1. Then one should refer to four threads (as Intel names it itself officially).
2. Well.. AFAIU, "i7" is just a brand, meaning "the top notch among its device class", happens to have HT, and in general has nothing to do with the particular number of physical cores: 1) i7 has 2 cores in ULV class BUT 2) i7 has 4 cores in medium/big laptop class 3) i7 has 4 cores in mainstream desktop class BUT 4) i7 has 6 (soon to be 8) cores in extreme desktop class
So "i7" is just a brand, supposed to make the customer think "Wow, this thing is gonna be fast".
As Semiaccurate founder calls it "iSomethingmeaningless" from the point of purely tech specs per se.
Indeed; only i3 is more or less consistent (2 cores, 4 threads, no Turbo). Besides, Pentium and Celeron (based on big cores) are also consistent (when one does take into account Atoms rebranded as Celeron and Pentium).
actually the pentium branding is anything but consistent right now. there are pentium cpus out right now that are based on 3rd generation dual core i3's with half the cache dual core low voltage i3 half cache and 1-200 Mhz lower clocks than u series i3 and dual core 4th generation cores with no quick sync and hd 4000 and quad core 4th gen with quick sync enabled and hd 4000
the only thing I dont like about the stand mode is the keyboard facing down. it might get dirty easily. but this is better than the flip mechanism other OEMs use. also not sure how the hinge will hold after 2-3 yrs of abuse
This is the primary reason I went with the XPS12. A little smaller (which is a plus for me), and the display flips so that it hides the keys in tablet mode which seems like a better design. So far I am very happy with it.
As a Y2P user I find this a very fair review. I do think it merits mentioning that the wifi card can be replaced, thus mitigating the device's greatest out-of-the-box weakness.
It's generally more helpful to say, "Typo on page two: unwieldly", but I suppose some prefer snark and sarcasm to simple information. Thanks for the correction. :-)
As a Y2P owner, I'd say this is a fair review, imo. I personally don't use my laptop in bed, so I find stand mode not very useful. I do use tablet mode to read; I sit in a chair and prop it up against the table. Battery life is rather disappointing if I have brightness up.
I did switch out the wi-fi card myself. You have to order the right one (one with FCC markings) and you need a Torx T5 driver.
After the 8.1 Update came out, I did notice that. 8.1 Update changed the default scaling on the Yoga 2 Pro from 200% to 250%, and it also enabled the 8.1 per display scaling. It's the scaling that causes this for you if you set it back to 200%, the arrow goes back to where it was.
For me, it's very off center when it's at 250%, slightly off center when it's at 200% (look closely, it is definitely off center), and perfect at 150%. Sadly, I prefer it at 250% scaling...
You cannot upgrade the wireless card. Even though the card is a common Intel card, the card has to be on the "whitelist". Lenovo and HP have been doing that to ALL of their laptops. When you put in a card not sold by them, you will be met with "1802: Unauthorized network card is plugged in - Power off and remove the miniPCI network card." And you will find that the computer will not boot! Unless you buy the wireless card from them (even though it is the same as the card you can get on Amazon), they have hard-coded identification information into the bios of the card. Also, most times they don't carry an upgrade, and when they do it costs 4 to 7 times what the Ebay/Amazon/Tiger Direct card costs.
Dude do you know how to read? I own a Yoga 2 Pro. I *typed* the comment on 5 Ghz Wi-Fi.
All you need is the correct card. I bought mine at mfactors; it cost me $40. I can't guarantee that ones from eBay or amazon will work, for some reason FCC stickers are a good sign that it will work.
How much better is the AC card in your opinion? I'm still running the stock card and it's incredibly flaky. I tried updating my drivers using the Intel's latest and the wireless drivers broken my trackpad. (Shit you not) - I haven't checked up on it 2 months though, may of been fixed.
I was a day -4 Yoga 2 Pro owner. I got my Yoga a couple days before release when Best Buy posted it for sale early.
Here's my list of things I've found wrong the device that hasn't been stated: - Terrible driver support. The Yoga 2 Pro is "flagship" ultrabook from Lenovo, yet it hasn't seen a major driver update since November 2013, other than a "Lenovo Motion Control" update pushed out in April '14
- Mustard Yellow: (Already stated, but I really want to nail this one home) This still isn't fixed and Lenovo won't recognize it. I've done the fix and only in Daily (or High Performance) mode with the brightness on max is the yellow issue fixed. As a programmer who needs to also do a lot of design work, the lack of rgb accuracy in certain brightness modes is a huge problem.
- Shutdown problems: Ever so often I shutdown my Yoga and it just hangs on a black screen with the keyboard lit up and won't turn off without my holding the power button. Happens every 1 out of 10 times. Might be a program I installed, but this has happened since day one for me.
- Keys stuck/still enabled when switching modes: Sometimes when I switch my Yoga from laptop to stand/tent/tablet modem, Windows detects keys as being pressed and won't stopped repeating the key press until I switch my Yoga back to laptop. ~(1 out of 30 chance) Also, on rare occasions, the keyboard and trackpad aren't disabled in tablet mode. ~(1 out of 100 chance)
- Wireless: The stock wireless card is abysmal, but this isn't just a Yoga problem. I get better reception on my phone sometimes and other times my Yoga fails to connect or drops connection. Depends on the router. The lack of 5GHz dual-band and AC is a joke.
- Rubberized material: Apparently they fixed this on the lower end Yoga 2 (non pro), but the rubberized texture on the lid is a massive blemish magnet. I just went on vacation and something in my backpack rubbed up against my Yoga which was in a black case and left a dark smear across the lid of my Yoga. I tried cleaning it with Alcohol and also baking soda; but because of the material, it won't come out. http://i.imgur.com/x8fxa7t.jpg
- Yoga is cooking itself?: I noticed this right before my vacation. The corners of my Yoga by the heat vents are slowly turning brown: http://i.imgur.com/FlrPWiB.jpg & http://i.imgur.com/OTHQ37J.jpg - Notice these are opposite sides by the yellow AC jack in the first picture. I've never owned a silver laptop before, so I don't know if this is common. But for a device that's less than a year old and "premium," this is a let down. This might just be a lack of material experience on my part. I don't do anything too intense on my Yoga, most gaming I've done is for ~18h total over the live of my Yoga.
- Windows 8.1 Hidpi: (Everyone's saying this, but again, huge deal) Not Lenovo's fault, but Hidpi mode is a mess. Sure, it's gotten better, but it still sucks. Chrome, my primary browser is also a mess.
Just did this "fix," and it's still a no go. Yellows are as mustardary as ever.
I also tried locating the "new" Energy Manager that was released recently, which is suppose to help. I couldn't find a legit download. Only users posting random fileshare sites on Lenovo's forums with 60 minute download times and questionable package names.
I tried updating my current install of Energy Manager and I get a network error. Lenovo is really dropping the ball on their customer service.
I have a huge love/hate relationship with this laptop. My feelings for it are bio-polar, changing on a dime. When it works, it's great. When it doesn't, it fails hard.
The shutdown/restart problems will only get worse. BEWARE THIS LAPTOP. I have owned the Y2Pro since February, and at first the shutdown problem happened once every few weeks, but then I started getting random reboots and lockups with corrupt screen image while watching XBMC, which seemed like they were happening due to heat. Once that started happening everything went downhill. The laptop wouldn't boot up, it just kept trying to boot, the keyboard backlight would flash, and then it would try to boot up again. That just keeps happening over and over.
Initially I could leave the laptop alone for a while and then it would eventually boot. But the problem got worse and worse until 3 weeks ago. I haven't been able to boot it up at all. I even opened it and disconnected the battery and then tried booting, still not working.
This is a common problem with this model. There are many users in the Lenovo support forums who have had this issue, had their laptop replaced, and had the issue again with the replacement model they got back. Some users eventually got a full refund. I just got the RMA set up and will be sending mine in for the first time this week.
Wow, mine hasn't been that bad. I got my first lock up two weeks ago. The funniest part about it is someone was admiring my Yoga when it completely seized up. I'm sure it's a software issue, but like I said, the drivers haven't been updated in forever, so go figure.
I've thought about trying to RMA or get a refund, but I'm still "partially" satisfied with my Yoga and there's nothing else on the market that intrigues me outside of a MBA.
