Lenovo YOGA 3 Pro (256 GB SSD)
Price: Rs 1,15,000Ultrabooks are known to be slim and light. At the CES this year, Lenovo introduced the YOGA 3 Pro, which is 17% slimmer and 14% lighter than its predecessor. Of course, at the name suggests, it can perform yoga, that is it is flexible enough for the screen to fold backwards to give it a tablet-like form factor. Powered by the latest Intel’s Core M-70 (Broadwell) CPU, this is a completely fanless laptop, meaning no moving parts, and consequently should result in a better battery life. It has an insanely hi-res touch screen, complementing Windows 8.1. Let’s take a look at the Lenovo YOGA 3 Pro in details.
Features
The box contents include the laptop, a USB power adapter, and a USB cable. Yes, you read it right. The adapter has a USB port, and can be used to charge any USB device. While it has a USB port, there are additional connectors, also present in the cable, to charge the laptop. To avoid any potential mismatch, the USB plug has a notch on one side matching a similar notch on the USB charging port of the laptop.
The laptop sports dimensions of 330 mm x 228 mm x 12.8 mm and weighs just 1.19 kg. The thing to note is that its 12.8 mm thickness is at the thickest part, and it tapers away from the hinge. The lid has an aluminum-like finish and a chrome Lenovo logo on the top left. The bottom of the laptop also has a similar aluminum-like finish. There are four tiny rubber feet to keep the laptop grounded when it is placed on a flat surface. The stereo JBL speaker grills are also present at the bottom, just behind the front feet. The laptop feels premium and has a good build quality.
The entire screen is protective by scratch resistant Gorilla glass. The screen measures 13.3 inches diagonally and it packs in QHD+ pixels with pixel dimensions of 3200x1800, yielding an insanely high 276 PPI. This is a Samsung panel, similar to the one found in Samsung’s own Ativ Q. The colours reproduction is good and the images appear very crisp, which is expected at such high PPI. The bezels are thick: 2.5 cm at the bottom and 1.5 cm on all other sides. Thinner bezels would have added to the aesthetic appeal. A Windows capacitive button is present at the centre of the bottom bezel.
This is a touchscreen, and is good to use with Windows 8.1 that comes pre-installed. It should also do well with the upcoming Windows 10. The touchscreen supports 10-point multi-touch input and is quite responsive. I cannot say the same of the Windows button on the bottom bezel, though, as its touch response was a little erratic. A 720p HD webcam sits at the centre of the top bezel. There are two holes near the bottom of the screen for the integrated dual digital array microphone, which along with the webcam allows high quality video chat over popular IM clients such as Skype.
The island type keyboard is without a separate touchpad, which is expected considering the size of the device. The keys are backlit, making it easier to use it in dark places such as conference rooms or aeroplanes. An LED indicator is present on the CAPS Lock key. Rather than the regular design of square keys, Lenovo has opted to a more aesthetic curved design for the keys. The keys have a good tactile feedback and are easy to type on. The palm rest and the area surrounding the keyboard has a non-reflective black rubberised finish with a dotted pattern. The touchpad is black as well, with a matte finish and a nice feel. The mouse keys are not separate, but rather integrated into the touchpad with a simple demarcation line separating left and right. The spacebar is placed slightly to the left to minimise accidental touchpad inputs while pressing the frequently used spacebar.
The YOGA 3 Pro sports a unique hinge design, which Lenovo calls “watchband” hinge. Indeed, it looks like a watchband, and there are six such attractively decorative looking hinge links in this laptop. The hinge may appear delicate, but it is quite strong and rigid enough to hold the screen at any desired angle convenient for viewing. It is a wonder how Lenovo has managed to connect the screen to the rest of the device through this hinge.
The "watchband" hinge is a unique feature and it looks good
As the name suggests, the YOGA 3 Pro screen can bend to a flat 180 degrees, or more than 180 degrees all the way to a full 360, giving it a tablet-like form factor. When in this form, the keyboard automatically gets disabled, thus preventing accidental keyboard inputs, and switching to full touchscreen mode instead.
The Yoga 3 Pro can lie flat on its back...
...bend backward...
...and fold all the way backward into a tablet form factor
The laptop has a USB 3.0 port on its left. There is a headphone/mic combo port that works with a regular mobile phone wired handsfree. A volume control rocker comes next with an orientation lock button, which works when the laptop is used as a tablet. Next comes the Novo button, which lets you recover the system in case of a crash. A power button is also present here with a white backlit LED.
The power connector port is present on the right. This port also doubles as a USB 2.0 port. Along with the USB 3.0 port present besides it, there is a total of three USB ports in this slim Ultrabook, which is a very good thing. A Micro-HDMI port has been provided, should you wish to take the action to a big screen. A 4-in1 memory card reader (SD, MMC, SDXC, and SDHC) has also been incorporated on this side.
The laptop is powered by a 5500 mAh Lithium polymer battery from Getac. There is no way to add an extra battery slice to get extended power backup when a power source is inaccessible for long durations.
