Still better viewing angles for IPS. I've also seen 400:1 contrast ratio even on 1080p TN panels for laptops. Unless you are a hardcore, professional gamer, TN is never worth it.
While I think VA is the worst panel technology, you are right. TN really doesnt give you much more advantage. Fast IPS displays nowadays are fast enough with their 4-5 ms. And the real important thing for gamers is the input lag, not the response time.
Firstly lenovo's tn panels are certainly no better. Secondly tn and touch screens are not a great match. Just try pressing on a tn panel and yiu will know.
Up to the point where he looked at the screen, I would have thought the author had found the love of his life: Superlatives beyond anything I had ever seen here before...
But at €1800 for the 8/256GB variant and €2300 for the 16/512GB+4K screen I CHUWI over alternatives...
These things can be mass produced and sold at $800, now that those insane flash and RAM prices are coming back down and Intel is facing competition.
Unfortunately, Intel's competition is most often not put in a premium chassis and delivered with a sub par configuration with few configuration choices but still at the same price as the Intel counterpart - with the rare exception.
But Intel completion is upper end of laptops is really subpar in performance level. They might want to believe they compete on that level but manufactures understand this and they are not going waste there time - on a product that fans want in mobile industry but they don't buy mobile but instead purchase desktops. There are of course exception
CHUWI - in my experience with them they are trying to implied that they have high end competitor but actually use the lower end chips. To me this is misleading the customer - to have a Surface Pro looking device with a lower end performance.
Windows for ARM tablets - this is strange part of mobile industry, I personally think a better fit would Chromebooks where native x86 performance is likely not required - but to fool a customer to think they have a full speed notebook to run existing apps is insane. I think they do have limited uses if only web browsing, and Microsoft office applications required. They do have good battery life but the latest generation of notebooks come very close and with Intel Lakefield on the horizon, I believe battery advantage will be gone. But there is not much on this but I believe a combination of 4 low power efficient cores combine with Sunny Cove performance core combine with Gen 11 graphics core - with close to discrete level performance in size of chip that can fit on tip of your finger is going to be quite awesome. This is likely going to remind of days when Intel went from Core 2 to i7 technology.
I loved the EMiB technology and with Lakefield they take it step farther with Foveres technology is going being better. Just image a notebook with more IO on one level, power mult-core logic on next level and high performance discrete GPU on next level. With this technology they could package 100 if not 1000's of cores on desktop size chip.
It the Pen WACOM AES, or N-Trig or Synaptics or .... How does the pen get charged? Inductive in the storage slot? Are you sure? Maybe it's Wacom EMR, as in the Wacom Intuos series/Samsung Galaxy tablets/Samsung Note smartphones, then there's no need to charge the pen at all, because it's coupled inductively with the display.
How good is the accuracy of the pen? Can you draw straight lines or do they wobble? How is the pressure sensitivity of the pen? How many levels, how sensitive? Does the pen have an eraser on the back? Does the pen have some buttons? Does the peen offer some other functionality. How does the pen feel on the display? Is the surface good to write on? How does the pen perform on the edges of the display?
Please, it's a tablet you can write on, why don't you include this in your review. Just because the delivered pen is small doesn't mean the you can't buy a better larger one afterwards, as long as you know which one. Maybe the HP Active Styli work, or do we need N-Trig?
Wacom AES 2.0 technology, 4096 pressure levels, official name is Lenovo Active Pen 2. For compatibility with both Wacom AES and N-Trig / MPP, get the Bamboo Ink Pen which is currently regarded as the best 2-in-1 laptop stylus you can buy.
@Brett: Thanks for this review. Question: In addition to the soundbar, what kind of audio chipset does this Yoga use? Dolby Atmos usually implies 7+1 or more channels to get the Atmos surround effects. I don't expect that from the built-in speakers, of course, but can this thing provide 7+1 or 9+1 output to amplifiers to really get Atmos surround sound? To member the Atmos branding implies that. Thanks!
Dolby Atmos on PC doesn't require or imply 7+1. Even in the HT world you can get Atmos sound bars. Will it be as immersive as a 7 channel setup with true height speakers? No of course not. But it still provides a wider sound stage from the included speakers in this sound bar.
You can get more info from Dolby's website.
The laptop has an Intel audio chipset (SST) and Realtek codec. As for outputting to a receiver, there's no specific digital audio output like HDMI to carry the signal. You'd have to go over the USB/TB3 connections.
Thanks Brett! How loud and clear is the audio from the Soundboard? I am curious how well this works in a 2 way live call, especially with the built-in microphone? If that works well, a setup like this could be really interesting for allowing a small group to participate in video conferences, or an on-site presentation to customers.
I have an Elitebook 13 x360 & I tend to agree - it's one of the first notebooks I've really been happy with. However, I'd recommend opting for 4k screen as the 1080 (I have the 120Hz one with SureView) is not great compared with Surface Book et al.
I have the same screen - 14" 700-nit FHD 120Hz SV3 - on my x360 1040, and can't imagine a better screen on a laptop today. Never used a Surface Book but I believe in general EliteBooks and ZBooks displays show better specs, at least according to NotebookCheck.
