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Saturday, March 8, 2014

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro review

A welcome upgrade to Lenovos flagship Ultrabook

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro review 


For

  • Unique flexible design
  • Top-notch QHD IPS display
  • Backlit keyboard
  • Aesthetically appealing

Against

  • No 802.11ac wireless adapter
  • Keyboard complicates tablet mode
  • Disappointing battery life

 

Lenovo has been breaking ground in the convertible ultrabook world with its Yoga line. In our Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga review we found ourselves surprisingly pleased with this versatile hybrid laptop and its solid performance. Even if we didnt use the Yoga as a tablet, we often flipped the keyboard back to poke through Windows 8 live tiles or watch some Netflix.

Scores in depth

[Introduction]Lenovo has been breaking ground in the convertible ultrabook world with its Yoga line. In our Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga review we found ourselves surprisingly pleased with this versatile hybrid laptop and its solid performance. Even if we didnt use the Yoga as a tablet, we often flipped the keyboard back to poke through Windows 8 live tiles or watch some Netflix. What we didnt like were mostly minor complaints. The keyboard, the trackpad, and the screen were all winners. The absence of a backlit keyboard was a mild annoyance, while the lack of a true 1080 display was a read missed opportunity. At the time, we also expressed concerns that the Yoga was actually exposing some of Windows 8s weaknesses.With the Yoga 2 Pro the IdeaPad moniker is nowhere to be found now—Lenovo produced a noteworthy refresh to a device that increasingly looks like it will be a mainstay of the PC makers lineup for the foreseeable future. A 3200 x 1800 display (known as QHD+, or WQXGA for the truly in the know) is the most significant enhancement, but the new hybrids also have a Haswell processor, some subtle enhancements to the chassis, and a few extra touches in the bundled software.All things considered, these are all welcome enhancements, although once again, Lenovos forward-thinking design exposes some surprising flaws in Windows 8s ability to handle super HD resolutions on a portable form-factor. What could possibly be bad about a QHD+ 3200 x 1800 display? Well get to that in good time. For now, lets start at the top. One final note before we dive in: there arent a great number of competitors in the super high-resolution ultrabook category. Samsungs Ativ Book 9 Plus is one—it sports near-identical specifications to the Yoga 2—and the 13-inch MacBook Pro is another. Both cost 40% to 50% more than this system. Sleek, modern…and versatileAs the saying goes, you dont fix what isnt broken. In addition to its unprecedented flexibility, the original Yogas sleek, rubberized chassis was one of the laptops most remarked-upon attributes. Smartly, Lenovo has changed barely a thing, aesthetically speaking. Part of the joy of reviewing this new Yoga Pro 2 was putting it in peoples hands. Everyone remarked on its nice it look and feel, thanks to a thin profile, sturdy chassis, and that grippy, rubberized surface that we mentioned, which coats the entire device.Just like last year, the most striking and still unique aspect of the Yoga 2 Pro is the fact that you can flip the screen back 360 degrees until it rests flat against the backside of the keyboard. This permits four operating modes.Laptop mode is your standard 90-degree angle, with the advantage that the Yoga 2 Pros flexible hinge allows you to lay the screen completely flat, which is actually quite handy for situations where youre standing up and need access to the keyboard. The most useful mode next to laptop mode would be tent mode. By setting the tablet on its top and bottom edges, the devices functions like a tablet in a stand. The new rubberized bevel edges earn their keep in this mode. The old Yoga would sometimes slide a bit on slippery surfaces. Not anymore. Its perfect for glancing at a recipe while cooking or setting the Yoga 2 Pro up on cluttered tablet tops. Stand mode is essentially tent mode, but with a little more sturdiness and support. The key difference is that it has a bigger footprint, so youll need to clear off more of your desk before touchdown.A special hinge on the Yoga 2 allows you to fold the screen all the way back for tablet mode. Unfortunately, just like the original Yoga, the 13-inch Yoga 2 Pro is a little too large to use comfortably in tablet mode. Also a repeat of the original: the presence of the keyboard on the backside of said tablet is obstructive and annoying. This said, the notion of playing full-fledged, touch-optimized PC games like Civilization V in this mode is fairly joyous, even if the device is too heavy to hold in your hands.SpecificationsLenovo did make a few minor adjustments to the chassis itself, including a new backlit keyboard—an increasingly essential feature of any modern laptop. The new rubberized rim around the top bezel is welcome, since it prevents sliding when in tent mode. Furthermore, the power button is now located on the right side of the device, making it less likely that youll turn the system on when its in your bag. Finally, at 3.06 pounds the Yoga 2 Pro is about a half-pound lighter than last years 3.4 pound model. And at 13 x 8.7 x 0.61 inches in size (W x D x H), its a shave thinner—.05 inches to be exact—than last years model.This year, in addition to the standard silver color, the Yoga 2 Pro also comes in a lovely electric orange trim. A fairly wide number of different configurations insure that you will be able to find an ideal price-performance ratio.ThinkPad Yoga vs. Yoga 2 ProIts worth comparing the Yoga 2 Pro to Lenovos new ThinkPad Yoga. Both systems have the same 360-degree hinge, and the same set of CPU, memory, and drive configurations (minus the 512GB option on the ThinkPad Yoga). The big differences between the two are that the ThinkPad Yoga only has a standard HD 1920 x 1080 IPS display in comparison to the Ultimately, these distinctions feel like arbitrary lines in the sand. It would be easy to argue that more productivity-minded version of the Yoga would benefit more from the QHD+ display than the more consumer minded Yoga 2 Pro. Similarly, you could also make the case that the fold-away keyboard would be of equal benefit to consumers sitting on the couch than it would be to work-oriented road-warriors.One final difference: at 12.46 x 8.70 x 0.76 inches (W x D x H), the ThinkPad Yoga is a little trimmer width-wise, but a little thicker. At 3.52 pounds, it also weighs a little under a half pound more than the Yoga 2 Pro. SpecificationsThe system specs of the review unit Lenovo sent us were: • CPU: 1.6GHz Core i5 4200U• RAM: 4GB of DDR3• Screen: 3,200 x 1,800 IPS multi-touch display• Storage: 128GB SSD• Ports: 1 USB 3.0, 1 powered USB 2.0, headphone/mic jack, micro HDMI-out, SD/MMC card reader• Webcam: 720P front-facing camera• Weight: 3.06 pounds• Size: 13 x 8.66 x 0.61 inchesThe major upgrade here is the inclusion of Intels new Haswell architecture in the form of the Core i5 4200U processor. A dual-core part built specifically for ultrabooks, the 4200U appears to be an ideal fit for the Yoga 2 Pro given its solid CPU performance. Each core operates at 1.6GHz, but the presence of Turbo Boost means it can throttle up to 2.3GZ with both cores active, and 2.6GHz with a single core active. The key advantage Haswell provides over the Ivy Bridge Core i5-3317U part from last years Yoga is power savings. Well get into that a bit more in the performance section, but without Haswell, we shudder to think what kind of battery life the Yoga 2 Pro would have.In addition to the 1.6GHz Core i5 4200U we reviewed, Lenovo offers two other CPUs for this system, including an upgrade to the 1.80GHz Core i7 4500U part, and a lesser 1.7GHz Core i3 4010U. Both of these processors are also Haswell-based. The former offers a little more power under the hood with very little additional power consumption. The latter provides a more affordably-priced