Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 12-inch review

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Specs Sheet
Design and exterior
Keyboard and trackpad
Screen
Hardware and performance
Noise, heat and speakers
Battery life
Price and availability
Final thoughts
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By Andrei GirbeaLenovo ThinkPad Yoga 12, last updated on February 11, 2020

Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 12

Summary: The ThinkPad Yoga is a versatile and sturdy laptop. The form factor is definitely a plus added on top of those iconic ThinkPad characteristics: solid body, simple looks, good keyboard, plenty of features. All these don't come cheap though.

Our score: 4 / 5
Price when reviewed: $999-$1899

THE GOOD

simple design, excellent build quality, convertible form-factor, great keyboard and trackpad, plenty of configurations/options, runs cool and quiet

THE BAD

limited selection of ports, tiny speakers, average battery life

Table of Contents

Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga full specs sheet
Design and exterior
Screen
Keyboard and trackpad
Hardware, performances and upgrade options
Noise, Heat, Connectivity and others
Battery life
Prices and availability
Wrap-up

In this post we’re going to take a detailed look at the Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga.

This one is Lenovo’s first attempt at merging the versatility of the Yoga form-factor, with its 360 flippable screen, and the business-grade characteristics of the iconic ThinkPad line.

And for a first try, they actually did a phenomenal job with it. Well-suited for business users, artist or students, the ThinkPad Yoga is for sure a laptop to reckon and a fairly good tablet as well, especially if you’re going for one of the top versions, bundled with a pen and a digitizer. But more about those in a sec.

For now, I must tell you that this tested ThinkPad Yoga was sent-over by Lenovo, and I got to use it for about a week before giving it back. It’s a shelf unit (can be bought in stores over here) and one of the base models available, as you can see from the detailed spec sheet below, starting at a little over $1000 / 1000 euros. As a result, it lacks some features available on the more expensive versions, but most of the aspects we’re going to discuss in this review apply to the entire ThinkPad Yoga series.

So, without any further ado, let’s get started with this Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga review.

Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga full specs sheet

	Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga
Screen	12.5 inch, 1366 x 768 px resolution, IPS, touchscreen
Processor	Intel Haswell Core i5-4200U CPU
Chipset	Intel HM87
Video	Intel 4400 HD
Memory	4 GB DDR3
Storage	1 TB 5400 rpm HDD + 16 GB cache SSD
Connectivity	Wireless N, Bluetooth 4.0
Ports	2 x USB 3.0, SD card reader, mini HDMI, volume rocker
Baterry	47 Wh
Operating system	Windows 8.1
Size	12.46″ x 8.70″ x 0.76″ / 316 x 220 mm x 19.5 mm
Weight	about 1.59 kg (3.52 pounds)
Extras	backlit keyboard, screen flips 360 degrees on the back, MIL-SPECS compliant

Design and exterior

To some of you, the ThinkPad Yoga might appear to be dull. To others, it might well be the perfect looking ultrabook. And that’s because this is a simple, classy looking device, with a completely black shell. Magnesium is used for the entire case, while the two rather-large hinges are made from a zync alloy.

Simple, black exterior

They are actually strong enough to hold the screen properly in place, and that’s an important aspect, as the display folds around the back, a characteristic feature of the Yoga lines. That’s why the ThinkPad Yoga is a versatile machine. You can use it a standard laptop (and you can lean the screen as much as you need to, on the back), or flip the screen pass 180 degrees, all the way till it lies completely flat of the laptop’s belly. In this case, the TPY is more-or-less a Windows running tablet. More, because it actually is a fully-fledged tablet, less because at 3.5 pounds, the Yoga is not as comfortable to use as the tablets you might be already familiar with. Even so, watching movies, browsing or reading entire documents are just some situations where a large-screen slate comes in handy.

Last but not least, there are the Stand and the Tent modes, useful as well in certain situations.

Now, all these modes are not revolutionary, Lenovo first introduced them with their original IdeaPad Yoga almost two years ago. However, there is one particular aspect that was changed on the ThinkPad Yoga. On all previous Yogas, the keyboard remained exposed when flipping the screen. On this one, there’s this so called “Lift’n Lock” system. When the screen is folded back in tablet mode, the keyboard’s tray rises and mechanically locks the keys in place, so they are not only deactivated, but cannot be pressed either. That might sound like a gimmick, but it actually makes using the laptop in tablet mode more comfortable.

But enough about the Yoga part of this ultrabook. Let’s get to the ThinkPad side. The TPY is feels incredibly durable. It has to pass of course those MIL-SPECS for pressure, dust, temperatures, etc. But you’ll feel the roughness in everyday use as well. For instance, the lid cover does not bend at all and actually pressing the lid cover as much as I could resulted in zero ripples on the panel, which is extremely rare for a thin-and-light laptop these days.