I haven't experienced the mustard yellow problems, shutdown problems, key sticking problems, or the wireless problems. I've used stock wireless on other Yoga 2 Pros and haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary, but not for too long.
I haven't really bothered to update the drivers, but I think you're right that there aren't many new ones. I probably don't mind any but the graphics drivers. I guess I got lucky; a friend had the boot issues out of box, sent it back, and got a perfect one.
I just switched back to Chrome after discovering Chrome 37 (on the beta channel) has HiDPI support and fixes the kerning issue :)
Actually, that post was not meant for you (I replied to the wrong person), but to answer your question...yes, I read just fine. Talk about inappropriate levels of anger.
And by the way, whether or not the card works has nothing to do with "FCC markings". It specifically has to be on the Lenovo whitelist whether it has FCC markings or not.
Regardless to who you were replying to, you were wrong. And I apologize for the anger, but you're the one that replied to me in a way that seemed to directly contradict me... I didn't make you accidentally reply to me.
I suppose the FCC markings indicate that they will be whitelisted? From reading other forums, it seems that only cards with FCC markings tend to work. Perhaps Lenovo doesn't whitelist other cards.
I bought one of these about a month ago from Best Buy for $1199. It was the grey model with a Core i7 4510U and the 7260AC wireless card. The CPU is basically just a 100Mhz bump. The CPU model is listed on the outside of the box, so you can make sure you're getting the new rev before purchasing.
I also got a Y2P from BestBuy. It has the Intel card and CPU bump.
I have had it for ~40 days so far. My take on it . . .
1. Battery life - it would be nice if it were longer, but it is not a MacBook Air and I do not expect to charge it once in a blue moon.
2. Screen brightness - there are times that the screen dims for no apparent reason, then brightens up. I have not been able to figure the rhyme or reason.
3. The gyroscope sometimes acts wonky. The device tries to determine what mode it is in and will go back and forth trying to figure it out. To me it seems obvious that it is in laptop mode, but the gyroscope doesn't.
4. If you ever try and get into the bios, be prepared to have a paper clip. No amount of smashing F2 or a F key will work. You need to push in a button then turn the power on for it to actually get into the bios. The Bios also does not save boot order. If you want to boot USB before the SSD, it states it saves it, but it does not.
5. The trackpad. They need to put some sort of coating on it. Within 5 minutes of using it, it looks like the trackpad is 5 years old.
6. The device is quick enough for videos and business use.
7. This is more of a Windows issue than a Yoga issue, but there are some apps that do not scale. Ironically one of them is the Intel drivers update for the WiFi. So bring a magnifying glass or change resolution. Dropbox is the same.
With all the comments, I would actually buy another one.
The screen is significantly brighter when I have it on Balanced mode than when I have it on any other. Automatic switching between modes might cause your brightness inconsistency, although there is also an auto-brightness setting you can turn off. ps. the reviewer should take note of the difference in brightness level between power modes. Is the maximum brightness that was measured the one in Balanced mode or in another?
I did disable Auto Brightness in the power profiles. I tested in High Power mode, and Daily Mode (the default Lenovo power profile). I can retest in Balanced mode as well I'll let you know if there is a difference. What did you measure yours with?
Dear Brett, I used a retail i1 Display Pro, both with default software package and dispcalGUI. The rest of the measurements are quite like mine... Color checker dE ~3 and higher in some blue shades. I believe Lenovo released a BIOS patch which capped max brightness some time ago as some users reported. Mine was brought in May/14 and has latest BIOS installed. Could this be the issue?
It's possible it is the BIOS. The maximum brightness I tested was with the i1 Display Pro as well. I'll test it a couple more times if and when I have a chance and see if I can get a better value.
#4, just a thought, but maybe your laptop is set up with secure boot? That could revert your boot order... you know, because booting from a Linux distro is so dangerous lol.
Lenovo doesn't offer any BTO options on the Ideapad lines, at least in my region. I think this would be a good thing for them to implement but it would likely cost them more per machine.
The only real competitor to this is the MS Surface Pro 3 IMHO, though many others come close. And with this being cheaper than the Surface Pro 3, it would make a great unit for a lot of people.
Kind of different animals, Surface is tablet first and laptop second whereas this is the opposite... I still struggle to find a big usage case for either outside of college students and road warriors (granted that's two pretty big market slices).
I purchased a Yoga 2 Pro from Best Buy (they only have one variant in stores now, I believe; an i7) last month and can confirm it has the AC 7260 card. Also, great write-up!
That's great to hear the Wireless is a real drawback on the unit we received. I'm still hoping they will get back to me with the time on when they switched it over. The specs on the website still show the old card so I can't guarantee someone will get AC at the moment.
I've been reading this site for quite a while, but this will be my first post.
I bought a Y2P about a month and ago and am surprisingly pleased. It's quick, fun and feels good in the hand. I do however have 2 tiny complaints- 1) Adobe programs won't scale correctly, requiring a microscope to work with. Don't care about that too much though. 2) The trackpad is like a fingerprint\oil magnet, that on the other hand is driving me nuts, how do I clean it? (I tried an LCD cleaning solution with a towel, did nothing)
Adobe showed off their new products with High DPI support at the Surface Pro 3 launch I believe. That's been a big complaint of mine, especially since Adobe should be on top of this because their target market would likely benefit from HiDPI more than the average consumer. Looks like version 13 at the moment but of course that will mean an upgrade cost as well.
They have since updated their the CPU to i7-4510u and dual band wireless ac-7260 card. I just bought mine, manufactured in mid June, and it hasn't had any wifi issues. Also, uninstalling the McAfee bloatware helped. Still has the greenish yellow though on the display.
I read that the RAM is soldered to the motherboard, so not user upgradable, but is the SSD user upgradable? I'd prefer the i3 model, but with a larger SSD.
My problem with the Yoga is the price. Although they can definitely be had for less than MSRP, they're still more expensive than a Surface 3 WITH a type cover. The rest of the specs, other than the screen size (obviously Yoga is two inches bigger) are about the same, but the Surface has more flexibility. One of my clients picked up both the Surface 2 Pro and a Yoga 2 back in March, and he likes the Yoga 2 more, and perceptively thinks its lighter.
But I think the Surface 3 gives it a run for its flexibility.
I got the Y2P because my Surface Pro 2 was stolen. Originally, I was planning on waiting for the i7 Surface 3 to arrive in August but eventually settled on the Y2P because 1) A 256 i7-4650u with HD5000 is $1549 + type cover $130. For around the price of the Y2P, I can only get 128 i5-4300u with HD 4400 $999 + type cover $130 and only 4gb of ram too! Y2P was only $1200 for i7-4510u with HD4400 and 8gb. I'm on a tight budget this month so Y2P got me the best bang for the buck. 2) My Surface 2 Pro kept having connection issues with the type cover. Brought it to Palo Alto's Microsoft store and they have no idea what was wrong. I played with some of the Surface 3 for an hour and found connection issues that was on and off with one of the displayed Surface 3. I was about to bring back my Surface Pro 2 for fixing after my Fourth of July vacation but it was stolen. So in a way, losing that device is a blessing in disguise...I was able to discover Y2P.
3) I never took off the type cover on my Surface Pro 2 anyways so the Y2P doesn't pose a problem. I treated the SP2 like the Y2P anyways by bending back the keyboard and using it as a laptop. Only difference, I don't have to worry about problems of keyboard connection. Only thing I miss from my SP2 is the mini display port (better than the micro hdmi imo) and the ability to change the keyboard lighting's brightness. Yes, it was lighter too but the weight of the Y2P never bothers me.
That's crazy about your connection issues. I have dozens of clients with Surface 2's and none of them mentioned that. A firmware update fixed some wifi issues people were having back in March though.
As far as price, nobody pays retail for Surface. They can always be had for 20% less (just like the Yoga 2) but with that in mind, I agree that it's only really competitive at the base level. But that's where most people are buying, anyway.
I just picked up a Surface 2 256GB 8GB i5 for $800 new with a type cover on eBay... That was a buy-it-now too. There's a lot of auctions for used ones that include BOTH covers for even less.