configuration, but with no CPU throttling Turbo Boost support. If we had our druthers, wed choose the higher-end Core i7 part for this system. Intels integrated HD Graphics 4400 provides the pixel-pushing muscle for the display and 3D graphics. Its par for the course, and is integrated into all three of the CPUs available for this device. At press time, the price for the configuration above was US$999.00. Thats a pretty solid price point, given the blend of modern parts—especially the high-quality QHD display. In addition to the CPU options noted above, buyers can also choose less memory (2GB vs. 4GB), or double the RAM to 8GB. In addition to the 128GB drive our review unit shipped with, two other hard drive configurations are offered, at 256GB and 512GB. Prices range from $949 to $1,499 fully loaded. Technophiles who want more future-proof PC computing will be disappointed that the Yoga 2 Pro does not have a built-in 802.11ac network adapter. It currently only supports b/g/n standards. While it is true that the specification yet to be finalized, and probably wont be completely locked until early 2014, there are already a number of pre-802.11ac routers on the market, and a select few laptops—including Apples newest MacBook Air—have integrated 802.11ac adapters. High-speed junkies, please note that there is no built-in Ethernet jack on this system; youll have to buy a separately-sold dongle for that. PerformanceIt didnt blow us away, but the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro performed quite capably in most of our tests. The tale, as they say, lies in the tape: BenchmarksCinebench - 9,125 (4,016 with 1x CPU)3DMark - Ice Storm: 23,032 // Cloud Gate: 3,397 // Fire Storm: 545PC Mark – Home: 2,471 // Work: 3,309PC Mark Battery life - 190 minutesWhat do the numbers tell us? First, that this is a reasonably configured device, capable of holding its own against other systems in the $1,000 or more ultrabook category. For this category, thats fairly common, and on par with other Haswell-based devices.Truthfully, unless you play games, an SSD and Windows 8 are a great equalizer for price and performance in todays PC market, so it is no surprise that in real life we were satisfied with the Yoga 2s overall performance. The only thing you dont want with a Windows 8 ultrabook is an experience that is demonstrably slow, and that is definitely not the case here. Boot times and all app launches are pretty much instantaneous thanks to the SSD. And while the integrated HD graphics arent going to allow you to play Call of Duty Ghosts at any level of respectability, you can play most of the mid-tier Steam games—including new releases like The Wolf Among Us—at moderate settings. As we noted at the top, there arent very many ultrabooks with QHD+ displays. The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus is one such system, and it put up superior numbers across the board by 20% to 30%. In the Yoga 2s defense, it does cost $400 less than the ATIV Book 9 Plus, and $500 less than Apples newest, and quite awesome MacBook Pro. Battery performance is a concernThe biggest weakness of the Yoga 2 Pro is its mediocre battery life. In PC Marks built-in battery benchmark, we realized just over three hours of performance. Thats actually not a bad result for a conventional laptops synthetic test. But for a Haswell-equipped ultrabook? We expected, or at least hoped for more. When you consider the 5.8 million pixels the system is pushing around, the middling battery life becomes a bit more understandable. In real life, what do these synthetic results mean? In real-work mode, youll likely get just around five hours of battery life—if you keep the screen fairly dim. And in a more work-and-sleep mode, youll get maybe six hours, depending on your battery settings. While writing this very review, we watched with dismay as the Yoga 2 Pros battery drained to zero in about five and a half hours at full screen brightness. Mouse and keyboardThe Yogas keyboard hasnt changed since last years model except that now the keyboard is backlit. The first Yoga sorely lacked this feature, which always comes in handy when working on a plane or late into the night. As far as key presses go its fine, and offers decent response.The trackpad has something of a learning curve. Out of the box, it had what felt like a slightly gritty, film over the pad itself, and the end result was that we struggled to throw the mouse around the screen. After about 10 days, we broke through whatever barrier was slowing us down, and it began to feel like we expect a touchpad to feel like: smooth, sleek, and responsive. The display has it—mostly Without a doubt, the Yoga 2 Pros 13-inch screen is a remarkable feat of engineering. At 3200 x 1800 pixels, it out Retina Displays the MacBook Pro series. We know this much: QHD+ is a whole lot of pixels; it literally doubles the 1600 x 900 screen density of last years Yogas like Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga.Resolution is only part of the win here. Lenovos use of a high-quality IPS panel also makes for a very crisp, viewable screen. The Yoga 2 is bright (350 nits) and offers excellent viewing angles. For a portable like this that will often be used in kitchens and living rooms, both of these attributes are important. At just $1,000 USD, its a sure sign that in 2014 well be entering a laptop display war. By January 2015, we bet that more than half of all laptops in the $1,000+ range have hyper-HD screens.Unfortunately, not all is perfect with the Yoga 2 Pros screen. Last November, in our Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga review, we felt that it because it was such a forward thinking laptop, it actually exposed some of the flaws of Windows 8. Unfortunately, the same can be said here.Time after time, we found that Windows 8 struggled with the super high resolution, which created some odd inconsistencies and unpredictable behaviors in day-to-day operations. Most of these frustrations occurred in desktop mode, but some oddities did crop up in Metro as well. The short version of our difficulties boiled down to a conflict between such a high resolution display on such a relatively small screen. As an example, in Outlook, the main inbox/calendar window used an oversized cursor, but when we switched to the composition window, the cursor would shrink in size. Similarly in Chrome, the browser tabs suddenly became microscopic in size, even though there was plenty of real estate to display web site names in each one. (This occurred in both desktop and Metro modes.) Over and over again, we experienced these frustrations, until we finally figured out a solution that addressed most of these issues. In Windows 8, navigate to Display > Screen Resolution, and then click
[Introduction]Lenovo has been breaking ground in the convertible ultrabook world with its Yoga line. In our Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga review we found ourselves surprisingly pleased with this versatile hybrid laptop and its solid performance. Even if we didnt use the Yoga as a tablet, we often flipped the keyboard back to poke through Windows 8 live tiles or watch some Netflix. What we didnt like were mostly minor complaints. The keyboard, the trackpad, and the screen were all winners. The absence of a backlit keyboard was a mild annoyance, while the lack of a true 1080 display was a read missed opportunity. At the time, we also expressed concerns that the Yoga was actually exposing some of Windows 8s weaknesses.With the Yoga 2 Pro the IdeaPad moniker is nowhere to be found now—Lenovo produced a noteworthy refresh to a device that increasingly looks like it will be a mainstay of the PC makers lineup for the foreseeable future. A 3200 x 1800 display (known as QHD+, or WQXGA for the truly in the know) is the most significant enhancement, but the new hybrids also have a Haswell processor, some subtle enhancements to the chassis, and a few extra touches in the bundled software.All things considered, these are all welcome enhancements, although once again, Lenovos forward-thinking design exposes some surprising flaws in Windows 8s ability to handle