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  • Review: Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro - Unworthy successor

Review: Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro - Unworthy successor

By Andre Schild, ITWeb contributor.
Johannesburg, 16 Jan 2015

Every year, right after Intel introduces its latest processor micro-architecture, computer manufacturers are keen to unveil new products equipped with this state-of-the-art technology. Because Intel's new energy-efficient Broadwell architecture was made available in Q4 of 2014, Lenovo decided it was time to launch a new generation of mobile devices. One of those devices is the Yoga 3 Pro convertible, a touchscreen Windows 8.1 Pro notebook that also doubles as a tablet. How does it stack up to comparable devices and is it any good for business use?

To find that out, we worked with the Yoga 3 Pro for over a week and used it as our primary office device. During that time, we deployed it for all sorts of typical business-related tasks and activities like communicating (e-mail and Skype), browsing and editing of documents, spreadsheets and presentations. For this specific review, we used the Yoga 3 Pro model with 256GB of SSD-storage capacity and 8GB of RAM. Models with deviating specifications may produce slightly different test results.

Look and feel

When we held the Yoga 3 Pro for the first time, two things immediately got our attention - it's incredibly thin (12.8mm) and lightweight (1.18kg). A definitive benefit for business users who carry their mobile device wherever they go, or are frequently on the move. Lenovo managed to keep the Yoga 3 Pro so thin by fitting it with a new Intel chip that, at least in theory, should prove very energy-efficient. Because this new chip generates less heat, there is no need for a big heat dissipation system, resulting in an even thinner design.

Another reason the Yoga 3 Pro is so thin is because of the smaller battery Lenovo decided to use. It simply shouldn't need a big battery because of the efficient use of energy by Intel's new processor family, again that's all theory. The end result is a remarkably slim device that measures 8mm at the main housing, and a screen of 5mm thick.

The Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro initially seems to be made of plastic. After careful inspection, we found out it's actually made of metal, probably aluminium or magnesium. The exterior of the Yoga 3 Pro feels adequately solid and durable, and should easily survive the roughest office days or business trips.

What really makes the Yoga 3 Pro stand out is its unique hinge-design. This hinge is clearly inspired by a traditional metal watchband and provides the device with a premium look. The screen of the Yoga 3 Pro is connected to the body with six separate hinges that are individually connected to each other. Just like a traditional watchband, we detected some open space around the hinges giving the false impression that they aren't properly connected.

As a result of this hinge-design, it's possible to easily flip the screen around 360 degrees from (closed) notebook mode to tablet mode. The Yoga 3 Pro can also be put in two other modes ? stand and tent mode. We don't see how these new ways of folding the screen would add significant advantages to business users though.

While we intensively worked with the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, we experienced that the hinge-design also has some serious drawbacks. When the Yoga 3 Pro is in laptop or stand mode, the screen is anything but steady. Because of the way the screen is connected to the hinges, it feels a bit wobbly and doesn't inspire a lot of confidence for intensive and long-term use.

The keyboard is well-integrated into the body and quite compact as Lenovo combined the two top rows of keys. This ensures a clean and efficient design with just one drawback - business users who frequently need the function keys might not find it to be very practical. The keyboard also feels exceptionally comfortable and is, therefore, well-suited for typing long documents. The identically comfortable and built-in touchpad of the device can deal with multi-touch gestures of four fingers maximum.

A common problem with relatively thin mobile devices is the lack of decent ports and connectors. The Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro also doesn't facilitate a lot of space for all sorts of connections, but, at least, tries to tackle that problem with some smart workarounds. The yellow USB 2.0 connector on the side, for instance, also functions as the charging connector. Furthermore, the power adapter is fitted with an extra USB connector so you can connect and charge another mobile device. There's even a micro-HDMI connector located on the left side of the Yoga 3 Pro, as well as a full-size SD-card reader. Despite its compact design, the Yoga 3 Pro offers adequate connectors for business users wanting to hook up a few extra USB accessories like an external hard drive.