In my search for the ultimate hybrid, I have owned the Vaio Duo 13, the Y2P, and now the Surface 3. By far the Surface 3 gives me the best hybrid experience. Perhaps it was the weight and the size of the Duo 13 and Y2P that made the tablet experience a bit lacking. My usage tends to be more tablet than laptop so perhaps that's why the Surface 3 is my favorite.
I'd been considering one of these as a personal/travel Windows laptop. I've got a 13" rMBP for work, but for certain things I do I need a dedicated Windows machine on the go.
Portability and different use cases are pretty interesting, unfortunately the poor contrast ratio (due to the high value of the black level) is a pretty big turn off for me.
Unfortunately you can't do a 'life with' type article without having used it substantially for a few months first, unless you know otherwise. Secondary to that, Brett is new to the team and this is his personal device, not a review sample.
I bought a Best Buy Y2P in May (sadly with I7-4500 and the poor wifi/BT card). While the wifi alone hasn't caused me any real trouble, it seems that I can't use it at the same time as BT. I was subjected to the W8.1 equivalent of the "blue screen of death" every couple of hours while using a BT mouse and wifi at the same time. I've had no problems when using a wired mouse. I want to upgrade to the AC card but am hesitant to void the warranty.
The screen is pretty good IMHO! My wife likes hers and I do not notice a sickly yellow... maybe some software adjustment could help you out?
Regardless, the pixel density is NICE. It is a top 10 contender: http://pixensity.com/list/laptop/ (tied for 5th/6th, there may be some new models that are higher)
"Only sub-pixel density matters to your eyes." - I disagree. Luminance detail is what matters most to the eyes and this is determined by the pixel density, not subpixel density. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrominance#mediaview... ; first is luminance, second chrominance.
I wish they made the 11.6" model with a 1080p IPS screen. Everything is great about it except for that damn screen. And the HDD, but I'm hoping that's replaceable (or can at least accept an M.2 like the 13" models can).
And I'd prefer some AMD silicon in there, but that's just wishful thinking.
Thanks for a great review - although others have commented on it being late, I find it interesting to get a full review with the added benefit of commentary from actual long-time usage of the device.
However, I'm missing some thoughts on using this as more of a work machine rather than a consumption device, especially for more demanding tasks such as video editing. Do you have any additional thoughts here?
What kind of performance delta could one expect between this and the i7 version? In many reviews the difference in performance even between ULV Haswell i5/i7 systems and more powerful chips like the 28W versions in the MBPr 13" seems negligible (3-400 points in PCMark 7). However I'm left wondering if these tests don't tax the systems over a long enough time, so that any differences due to throttling (or inability to sustain turbo speeds) might be hiddden. Could this be the case? I'd imagine near identical performance from these systems due to both being 2C/4T with similar Turbo speeds, but the nearly 1GHz difference in stock speeds should lead to a significant difference under sustained loads, no?
The reason I'm interested in these use cases is that my fiancee needs a new laptop. She's studying filmmaking, so she wants something that would be able to run Avid Media Composer, but still is thin and light enough to carry to school every day. The calibration issues with the display don't matter as we have a professional level external monitor at home, and any really heavy work would be done on a desktop. I know the system requirements for Media Composer state that a quad core processor is required, but this would exclude the MBPr 13" as well, so I'm taking this with a grain of salt. My question is in essence this: is there any reason why the Yoga 2 Pro (i7) would not be a good fit for this kind of usage?
Hi Valantar. While I haven't specifically tested the software you listed so I can't comment on how well it would run, in the benchmarks I specifically made sure to include other similar sized machines. The one closest to what you are asking about is the Acer Aspire V7-482PG-9884 (by the way I love that model name). It's got the 15 watt Haswell i7-4500U so it should be a close comparison as far as CPU performance. The GPU side is different of course because it has a GeForce GT 750M, but on the CPU benchmarks it should be fairly accurate.
The performance difference isn't huge, because they are both dual core, four thread CPUs with the i5 having a base clock of 1.6 GHz and ramping to 2.6 GHz, with the i7 base at 1.8 GHz ramping to 3.0 GHz. The i7 certainly has an advantage but it's not a lot, so if you are talking about a 15 watt part, the performance is similar, but clearly lower for the i5.
Thanks for the clarification! I'm still interested in how this would compare to 28W Haswell, but I can see that AnandTech hasn't reviewed a MBPr since 2012, so I guess I'll have to look around a bit for the answer to that.
As an owner of the device, how would you rate it when it comes to heavier tasks? Does it feel quick when, for example, editing a video or photos? Or would you say it's mostly suited for lighter/more consumption-oriented tasks?
Quadrupling resolution is stupid. I wish the PC market would stop doing this. There is an optimal resolution for a screen size. Too low resolution and things do not look sharp. Too high resolution and there is needless extra cost, gpu draw and power, and incompatibility with normal resolutions for multi-monitor setups (even using an standard external screen some of the time becomes impossible).
For a 13" screen, 768p is terrible, 900p good, 1080p excellent, beyond 1080p too high.
If Windows ever becomes fully resolution-independent, then ultra-high-res becomes OK, but that requires architecture changes for working with more than one screen resolution simultaneously.
Nice review on the Y2P. I came across many similar reviews discussing the high dpi, wireless card, and yellow display as being weaknesses. So I cross-shopped the Acer S7 (disliked the key configuration on a previous acer), Yoga 2 13", XPS 12 and 15, Macbook Air and ended up scoring a Yoga 2 13" in a sweet configuration from BB: i5-4210U, 8 GB of RAM, Intel 7260 AC wireless, and a 128 GB Samsung XP941 M.2 SSD (which I had no idea about until I brought the machine home). For those that don't know, the Yoga2 (non-pro) comes with the standard 1080p screen (I decided against the Y2P screen). The tradeoff with the Yoga2 is 0.5 lb. Oh, and BB had it on an .edu discount, so $899-125-10% USPS moving discount = $675 and tax.
Initial thoughts: blazing fast machine for everyday tasks. Great 7-9ish hour battery life on power saver mode. PC Mark 7 basic score was 4953. Boots in 5 seconds, and wakes from hibernation in 8-10 seconds. No wifi issues so far (still in a 802.11g household). The touchpad seems to have a coating on it as everything wipes off nicely and feels soft-touch like the rest of the palm rest area.
Expansion-wise: I popped a 64 GB Transcend Jetdrive into the SDXC slot. On the Lenovo forums, people have identified an extra, internal M.2 connector, so when those drives become mainstream, there's room for more.
Most of the reviews for the Yoga 2 13 are based on a 4 GB of ram and a non-SSD. I'm glad Lenovo came out with this configuration cause for most users, I think it's the best of all worlds.
I got the exact same laptop and exact same deal along with Best Buy 10% rewards. The XP941 SSD was certainly a surprise. My only disappointments was the pentile screen and the inability to increase the TDP in Intel extreme tuning utility.
I can confirm I've been using the 7260 AC with no issue since last November. The replacement is fairly cheap, but it was hard to find someone selling the proper version. The swap was pretty easy except for re-attaching the antenna leads. If my fingers were about 10% of their actual size, I think it would be about right :-/
I also appreciate the review timing. I'm considering buying the Y2P in August.
Has anyone here considered the ThinkPad Yoga? It costs more than other Yoga devices or even other similar portable laptops, but I read that the display is brighter and at only 1080p perhaps it may be higher contrast and less of a battery drain as well. (and less prone to DPI scaling issues even at 12.5inches?) I would be willing to pay a premium for a laptop-first-convertible with an excellent display that may be somewhat sunlight readable. At the $1200-$1500 price point are there other laptop-first convertibles I should be considering with excellent displays and overall build quality? I think stand mode will be very enjoyable. Does anyone here know if the ThinkPad Yoga display is also RGBW pentile? Thanks for your insight!
One minor complaint about the Y2P I have that I don't hear anyone else about is the fairly large screen bezels. The device is larger than it could have been in an ideal world. On the whole, though, it is still nice and compact.
QHD+ is pretty awesome, but probably a step too far in the direction of overambition and specs war bravado. Regular QHD with fewer concessions to other quality aspects would have been the sweet spot afaic. FHD doesn't cut it for me.
The good thing about having complaints, though, is that we still have something to look forward to when the Y3P rolls around.
