With all the new top convertible laptops releases, tech enthusiasts have been waiting to see if Lenovo will deliver on the market that the company pretty much invented with the YOGA product-line. Back in 2011, Lenovo started to change the way people could use a PC by blending innovative design and functionality to create the world’s first convertible laptop with the original YOGA. It’s safe to say that expectations were high from the world’s biggest PC producer, but it seems that Lenovo’s YOGA 900 should be a success.
On October 19, 2015, Lenovo announced the release of the Lenovo YOGA 900 and the YOGA Home 900, two new Windows 10 PCs for mobile work and play. Though the YOGA 3 Pro is thinner than the new YOGA 900, performance-wise the Intel Core m was swapped for an Intel Core i, which makes Lenovo’s newest product the thinnest Core i convertible laptop. Last year’s processor choice – the Core m, received mixed reviews and some criticism. Lenovo sacrificed performance in order to produce a thinner but noisier laptop. Fans will most likely welcome the change, and pick without hesitation performance over a slightly thinner design. In fact it’s possible that only a trained eye will spot the difference – the YOGA 900 measures 14.9mm, while its slimmer predecessor is 12.9mm thick.
Lenovo’s other announcement featured the YOGA Home 900 portable All-in-One desktop, with improved AURA 3.0 interface and hundreds of new apps. The YOGA 900 convertible laptop is thin, light and powerful, while the YOGA Home 900 portable All-in-One desktop gets even more versatile with hundreds of new education, entertainment and productivity apps and an improved AURA 3.0 interface. The improvement comes with enhanced photo facial recognition and editing features. Users can lay the YOGA Home 900 flat and launch AURA 3.0 to easily access photos, videos and hundreds of new entertainment, productivity and education apps through the new AURA Store, now linked to the Windows Store. A curated set of apps from the Windows Store work best with the touch capabilities of the YOGA Home 900’s large 27-inch screen. The Lenovo YOGA Home 900 is equipped with an Intel 5th Gen Core i7 processor, optional NVIDIA GeForce 940A graphics, Windows 10 and up to three hours of battery life.
“With a 27-inch touchscreen, integrated battery and thin and light design, the YOGA Home 900 takes the performance and functionality of a desktop and reinvents it as a mobile device that can be shared and used throughout the home,” said the company in the official press release.
Improvements: performance, battery life, and design
Even if it’s a little thicker and heavier, at 14.9 mm and 1.29 kg the Lenovo YOGA 900 is still a pretty light machine. Equipped with Intel’s latest 6th gen Core i7 processor, the new Lenovo YOGA 900 is beautiful (very similar in design with the YOGA 3 pro), yet amazingly powerful. The YOGA 900 provides the same flexibility we got used to from the latest models, with four usage modes (laptop, stand, tent, or tablet), letting users work, watch or play in a variety of scenarios. Lenovo crafted the laptop with its recognizably different watchband hinge made of more than 800 intricately woven, individual pieces. The improved watchband hinge provides a noticeably smoother rotation – allowing users to flip and fold their YOGA 900 easily into different modes. Because the keyboard is shallower, the keys don’t touch the surface if you flip the screed over and use it in stand mode.
The convertible laptop also takes full use of Windows 10 Continuum, allowing users to seamlessly move between laptop and tablet modes on their YOGA 900. Another important improvement (still comparing with the YOGA 3 Pro) is battery life. According to Lenovo, the new device has 50 percent greater battery density. In other words, the YOGA 3 Pro can reach about 5-6 hours of local video playback, while the YOGA 900 can reach up to 9 hours of battery life.
The 13.3-inch QHD+ (3200×1800) IPS display is mesmerizing. Its wide viewing angle takes full advantage of the new Windows 10 and brings digital content to life in clear, vibrant colors. The stereo speakers should also be crisp, with a new improved premium JBL system. The audio dynamically adjusts to deliver a virtual surround sound experience over the YOGA 900’s speakers and through headphones. The new YOGA 900 is designed with a Samsung3 Solid State Drive and greater memory capacity (offering up to 16 GB) for higher reliability and a faster experience with minimal noise. Remarkably, even with its razor-thin design, Lenovo improved the cooling system by 30 percent. Thanks to its distinct thermal solution and uniquely designed vent structure, it not only cools better but also stays quieter and cleaner, an important difference from the YOGA 3 Pro.
Pricing and Availability
Lenovo YOGA 900 starts at $1,199.99, and comes in 3 colors, each combination with its own charm: clementine orange, platinum silver and champagne gold. Pick clementine orange or champagne gold if you want your laptop to stand out as original/slightly flashy, or pick the platinum silver for a more neutral business look. The Lenovo YOGA Home 900 starts at $1,549. Both devices are already available on www.lenovo.com.
“From introducing the convertible laptop category three years ago with YOGA, we know people love the flexibility and portability of our multimode design,” said Dilip Bhatia, vice president, Worldwide Marketing and User Experience, PC & Enterprise Business Group, Lenovo. “The new YOGA 900 and YOGA Home 900 are not your traditional PCs. We studied real user needs to make them as thin and light as possible for the portability that they need, while upping the PCs’ performance and refining the YOGA’s signature watchband hinge for an even smoother rotation to switch between modes.”
The new Lenovo products show us that the company worked to improve the weaknesses of their previous devices, while also keeping theirs strengths. The YOGA 900 and the YOGA Home 900 are clearly designed to satisfy a wide range of customers, and everything so far indicates that they should be very well received.