The YOGA 3 Pro is powered by an Intel Core M-5Y70 dual-core Hyperthreaded (two threads per core = four threads) low-power mobile processor supported by 8 GB DDR3 RAM. Graphics is handled by the integrated Intel HD Graphics 5300. Since there is no fan within, there is no heat vent on this laptop.
A 256 GB Samsung MZNTE256HMHP-000L2 SSD takes care of storage. Lenovo has divided this SSD into several partitions, the biggest of them being the C drive for the OS and software, while only a relatively small 25 GB has been assigned as the D drive for additional data storage. There are four other smaller invisible partitions for system recovery. The Novo button present on the side triggers this recovery procedure in case you are unable to boot into the system.
There are screws at the bottom, so you should be able to upgrade by replacing components such as RAM and SSD.
Software
Windows 8.1 comes pre-installed on the YOGA 3 Pro, but MS Office has not been provided, you will have to purchase and install it separately.
This laptop comes with McAfee's LiveSafe software, which is the front-end for Intel's Anti-Theft that is built into every Ultrabook, McAfee being Intel's trusted partner. McAfee makes it possible to track the laptop if it is stolen and the user may choose to keep tracking it in stealth mode or completely disable it remotely. This does require the stolen laptop to be connected to the internet in some way. However, the setup also lets you determine a specified time duration while the laptop can try pinging the AT servers, failing which, it will automatically lock and display a custom message warning the unauthorised user about its stolen status.
The software allows you to create encrypted vaults of up to 8 GB each to store files sized up to 2 GB each. The encrypted data on the laptop remains secure while it is accessed before getting locked. Its anti-tamper feature prevents uninstallation of the software and keeps personal data safe even if the hard drive is removed or the OS is reinstalled. While Intel AT provides the hardware base, it is the McAfee LiveSafe that actually makes it usable.
Lenovo has also included Harmony software that can adjust the audio and video settings automatically as per the scenario. For example, while reading documents, it switches to the paper mode, where the screen gets a sepia tint, making it more pleasing to read.
The Lenovo OneKey Optimizer makes sure that your system performance remains top notch. OneKey Recovery helps you recover from a potential system crash. Veriface allows you to login using face recognition. Additionally, there are entertainment software such as Zinio, YOGA Chef, and Lenovo Photo Master.
Performance
The YOGA 3 Pro boots up in just about 6 seconds! This can be attributed to the SSD, fast processor, and the 8 GB of speedy RAM. The performance is lag-free and it is comfortable enough to be able to multitask. Even with several applications and antivirus running in the background, it continues to cruise as usual.
The screen is pretty bright and has good viewing angles. As mentioned earlier, the images appear very crisp and colours appear pretty accurate. Although the screen is glossy, it was quite usable even in brightly lit rooms. The touch response is precise and lag-free.
The keyboard is quite comfortable to use for long duration. The touchpad allows precise control over cursor movements.
While the speakers are hidden underneath, the sound is loud and clear with no distortion even at high volumes. The stereo separation is very effective.
Wi-Fi antenna is quite powerful and is able to catch weak signals over quite a distance from the router. The laptop is able to play YouTube 4K videos with ease, thus demonstrating its superior multimedia capability.
I ran a few benchmarks on the laptop to find out how well it fares.
The results indicate a laptop with a good performance. Gaming is not its forte with the Intel HD Graphics 5300, but it is good enough for regular office applications and board games.
Being fanless and with an SSD, the laptop is completely noiseless due to the lack of any moving parts. The laptop gets warm when used over an extended period.
Battery Life
In normal usage that involves using office applications, surfing the internet, occasional music and video, and watching some YouTube clips, the battery lasted for over 6 hours. With heavy network usage such as watching 4K YouTube videos, the battery life drops to about 4 hours. This is a decent battery backup for an Ultrabook driving a QHD+ screen.
My Verdict
The Lenovo YOGA 3 Pro is a splendid Ultrabook that looks good, is light and slim, and also performs well. The QHD+ crisp touchscreen is one of its defining features and also its form factor that changes from a laptop to a tablet in a jiffy, thanks to the unique watchband hinge. Probably the only gripe would be its exorbitant pricing, but it is still less expensive and thinner than a MacBook Air. Priced at Rs 1,15,000, this is a unique product that you can go for if you have got the dough to blow. If you are prepared to spend so much, it is my sincere advice to you to spend a little more and get the 512 GB SSD version as the 256 GB will run out of storage space sooner than you can imagine.
Pros: Amazing touchscreen, Looks good; Very light and slim, Turns into a tablet in a jiffy, Good performance.
Cons: Expensive, No optical drive, Erratic capacitive Windows button.
Features: 3.5/5
Performance: 3.5/5
Ergonomics: 4/5
Value For Money: 3/5
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
The power connector port is present on the right. This port also doubles as a USB 2.0 port. Along with the USB 3.0 port present besides it, there is a total of three USB ports in this slim Ultrabook, which is a very good thing. A Micro-HDMI port has been provided, should you wish to take the action to a big screen. A 4-in1 memory card reader (SD, MMC, SDXC, and SDHC) has also been incorporated on this side.