Make this thing dualboot into Android and it'd be the perfect machine Proper productive OS and proper tablet OS Trying to make this work as a tablet ignoring the "useless tablet OS" part of it sounds a bit stupid
Havn't checked if Lenovo have come with new updates the last four months or so. But they had some updates when I tried the Yoga 2 Pro, and the color quality was just terrible - and some power saving features had to be turned off to have something that slightly resembeled yellow.
In my opinion it was just horrible and the fix Lenovo had wasn't a good one.
Juts bought a Y2P i7 model and as far as I'm concerned, ALL of the old issues, color, wifi, etc have been solved. I owned a release date 15 and now the brand new BestBuy exclusive i7 and this one is MUCH better.
Lenovo laptops are gaining great success in the market and have launched various models of laptops. And with increasing competition, manufacturers are adding more features and functionalities in their effort to lure the consumers.
May be this is a great notebook for me to work in my website. I 'm adding new designs, I like to work in photoshop cs, indesign, illustrator cs6. Please suggest me if this is perfect for my design profession.
- Crazy 97C temperature of processor cores. Intel must speed up its 14nm technology
- Because matrix is pentile its PPI=195 or may be a bit better due to RGBW. This makes this screen actually even worse then in Microsoft Surface 3 PPI=216. You can see all its gargantuan pixels on both. How tech people are sooooooo damn fooled by the fake 3200 numbers? Large tablet screens ***must be 4K***
your PPI math is off; the number of subpixels matches that of a 225 PPI 13.3 inch non-pentile screen. I thought pentile was a disaster until I learned that the human eye almost completely ignores color information in registering pixel-level detail. The wikipedia page for "Chrominance" has a good picture to demonstrate this, as does the one for the "YCbCr" color space. Another piece of evidence towards this is that blue-ray content has heavily undersampled color information and hardly anyone ever notices or mentions that it is less than "true" 1080p.
Sorry dude but I've owned both the Surface Pro and the Y2P and I'm here to tell you, the Surface Pro comes nowhere close to the clarity of this screen. You honestly have no idea what you are talking about.
I almost bought this same model a few weeks back, but ended up going for the older 11s model instead. The Yoga 2s were definitely nice, but that un-upgradeable RAM is a real buzz kill.
I wish they'd do it with one of AMD's APUs. The one with discrete GPU is way to expensive and Intel HD is a no thanks, not to mention the higher price.
Good write up. I bought a Y2P in November 2013 and pretty much agree with everything you said here. Thankfully the yellow issue was resolved with a firmware update because I was about to take the dang thing back just for that. Other than that, the WiFi is a joke and a lot of people on the lenovo and notebookreview forums have taken to manually upgrading the wifi cards themselves. The screen resolution is nice but completely unnecessary considering the impact it has on battery life. Not many programs fully support it anyways. I feel like Lenovo got some kind of crazy deal from their supplier on these 1800p screens that actually saved them money by going this route instead of a 1080p screen. Other than that, I love my Y2P and I fly with it regularly. It is a dream in cramped economy with tablet and tent mode. Flight attendants ask my GF to put her Macbook Air (which I believe weighs less) away when the door closes but never bother me with my Y2P in tablet mode.
If you want deeper blacks, just turn down the gamma. Everyone knows that. Geesh. Blacks on my unit with gamma at .5 are as inky as on a super amoled display.
You blame the Y2P for having poor black levels when the fact is YOU are the one with NO clue how too adjust black levels on a PC. It's called "Gamma" and it's in the HD Control Panel. Honestly, if you are going to be a reviewer, please get some rudimentary computer knowledge.
4+ years later, after two annoying issues and a new SSD which i wouldn't put against the machine as its normal wear IMO I still very much love the machine (i5, 4GB, 256GB, 3200x1800). The first issue that bothered me was the yellow tint which was fixed in a BIOS update. Then the Windows 10 update that caused flickering drove me nuts, not only did it take me a few days to figure out that the adaptive refresh rate was bugging out.. but that then with Automatic updates being forced on all Windows 10 machines (I upgraded ASAP to Win10) kept resetting my display driver settings every few months.
But after that, upgrading the SSD because the old one died, upgrading the thermal paste (stays locked @2.3GHz under full load), and upgrading the WiFi to an Intel AC one it feels every bit as fast as any other machine for basic use. And the screen is on par with anything new, other than the very few HDR10/OLED screens out there. 3200x1800 on a 13" is GREAT for 200% scaling as its effectively the same text/graphical size as a 1600x900 screen at the same size (IMO 1080p is marginally too small at 13").
I've never been satisfied with a laptop, and never kept one for over 2 years. From a beautiful Sony VAIO in 2004, with switchable Nvidia graphics then another Sony VAIO with a Blu-ray Burner lol to a Thinkpad to a 2008 13 MacBook Pro (kept that one on the side for a long time) then a ASUS UL30VT-X1 which had 10+ hours of real battery life, then the mistake of selling it and getting a 1st gen Surface Pro and getting another Thinkpad and landing at the Yoga 2 Pro.
That's my story for the day HAHAHA I'm sitting on a job waiting for an Invoice to be processed typing away on my Yoga 2 Pro and just thought how much i enjoy it.
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bullzz - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
"advertised clock speed of 1.6 GHz with all four cores at 100% usage"isnt this a dual core CPU
JarredWalton - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
There are two virtual cores as well, so this was tested with a 4-threaded load.mapesdhs - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
Even so, it's not correct to refer to four cores, that could easily confuse people.Personally I don't know how Intel gets away with using the i7 label for these
CPUs when they're all just dual core.
Ian.
TiGr1982 - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
1. Then one should refer to four threads (as Intel names it itself officially).2. Well.. AFAIU, "i7" is just a brand, meaning "the top notch among its device class", happens to have HT, and in general has nothing to do with the particular number of physical cores:
1) i7 has 2 cores in ULV class
BUT
2) i7 has 4 cores in medium/big laptop class
3) i7 has 4 cores in mainstream desktop class
BUT
4) i7 has 6 (soon to be 8) cores in extreme desktop class
So "i7" is just a brand, supposed to make the customer think "Wow, this thing is gonna be fast".
As Semiaccurate founder calls it "iSomethingmeaningless" from the point of purely tech specs per se.
Brett Howse - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
Thanks for the comment you are of course correct, it's 2 physical cores and 4 threads. Looks like Jarred already edited that sorry for the confusion.Dug - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
Same with i5. My desktop i5 is quad core, but my laptop is dual core.TiGr1982 - Friday, August 1, 2014 - link
Indeed; only i3 is more or less consistent (2 cores, 4 threads, no Turbo).Besides, Pentium and Celeron (based on big cores) are also consistent (when one does take into account Atoms rebranded as Celeron and Pentium).
TiGr1982 - Friday, August 1, 2014 - link
I meant, "when one does NOT take into account Atoms rebranded as Celeron and Pentium".Alexey291 - Saturday, August 2, 2014 - link
Essentially Intel CPU branding is a sordid mess - after all is said and done :)wetwareinterface - Sunday, August 3, 2014 - link
actually the pentium branding is anything but consistent right now.there are pentium cpus out right now that are based on 3rd generation dual core i3's with half the cache
dual core low voltage i3 half cache and 1-200 Mhz lower clocks than u series i3
and dual core 4th generation cores with no quick sync and hd 4000
and quad core 4th gen with quick sync enabled and hd 4000
bullzz - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
the only thing I dont like about the stand mode is the keyboard facing down. it might get dirty easily. but this is better than the flip mechanism other OEMs use. also not sure how the hinge will hold after 2-3 yrs of abuseCaedenV - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
This is the primary reason I went with the XPS12. A little smaller (which is a plus for me), and the display flips so that it hides the keys in tablet mode which seems like a better design. So far I am very happy with it.Rdmkr - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
As a Y2P user I find this a very fair review. I do think it merits mentioning that the wifi card can be replaced, thus mitigating the device's greatest out-of-the-box weakness.Arrgh - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
No, YOU'RE unwieldLy. ;)JarredWalton - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
It's generally more helpful to say, "Typo on page two: unwieldly", but I suppose some prefer snark and sarcasm to simple information. Thanks for the correction. :-)ingwe - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
That was a brilliant response Jarred. I am dying with laughter.Anytime some starts with sarcasm in a comment I read every reply with implied sarcasm.