@Brett: Not 100% related to this specific article, but could you or one of your AT colleagues also do a "best used notebooks" article? I don't mean the classics from 1992, but which 2017/2018 notebook held up well and has good reliability. Also stratified by price and use range. Might be interesting for some of us here.
Its unclear how the reviewers test the battery; however, just looking at emails and a little web searching-no videos-no plug in in browser using edge I only have 3 hours usage on battery. This is a brand new computer. Once I turned off bluetooth, USB power, prevented background apps from running, put on battery saver, reduced brightness to 70% which is as low as I can go an still be able to see the details on my screen without straining (UHD monitor) I still only get about 4.5 hours. The battery is significantly smaller than Yoga 910 and 920, also the screen brightness is less compared to my Yoga 910 the Yoga 930 at 100% is equal to 70% on the Yoga 910. Although the speakers are better and it comes with a pen which is not very useful, would recommend think pad 1x carbon or another brand of computer. Yogas tend to be glitchy.
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Vitor - Friday, March 1, 2019 - link
Wow, another dismal ips display. Better go TN for such awful results.Death666Angel - Friday, March 1, 2019 - link
Still better viewing angles for IPS. I've also seen 400:1 contrast ratio even on 1080p TN panels for laptops. Unless you are a hardcore, professional gamer, TN is never worth it.Frenetic Pony - Friday, March 1, 2019 - link
It isn't worth it even then. My Samsung CHG27 is great, and it's a VA panel. You really don't need TN at all today.Beaver M. - Friday, March 8, 2019 - link
While I think VA is the worst panel technology, you are right. TN really doesnt give you much more advantage. Fast IPS displays nowadays are fast enough with their 4-5 ms. And the real important thing for gamers is the input lag, not the response time.qlum - Friday, March 1, 2019 - link
Firstly lenovo's tn panels are certainly no better. Secondly tn and touch screens are not a great match. Just try pressing on a tn panel and yiu will know.andy o - Friday, March 1, 2019 - link
The 9260 has Bluetooth 5 according to Intel: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/w...jeremyshaw - Friday, March 1, 2019 - link
Lenovo typically makes the disclaimer in their spec sheets: HW supports BT5.0, Windows only supports BT4.1 (or something like that).dirtperson - Thursday, March 14, 2019 - link
Windows has supported BT5.0 since 1803 updateabufrejoval - Friday, March 1, 2019 - link
Up to the point where he looked at the screen, I would have thought the author had found the love of his life: Superlatives beyond anything I had ever seen here before...But at €1800 for the 8/256GB variant and €2300 for the 16/512GB+4K screen I CHUWI over alternatives...
These things can be mass produced and sold at $800, now that those insane flash and RAM prices are coming back down and Intel is facing competition.
Irata - Friday, March 1, 2019 - link
Unfortunately, Intel's competition is most often not put in a premium chassis and delivered with a sub par configuration with few configuration choices but still at the same price as the Intel counterpart - with the rare exception.HStewart - Friday, March 1, 2019 - link
But Intel completion is upper end of laptops is really subpar in performance level. They might want to believe they compete on that level but manufactures understand this and they are not going waste there time - on a product that fans want in mobile industry but they don't buy mobile but instead purchase desktops. There are of course exceptionCHUWI - in my experience with them they are trying to implied that they have high end competitor but actually use the lower end chips. To me this is misleading the customer - to have a Surface Pro looking device with a lower end performance.
Windows for ARM tablets - this is strange part of mobile industry, I personally think a better fit would Chromebooks where native x86 performance is likely not required - but to fool a customer to think they have a full speed notebook to run existing apps is insane. I think they do have limited uses if only web browsing, and Microsoft office applications required. They do have good battery life but the latest generation of notebooks come very close and with Intel Lakefield on the horizon, I believe battery advantage will be gone. But there is not much on this but I believe a combination of 4 low power efficient cores combine with Sunny Cove performance core combine with Gen 11 graphics core - with close to discrete level performance in size of chip that can fit on tip of your finger is going to be quite awesome. This is likely going to remind of days when Intel went from Core 2 to i7 technology.
I loved the EMiB technology and with Lakefield they take it step farther with Foveres technology is going being better. Just image a notebook with more IO on one level, power mult-core logic on next level and high performance discrete GPU on next level. With this technology they could package 100 if not 1000's of cores on desktop size chip.
ChickenLegsxx - Thursday, June 20, 2019 - link
Download Popcorn Time for android from this page https://getpopcorntimeapk.comUpSpin - Friday, March 1, 2019 - link
It the Pen WACOM AES, or N-Trig or Synaptics or ....How does the pen get charged? Inductive in the storage slot? Are you sure? Maybe it's Wacom EMR, as in the Wacom Intuos series/Samsung Galaxy tablets/Samsung Note smartphones, then there's no need to charge the pen at all, because it's coupled inductively with the display.
How good is the accuracy of the pen? Can you draw straight lines or do they wobble?
How is the pressure sensitivity of the pen? How many levels, how sensitive?