You can use the ThinkPad Yoga as a large tablet as well

Besides that, the entire body is practically built. Both the outer case and the palm-rest are covered in soft materials, there are no sharp edges or corners whatsoever, the cooling system pushes the hot air towards the back, away from the user, and the ports are smartly lined on the sides, towards the rear.

Speaking of ports though, Lenovo had to sacrifice those on the Yoga, which only offers two USB 3.0 slots (one on each side), a card-reader (which can fit an entire SD card), the charger port, a Kensington Lock and a mini-DisplayPort connector. No VGA, no DP, no Ethernet. However, theirs is one connector right next to the power-pin that let’s you stick in one of those Lenovo OneLink docking units, which add a whole bunch of extra ports. But those will cost around $120, and having the ports on an external accessory is not the same as having them on the unit itself.

Anyway, long story short, the ThinkPad Yoga is a practical and incredibly solid built ultrabook. It lacks the fuss or the fancy materials found on other devices (brushed metal, glass, etc) and it is bulkier and heavier than most other ultrabooks in it class. But I’d trade those anytime for the convertible screen and the build quality.

Screen

But let’s get back to that screen. All ThinkPad Yogas offer a 12.5 touchscreen, covered by a limited-glare lair of Gorilla Glass. However, there’s only a 1366 x 768 px IPS panel on this base version, while others pack 1080p panels with digitizer support. This version lacks the digitizer and the matching Wacom Pen as well, so I can’t tell you anything about those in this review.

But I can tell you that the screen, despite it’s lower pixel density, is quite good. Can’t complain about the brightness, colors, contrast and viewing angles, although this is only a budget display and there are clearly better alternatives out there. However, adding the Full HD panel with the digitizer and pen will cost around $250 extra, so if you’re on a tighter budget, this entry-level panel will probably do just fine.

Fairly good screen, even on this entry-level configuration

Keyboard and trackpad

Now, let’s turn our attention on the keyboard and trackpad. There’s a AcuType style chiclet keyboard on this device, like on all the ThinkPads launched lately. The rubber coated keys with a slightly curved surface offer perhaps the best feedback you’re going to get in this class, despite the fact that the travel distance is still fairly limited.

There’s little to complain about the layout either, as we do get large arrow keys on this ThinkPad, plus properly sized Shift, Enter, etc keys. Besides that, the FN and CTRL keys on the left side can be switched in BIOS, and the functional keys can toggle certain aspects or work as regular F keys, and you can jump from one mode to the other by hitting FN+ESC.

As for the clickpad, it’s spacious and smooth, performs fairly well and supports all sorts of gestures. The entire surface is click-able, and while it’s not always performing exactly how you’d want, it’s again better than what’s available on most other Windows laptops. And of course, if the click-pad is not your thing, you do get a TrackPoint as well on this machine.

A proper keyboard

Hardware, performances and upgrade options

OK, so you do know quite a lot about this laptop by now. But how about how it fairs with the everyday hassle?

We only have the base configuration for this review

Before we get to talk about performances though, I once again have to mention that we have the base-model here. It comes with an Intel Core i5-4200U processor, 4 GB of RAM, a 1 TB 5400 rpm HDD with a 16 GB caching SSD. You can however spec this up to a Core i7-4600U processor, 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. All options share the same Intel HD 4400 graphics chip.

You should know that both the CPUs and the RAM are soldered onto the motherboard, so you’ll have to get the ones you want from starters, as there’s no way to upgrade those. However, for storage, the ThinkPad Yoga uses a 2.5 inch 7 mm drive and M.2 SSDs as well. In fact, the caching SSD on this unit is a 42 mm M.2 Sandisck U110. Or in other words, it is replaceable.

I haven’t tested this myself, but it looks like it is possible to get a larger compatible SSD on that M.2 port and use it as a boot drive. However, there aren’t any options larger than 128 GBs right now, but those should do OK for the OS and the main programs. You can then keep a HDD for main storage, or if the budget allows, replace it with a 2.5 inch SSD as well.

Long story short, the ThinkPad Yoga leaves room for some upgrades and supports dual-storage solutions. So you can buy it with a cheaper HDD and then upgrade it by yourself, saving some money in the process.

Back to those performances, this tested unit only comes with a HDD. So it’s no surprise that it’s not that zippy. Booting from cold takes 30+ seconds, launching apps takes longer than you might expect from an ultrabook and so on. But this bottleneck called HDD can be addressed. Anyway, here’s what to expect in terms of benchmark results from this unit, in case this aspect matters for you:

3DMark 13: IceStrom – 40440, Cloud Gate – 4281, Fire Strike – 578;
PCMark 07: 3788;
CineBench 11.5: OpenGL 18.52 fps, CPU 2.49 pts;

Bottom point, the base version of the ThinkPad Yoga is not lightning fast, but if you’re budget allows, this laptop can become quite a powerful beast.