Alexey291 - Saturday, August 2, 2014 - link
Nice sucking up. I totes approve.Egg - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
As a Y2P owner, I'd say this is a fair review, imo. I personally don't use my laptop in bed, so I find stand mode not very useful. I do use tablet mode to read; I sit in a chair and prop it up against the table. Battery life is rather disappointing if I have brightness up.I did switch out the wi-fi card myself. You have to order the right one (one with FCC markings) and you need a Torx T5 driver.
One question: Did you have this issue? http://superuser.com/questions/782477/show-hidden-...
(Side note: The refurb models on Newegg are a great value. I got the i7 256 GB model for $1000 after tax :D )
Brett Howse - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
After the 8.1 Update came out, I did notice that. 8.1 Update changed the default scaling on the Yoga 2 Pro from 200% to 250%, and it also enabled the 8.1 per display scaling. It's the scaling that causes this for you if you set it back to 200%, the arrow goes back to where it was.Egg - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
For me, it's very off center when it's at 250%, slightly off center when it's at 200% (look closely, it is definitely off center), and perfect at 150%. Sadly, I prefer it at 250% scaling...Egg - Saturday, August 16, 2014 - link
It's fixed with a recent Windows update :Droom200 - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
You cannot upgrade the wireless card. Even though the card is a common Intel card, the card has to be on the "whitelist". Lenovo and HP have been doing that to ALL of their laptops. When you put in a card not sold by them, you will be met with "1802: Unauthorized network card is plugged in - Power off and remove the miniPCI network card." And you will find that the computer will not boot! Unless you buy the wireless card from them (even though it is the same as the card you can get on Amazon), they have hard-coded identification information into the bios of the card. Also, most times they don't carry an upgrade, and when they do it costs 4 to 7 times what the Ebay/Amazon/Tiger Direct card costs.Egg - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
Dude do you know how to read? I own a Yoga 2 Pro. I *typed* the comment on 5 Ghz Wi-Fi.All you need is the correct card. I bought mine at mfactors; it cost me $40. I can't guarantee that ones from eBay or amazon will work, for some reason FCC stickers are a good sign that it will work.
lolTyler - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
How much better is the AC card in your opinion? I'm still running the stock card and it's incredibly flaky. I tried updating my drivers using the Intel's latest and the wireless drivers broken my trackpad. (Shit you not) - I haven't checked up on it 2 months though, may of been fixed.I was a day -4 Yoga 2 Pro owner. I got my Yoga a couple days before release when Best Buy posted it for sale early.
Here's my list of things I've found wrong the device that hasn't been stated:
- Terrible driver support. The Yoga 2 Pro is "flagship" ultrabook from Lenovo, yet it hasn't seen a major driver update since November 2013, other than a "Lenovo Motion Control" update pushed out in April '14
- Mustard Yellow: (Already stated, but I really want to nail this one home) This still isn't fixed and Lenovo won't recognize it. I've done the fix and only in Daily (or High Performance) mode with the brightness on max is the yellow issue fixed. As a programmer who needs to also do a lot of design work, the lack of rgb accuracy in certain brightness modes is a huge problem.
- Shutdown problems: Ever so often I shutdown my Yoga and it just hangs on a black screen with the keyboard lit up and won't turn off without my holding the power button. Happens every 1 out of 10 times. Might be a program I installed, but this has happened since day one for me.
- Keys stuck/still enabled when switching modes: Sometimes when I switch my Yoga from laptop to stand/tent/tablet modem, Windows detects keys as being pressed and won't stopped repeating the key press until I switch my Yoga back to laptop. ~(1 out of 30 chance) Also, on rare occasions, the keyboard and trackpad aren't disabled in tablet mode. ~(1 out of 100 chance)
- Wireless: The stock wireless card is abysmal, but this isn't just a Yoga problem. I get better reception on my phone sometimes and other times my Yoga fails to connect or drops connection. Depends on the router. The lack of 5GHz dual-band and AC is a joke.
- Rubberized material: Apparently they fixed this on the lower end Yoga 2 (non pro), but the rubberized texture on the lid is a massive blemish magnet. I just went on vacation and something in my backpack rubbed up against my Yoga which was in a black case and left a dark smear across the lid of my Yoga. I tried cleaning it with Alcohol and also baking soda; but because of the material, it won't come out. http://i.imgur.com/x8fxa7t.jpg
- Yoga is cooking itself?: I noticed this right before my vacation. The corners of my Yoga by the heat vents are slowly turning brown: http://i.imgur.com/FlrPWiB.jpg & http://i.imgur.com/OTHQ37J.jpg - Notice these are opposite sides by the yellow AC jack in the first picture. I've never owned a silver laptop before, so I don't know if this is common. But for a device that's less than a year old and "premium," this is a let down. This might just be a lack of material experience on my part. I don't do anything too intense on my Yoga, most gaming I've done is for ~18h total over the live of my Yoga.
- Windows 8.1 Hidpi: (Everyone's saying this, but again, huge deal) Not Lenovo's fault, but Hidpi mode is a mess. Sure, it's gotten better, but it still sucks. Chrome, my primary browser is also a mess.
Papa - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
There is a bios fix for the mustard yellow issue. No need to fiddle with modes anymore.I think this is it:
http://mobilesupport.lenovo.com/us/en/downloads/DS...
lolTyler - Friday, August 1, 2014 - link
Oh wow, that's a new BIOs fix, less than a month old. I'll check it out, thanks!lolTyler - Saturday, August 2, 2014 - link
Just did this "fix," and it's still a no go. Yellows are as mustardary as ever.I also tried locating the "new" Energy Manager that was released recently, which is suppose to help. I couldn't find a legit download. Only users posting random fileshare sites on Lenovo's forums with 60 minute download times and questionable package names.
I tried updating my current install of Energy Manager and I get a network error. Lenovo is really dropping the ball on their customer service.
I have a huge love/hate relationship with this laptop. My feelings for it are bio-polar, changing on a dime. When it works, it's great. When it doesn't, it fails hard.
KingGheedora - Friday, August 1, 2014 - link
The shutdown/restart problems will only get worse. BEWARE THIS LAPTOP. I have owned the Y2Pro since February, and at first the shutdown problem happened once every few weeks, but then I started getting random reboots and lockups with corrupt screen image while watching XBMC, which seemed like they were happening due to heat. Once that started happening everything went downhill. The laptop wouldn't boot up, it just kept trying to boot, the keyboard backlight would flash, and then it would try to boot up again. That just keeps happening over and over.Initially I could leave the laptop alone for a while and then it would eventually boot. But the problem got worse and worse until 3 weeks ago. I haven't been able to boot it up at all. I even opened it and disconnected the battery and then tried booting, still not working.
This is a common problem with this model. There are many users in the Lenovo support forums who have had this issue, had their laptop replaced, and had the issue again with the replacement model they got back. Some users eventually got a full refund. I just got the RMA set up and will be sending mine in for the first time this week.
lolTyler - Friday, August 1, 2014 - link
Wow, mine hasn't been that bad. I got my first lock up two weeks ago. The funniest part about it is someone was admiring my Yoga when it completely seized up. I'm sure it's a software issue, but like I said, the drivers haven't been updated in forever, so go figure.I've thought about trying to RMA or get a refund, but I'm still "partially" satisfied with my Yoga and there's nothing else on the market that intrigues me outside of a MBA.
Egg - Saturday, August 16, 2014 - link
Sorry for late reply.I haven't experienced the mustard yellow problems, shutdown problems, key sticking problems, or the wireless problems. I've used stock wireless on other Yoga 2 Pros and haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary, but not for too long.
I haven't really bothered to update the drivers, but I think you're right that there aren't many new ones. I probably don't mind any but the graphics drivers. I guess I got lucky; a friend had the boot issues out of box, sent it back, and got a perfect one.
