Sometimes truly unique devices pass through our hands, and this analysis of the Lenovo Yoga Book reveals one of the best tablets on the market, featuring a unique design, and with a virtual keyboard that will delight anyone who wants to exploit their most creative side.
Lenovo reinvents tablet
Gradually we have seen how the market of tablets has been decreasing in sales, and already today we see how the great there are hardly any new in this segment, which is gradually specializing towards the 2 in 1, more practical devices, which add a productivity function that they did not have before.
Even so, they are still not round products, since the processor is still somewhat limited in power, and the keyboard, a fundamental part to work, is connected through a docking, being an accessory that does not allow the support of the equipment if we take the set.
In this sense 2-in-1 laptops, with more powerful hardware and superior functionality thanks to a keyboard that offers better touch and a larger screen seem to be in a niche of the moment untouchable for tablets, although these are gradually growing in size, and at the moment models like the iPad Pro reach 13″ , with a processor that offers a good level of performance.
However, what we have here goes one step further than any 2-in-1 tablet or laptop we’ve seen so far. In fact, as we will see in the analysis of the Yoga Book, the latest Lenovo device presented at the IFA in Berlin, shows us that there is still room to do new things and innovate in a market like that of tablets that already seemed hopelessly dead.
Although it is true that in a way the traditional concept of tablet does seem extinct and at no time will they have the market share that it had (which already belongs to smartphones) again. The Lenovo Yoga Book does not enter this market, but directly generates a new one, which is among the mobility products, but which invent what appears to be the first 3-in-1 tablet on the market.
What do you mean, 3 in 1? Indeed, it is a completely new concept, but there is no doubt that in certain sectors such as design and education, this device can mark a before and after in terms of functionality. Why? Continue reading this review of the Yoga Book and you will understand it.
Design
We have already seen it in our contact with the Yoga Book, but here we have had it longer, and we have been able to mess with it, and be able to appreciate in all its splendor the magnificent design of the Yoga Book.
Even closed we can see how it has practically the same thickness as the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 to cite an example. In this way we can see the chassis completely metallic and with a impeccable finish, finished in matt black. To break this sobriety and monotony, we have the Lenovo logo next to the metal-colored hinge.
This hinge is inherited directly from its older siblings like the Yoga 910, and it gives it a Premium look that gives it a plus compared to other models of 2 in 1 tablet with the keyboard type case.
It has dimensions of 256.6 by 170.8 millimeters next to a total thickness of 9.6. This is halved as soon as we open it, with the keyboard area stood at 5.55 mm, and the display at only 4.05 mm. With these dimensions, it reaches a weight of only 690 grams, very similar to that of 10″ tablets without keyboard.
Once opened we see the area of the screen and the keyboard, although apparently none exists. Don’t worry, as this virtual keyboard, which Lenovo calls Halo Keyboard, is one of the great advances of this tablet, and the main reason for the 3-in-1 conception. But we’ll talk about this later in this Yoga Book test.
What we can see is the position of the main camera in the keyboard area. If you think that position doesn’t make sense, it’s because you haven’t put this device in tablet mode, with the keyboard right on the back, since then the camera is perfectly located in the top right corner.
The 2-megapixel front camera is located in the usual area where it would be on any laptop, in the center of the top of the screen. One thing that catches the eye is the generous size of the edges of the screen. Although the size of the keyboard justifies external dimensions, perhaps a larger screen could be used to better take advantage of the available surface. In any case it is a fairly common margin on tablets.
With such a chassis, there is no possibility of traditional USB connectors. In fact, the only connections available are a micro USB port and the headphone audio jack. We also have a slot where you can insert a micro SD card up to 128 GB.
We can also appreciate how on both sides we have audio outputs for the two stereo speakers, which also offer compatibility with Dolby Audio surround sound.
Screen
Whenever we have a tablet in our hands, one of the most valued sections is the screen. And in this case, with a size of 10.1 inches and IPS technology, with which we can appreciate a good interpretation of color and outstanding viewing angles, with very little color distortion.
If we compare the screen of the Yoga Book with that of other models like the Samsung Galaxy Tabpro S, which we have also had the opportunity to analyze, and that thanks to its super AMOLED panel achieves a superior contrast, although here we are talking about one of the best screens that exist right now.
But here we also talk about a good screen, which has a resolution of 1920 by 1200 pixels, offering a high pixel density, but here we do not reach the figures that other models arrive. Although in this sense we must take into account the segment to which it is addressed, in addition to this not-so-high resolution having an impact on better performance, as we will see below in this analysis of the Yoga Book.
Performance and camera
None of us could expect an i7 processor on a tablet of less than 600 euros, and to power this Yoga Book we had an Intel Atom X5-Z8550 processor, capable of reaching a maximum frequency of 2.4 GHz, although its nominal frequency is 1.44 GHz. It is also accompanied by 4 GB of LPDDR3 RAM.
But how’s the Yoga Book going? Compared to other tablet models, its performance is quite good, and the 4-core Intel processor performs with some ease in basic applications and some pc games like League of Legends, being able to play fluently in medium details.
With games developed for mobile platforms like Modern Combat 5, the results are very good, with absolute fluidity. Logically we are talking about a non-extremely powerful processor, so demanding applications like Photoshop or Autocad won’t work as smooth as we’d need.
We have the impression that with a superior processor such as an Intel Core M, as integrated by the Samsung Galaxy Tabpro S, we would have achieved a much rounder product, although this may come later.
From the camera of the Yoga Book we will not bother to talk too much, since it is not a feature that is decisive as it is in the case of smartphones, and this also seems to be the opinion of Lenovo, which despite equipping an 8 megapixel camera with Autofocus, the results in terms of sharpness are too fair, just like the 2 MP front camera , which will allow us acceptable quality for video conferencing by supporting both Cameras Full HD resolution for video recording.
Halo Keyboard
We come to the key element of the Yoga Book. Having a touch keyboard is also not a novelty as such, since it is something that we already saw on some keyboards tablet case, and that even some laptops like the Acer Iconia tried to apply, although the latter consisted directly of a touch screen.
What we have here is different, something that we can already appreciate in touch, more rough and resembling a slate, which counts backlight to be able to differentiate the keys within this completely smooth surface.