Does the pen have an eraser on the back? Does the pen have some buttons? Does the peen offer some other functionality.
How does the pen feel on the display? Is the surface good to write on?
How does the pen perform on the edges of the display?
Please, it's a tablet you can write on, why don't you include this in your review. Just because the delivered pen is small doesn't mean the you can't buy a better larger one afterwards, as long as you know which one. Maybe the HP Active Styli work, or do we need N-Trig?
Brett Howse - Friday, March 1, 2019 - link
It's Wacom AES and feels good on the display and works well. It's not a top-tier stylus but for writing it's great.Thud2 - Friday, March 1, 2019 - link
Are you practicing your typing skills. 300 words to say "What about the pen?"heffeque - Saturday, March 2, 2019 - link
Laughed harder than I should have.Prestissimo - Friday, March 1, 2019 - link
Wacom AES 2.0 technology, 4096 pressure levels, official name is Lenovo Active Pen 2.For compatibility with both Wacom AES and N-Trig / MPP, get the Bamboo Ink Pen which is currently regarded as the best 2-in-1 laptop stylus you can buy.
imaheadcase - Saturday, March 2, 2019 - link
Because most our touch screen and no one uses a pen is why. loleastcoast_pete - Friday, March 1, 2019 - link
@Brett: Thanks for this review. Question: In addition to the soundbar, what kind of audio chipset does this Yoga use? Dolby Atmos usually implies 7+1 or more channels to get the Atmos surround effects. I don't expect that from the built-in speakers, of course, but can this thing provide 7+1 or 9+1 output to amplifiers to really get Atmos surround sound? To member the Atmos branding implies that. Thanks!Brett Howse - Friday, March 1, 2019 - link
Dolby Atmos on PC doesn't require or imply 7+1. Even in the HT world you can get Atmos sound bars. Will it be as immersive as a 7 channel setup with true height speakers? No of course not. But it still provides a wider sound stage from the included speakers in this sound bar.You can get more info from Dolby's website.
The laptop has an Intel audio chipset (SST) and Realtek codec. As for outputting to a receiver, there's no specific digital audio output like HDMI to carry the signal. You'd have to go over the USB/TB3 connections.
eastcoast_pete - Saturday, March 2, 2019 - link
Thanks Brett! How loud and clear is the audio from the Soundboard? I am curious how well this works in a 2 way live call, especially with the built-in microphone? If that works well, a setup like this could be really interesting for allowing a small group to participate in video conferences, or an on-site presentation to customers.Brett Howse - Saturday, March 2, 2019 - link
It's one of the loudest laptops I've tested.marcplante - Friday, March 1, 2019 - link
Wife had one of these briefly. Screen is too dim and keyboard was an issue as well. Great sound, but that doesn't carry a notebook.Prestissimo - Friday, March 1, 2019 - link
Poor keyboard, poor display, poor I/O, soldered memory, overpriced.EliteBook x360 are the best convertible ultrabooks IMO.
asfletch - Friday, March 8, 2019 - link
I have an Elitebook 13 x360 & I tend to agree - it's one of the first notebooks I've really been happy with. However, I'd recommend opting for 4k screen as the 1080 (I have the 120Hz one with SureView) is not great compared with Surface Book et al.Prestissimo - Friday, March 8, 2019 - link
I have the same screen - 14" 700-nit FHD 120Hz SV3 - on my x360 1040, and can't imagine a better screen on a laptop today. Never used a Surface Book but I believe in general EliteBooks and ZBooks displays show better specs, at least according to NotebookCheck.keg504 - Saturday, March 2, 2019 - link
Are the RAM and storage user-upgradeable?Prestissimo - Sunday, March 3, 2019 - link
M.2 storage is but memory is soldered so not upgradable.wr3zzz - Tuesday, March 5, 2019 - link
Wouldn't it be easier to place the speakers as part of the display panel if audio is the selling point?Brett Howse - Tuesday, March 5, 2019 - link
There's not as much room in the display.eastcoast_pete - Wednesday, March 6, 2019 - link
@Brett: Not 100% related to this specific article, but could you or one of your AT colleagues also do a "best used notebooks" article? I don't mean the classics from 1992, but which 2017/2018 notebook held up well and has good reliability. Also stratified by price and use range. Might be interesting for some of us here.LJS - Wednesday, October 9, 2019 - link
Its unclear how the reviewers test the battery; however, just looking at emails and a little web searching-no videos-no plug in in browser using edge I only have 3 hours usage on battery. This is a brand new computer. Once I turned off bluetooth, USB power, prevented background apps from running, put on battery saver, reduced brightness to 70% which is as low as I can go an still be able to see the details on my screen without straining (UHD monitor) I still only get about 4.5 hours. The battery is significantly smaller than Yoga 910 and 920, also the screen brightness is less compared to my Yoga 910 the Yoga 930 at 100% is equal to 70% on the Yoga 910. Although the speakers are better and it comes with a pen which is not very useful, would recommend think pad 1x carbon or another brand of computer. Yogas tend to be glitchy.