I just switched back to Chrome after discovering Chrome 37 (on the beta channel) has HiDPI support and fixes the kerning issue :)
room200 - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
Actually, that post was not meant for you (I replied to the wrong person), but to answer your question...yes, I read just fine. Talk about inappropriate levels of anger.room200 - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
And by the way, whether or not the card works has nothing to do with "FCC markings". It specifically has to be on the Lenovo whitelist whether it has FCC markings or not.Egg - Saturday, August 16, 2014 - link
Regardless to who you were replying to, you were wrong. And I apologize for the anger, but you're the one that replied to me in a way that seemed to directly contradict me... I didn't make you accidentally reply to me.I suppose the FCC markings indicate that they will be whitelisted? From reading other forums, it seems that only cards with FCC markings tend to work. Perhaps Lenovo doesn't whitelist other cards.
fredrikwe - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link
Can confirm the Intel Wireless AC 7260 in my recently bought i7 modelDigitalFreak - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
I bought one of these about a month ago from Best Buy for $1199. It was the grey model with a Core i7 4510U and the 7260AC wireless card. The CPU is basically just a 100Mhz bump. The CPU model is listed on the outside of the box, so you can make sure you're getting the new rev before purchasing.DigitalFreak - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
forgot to mention it had 8GB and a 256GB SSD for that pricedavidber - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
I also got a Y2P from BestBuy. It has the Intel card and CPU bump.I have had it for ~40 days so far. My take on it . . .
1. Battery life - it would be nice if it were longer, but it is not a MacBook Air and I do not expect to charge it once in a blue moon.
2. Screen brightness - there are times that the screen dims for no apparent reason, then brightens up. I have not been able to figure the rhyme or reason.
3. The gyroscope sometimes acts wonky. The device tries to determine what mode it is in and will go back and forth trying to figure it out. To me it seems obvious that it is in laptop mode, but the gyroscope doesn't.
4. If you ever try and get into the bios, be prepared to have a paper clip. No amount of smashing F2 or a F key will work. You need to push in a button then turn the power on for it to actually get into the bios. The Bios also does not save boot order. If you want to boot USB before the SSD, it states it saves it, but it does not.
5. The trackpad. They need to put some sort of coating on it. Within 5 minutes of using it, it looks like the trackpad is 5 years old.
6. The device is quick enough for videos and business use.
7. This is more of a Windows issue than a Yoga issue, but there are some apps that do not scale. Ironically one of them is the Intel drivers update for the WiFi. So bring a magnifying glass or change resolution. Dropbox is the same.
With all the comments, I would actually buy another one.
DigitalFreak - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
For #2, turn off the adaptive brightness in Windows. http://lifehacker.com/disable-windows-annoying-ada...Rdmkr - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
The screen is significantly brighter when I have it on Balanced mode than when I have it on any other. Automatic switching between modes might cause your brightness inconsistency, although there is also an auto-brightness setting you can turn off. ps. the reviewer should take note of the difference in brightness level between power modes. Is the maximum brightness that was measured the one in Balanced mode or in another?polacchini - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
My Y2P measures 350nits at 100% brightness with auto brightness off. Maybe the reviewer forgot to turn it off?Brett Howse - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
I did disable Auto Brightness in the power profiles. I tested in High Power mode, and Daily Mode (the default Lenovo power profile). I can retest in Balanced mode as well I'll let you know if there is a difference. What did you measure yours with?polacchini - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
Dear Brett, I used a retail i1 Display Pro, both with default software package and dispcalGUI. The rest of the measurements are quite like mine... Color checker dE ~3 and higher in some blue shades. I believe Lenovo released a BIOS patch which capped max brightness some time ago as some users reported. Mine was brought in May/14 and has latest BIOS installed. Could this be the issue?Brett Howse - Friday, August 1, 2014 - link
It's possible it is the BIOS. The maximum brightness I tested was with the i1 Display Pro as well. I'll test it a couple more times if and when I have a chance and see if I can get a better value.CaedenV - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
#4, just a thought, but maybe your laptop is set up with secure boot? That could revert your boot order... you know, because booting from a Linux distro is so dangerous lol.ltcommanderdata - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
Lenovo really ought to offer at least a BTO option for a CPU with the HD5000 to better match the 3200x1800 display.DigitalFreak - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
I would have preferred a TPM chip so I could use bitlocker without a hassleBrett Howse - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
Lenovo doesn't offer any BTO options on the Ideapad lines, at least in my region. I think this would be a good thing for them to implement but it would likely cost them more per machine.Narg - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
The only real competitor to this is the MS Surface Pro 3 IMHO, though many others come close. And with this being cheaper than the Surface Pro 3, it would make a great unit for a lot of people.Impulses - Sunday, August 3, 2014 - link
Kind of different animals, Surface is tablet first and laptop second whereas this is the opposite... I still struggle to find a big usage case for either outside of college students and road warriors (granted that's two pretty big market slices).Bostonsfavson - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
I purchased a Yoga 2 Pro from Best Buy (they only have one variant in stores now, I believe; an i7) last month and can confirm it has the AC 7260 card. Also, great write-up!Brett Howse - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
That's great to hear the Wireless is a real drawback on the unit we received. I'm still hoping they will get back to me with the time on when they switched it over. The specs on the website still show the old card so I can't guarantee someone will get AC at the moment.DrShawarma - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
I've been reading this site for quite a while, but this will be my first post.I bought a Y2P about a month and ago and am surprisingly pleased. It's quick, fun and feels good in the hand.
I do however have 2 tiny complaints-
1) Adobe programs won't scale correctly, requiring a microscope to work with. Don't care about that too much though.
2) The trackpad is like a fingerprint\oil magnet, that on the other hand is driving me nuts, how do I clean it? (I tried an LCD cleaning solution with a towel, did nothing)
Brett Howse - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
Adobe showed off their new products with High DPI support at the Surface Pro 3 launch I believe. That's been a big complaint of mine, especially since Adobe should be on top of this because their target market would likely benefit from HiDPI more than the average consumer. Looks like version 13 at the moment but of course that will mean an upgrade cost as well.HighImStan - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
They have since updated their the CPU to i7-4510u and dual band wireless ac-7260 card. I just bought mine, manufactured in mid June, and it hasn't had any wifi issues. Also, uninstalling the McAfee bloatware helped. Still has the greenish yellow though on the display.DigitalFreak - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
Supposedly it's better than it was, but it's just a side effect of the screen technology they chose to use.wpcoe - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
I read that the RAM is soldered to the motherboard, so not user upgradable, but is the SSD user upgradable? I'd prefer the i3 model, but with a larger SSD.KingGheedora - Friday, August 1, 2014 - link
You can upgrade the SSD, it is M.2 slot though. But the SSD it comes with is surprisingly fast. I felt no need to upgrade it (512gb model).Samus - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
My problem with the Yoga is the price. Although they can definitely be had for less than MSRP, they're still more expensive than a Surface 3 WITH a type cover. The rest of the specs, other than the screen size (obviously Yoga is two inches bigger) are about the same, but the Surface has more flexibility. One of my clients picked up both the Surface 2 Pro and a Yoga 2 back in March, and he likes the Yoga 2 more, and perceptively thinks its lighter.But I think the Surface 3 gives it a run for its flexibility.
HighImStan - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
I got the Y2P because my Surface Pro 2 was stolen. Originally, I was planning on waiting for the i7 Surface 3 to arrive in August but eventually settled on the Y2P because1) A 256 i7-4650u with HD5000 is $1549 + type cover $130. For around the price of the Y2P, I can only get 128 i5-4300u with HD 4400 $999 + type cover $130 and only 4gb of ram too! Y2P was only $1200 for i7-4510u with HD4400 and 8gb. I'm on a tight budget this month so Y2P got me the best bang for the buck.
2) My Surface 2 Pro kept having connection issues with the type cover. Brought it to Palo Alto's Microsoft store and they have no idea what was wrong. I played with some of the Surface 3 for an hour and found connection issues that was on and off with one of the displayed Surface 3. I was about to bring back my Surface Pro 2 for fixing after my Fourth of July vacation but it was stolen. So in a way, losing that device is a blessing in disguise...I was able to discover Y2P.
3) I never took off the type cover on my Surface Pro 2 anyways so the Y2P doesn't pose a problem. I treated the SP2 like the Y2P anyways by bending back the keyboard and using it as a laptop. Only difference, I don't have to worry about problems of keyboard connection. Only thing I miss from my SP2 is the mini display port (better than the micro hdmi imo) and the ability to change the keyboard lighting's brightness. Yes, it was lighter too but the weight of the Y2P never bothers me.