super HD resolutions on a portable form-factor. What could possibly be bad about a QHD+ 3200 x 1800 display? Well get to that in good time. For now, lets start at the top. One final note before we dive in: there arent a great number of competitors in the super high-resolution ultrabook category. Samsungs Ativ Book 9 Plus is one—it sports near-identical specifications to the Yoga 2—and the 13-inch MacBook Pro is another. Both cost 40% to 50% more than this system. Sleek, modern…and versatileAs the saying goes, you dont fix what isnt broken. In addition to its unprecedented flexibility, the original Yogas sleek, rubberized chassis was one of the laptops most remarked-upon attributes. Smartly, Lenovo has changed barely a thing, aesthetically speaking. Part of the joy of reviewing this new Yoga Pro 2 was putting it in peoples hands. Everyone remarked on its nice it look and feel, thanks to a thin profile, sturdy chassis, and that grippy, rubberized surface that we mentioned, which coats the entire device.Just like last year, the most striking and still unique aspect of the Yoga 2 Pro is the fact that you can flip the screen back 360 degrees until it rests flat against the backside of the keyboard. This permits four operating modes.Laptop mode is your standard 90-degree angle, with the advantage that the Yoga 2 Pros flexible hinge allows you to lay the screen completely flat, which is actually quite handy for situations where youre standing up and need access to the keyboard. The most useful mode next to laptop mode would be tent mode. By setting the tablet on its top and bottom edges, the devices functions like a tablet in a stand. The new rubberized bevel edges earn their keep in this mode. The old Yoga would sometimes slide a bit on slippery surfaces. Not anymore. Its perfect for glancing at a recipe while cooking or setting the Yoga 2 Pro up on cluttered tablet tops. Stand mode is essentially tent mode, but with a little more sturdiness and support. The key difference is that it has a bigger footprint, so youll need to clear off more of your desk before touchdown.A special hinge on the Yoga 2 allows you to fold the screen all the way back for tablet mode. Unfortunately, just like the original Yoga, the 13-inch Yoga 2 Pro is a little too large to use comfortably in tablet mode. Also a repeat of the original: the presence of the keyboard on the backside of said tablet is obstructive and annoying. This said, the notion of playing full-fledged, touch-optimized PC games like Civilization V in this mode is fairly joyous, even if the device is too heavy to hold in your hands.SpecificationsLenovo did make a few minor adjustments to the chassis itself, including a new backlit keyboard—an increasingly essential feature of any modern laptop. The new rubberized rim around the top bezel is welcome, since it prevents sliding when in tent mode. Furthermore, the power button is now located on the right side of the device, making it less likely that youll turn the system on when its in your bag. Finally, at 3.06 pounds the Yoga 2 Pro is about a half-pound lighter than last years 3.4 pound model. And at 13 x 8.7 x 0.61 inches in size (W x D x H), its a shave thinner—.05 inches to be exact—than last years model.This year, in addition to the standard silver color, the Yoga 2 Pro also comes in a lovely electric orange trim. A fairly wide number of different configurations insure that you will be able to find an ideal price-performance ratio.ThinkPad Yoga vs. Yoga 2 ProIts worth comparing the Yoga 2 Pro to Lenovos new ThinkPad Yoga. Both systems have the same 360-degree hinge, and the same set of CPU, memory, and drive configurations (minus the 512GB option on the ThinkPad Yoga). The big differences between the two are that the ThinkPad Yoga only has a standard HD 1920 x 1080 IPS display in comparison to the Ultimately, these distinctions feel like arbitrary lines in the sand. It would be easy to argue that more productivity-minded version of the Yoga would benefit more from the QHD+ display than the more consumer minded Yoga 2 Pro. Similarly, you could also make the case that the fold-away keyboard would be of equal benefit to consumers sitting on the couch than it would be to work-oriented road-warriors.One final difference: at 12.46 x 8.70 x 0.76 inches (W x D x H), the ThinkPad Yoga is a little trimmer width-wise, but a little thicker. At 3.52 pounds, it also weighs a little under a half pound more than the Yoga 2 Pro. SpecificationsThe system specs of the review unit Lenovo sent us were: • CPU: 1.6GHz Core i5 4200U• RAM: 4GB of DDR3• Screen: 3,200 x 1,800 IPS multi-touch display• Storage: 128GB SSD• Ports: 1 USB 3.0, 1 powered USB 2.0, headphone/mic jack, micro HDMI-out, SD/MMC card reader• Webcam: 720P front-facing camera• Weight: 3.06 pounds• Size: 13 x 8.66 x 0.61 inchesThe major upgrade here is the inclusion of Intels new Haswell architecture in the form of the Core i5 4200U processor. A dual-core part built specifically for ultrabooks, the 4200U appears to be an ideal fit for the Yoga 2 Pro given its solid CPU performance. Each core operates at 1.6GHz, but the presence of Turbo Boost means it can throttle up to 2.3GZ with both cores active, and 2.6GHz with a single core active. The key advantage Haswell provides over the Ivy Bridge Core i5-3317U part from last years Yoga is power savings. Well get into that a bit more in the performance section, but without Haswell, we shudder to think what kind of battery life the Yoga 2 Pro would have.In addition to the 1.6GHz Core i5 4200U we reviewed, Lenovo offers two other CPUs for this system, including an upgrade to the 1.80GHz Core i7 4500U part, and a lesser 1.7GHz Core i3 4010U. Both of these processors are also Haswell-based. The former offers a little more power under the hood with very little additional power consumption. The latter provides a more affordably-priced configuration, but with no CPU throttling Turbo Boost support. If we had our druthers, wed choose the higher-end Core i7 part for this system. Intels integrated HD Graphics 4400 provides the pixel-pushing muscle for the display and 3D graphics. Its par for the course, and is integrated into all three of the CPUs available for this device. At press time, the price for the configuration above was US$999.00. Thats a pretty solid price point, given the blend of modern parts—especially the high-quality QHD display. In addition to the CPU options noted above, buyers can also choose less memory (2GB vs. 4GB), or double the RAM to 8GB. In addition to the 128GB drive our review unit shipped with, two other hard drive configurations are offered, at 256GB and 512GB. Prices range from $949 to $1,499 fully loaded. Technophiles who want more future-proof PC computing will be disappointed that the Yoga 2 Pro does not have a built-in 802.11ac network adapter. It currently only supports b/g/n standards. While it is true that the specification yet to be finalized, and probably wont be completely locked until early 2014, there are already a number of pre-802.11ac routers on the market, and a select few laptops—including Apples newest MacBook Air—have integrated 802.11ac adapters. High-speed junkies, please note that there is no built-in Ethernet jack on this system; youll have to buy a separately-sold dongle for that. PerformanceIt didnt blow us away, but the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro performed quite capably in most of our tests. The tale, as they say, lies in the tape: BenchmarksCinebench - 9,125 (4,016 with 1x CPU)3DMark - Ice Storm: 23,032 // Cloud Gate: 3,397 // Fire Storm: 545PC Mark – Home: 2,471 // Work: 3,309PC Mark Battery life - 190 minutesWhat do the numbers tell us? First, that this is a reasonably configured device, capable of holding its own against other systems in the $1,000 or more ultrabook category. For this category, thats fairly common, and on par with other Haswell-based devices.Truthfully, unless you play games, an SSD and Windows 8 are a great equalizer for price and performance in todays PC market, so it is no surprise that in real life we were satisfied with the Yoga 2s overall performance. The only thing you dont want