supplies you a bit futureproofing, assuming you have not already jumped to the most recent wi-fi customary. Lastly, you may get it configured with a six-core Core i7 processor and an UHD (3,840×2,160 pixel) HDR 400 show. Those are the principle variations between the 2 and, for me, they’re issues which can be good to have, however not requirements contemplating the value distinction. With the Yoga C740, you are still strolling away with a superb two-in-one for the cash.
Geekbench 4 (multicore)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (Intel)
Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2019)
Note:
Longer bars point out higher efficiency
Cinebench R15 CPU (multicore)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (Intel)
Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2019)
Note:
Longer bars point out higher efficiency
Streaming video playback battery drain take a look at
Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2019)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (Intel)
Note:
Longer bars point out higher efficiency (in minutes)
System configurations
Lenovo Yoga C740
Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 1.6GHz Intel Core Intel Core i5-10210U; 8GB DDR4 RAM 2.67GHz; 128MB Intel UHD 630 Graphics; 512GB SSD
Lenovo Yoga C940
Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 1.3GHz Intel Core i7-1065G7; 12GB DDR4 RAM 4.27GHz; 128MB Intel Iris Plus Graphics; 512GB SSD
Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, 2019)
MacOS Mojave 10.14.5; 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-8210Y; 8GB DDR4 RAM 2.13GHz; 128MB Intel UHD Graphics 617; 256GB SSD
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (Intel)
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro (64-bit); 1.3GHz Intel Core i7-1065G7; 16GB DDR4 RAM 4.27GHz; 128MB Intel Iris Plus Graphics; 256GB SSD
Lenovo Yoga 730
Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 1.6GHz Intel Core Intel Core i5-8250U; 8GB DDR4 RAM 2.4GHz; 128MB Intel UHD 620 Graphics; 256GB SSD
Microsoft Surface Pro 6
Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 1.6GHz Intel Core Intel Core i5-8250U; 8GB DDR4 RAM 1.87GHz; 128MB Intel UHD 620 Graphics; 256GB SSD