Samus - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
That's crazy about your connection issues. I have dozens of clients with Surface 2's and none of them mentioned that. A firmware update fixed some wifi issues people were having back in March though.As far as price, nobody pays retail for Surface. They can always be had for 20% less (just like the Yoga 2) but with that in mind, I agree that it's only really competitive at the base level. But that's where most people are buying, anyway.
I just picked up a Surface 2 256GB 8GB i5 for $800 new with a type cover on eBay... That was a buy-it-now too. There's a lot of auctions for used ones that include BOTH covers for even less.
linster - Friday, August 1, 2014 - link
In my search for the ultimate hybrid, I have owned the Vaio Duo 13, the Y2P, and now the Surface 3. By far the Surface 3 gives me the best hybrid experience. Perhaps it was the weight and the size of the Duo 13 and Y2P that made the tablet experience a bit lacking. My usage tends to be more tablet than laptop so perhaps that's why the Surface 3 is my favorite.MrCommunistGen - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
I'd been considering one of these as a personal/travel Windows laptop. I've got a 13" rMBP for work, but for certain things I do I need a dedicated Windows machine on the go.Portability and different use cases are pretty interesting, unfortunately the poor contrast ratio (due to the high value of the black level) is a pretty big turn off for me.
evident - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
Hey, it would have been nice if this review came out about 8 months ago...Ian Cutress - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
Unfortunately you can't do a 'life with' type article without having used it substantially for a few months first, unless you know otherwise. Secondary to that, Brett is new to the team and this is his personal device, not a review sample.PowerEngineer - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
I bought a Best Buy Y2P in May (sadly with I7-4500 and the poor wifi/BT card). While the wifi alone hasn't caused me any real trouble, it seems that I can't use it at the same time as BT. I was subjected to the W8.1 equivalent of the "blue screen of death" every couple of hours while using a BT mouse and wifi at the same time. I've had no problems when using a wired mouse. I want to upgrade to the AC card but am hesitant to void the warranty.eszklar - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
Dear Brett: Please send me your "long in the tooth" Alienware M11x R2. I'll give it a home and take care of it. Thanks.Brett Howse - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
Ha sorry I gave it to my brother :) Now he can enjoy the five minute boot times while I have a Yoga that boots in 5 seconds.BMNify - Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - link
Sickly yellow Pentile rubbish.BadCommand - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
Oooowww! Somebody bring this man some Grey Poupon, pronto!coolhardware - Friday, August 1, 2014 - link
The screen is pretty good IMHO! My wife likes hers and I do not notice a sickly yellow... maybe some software adjustment could help you out?Regardless, the pixel density is NICE. It is a top 10 contender:
http://pixensity.com/list/laptop/ (tied for 5th/6th, there may be some new models that are higher)
BMNify - Friday, August 1, 2014 - link
Only sub-pixel density matters to your eyes.Rdmkr - Friday, August 1, 2014 - link
"Only sub-pixel density matters to your eyes." - I disagree. Luminance detail is what matters most to the eyes and this is determined by the pixel density, not subpixel density. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrominance#mediaview... ; first is luminance, second chrominance.kyuu - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
I wish they made the 11.6" model with a 1080p IPS screen. Everything is great about it except for that damn screen. And the HDD, but I'm hoping that's replaceable (or can at least accept an M.2 like the 13" models can).And I'd prefer some AMD silicon in there, but that's just wishful thinking.
Valantar - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
Thanks for a great review - although others have commented on it being late, I find it interesting to get a full review with the added benefit of commentary from actual long-time usage of the device.However, I'm missing some thoughts on using this as more of a work machine rather than a consumption device, especially for more demanding tasks such as video editing. Do you have any additional thoughts here?
What kind of performance delta could one expect between this and the i7 version? In many reviews the difference in performance even between ULV Haswell i5/i7 systems and more powerful chips like the 28W versions in the MBPr 13" seems negligible (3-400 points in PCMark 7). However I'm left wondering if these tests don't tax the systems over a long enough time, so that any differences due to throttling (or inability to sustain turbo speeds) might be hiddden. Could this be the case? I'd imagine near identical performance from these systems due to both being 2C/4T with similar Turbo speeds, but the nearly 1GHz difference in stock speeds should lead to a significant difference under sustained loads, no?
The reason I'm interested in these use cases is that my fiancee needs a new laptop. She's studying filmmaking, so she wants something that would be able to run Avid Media Composer, but still is thin and light enough to carry to school every day. The calibration issues with the display don't matter as we have a professional level external monitor at home, and any really heavy work would be done on a desktop. I know the system requirements for Media Composer state that a quad core processor is required, but this would exclude the MBPr 13" as well, so I'm taking this with a grain of salt. My question is in essence this: is there any reason why the Yoga 2 Pro (i7) would not be a good fit for this kind of usage?
Brett Howse - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
Hi Valantar. While I haven't specifically tested the software you listed so I can't comment on how well it would run, in the benchmarks I specifically made sure to include other similar sized machines. The one closest to what you are asking about is the Acer Aspire V7-482PG-9884 (by the way I love that model name). It's got the 15 watt Haswell i7-4500U so it should be a close comparison as far as CPU performance. The GPU side is different of course because it has a GeForce GT 750M, but on the CPU benchmarks it should be fairly accurate.The performance difference isn't huge, because they are both dual core, four thread CPUs with the i5 having a base clock of 1.6 GHz and ramping to 2.6 GHz, with the i7 base at 1.8 GHz ramping to 3.0 GHz. The i7 certainly has an advantage but it's not a lot, so if you are talking about a 15 watt part, the performance is similar, but clearly lower for the i5.
Valantar - Friday, August 1, 2014 - link
Thanks for the clarification! I'm still interested in how this would compare to 28W Haswell, but I can see that AnandTech hasn't reviewed a MBPr since 2012, so I guess I'll have to look around a bit for the answer to that.As an owner of the device, how would you rate it when it comes to heavier tasks? Does it feel quick when, for example, editing a video or photos? Or would you say it's mostly suited for lighter/more consumption-oriented tasks?
CSMR - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
Quadrupling resolution is stupid. I wish the PC market would stop doing this.There is an optimal resolution for a screen size. Too low resolution and things do not look sharp. Too high resolution and there is needless extra cost, gpu draw and power, and incompatibility with normal resolutions for multi-monitor setups (even using an standard external screen some of the time becomes impossible).
For a 13" screen, 768p is terrible, 900p good, 1080p excellent, beyond 1080p too high.
If Windows ever becomes fully resolution-independent, then ultra-high-res becomes OK, but that requires architecture changes for working with more than one screen resolution simultaneously.
deejayshakur - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
Nice review on the Y2P. I came across many similar reviews discussing the high dpi, wireless card, and yellow display as being weaknesses. So I cross-shopped the Acer S7 (disliked the key configuration on a previous acer), Yoga 2 13", XPS 12 and 15, Macbook Air and ended up scoring a Yoga 2 13" in a sweet configuration from BB: i5-4210U, 8 GB of RAM, Intel 7260 AC wireless, and a 128 GB Samsung XP941 M.2 SSD (which I had no idea about until I brought the machine home). For those that don't know, the Yoga2 (non-pro) comes with the standard 1080p screen (I decided against the Y2P screen). The tradeoff with the Yoga2 is 0.5 lb. Oh, and BB had it on an .edu discount, so $899-125-10% USPS moving discount = $675 and tax.Initial thoughts: blazing fast machine for everyday tasks. Great 7-9ish hour battery life on power saver mode. PC Mark 7 basic score was 4953. Boots in 5 seconds, and wakes from hibernation in 8-10 seconds. No wifi issues so far (still in a 802.11g household). The touchpad seems to have a coating on it as everything wipes off nicely and feels soft-touch like the rest of the palm rest area.
Expansion-wise: I popped a 64 GB Transcend Jetdrive into the SDXC slot. On the Lenovo forums, people have identified an extra, internal M.2 connector, so when those drives become mainstream, there's room for more.
Most of the reviews for the Yoga 2 13 are based on a 4 GB of ram and a non-SSD. I'm glad Lenovo came out with this configuration cause for most users, I think it's the best of all worlds.