with a Windows 8 ultrabook is an experience that is demonstrably slow, and that is definitely not the case here. Boot times and all app launches are pretty much instantaneous thanks to the SSD. And while the integrated HD graphics arent going to allow you to play Call of Duty Ghosts at any level of respectability, you can play most of the mid-tier Steam games—including new releases like The Wolf Among Us—at moderate settings. As we noted at the top, there arent very many ultrabooks with QHD+ displays. The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus is one such system, and it put up superior numbers across the board by 20% to 30%. In the Yoga 2s defense, it does cost $400 less than the ATIV Book 9 Plus, and $500 less than Apples newest, and quite awesome MacBook Pro. Battery performance is a concernThe biggest weakness of the Yoga 2 Pro is its mediocre battery life. In PC Marks built-in battery benchmark, we realized just over three hours of performance. Thats actually not a bad result for a conventional laptops synthetic test. But for a Haswell-equipped ultrabook? We expected, or at least hoped for more. When you consider the 5.8 million pixels the system is pushing around, the middling battery life becomes a bit more understandable. In real life, what do these synthetic results mean? In real-work mode, youll likely get just around five hours of battery life—if you keep the screen fairly dim. And in a more work-and-sleep mode, youll get maybe six hours, depending on your battery settings. While writing this very review, we watched with dismay as the Yoga 2 Pros battery drained to zero in about five and a half hours at full screen brightness. Mouse and keyboardThe Yogas keyboard hasnt changed since last years model except that now the keyboard is backlit. The first Yoga sorely lacked this feature, which always comes in handy when working on a plane or late into the night. As far as key presses go its fine, and offers decent response.The trackpad has something of a learning curve. Out of the box, it had what felt like a slightly gritty, film over the pad itself, and the end result was that we struggled to throw the mouse around the screen. After about 10 days, we broke through whatever barrier was slowing us down, and it began to feel like we expect a touchpad to feel like: smooth, sleek, and responsive. The display has it—mostly Without a doubt, the Yoga 2 Pros 13-inch screen is a remarkable feat of engineering. At 3200 x 1800 pixels, it out Retina Displays the MacBook Pro series. We know this much: QHD+ is a whole lot of pixels; it literally doubles the 1600 x 900 screen density of last years Yogas like Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga.Resolution is only part of the win here. Lenovos use of a high-quality IPS panel also makes for a very crisp, viewable screen. The Yoga 2 is bright (350 nits) and offers excellent viewing angles. For a portable like this that will often be used in kitchens and living rooms, both of these attributes are important. At just $1,000 USD, its a sure sign that in 2014 well be entering a laptop display war. By January 2015, we bet that more than half of all laptops in the $1,000+ range have hyper-HD screens.Unfortunately, not all is perfect with the Yoga 2 Pros screen. Last November, in our Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga review, we felt that it because it was such a forward thinking laptop, it actually exposed some of the flaws of Windows 8. Unfortunately, the same can be said here.Time after time, we found that Windows 8 struggled with the super high resolution, which created some odd inconsistencies and unpredictable behaviors in day-to-day operations. Most of these frustrations occurred in desktop mode, but some oddities did crop up in Metro as well. The short version of our difficulties boiled down to a conflict between such a high resolution display on such a relatively small screen. As an example, in Outlook, the main inbox/calendar window used an oversized cursor, but when we switched to the composition window, the cursor would shrink in size. Similarly in Chrome, the browser tabs suddenly became microscopic in size, even though there was plenty of real estate to display web site names in each one. (This occurred in both desktop and Metro modes.) Over and over again, we experienced these frustrations, until we finally figured out a solution that addressed most of these issues. In Windows 8, navigate to Display > Screen Resolution, and then click
[Introduction]Lenovo has been breaking ground in the convertible ultrabook world with its Yoga line. In our Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga review we found ourselves surprisingly pleased with this versatile hybrid laptop and its solid performance. Even if we didnt use the Yoga as a tablet, we often flipped the keyboard back to poke through Windows 8 live tiles or watch some Netflix. What we didnt like were mostly minor complaints. The keyboard, the trackpad, and the screen were all winners. The absence of a backlit keyboard was a mild annoyance, while the lack of a true 1080 display was a read missed opportunity. At the time, we also expressed concerns that the Yoga was actually exposing some of Windows 8s weaknesses.With the Yoga 2 Pro the IdeaPad moniker is nowhere to be found now—Lenovo produced a noteworthy refresh to a device that increasingly looks like it will be a mainstay of the PC makers lineup for the foreseeable future. A 3200 x 1800 display (known as QHD+, or WQXGA for the truly in the know) is the most significant enhancement, but the new hybrids also have a Haswell processor, some subtle enhancements to the chassis, and a few extra touches in the bundled software.All things considered, these are all welcome enhancements, although once again, Lenovos forward-thinking design exposes some surprising flaws in Windows 8s ability to handle super HD resolutions on a portable form-factor. What could possibly be bad about a QHD+ 3200 x 1800 display? Well get to that in good time. For now, lets start at the top. One final note before we dive in: there arent a great number of competitors in the super high-resolution ultrabook category. Samsungs Ativ Book 9 Plus is one—it sports near-identical specifications to the Yoga 2—and the 13-inch MacBook Pro is another. Both cost 40% to 50% more than this system. Sleek, modern…and versatileAs the saying goes, you dont fix what isnt broken. In addition to its unprecedented flexibility, the original Yogas sleek, rubberized chassis was one of the laptops most remarked-upon attributes. Smartly, Lenovo has changed barely a thing, aesthetically speaking. Part of the joy of reviewing this new Yoga Pro 2 was putting it in peoples hands. Everyone remarked on its nice it look and feel, thanks to a thin profile, sturdy chassis, and that grippy, rubberized surface that we mentioned, which coats the entire device.Just like last year, the most striking and still unique aspect of the Yoga 2 Pro is the fact that you can flip the screen back 360 degrees until it rests flat against the backside of the keyboard. This permits four operating modes.Laptop mode is your standard 90-degree angle, with the advantage that the Yoga 2 Pros flexible hinge allows you to lay the screen completely flat, which is actually quite handy for situations where youre standing up and need access to the keyboard. The most useful mode next to laptop mode would be tent mode. By setting the tablet on its top and bottom edges, the devices functions like a tablet in a stand. The new rubberized bevel edges earn their keep in this mode. The old Yoga would sometimes slide a bit on slippery surfaces. Not anymore. Its perfect for glancing at a recipe while cooking or setting the Yoga 2 Pro up on cluttered tablet tops. Stand mode is essentially tent mode, but with a little more sturdiness and support. The key difference is that it has a bigger footprint, so youll need to clear off more of your desk before touchdown.A special hinge on the Yoga 2 allows you to fold the screen all the way back for tablet mode. Unfortunately, just like the original Yoga, the 13-inch Yoga 2 Pro is a little too large to use