Hardware: new micro-architecture

Lenovo's new Yoga 3 Pro is one of the very first devices that utilises Intel's latest Core M chip. This state-of-the-art chip is based on the new Broadwell micro-architecture, and is manufactured using a 14-nanometer process. Compared to the older 22-nanometer Intel Haswell micro-architecture, introduced in 2013, Broadwell is designed to deliver even more computing power at lower energy consumption and heat generation.

Lenovo equipped the Yoga 3 Pro with a high-end (M 5Y70) version of the new Intel Core M chip that runs at 1.1GHz and can throttle its performance for a short time to 2.6GHz. The energy consumption of this new fifth-generation Intel processor is around a third of the previous fourth-generation Haswell micro-architecture. To achieve this, the maximum time the 2.6GHz burst turbo-mode can be maintained has been reduced considerably compared to the Haswell micro-architecture. In 2.6GHz turbo-mode, the Intel Core M processor simply uses too much energy, so it will only be used for a short period as a last resort to temporarily deal with heavy workloads.

Intel's new Core M 5Y70 processor works closely with the on-board 8GB DDR-3 RAM that has been soldered onto the mainboard of the Yoga 3 Pro. As a result, expansion of the internal memory is not an option, which doesn't make the device very future-proof. The only component that is a candidate for expansion is the internal solid state drive.

During our period with the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, during heavy load benchmarking but also while simply browsing, we clearly heard the internal cooling fan doing its job. When there is some ambient background noise, it's not really bothersome. However, when the Yoga 3 Pro is used in a fairly quiet environment, the constant humming of the active cooling fan can easily become irritating.

Performance: no powerhouse

To test the actual processing power the Yoga 3 Pro and its new micro-architecture, we ran a full set of benchmark tests. We compared the results with those of its predecessor, the Yoga 2 Pro, and similar devices of competitive brands. It should be taken into account these devices are all fitted with Intel's previous-generation (Haswell) micro-architecture, so the fight is not completely fair.

Our first benchmark is PCMark 8, considered to be an industry standard PC benchmark tool for the Windows platform. PCMark 8 accurately measures performance using real-world tasks and applications that reflect typical office use.

It showed us the Acer Aspire S7-392 (13.3-inch, Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) easily outperformed the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro. It was, however, able to perform only marginally better than the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 (12-inch, Intel Core i5, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD), Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro (13.3-inch, Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) and Lenovo S440 (14-inch, Intel Core i3, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD).

The second benchmark we used to quantify the Yoga 3 Pro's power is 3DMark. This test puts more focus on heavy workload and processing intensive tasks like rendering complex 3D-scenes. 3DMark not only benchmarks the main processor, but also the graphics chip and RAM-memory. It clearly shows the Yoga 3 Pro can't keep up with devices of competitive brands and even has trouble keeping up with the older Yoga 2 Pro.

We concluded our benchmark run with Cinebench, a program that primarily measures the maximum performance of the central and graphics processor during heavy workloads. It also takes the quality and speed of the RAM memory into account. Cinebench confirmed what 3DMark had pointed out earlier ? the Yoga 3 Pro doesn't handle intensive tasks very well compared to similar devices. Its predecessor proves to be the fastest in this particular test.

The initial PCMark 8 benchmark test clearly shows the new Intel Core M chip inside the Yoga 3 Pro can handle typical office tasks quite well. However, its limitations become apparent when stressed with processor-intensive scenarios, as demonstrated by both 3DMark and Cinebench. From a device in this price range, we would expect much better performance.

Battery life: nothing special

Battery life is a key consideration for business users. Longer battery life means less dependency on a power source or charger. The Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro houses a battery with a 44Wh capacity, nothing fancy. To put things into perspective, the Yoga 2 Pro was equipped with a 54Wh battery while Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 device featured a 42Wh version. The fact that the Yoga 3 has 20% less battery capacity should be compensated by the new and even more energy-efficient Intel Core M chip, at least in theory.