Noise, Heat, Connectivity and others

What matters even more , at least in my book, is how cool and quiet this ThinkPad runs. With light use, you’ll barely hear the fan spinning (although it is ON most of the time), while the HDD cranks from time to time. Under load, you’ll heard the fan in a quiet room, but the noise is never going to get annoying. Nor will the temperatures, as the TPY will only get somewhat warm on the back when pushing it.

One thing to add though, this laptop draws fresh air from the belly, so it’s advisable not to have that grill covered, especially when performing heavier tasks on it.

Now, before we get to draw conclusions, there are a few small, but important aspects to consider.

The 720p webcam for instance, which is rather mediocre. And so are are the speakers, built inside the screen’s hinge: loud enough, but tiny and lacking any kind of bass.

As for the connectivity options, the ThinkPad Yoga offer both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. However, there are a few different Wireless modules available: single-band (2.4 Ghz only) Intel N 7260, dual-band Intel N 7260 and dual-band Intel AC 7260. This unit comes with the first and also the poorest option. But it performed well in my tests, so I can’t really complain here. However, if you need the extra speed or need to use the 5 GHz band for whatever reason, I’d advice going for the Intel Wireless 7260 AC version, it’s only about $30 over the base option.

Battery life

And there’s also the battery life. Lenovo put a fair-sized 47 Wh battery inside this laptop, which is however smaller than what’s on the Yoga 2 Pro. There’s also a spinning HDD on the test unit, which is not as efficient as an SSD, but despite all these, the ThinkPad Yoga lasted for between 6 to 7 hours on a charge, while performing various everyday tasks ( browsing, writing texts, watching some clips, listening to some music – screen at 60%, Balanced mode, Wi-Fi ON). And while you can get better from other Haswell laptops, it’s still a fairly good result.

Expect about 6 hours of daily use from the 47 Wh Battery

Prices and availability

Time to talk numbers.

The ThinkPad Yoga starts these days at $999 in the US. An Intel Core i5-4200U / 4 GB / 128 GB SSD configuration, with the same HD screen, sells for around $1050 on Lenovo’s website, and is the closest we can get to our tested configuration. With a HDD, the same config should go for closer to $1000, or about 1000 euros over here in Europe.

That’s a fair price, for what you’re getting.

But I’m pretty sure many of you will be more interested in higher end configurations, that’s why you should know that the Core i7-4500U / 8 GB / 128 GB version with the Full HD screen and digitizer/pen has a list price of around $1600. And that’s not cheap anymore, especially if you’ll consider the extra money required to upgrade the storage.

Wrap-up

So at the end of the day, if you want a beefy ThinkPad Yoga, prepare to break the bank for it. Even so, the TPY is properly overpriced. In fact, you’ll have a hard time finding other convertible ultrabooks with powerful specs and digitizer-enabled screens for the same kind of money. Not to mention the solid and practical body, the good keyboard and trackpad and last, but for sure not least, the flippable screen. Plus all its other positive aspects.

In fact, there’s little not to like about this laptop. Things like the webcam or the speakers, the limited selection of ports and the average battery life are a few of those, but most of you will probably live with those just fine. That’s why the ThinkPad Yoga , just like the Yoga 2 Pro I’ve tested a while ago, is one of the best ultrabooks money can buy these days.

But it might well not be the one for you. You might want something lighter and more compact, something more affordable or something able to last longer a on a charge, in which case, my selection of the best ultrabooks of 2014 is the perfect place to start your search, or my list of affordable ultrabooks or convertibles. Have a look.

All these being said, we’re drawing the line on this Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga review. Thanks for sticking by and if you have any questions or things to add, just post your comments below, I’ll be around to reply.

The Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga is one of the best ultrabooks money can buy right now

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Review by: Andrei Girbea
Andrei Girbea is a Writer and Editor-in-Chief here at Ultrabookreview.com. I write about mobile technology, laptops and computers in general. I've been doing it for more than 15 years now. I'm a techie with a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering. I mostly write reviews and thorough guides here on the site, with some occasional columns and first-impression articles.

11 Comments

Vladimir

January 24, 2014 at 8:07 pm

I have the digitizer version with the SSD and love it. The laptop is very sturdy and very quick. Mine boots from dead off to ready to use in under 10 sec. It goes from sleep to ready to use in about 2 sec. My battery life is pretty good although I have not given it a torture test. The only thing that I would say negative about the computer is the web cam (it sucks). The rest of the laptop rocks.

Reply
- John Evans
  
  May 25, 2015 at 1:43 am
  
  I have one also and like it very much but the speakers are fairly horrible. Especially when going into tablet mode or presentation mode. The sounds emits from the keyboard. Front firing speakers on the LCD and slightly longer battery life and it would be perfect.
  