comfortably in tablet mode. Also a repeat of the original: the presence of the keyboard on the backside of said tablet is obstructive and annoying. This said, the notion of playing full-fledged, touch-optimized PC games like Civilization V in this mode is fairly joyous, even if the device is too heavy to hold in your hands.SpecificationsLenovo did make a few minor adjustments to the chassis itself, including a new backlit keyboard—an increasingly essential feature of any modern laptop. The new rubberized rim around the top bezel is welcome, since it prevents sliding when in tent mode. Furthermore, the power button is now located on the right side of the device, making it less likely that youll turn the system on when its in your bag. Finally, at 3.06 pounds the Yoga 2 Pro is about a half-pound lighter than last years 3.4 pound model. And at 13 x 8.7 x 0.61 inches in size (W x D x H), its a shave thinner—.05 inches to be exact—than last years model.This year, in addition to the standard silver color, the Yoga 2 Pro also comes in a lovely electric orange trim. A fairly wide number of different configurations insure that you will be able to find an ideal price-performance ratio.ThinkPad Yoga vs. Yoga 2 ProIts worth comparing the Yoga 2 Pro to Lenovos new ThinkPad Yoga. Both systems have the same 360-degree hinge, and the same set of CPU, memory, and drive configurations (minus the 512GB option on the ThinkPad Yoga). The big differences between the two are that the ThinkPad Yoga only has a standard HD 1920 x 1080 IPS display in comparison to the Ultimately, these distinctions feel like arbitrary lines in the sand. It would be easy to argue that more productivity-minded version of the Yoga would benefit more from the QHD+ display than the more consumer minded Yoga 2 Pro. Similarly, you could also make the case that the fold-away keyboard would be of equal benefit to consumers sitting on the couch than it would be to work-oriented road-warriors.One final difference: at 12.46 x 8.70 x 0.76 inches (W x D x H), the ThinkPad Yoga is a little trimmer width-wise, but a little thicker. At 3.52 pounds, it also weighs a little under a half pound more than the Yoga 2 Pro. SpecificationsThe system specs of the review unit Lenovo sent us were: • CPU: 1.6GHz Core i5 4200U• RAM: 4GB of DDR3• Screen: 3,200 x 1,800 IPS multi-touch display• Storage: 128GB SSD• Ports: 1 USB 3.0, 1 powered USB 2.0, headphone/mic jack, micro HDMI-out, SD/MMC card reader• Webcam: 720P front-facing camera• Weight: 3.06 pounds• Size: 13 x 8.66 x 0.61 inchesThe major upgrade here is the inclusion of Intels new Haswell architecture in the form of the Core i5 4200U processor. A dual-core part built specifically for ultrabooks, the 4200U appears to be an ideal fit for the Yoga 2 Pro given its solid CPU performance. Each core operates at 1.6GHz, but the presence of Turbo Boost means it can throttle up to 2.3GZ with both cores active, and 2.6GHz with a single core active. The key advantage Haswell provides over the Ivy Bridge Core i5-3317U part from last years Yoga is power savings. Well get into that a bit more in the performance section, but without Haswell, we shudder to think what kind of battery life the Yoga 2 Pro would have.In addition to the 1.6GHz Core i5 4200U we reviewed, Lenovo offers two other CPUs for this system, including an upgrade to the 1.80GHz Core i7 4500U part, and a lesser 1.7GHz Core i3 4010U. Both of these processors are also Haswell-based. The former offers a little more power under the hood with very little additional power consumption. The latter provides a more affordably-priced configuration, but with no CPU throttling Turbo Boost support. If we had our druthers, wed choose the higher-end Core i7 part for this system. Intels integrated HD Graphics 4400 provides the pixel-pushing muscle for the display and 3D graphics. Its par for the course, and is integrated into all three of the CPUs available for this device. At press time, the price for the configuration above was US$999.00. Thats a pretty solid price point, given the blend of modern parts—especially the high-quality QHD display. In addition to the CPU options noted above, buyers can also choose less memory (2GB vs. 4GB), or double the RAM to 8GB. In addition to the 128GB drive our review unit shipped with, two other hard drive configurations are offered, at 256GB and 512GB. Prices range from $949 to $1,499 fully loaded. Technophiles who want more future-proof PC computing will be disappointed that the Yoga 2 Pro does not have a built-in 802.11ac network adapter. It currently only supports b/g/n standards. While it is true that the specification yet to be finalized, and probably wont be completely locked until early 2014, there are already a number of pre-802.11ac routers on the market, and a select few laptops—including Apples newest MacBook Air—have integrated 802.11ac adapters. High-speed junkies, please note that there is no built-in Ethernet jack on this system; youll have to buy a separately-sold dongle for that. PerformanceIt didnt blow us away, but the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro performed quite capably in most of our tests. The tale, as they say, lies in the tape: BenchmarksCinebench - 9,125 (4,016 with 1x CPU)3DMark - Ice Storm: 23,032 // Cloud Gate: 3,397 // Fire Storm: 545PC Mark – Home: 2,471 // Work: 3,309PC Mark Battery life - 190 minutesWhat do the numbers tell us? First, that this is a reasonably configured device, capable of holding its own against other systems in the $1,000 or more ultrabook category. For this category, thats fairly common, and on par with other Haswell-based devices.Truthfully, unless you play games, an SSD and Windows 8 are a great equalizer for price and performance in todays PC market, so it is no surprise that in real life we were satisfied with the Yoga 2s overall performance. The only thing you dont want with a Windows 8 ultrabook is an experience that is demonstrably slow, and that is definitely not the case here. Boot times and all app launches are pretty much instantaneous thanks to the SSD. And while the integrated HD graphics arent going to allow you to play Call of Duty Ghosts at any level of respectability, you can play most of the mid-tier Steam games—including new releases like The Wolf Among Us—at moderate settings. As we noted at the top, there arent very many ultrabooks with QHD+ displays. The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus is one such system, and it put up superior numbers across the board by 20% to 30%. In the Yoga 2s defense, it does cost $400 less than the ATIV Book 9 Plus, and $500 less than Apples newest, and quite awesome MacBook Pro. Battery performance is a concernThe biggest weakness of the Yoga 2 Pro is its mediocre battery life. In PC Marks built-in battery benchmark, we realized just over three hours of performance. Thats actually not a bad result for a conventional laptops synthetic test. But for a Haswell-equipped ultrabook? We expected, or at least hoped for more. When you consider the 5.8 million pixels the system is pushing around, the middling battery life becomes a bit more understandable. In real life, what do these synthetic results mean? In real-work mode, youll likely get just around five hours of battery life—if you keep the screen fairly dim. And in a more work-and-sleep mode, youll get maybe six hours, depending on your battery settings. While writing this very review, we watched with dismay as the Yoga 2 Pros battery drained to zero in about five and a half hours at full screen brightness. Mouse and keyboardThe Yogas keyboard hasnt changed since last years model except that now the keyboard is backlit. The first Yoga sorely lacked this feature, which always comes in handy when working on a plane or late into the night. As far as key presses go its fine, and offers decent response.The trackpad has something of a learning curve. Out of the box, it had what felt like a slightly gritty, film over the pad itself, and the end result was that we struggled to throw the mouse around the screen. After about 10 days, we broke through whatever barrier was slowing us down, and it began to feel like