The laptop is powered by a 5500 mAh Lithium polymer battery from Getac. There is no way to add an extra battery slice to get extended power backup when a power source is inaccessible for long durations.
The YOGA 3 Pro is powered by an Intel Core M-5Y70 dual-core Hyperthreaded (two threads per core = four threads) low-power mobile processor supported by 8 GB DDR3 RAM. Graphics is handled by the integrated Intel HD Graphics 5300. Since there is no fan within, there is no heat vent on this laptop.
A 256 GB Samsung MZNTE256HMHP-000L2 SSD takes care of storage. Lenovo has divided this SSD into several partitions, the biggest of them being the C drive for the OS and software, while only a relatively small 25 GB has been assigned as the D drive for additional data storage. There are four other smaller invisible partitions for system recovery. The Novo button present on the side triggers this recovery procedure in case you are unable to boot into the system.
There are screws at the bottom, so you should be able to upgrade by replacing components such as RAM and SSD.
Software
Windows 8.1 comes pre-installed on the YOGA 3 Pro, but MS Office has not been provided, you will have to purchase and install it separately.
This laptop comes with McAfee's LiveSafe software, which is the front-end for Intel's Anti-Theft that is built into every Ultrabook, McAfee being Intel's trusted partner. McAfee makes it possible to track the laptop if it is stolen and the user may choose to keep tracking it in stealth mode or completely disable it remotely. This does require the stolen laptop to be connected to the internet in some way. However, the setup also lets you determine a specified time duration while the laptop can try pinging the AT servers, failing which, it will automatically lock and display a custom message warning the unauthorised user about its stolen status.
The software allows you to create encrypted vaults of up to 8 GB each to store files sized up to 2 GB each. The encrypted data on the laptop remains secure while it is accessed before getting locked. Its anti-tamper feature prevents uninstallation of the software and keeps personal data safe even if the hard drive is removed or the OS is reinstalled. While Intel AT provides the hardware base, it is the McAfee LiveSafe that actually makes it usable.
Lenovo has also included Harmony software that can adjust the audio and video settings automatically as per the scenario. For example, while reading documents, it switches to the paper mode, where the screen gets a sepia tint, making it more pleasing to read.
The Lenovo OneKey Optimizer makes sure that your system performance remains top notch. OneKey Recovery helps you recover from a potential system crash. Veriface allows you to login using face recognition. Additionally, there are entertainment software such as Zinio, YOGA Chef, and Lenovo Photo Master.
Performance
The YOGA 3 Pro boots up in just about 6 seconds! This can be attributed to the SSD, fast processor, and the 8 GB of speedy RAM. The performance is lag-free and it is comfortable enough to be able to multitask. Even with several applications and antivirus running in the background, it continues to cruise as usual.
The screen is pretty bright and has good viewing angles. As mentioned earlier, the images appear very crisp and colours appear pretty accurate. Although the screen is glossy, it was quite usable even in brightly lit rooms. The touch response is precise and lag-free.
The keyboard is quite comfortable to use for long duration. The touchpad allows precise control over cursor movements.
While the speakers are hidden underneath, the sound is loud and clear with no distortion even at high volumes. The stereo separation is very effective.
Wi-Fi antenna is quite powerful and is able to catch weak signals over quite a distance from the router. The laptop is able to play YouTube 4K videos with ease, thus demonstrating its superior multimedia capability.
I ran a few benchmarks on the laptop to find out how well it fares.
PCMark 08
3DMark
The results indicate a laptop with a good performance. Gaming is not its forte with the Intel HD Graphics 5300, but it is good enough for regular office applications and board games.
Being fanless and with an SSD, the laptop is completely noiseless due to the lack of any moving parts. The laptop gets warm when used over an extended period.
Battery Life
In normal usage that involves using office applications, surfing the internet, occasional music and video, and watching some YouTube clips, the battery lasted for over 6 hours. With heavy network usage such as watching 4K YouTube videos, the battery life drops to about 4 hours. This is a decent battery backup for an Ultrabook driving a QHD+ screen.
My Verdict
The Lenovo YOGA 3 Pro is a splendid Ultrabook that looks good, is light and slim, and also performs well. The QHD+ crisp touchscreen is one of its defining features and also its form factor that changes from a laptop to a tablet in a jiffy, thanks to the unique watchband hinge. Probably the only gripe would be its exorbitant pricing, but it is still less expensive and thinner than a MacBook Air. Priced at Rs 1,15,000, this is a unique product that you can go for if you have got the dough to blow. If you are prepared to spend so much, it is my sincere advice to you to spend a little more and get the 512 GB SSD version as the 256 GB will run out of storage space sooner than you can imagine.
Pros: Amazing touchscreen, Looks good; Very light and slim, Turns into a tablet in a jiffy, Good performance.
Cons: Expensive, No optical drive, Erratic capacitive Windows button.
Features: 3.5/5
Performance: 3.5/5
Ergonomics: 4/5
Value For Money: 3/5
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
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