  Reply
Vladimir

February 1, 2014 at 10:08 am

Hello,

Nice review. I am really fond of this ultrabook. I like the Yoga flexibility and the Thinkpad characteristics (design, robustness, keyboard, trackpoint). I would like to buy the high-end version of the Thinkpad Yoga, but it pisses me off that it doesn’t have any discrete graphics card option. If only it had at least intel Iris Pro graphics… Furtermore, it only has dual-core (i5/i7), so in the long term I don’t see this as a viable option.
Just a few questions:
1. Does it have backlight keyboard?
2. How does the new Trackpoint work (compared to the older versions)? I preffer the Trackpoint.
3. Would you recommend this ultrabook (the high-end version) to a student who also needs Photoshop/Corel/Adobe Premier? How well does it work when graphic/video editing is needed?
4. Does the omission of the discrete graphics card affect the overall performance of this ultrabook (e.g. light gaming – League of Legends, light to medium graphic/video editing)?
5. Will the dual-core CPU turn to be viable in the medium-to-long term (3-4 years)?

Thank you. Really like your reviews. Looking forward to hearing from you (especially the answers for my question). Keep up the good job!

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  February 4, 2014 at 3:53 pm
  
  1. Yes
  2. It’s more or less the same as before, but the click buttons are different. I preferred the dedicated click buttons, but the clickable surface is alright too, I got used to it fast
  3. Haven’t tested the digitizer equipped version, so can’t say much about it. As for graphics/video, as long as you’re not working on huge projects, it should be ok. Otherwise, the ULV platform and the 8 GB of RAM tops are going to bottleneck your experience
  4. light gaming is possible, see my Sony Vaio Pro 13 and Vaio Duo 13 reviews here on the site, where I’ve included some gaming results on the Intel 4400HD chip
  5. I’d say yes, especially if you go for the core i7. But it really depends on what you’re going to do with it. For heavy tasks, the ULV platform might not be the ideal pick. For everyday use and only occasional humphs, it will do fine
  
  Reply
Vincenzo

February 23, 2014 at 3:54 am

Dear Andrei,
thanks for the accurate review. I would like to ask you if during the review you met any of the wifi connection issues of whom forums are filled up: short range, frequent disconnection, etc…
Regards.
Vincenzo.

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  February 23, 2014 at 1:02 pm
  
  Not with this test unit, but yes, I’ve been reading about those as well, so they are for sure a reality with some versions.
  
  Reply
Santiago

March 7, 2014 at 12:07 pm

Good review. Where can I get the 1 TB HDD with 16 GB SSD cache version??? I have only seen it in the Lenovo site in the UK. I have been waiting for months in the US, but no signs of it. Thanks

Reply
Chris

March 23, 2014 at 2:17 pm

Hello Andrei,
thanks for your review. I have a little question : is recognition of handwriting really good?
I know Surface Pro is relly good (so I believe Surface Pro 2 is at least at the same level) but I’ve no idea about Thinkpad Yoga.
Thanks

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  March 24, 2014 at 6:47 pm
  
  Hey Chris. I haven’t tested the digitizer model, my unit lacked this feature (was the basic configuration), so I can’t comment on that
  
  Reply
Chris

October 24, 2014 at 9:03 am

Hello Andrei, thanks a lot for the exhaustive review. I am currently looking for a reliable and stable travel ultrabook, so I would mainly using it “on tour” which could be anything from business trips to back packer travel. I need it mostly for business use and picture/video editing, also editing raw files with lghtroom, using several business related applications like payroll software and others. Win 7 would be my preferred OS. So I was looking out some current available options in Germany, at the end 3 are left in my mind and I would highly appreciate your advise for which you would go. 1. Toshiba Portege z30-19AL (PT243E-08404YGR) or z30-A-15M (PT243E-03L01LGR) or TPY 20C0006EGE. Flexibility of TPY is a nice to have but not a must have. I am more looking at capability for business use /picture/video editing and stability. Prices in Germany for all 3 around 1500 EUR where as TPY includes 3 years warranty already. Any alternative suggestion is very welcome as well. Thanks in advance

Reply
- Andrei Girbea
  
  October 24, 2014 at 1:11 pm
  
  HI CHris. You could also consider the standard THinkPad, the T440 and X240 lines. Especially the latter. The TPY is a decent laptop, but I’m not so sure it will be as reliable as a standard non-convertible device on the long term.
  
  I haven’t reviewed the Toshiba Z30s, so can’t say much about them. I do know they advertise massive battery life, but they obtain that my seriously capping the CPU to the point where the computer becomes very sluggish. I Believe notebookcheck reviewed the Z30s, you should check their German site, they are perhaps the best reviewers out there.
  
  Reply

Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 12-inch review

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