To find out how that turns out in practice, we exposed the Yoga 3 Pro to two separate battery tests that aim to drain the battery as fast as possible. The first test simulates typical office activities like communicating, browsing and editing documents. The second test continuously plays a 1 080p movie until there is no more energy left.

We learned that the Yoga 3 Pro is able to survive for six straight hours when it is continuously being used for business tasks and activities. All the other devices we used in this review to compare with the Yoga 3 Pro, lasted longer. Apparently, the lower capacity of its battery can't be fully compensated for by Intel's new Core M chip. For a device in this price range, and for a convertible in general, six hours isn't all that great. The fact that the older Yoga 2 Pro lasts longer is also quite unusual.

Since a typical day at the office also includes at least one (lunch) break and some idle time, we expect it to reach the end of a typical eight-hour workday. It won't have the energy to help you out during overtime though.

During our HD-video test, we timed the Yoga 3 Pro at five hours and 20 minutes of non-stop playback. The Lenovo S440 and Surface Pro 3 lasted considerably longer on a fully charged battery and even the Yoga 2 Pro performed marginally better.

High resolution, low contrast

When compared to its predecessor, the Yoga 3 Pro has been drastically altered, both on the inside and outside. The 13.3-inch touchscreen, however, is the only component that has been untouched. It is manufactured by Samsung and features a very high resolution of 3 200 x 1 800 pixels and therefore has a density of 276 pixels per inch. Images, documents, Web sites, e-books and spreadsheets all look sharp as a razor and are a pleasure to the eye.

We used our specialised hardware to measure the brightness, contrast and colour reproduction of the Yoga 3 Pro's screen. Our tests revealed good brightness values, but those of the Yoga 2 Pro were considerably higher. The contrast produced by the screen of the Yoga 3 Pro on the other hand, is disappointing and unworthy of the high price tag that comes with it.

Fortunately, the reproduction of colours by the Yoga 3 Pro's display is pretty good, making it very suitable for business users who plan to do some semi-professional video or photo editing. The viewing angle is also impressive, which comes in handy when you want to show screen content to a colleague sitting next to you.

Verdict

In summary

Pros: Compact and lightweight, high-resolution screen with wide viewing angles
Cons: Disappointing performance, mediocre battery life, audible cooling fan, fragile hinge construction
Dimensions: 330 x 228 x 12.8mm
Weight: 1.18kg
Storage: 256GB SSD (512GB optional)
Screen: 13.3-inch (3 200 x 1 800, 276 pixels per inch)
Connectivity: USB, Bluetooth, WiFi, Ethernet, Micro-HDMI, SDHC
Processor: 1.1GHz Intel Core M-5Y70
Rating: 5/10
Price: R24 999
Availability: February 2015
Product page: http://shop.lenovo.com/za/en/laptops/lenovo/yoga/yoga-3-pro/

The Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro is an extremely thin and lightweight convertible equipped with a smart hinge construction. As a result, it can easily be transformed from a notebook into a tablet. These features make it ideal for business users who are constantly on the go and don't want to carry both a notebook and a tablet with them all the time. The other two positions Lenovo's marketing department thought of (stand and tent mode) won't make sense for most business users. The Yoga 3 Pro also delivers razor-sharp text and images thanks to its beautiful high-resolution screen with wide viewing angles and good colour reproduction.

Unfortunately, it's not all roses. The new Intel Core M chip is unsuitable for heavy and processing-intensive tasks. It performs more than adequately for light business use though. Also, the active cooling fan can clearly be heard. The hinge construction might be innovative, but it isn't very sturdy and certainly doesn't inspire much confidence in the long run. The Yoga 3 Pro's battery life also can't impress, especially for a device with a price-tag this high.

Business users who are, nonetheless, charmed by Lenovo's design philosophy on convertibles, should seriously consider the Yoga 2 Pro. It's faster, offers slightly longer battery life and has a more durable (although less innovative) hinge design. With the introduction of the Yoga 3 Pro, it might even drop in price soon. Its only drawback is that it's not as thin and lightweight, but still a concession worth considering.

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