we expect a touchpad to feel like: smooth, sleek, and responsive. The display has it—mostly Without a doubt, the Yoga 2 Pros 13-inch screen is a remarkable feat of engineering. At 3200 x 1800 pixels, it out Retina Displays the MacBook Pro series. We know this much: QHD+ is a whole lot of pixels; it literally doubles the 1600 x 900 screen density of last years Yogas like Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga.Resolution is only part of the win here. Lenovos use of a high-quality IPS panel also makes for a very crisp, viewable screen. The Yoga 2 is bright (350 nits) and offers excellent viewing angles. For a portable like this that will often be used in kitchens and living rooms, both of these attributes are important. At just $1,000 USD, its a sure sign that in 2014 well be entering a laptop display war. By January 2015, we bet that more than half of all laptops in the $1,000+ range have hyper-HD screens.Unfortunately, not all is perfect with the Yoga 2 Pros screen. Last November, in our Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga review, we felt that it because it was such a forward thinking laptop, it actually exposed some of the flaws of Windows 8. Unfortunately, the same can be said here.Time after time, we found that Windows 8 struggled with the super high resolution, which created some odd inconsistencies and unpredictable behaviors in day-to-day operations. Most of these frustrations occurred in desktop mode, but some oddities did crop up in Metro as well. The short version of our difficulties boiled down to a conflict between such a high resolution display on such a relatively small screen. As an example, in Outlook, the main inbox/calendar window used an oversized cursor, but when we switched to the composition window, the cursor would shrink in size. Similarly in Chrome, the browser tabs suddenly became microscopic in size, even though there was plenty of real estate to display web site names in each one. (This occurred in both desktop and Metro modes.) Over and over again, we experienced these frustrations, until we finally figured out a solution that addressed most of these issues. In Windows 8, navigate to Display > Screen Resolution, and then click
Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro review
[Introduction]Lenovo has been breaking ground in the convertible ultrabook world with its Yoga line. In our Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga review we found ourselves surprisingly pleased with this versatile hybrid laptop and its solid performance. Even if we didnt use the Yoga as a tablet, we often flipped the keyboard back to poke through Windows 8 live tiles or watch some Netflix. What we didnt like were mostly minor complaints. The keyboard, the trackpad, and the screen were all winners. The absence of a backlit keyboard was a mild annoyance, while the lack of a true 1080 display was a read missed opportunity. At the time, we also expressed concerns that the Yoga was actually exposing some of Windows 8s weaknesses.With the Yoga 2 Pro the IdeaPad moniker is nowhere to be found now—Lenovo produced a noteworthy refresh to a device that increasingly looks like it will be a mainstay of the PC makers lineup for the foreseeable future. A 3200 x 1800 display (known as QHD+, or WQXGA for the truly in the know) is the most significant enhancement, but the new hybrids also have a Haswell processor, some subtle enhancements to the chassis, and a few extra touches in the bundled software.All things considered, these are all welcome enhancements, although once again, Lenovos forward-thinking design exposes some surprising flaws in Windows 8s ability to handle super HD resolutions on a portable form-factor. What could possibly be bad about a QHD+ 3200 x 1800 display? Well get to that in good time. For now, lets start at the top. One final note before we dive in: there arent a great number of competitors in the super high-resolution ultrabook category. Samsungs Ativ Book 9 Plus is one—it sports near-identical specifications to the Yoga 2—and the 13-inch MacBook Pro is another. Both cost 40% to 50% more than this system. Sleek, modern…and versatileAs the saying goes, you dont fix what isnt broken. In addition to its unprecedented flexibility, the original Yogas sleek, rubberized chassis was one of the laptops most remarked-upon attributes. Smartly, Lenovo has changed barely a thing, aesthetically speaking. Part of the joy of reviewing this new Yoga Pro 2 was putting it in peoples hands. Everyone remarked on its nice it look and feel, thanks to a thin profile, sturdy chassis, and that grippy, rubberized surface that we mentioned, which coats the entire device.Just like last year, the most striking and still unique aspect of the Yoga 2 Pro is the fact that you can flip the screen back 360 degrees until it rests flat against the backside of the keyboard. This permits four operating modes.Laptop mode is your standard 90-degree angle, with the advantage that the Yoga 2 Pros flexible hinge allows you to lay the screen completely flat, which is actually quite handy for situations where youre standing up and need access to the keyboard. The most useful mode next to laptop mode would be tent mode. By setting the tablet on its top and bottom edges, the devices functions like a tablet in a stand. The new rubberized bevel edges earn their keep in this mode. The old Yoga would sometimes slide a bit on slippery surfaces. Not anymore. Its perfect for glancing at a recipe while cooking or setting the Yoga 2 Pro up on cluttered tablet tops. Stand mode is essentially tent mode, but with a little more sturdiness and support. The key difference is that it has a bigger footprint, so youll need to clear off more of your desk before touchdown.A special hinge on the Yoga 2 allows you to fold the screen all the way back for tablet mode. Unfortunately, just like the original Yoga, the 13-inch Yoga 2 Pro is a little too large to use comfortably in tablet mode. Also a repeat of the original: the presence of the keyboard on the backside of said tablet is obstructive and annoying. This said, the notion of playing full-fledged, touch-optimized PC games like Civilization V in this mode is fairly joyous, even if the device is too heavy to hold in your hands.SpecificationsLenovo did make a few minor adjustments to the chassis itself, including a new backlit keyboard—an increasingly essential feature of any modern laptop. The new rubberized rim around the top bezel is welcome, since it prevents sliding when in tent mode. Furthermore, the power button is now located on the right side of the device, making it less likely that youll turn the system on when its in your bag. Finally, at 3.06 pounds the Yoga 2 Pro is about a half-pound lighter than last years 3.4 pound model. And at 13 x 8.7 x 0.61 inches in size (W x D x H), its a shave thinner—.05 inches to be exact—than last years model.This year, in addition to the standard silver color, the Yoga 2 Pro also comes in a lovely electric orange trim. A fairly wide number of different configurations insure that you will be able to find an ideal price-performance ratio.ThinkPad Yoga vs. Yoga 2 ProIts worth comparing the Yoga 2 Pro to Lenovos new ThinkPad Yoga. Both systems have the same 360-degree hinge, and the same set of CPU, memory, and drive configurations (minus the 512GB option on the ThinkPad Yoga). The big differences between the two are that the ThinkPad Yoga only has a standard HD 1920 x 1080 IPS display in comparison to the Ultimately, these distinctions feel like arbitrary lines in the sand. It would be easy to argue that more productivity-minded version of the Yoga would benefit more from the QHD+ display than the more consumer minded Yoga 2 Pro. Similarly, you could also make the case that the fold-away keyboard would be of equal benefit to consumers sitting on the couch than it would be to work-oriented road-warriors.One final difference: at 12.46 x 8.70 x 0.76 inches (W x D x H), the ThinkPad Yoga is a little trimmer width-wise, but a little thicker. At 3.52 pounds, it also weighs a little under a half pound more than the Yoga 2 Pro. SpecificationsThe system specs of the