Lenovo Yoga 910 Review
Lenovo Yoga 910 2-in-1 laptop
The Yoga 910 is Lenovo’s latest in the category of 2-in-1 laptop computers. Called 2-in-1 because this highly portable & sleek notebook that can rotate it’s screen completely to the back and then be used like a tablet.
Especially with the Windows 10 operating system, that is very much touch-friendly, you can have either a normal laptop computer or a tablet to use as a touch-screen or pen-based device.
This review is based on the model that I highly recommend which has 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB of storage, Intel’s latest i7 processor, and an Ultra High-Definition 13.9″ screen.
What you get is an incredibly powerful notebook that is lightweight, built extremely well, and has a gorgeous screen.
Features & Technology Details
Those that want to know more about the technology, should be impressed with the following:
- The Intel processor is a 7th generation “Kaby Lake” i7-7500U CPU, clocked at 2.70 GHz with 4 MB of cache
- The memory is the ultra-fast DDR4 variety clocked at 2133 MHz
- The storage is PCIe-based and NVMe, which is exactly what you want for the fastest speed and latest technology
- The UHD screen is absolutely gorgeous and has a resolution of 3840×2160, which gives you a stunning display
Lenovo Yoga 910 tablet mode
The built-in Intel 620 graphics capability and overall Yoga 910 power means you can easily
Lenovo Yoga 910 easily drives a 4k monitor for gorgeous visuals
drive an ultra-HD “4K” display. I have this paired in my home office with a BenQ 32″ UHD 4K monitor and the results are awesome. I wanted the extra resolution of a 4K configuration to give me more room so I can be more productive without constantly moving, resizing, or switching windows. What I didn’t expect was how much I would just generally enjoy the ultra-crisp and ultra-smooth images all the time.
This BenQ (BL3201) 4k monitor, by the way, is fantastic. I also own a BenQ 32″ 2K display (BL3200) and I highly recommend both of them for their performance and also extensive ergonomic features, including blue light reduction. If you’re not aware, so-called blue light is the bad stuff that you don’t want; giving you eyestrain, disturbing your night’s sleep, and basically harming your eyes and health. These particular BenQ monitors have special reduced blue light output, which you owe yourself to get if you spend any decent amount of time in front of your monitor.
Livability & Style
Lenovo has a separate series of laptops that are catered more for business with a combination of power & portability called the X1 Carbon. I’ve used the X1 Carbon for several years and it’s a solid notebook. The Yoga 910, however, is not meant strictly for the plain old business world and you can see that immediately.
Lenovo Yoga 910 keyboard
The Yoga 910 has a beautiful metal uni-body with it’s now well-known watch-band hinge. This isn’t just beautifully done and easy on the eyes, but it also provides an incredibly smooth & stable way to adjust your screen angle or to turn the device into a tablet.
The Yoga 910 not being a purely business device also means that you have excellent JBL stereo speakers and something that is very stylish and not just another drab black laptop. Like other highly portable lightweight notebooks, the Yoga 910 is about 3 lbs and feels solid but very easy to carry in your hand or bag.
Lenovo Yoga 910 USB-c ports and watchband hinge system
Lenovo Yoga 910 power and video USB-c ports
The Yoga 910 comes with 2 USB-C ports. One of the ports is for the video output (I highly recommend this one, if you plan on driving a 4k display) and one for providing AC power.
I like to have a 2nd AC adapter; one for home and one for the road so that I’m not always taking it back & forth. You can get a decently priced original Lenovo one for the Yoga 910 here.
Lenovo Yoga 910 fingerprint scanner
Rounding out the ports on the notebook, there is an an USB 3.0 interface on the right side along with a headphone jack audio port, right next to the power/sleep button.
The final interface to mention is a fingerprint scanner next to the keyboard, which sets up nicely with Windows “Hello” so you never have to type in your password again!
The battery life of the Yoga 910 is excellent. Active use yields 6-8 hours and mixed use giving at least 7-9 hours. Overall, it feels great to take the notebook by hand or in a sleeve and not have to bother with the AC adapter and be out and about all day.
Performance
This is one of the most critical elements for me as I don’t have time to wait for the computer to execute on my commands and the flow-breaking scourge of sluggishness performance. Happily, the Yoga 910 flies through all of my normal tasks with speed & finesse. Everything from Microsoft Office 2016 productivity apps to Google Chrome browsing of complex web sites, everything happens crisply and quickly.
The fan does come on if you are really hammering away at complex stuff, heavy graphics or video. But, especially in the “Balanced Mode” that I run in all of the time, the fan doesn’t turn on very often at all and it’s not a chaotic or long event when it does start. I am a power user with very low tolerance of sluggishness performance and similar shenanigans and the Yoga 910 performance solidly meets my expectations for a top-of-the-line laptop.
Weaknesses
The Yoga 910 is not perfect and there are some reviews online that pick up on some things that I agree with and pound on some things that I think are silly. The ports available and their capabilities could’ve been better. The USB-C ports are purpose-built mostly with one meant to be for video output and the other for AC charging and are also not Thunderbolt. My take; it all works and not a big deal and while having Thunderbolt capability is nice, there is no pressing need for me. The USB 3.0 port is the only one and this means you are going to need to have a USB hub plugging into there for much of the time, unless you’re on the road and it’s serving up a mouse only. Again, this is skimpy and not ideal, but it works.
Two things that fall in the silly category for me are the excessive hand-waving around the small “Shift” key on the right side of the keyboard and the fan noise and frequency with which it turns on. Regarding the small shift key, I’m surprised this is such a big deal. It’s my experience that I barely run into any people that actually know how to type well, let alone type classically with the use of the right-hand side shift key. The fan noise and frequency was real for me, too, but it also took 10 minutes of updating my notebook with the latest drivers and fine-tuning some settings to now have the Yoga 910 function like an agile, fast, and powerful cheetah that only purrs with most activity.
Final Thoughts
The Yoga 910 is an excellent laptop choice right now with amazing performance, construction & style, hardware, and overall livability. Those that have less demanding expectations and want to save some money and get even better battery life can opt for the 8 GB RAM, 256 GB storage, and normal High-definition screen version. Either way, I highly recommend the Yoga 910 for anyone in the market for a notebook right now to take a serious look.
Please join the conversation and let me know any questions you have for me, additional thoughts, and any discussion about comparisons to other competing laptops.
Recent Comments