Mayuyu - Friday, August 1, 2014 - link
I got the exact same laptop and exact same deal along with Best Buy 10% rewards. The XP941 SSD was certainly a surprise. My only disappointments was the pentile screen and the inability to increase the TDP in Intel extreme tuning utility.FwFred - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
I can confirm I've been using the 7260 AC with no issue since last November. The replacement is fairly cheap, but it was hard to find someone selling the proper version. The swap was pretty easy except for re-attaching the antenna leads. If my fingers were about 10% of their actual size, I think it would be about right :-/room200 - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
Who did you get it from? This is why I ended up getting rid of my Lenovo.scott1729 - Thursday, July 31, 2014 - link
I also appreciate the review timing. I'm considering buying the Y2P in August.Has anyone here considered the ThinkPad Yoga? It costs more than other Yoga devices or even other similar portable laptops, but I read that the display is brighter and at only 1080p perhaps it may be higher contrast and less of a battery drain as well. (and less prone to DPI scaling issues even at 12.5inches?) I would be willing to pay a premium for a laptop-first-convertible with an excellent display that may be somewhat sunlight readable. At the $1200-$1500 price point are there other laptop-first convertibles I should be considering with excellent displays and overall build quality? I think stand mode will be very enjoyable. Does anyone here know if the ThinkPad Yoga display is also RGBW pentile? Thanks for your insight!
Rdmkr - Friday, August 1, 2014 - link
One minor complaint about the Y2P I have that I don't hear anyone else about is the fairly large screen bezels. The device is larger than it could have been in an ideal world. On the whole, though, it is still nice and compact.QHD+ is pretty awesome, but probably a step too far in the direction of overambition and specs war bravado. Regular QHD with fewer concessions to other quality aspects would have been the sweet spot afaic. FHD doesn't cut it for me.
The good thing about having complaints, though, is that we still have something to look forward to when the Y3P rolls around.
jdrch - Friday, August 1, 2014 - link
140 Mbps max network bandwidth? Yikes. Pass.SirPerro - Monday, August 4, 2014 - link
Make this thing dualboot into Android and it'd be the perfect machineProper productive OS and proper tablet OS
Trying to make this work as a tablet ignoring the "useless tablet OS" part of it sounds a bit stupid
7heF - Wednesday, August 6, 2014 - link
Havn't checked if Lenovo have come with new updates the last four months or so. But they had some updates when I tried the Yoga 2 Pro, and the color quality was just terrible - and some power saving features had to be turned off to have something that slightly resembeled yellow.In my opinion it was just horrible and the fix Lenovo had wasn't a good one.
Example on how the Yoga 2 Pro screen can look - even with fixes installed: http://www.idg.no/multimedia/archive/00074/y2p-skj...
mitchellvii - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Juts bought a Y2P i7 model and as far as I'm concerned, ALL of the old issues, color, wifi, etc have been solved. I owned a release date 15 and now the brand new BestBuy exclusive i7 and this one is MUCH better.underseaglider - Wednesday, August 6, 2014 - link
Lenovo laptops are gaining great success in the market and have launched various models of laptops. And with increasing competition, manufacturers are adding more features and functionalities in their effort to lure the consumers.GraphicDesign - Thursday, August 7, 2014 - link
May be this is a great notebook for me to work in my website. I 'm adding new designs, I like to work in photoshop cs, indesign, illustrator cs6. Please suggest me if this is perfect for my design profession.GraphicDesign - Thursday, August 7, 2014 - link
You can contact me www [dot] tunaman [dot] me. In my website you will find lots of Graphic design tutorial. Thank you!SanX - Friday, August 8, 2014 - link
What is actually very BAD and no one noticed- Crazy 97C temperature of processor cores. Intel must speed up its 14nm technology
- Because matrix is pentile its PPI=195 or may be a bit better due to RGBW. This makes this screen actually even worse then in Microsoft Surface 3 PPI=216. You can see all its gargantuan pixels on both. How tech people are sooooooo damn fooled by the fake 3200 numbers? Large tablet screens ***must be 4K***
Rdmkr - Sunday, August 10, 2014 - link
your PPI math is off; the number of subpixels matches that of a 225 PPI 13.3 inch non-pentile screen. I thought pentile was a disaster until I learned that the human eye almost completely ignores color information in registering pixel-level detail. The wikipedia page for "Chrominance" has a good picture to demonstrate this, as does the one for the "YCbCr" color space. Another piece of evidence towards this is that blue-ray content has heavily undersampled color information and hardly anyone ever notices or mentions that it is less than "true" 1080p.mitchellvii - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
Sorry dude but I've owned both the Surface Pro and the Y2P and I'm here to tell you, the Surface Pro comes nowhere close to the clarity of this screen. You honestly have no idea what you are talking about.mitchellvii - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
97C? Lol, really? My Y2P i7 rarely even gets warm. I could bake bread on my Surface Pro.Bateluer - Sunday, August 10, 2014 - link
I almost bought this same model a few weeks back, but ended up going for the older 11s model instead. The Yoga 2s were definitely nice, but that un-upgradeable RAM is a real buzz kill.medi02 - Monday, August 11, 2014 - link
I wish they'd do it with one of AMD's APUs. The one with discrete GPU is way to expensive and Intel HD is a no thanks, not to mention the higher price.petwho - Monday, August 11, 2014 - link
I bought a Lenovo laptop last year. But its performance was so slow that I decided never come back with this brand.venkman - Monday, August 18, 2014 - link
Good write up. I bought a Y2P in November 2013 and pretty much agree with everything you said here. Thankfully the yellow issue was resolved with a firmware update because I was about to take the dang thing back just for that. Other than that, the WiFi is a joke and a lot of people on the lenovo and notebookreview forums have taken to manually upgrading the wifi cards themselves. The screen resolution is nice but completely unnecessary considering the impact it has on battery life. Not many programs fully support it anyways. I feel like Lenovo got some kind of crazy deal from their supplier on these 1800p screens that actually saved them money by going this route instead of a 1080p screen. Other than that, I love my Y2P and I fly with it regularly. It is a dream in cramped economy with tablet and tent mode. Flight attendants ask my GF to put her Macbook Air (which I believe weighs less) away when the door closes but never bother me with my Y2P in tablet mode.mitchellvii - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
If you want deeper blacks, just turn down the gamma. Everyone knows that. Geesh. Blacks on my unit with gamma at .5 are as inky as on a super amoled display.mitchellvii - Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - link
You blame the Y2P for having poor black levels when the fact is YOU are the one with NO clue how too adjust black levels on a PC. It's called "Gamma" and it's in the HD Control Panel. Honestly, if you are going to be a reviewer, please get some rudimentary computer knowledge.NeatOman - Tuesday, September 25, 2018 - link
4+ years later, after two annoying issues and a new SSD which i wouldn't put against the machine as its normal wear IMO I still very much love the machine (i5, 4GB, 256GB, 3200x1800). The first issue that bothered me was the yellow tint which was fixed in a BIOS update. Then the Windows 10 update that caused flickering drove me nuts, not only did it take me a few days to figure out that the adaptive refresh rate was bugging out.. but that then with Automatic updates being forced on all Windows 10 machines (I upgraded ASAP to Win10) kept resetting my display driver settings every few months.But after that, upgrading the SSD because the old one died, upgrading the thermal paste (stays locked @2.3GHz under full load), and upgrading the WiFi to an Intel AC one it feels every bit as fast as any other machine for basic use. And the screen is on par with anything new, other than the very few HDR10/OLED screens out there. 3200x1800 on a 13" is GREAT for 200% scaling as its effectively the same text/graphical size as a 1600x900 screen at the same size (IMO 1080p is marginally too small at 13").
I've never been satisfied with a laptop, and never kept one for over 2 years. From a beautiful Sony VAIO in 2004, with switchable Nvidia graphics then another Sony VAIO with a Blu-ray Burner lol to a Thinkpad to a 2008 13 MacBook Pro (kept that one on the side for a long time) then a ASUS UL30VT-X1 which had 10+ hours of real battery life, then the mistake of selling it and getting a 1st gen Surface Pro and getting another Thinkpad and landing at the Yoga 2 Pro.
That's my story for the day HAHAHA I'm sitting on a job waiting for an Invoice to be processed typing away on my Yoga 2 Pro and just thought how much i enjoy it.