review unit Lenovo sent us were: • CPU: 1.6GHz Core i5 4200U• RAM: 4GB of DDR3• Screen: 3,200 x 1,800 IPS multi-touch display• Storage: 128GB SSD• Ports: 1 USB 3.0, 1 powered USB 2.0, headphone/mic jack, micro HDMI-out, SD/MMC card reader• Webcam: 720P front-facing camera• Weight: 3.06 pounds• Size: 13 x 8.66 x 0.61 inchesThe major upgrade here is the inclusion of Intels new Haswell architecture in the form of the Core i5 4200U processor. A dual-core part built specifically for ultrabooks, the 4200U appears to be an ideal fit for the Yoga 2 Pro given its solid CPU performance. Each core operates at 1.6GHz, but the presence of Turbo Boost means it can throttle up to 2.3GZ with both cores active, and 2.6GHz with a single core active. The key advantage Haswell provides over the Ivy Bridge Core i5-3317U part from last years Yoga is power savings. Well get into that a bit more in the performance section, but without Haswell, we shudder to think what kind of battery life the Yoga 2 Pro would have.In addition to the 1.6GHz Core i5 4200U we reviewed, Lenovo offers two other CPUs for this system, including an upgrade to the 1.80GHz Core i7 4500U part, and a lesser 1.7GHz Core i3 4010U. Both of these processors are also Haswell-based. The former offers a little more power under the hood with very little additional power consumption. The latter provides a more affordably-priced configuration, but with no CPU throttling Turbo Boost support. If we had our druthers, wed choose the higher-end Core i7 part for this system. Intels integrated HD Graphics 4400 provides the pixel-pushing muscle for the display and 3D graphics. Its par for the course, and is integrated into all three of the CPUs available for this device. At press time, the price for the configuration above was US$999.00. Thats a pretty solid price point, given the blend of modern parts—especially the high-quality QHD display. In addition to the CPU options noted above, buyers can also choose less memory (2GB vs. 4GB), or double the RAM to 8GB. In addition to the 128GB drive our review unit shipped with, two other hard drive configurations are offered, at 256GB and 512GB. Prices range from $949 to $1,499 fully loaded. Technophiles who want more future-proof PC computing will be disappointed that the Yoga 2 Pro does not have a built-in 802.11ac network adapter. It currently only supports b/g/n standards. While it is true that the specification yet to be finalized, and probably wont be completely locked until early 2014, there are already a number of pre-802.11ac routers on the market, and a select few laptops—including Apples newest MacBook Air—have integrated 802.11ac adapters. High-speed junkies, please note that there is no built-in Ethernet jack on this system; youll have to buy a separately-sold dongle for that. PerformanceIt didnt blow us away, but the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro performed quite capably in most of our tests. The tale, as they say, lies in the tape: BenchmarksCinebench - 9,125 (4,016 with 1x CPU)3DMark - Ice Storm: 23,032 // Cloud Gate: 3,397 // Fire Storm: 545PC Mark – Home: 2,471 // Work: 3,309PC Mark Battery life - 190 minutesWhat do the numbers tell us? First, that this is a reasonably configured device, capable of holding its own against other systems in the $1,000 or more ultrabook category. For this category, thats fairly common, and on par with other Haswell-based devices.Truthfully, unless you play games, an SSD and Windows 8 are a great equalizer for price and performance in todays PC market, so it is no surprise that in real life we were satisfied with the Yoga 2s overall performance. The only thing you dont want with a Windows 8 ultrabook is an experience that is demonstrably slow, and that is definitely not the case here. Boot times and all app launches are pretty much instantaneous thanks to the SSD. And while the integrated HD graphics arent going to allow you to play Call of Duty Ghosts at any level of respectability, you can play most of the mid-tier Steam games—including new releases like The Wolf Among Us—at moderate settings. As we noted at the top, there arent very many ultrabooks with QHD+ displays. The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus is one such system, and it put up superior numbers across the board by 20% to 30%. In the Yoga 2s defense, it does cost $400 less than the ATIV Book 9 Plus, and $500 less than Apples newest, and quite awesome MacBook Pro. Battery performance is a concernThe biggest weakness of the Yoga 2 Pro is its mediocre battery life. In PC Marks built-in battery benchmark, we realized just over three hours of performance. Thats actually not a bad result for a conventional laptops synthetic test. But for a Haswell-equipped ultrabook? We expected, or at least hoped for more. When you consider the 5.8 million pixels the system is pushing around, the middling battery life becomes a bit more understandable. In real life, what do these synthetic results mean? In real-work mode, youll likely get just around five hours of battery life—if you keep the screen fairly dim. And in a more work-and-sleep mode, youll get maybe six hours, depending on your battery settings. While writing this very review, we watched with dismay as the Yoga 2 Pros battery drained to zero in about five and a half hours at full screen brightness. Mouse and keyboardThe Yogas keyboard hasnt changed since last years model except that now the keyboard is backlit. The first Yoga sorely lacked this feature, which always comes in handy when working on a plane or late into the night. As far as key presses go its fine, and offers decent response.The trackpad has something of a learning curve. Out of the box, it had what felt like a slightly gritty, film over the pad itself, and the end result was that we struggled to throw the mouse around the screen. After about 10 days, we broke through whatever barrier was slowing us down, and it began to feel like we expect a touchpad to feel like: smooth, sleek, and responsive. The display has it—mostly Without a doubt, the Yoga 2 Pros 13-inch screen is a remarkable feat of engineering. At 3200 x 1800 pixels, it out Retina Displays the MacBook Pro series. We know this much: QHD+ is a whole lot of pixels; it literally doubles the 1600 x 900 screen density of last years Yogas like Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga.Resolution is only part of the win here. Lenovos use of a high-quality IPS panel also makes for a very crisp, viewable screen. The Yoga 2 is bright (350 nits) and offers excellent viewing angles. For a portable like this that will often be used in kitchens and living rooms, both of these attributes are important. At just $1,000 USD, its a sure sign that in 2014 well be entering a laptop display war. By January 2015, we bet that more than half of all laptops in the $1,000+ range have hyper-HD screens.Unfortunately, not all is perfect with the Yoga 2 Pros screen. Last November, in our Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga review, we felt that it because it was such a forward thinking laptop, it actually exposed some of the flaws of Windows 8. Unfortunately, the same can be said here.Time after time, we found that Windows 8 struggled with the super high resolution, which created some odd inconsistencies and unpredictable behaviors in day-to-day operations. Most of these frustrations occurred in desktop mode, but some oddities did crop up in Metro as well. The short version of our difficulties boiled down to a conflict between such a high resolution display on such a relatively small screen. As an example, in Outlook, the main inbox/calendar window used an oversized cursor, but when we switched to the composition window, the cursor would shrink in size. Similarly in Chrome, the browser tabs suddenly became microscopic in size, even though there was plenty of real estate to display web site names in each one. (This occurred in both desktop and Metro modes.) Over and over again, we experienced these frustrations, until we finally figured out a solution that addressed most of these issues. In Windows 8, navigate to Display > Screen Resolution, and then click



What we didnt like were mostly minor complaints. The keyboard, the trackpad, and the screen were all winners. The absence of a backlit keyboard was a mild annoyance, while the lack of a true 1080 display was a read missed opportunity. At the time, we also expressed concerns that the Yoga was actually exposing some of Windows 8s weaknesses.

With the Yoga 2 Pro Lenovo produced a noteworthy refresh to a device that increasingly looks like it will be a mainstay of the PC makers lineup for the foreseeable future. A 3200 x 1800 display (known as QHD+, or WQXGA for the truly in the know) is the most significant enhancement, but the new hybrids also have a Haswell processor, some subtle enhancements to the chassis, and a few extra touches in the bundled software.

Lenovo Yoga 2 pro review
All things considered, these are all welcome enhancements, although once again, Lenovos forward-thinking design exposes some surprising flaws in Windows 8s ability to handle super HD resolutions on a portable form-factor.

What could possibly be bad about a QHD+ 3200 x 1800 display? Well get to that in good time. For now, lets start at the top.

One final note before we dive in: there arent a great number of competitors in the super high-resolution ultrabook category. The Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus is one—it sports near-identical specifications to the Yoga 2—and the 13-inch MacBook Pro is another. Both cost 40% to 50% more than this system.

Sleek, modern…and versatile

As the saying goes, you dont fix what isnt broken. In addition to its unprecedented flexibility, the original Yogas sleek, rubberized chassis was one of the laptops most remarked-upon attributes. Thinking clearly, Lenovo has changed barely a thing, aesthetically speaking.

Part of the joy of reviewing this new Yoga Pro 2 was putting it in peoples hands. Everyone remarked on its nice it look and feel, thanks to a thin profile, sturdy chassis, and that grippy, rubberized surface that we mentioned, which coats the entire device.

Just like last year, the most striking and still unique aspect of the Yoga 2 Pro is the fact that you can flip the screen back 360 degrees until it rests flat against the backside of the keyboard. This permits four operating modes.

Laptop mode is your standard 90-degree angle, with the advantage that the Yoga 2 Pros flexible hinge allows you to lay the screen completely flat, which is actually quite handy for situations where youre standing up and need access to the keyboard.

Lenovo Yoga 2 pro review
The most useful mode next to laptop mode would be tent mode. By setting the tablet on its top and bottom edges, the devices functions like a tablet in a stand. The new rubberized bevel edges earn their keep in this mode. The old Yoga would sometimes slide a bit on slippery surfaces. Not anymore. Its perfect for glancing at a recipe while cooking or setting the Yoga 2 Pro up on cluttered tablet tops.

Stand mode is essentially tent mode, but with a little more sturdiness and support. The key difference is that it has a bigger footprint, so youll need to clear off more of your desk before touchdown.

A special hinge on the Yoga 2 allows you to fold the screen all the way back for tablet mode. Unfortunately, just like the original Yoga, the 13-inch Yoga 2 Pro is a little too large to use comfortably in tablet mode. Also a repeat of the original: the presence of the keyboard on the backside of said tablet is obstructive and annoying. This said, the notion of playing full-fledged, touch-optimized PC games like Civilization V in this mode is fairly joyous, even if the device is too heavy to hold in your hands.

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