Lenovo flexes its Yoga range to be bigger, better

While it may not have the might of Ashton Kutcher behind its marketing anymore, the muscle in Lenovo’s research and development arm is still churning out some winners, and this year is improving the Yoga laptop and tablet concept for size and spec.

Two new Yoga models will be joining the Lenovo range shortly, one of which appears to update a computer we saw late last year just as when Intel’s fifth-generation processors — Broadwell — were being unleashed on the world.

At the time, which was around this time last year, Lenovo had even managed to secure the new Intel processors ahead of everyone, even Apple, with the Yoga 3 Pro not just bringing new processors in front of other laptop manufacturers, but also a lovely screen sitting in a design incorporating a masterfully unique hinge modelled off wristwatches.

The Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro in laptop mode.
The Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro in laptop mode.

Back in November of last year, we gave it four stars, missing out on a higher score due to complaints of battery life and less than admirable performance, but Lenovo isn’t done with that range yet.

This year, the Yoga Pro is back with a new name, new chip, new operating system, and yet that same great design we loved from last year.

The Lenovo Yoga 900 in stand mode.
The Lenovo Yoga 900 in stand mode.

Now called the Yoga 900, it’s a machine that packs in one of Intel’s sixth-generation Core processors, ranging all the way up to a Core i7 if need be.

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The very flexible watchband hinge is along for the ride, just like in last year’s laptop, and so you’ll find the new machine, which also sits at 13.3 inches like its sibling, can be shifted into shape to be a laptop, tablet, and video player when used in either tent mode or stand mode.

Microsoft’s Windows 10 is here on the laptop out of the box, which should make things a little easier to use, and the 13.3 inch Quad HD+ display relies on the same fuller-than-Full HD resolution from last year, with 3200×1800 offered for the resolution.

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There’s even a new battery (yay!) offering as much as nine hours of battery life, which will be a welcome addition, especially since we only saw a good four or five in last year’s model.

All up, it looks like a nice refresh of last year’s Yoga 3 Pro, and it will be joined by one of the biggest tablets we’ve ever seen: the Yoga Home 900.

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Now the naming convention on this one is a little confusing because the Yoga 900 is a 13.3 inch tablet while the Yoga Home 900 is a 27 inch desktop that functions as a tablet. Yes, that word “home” separates two models and a good 14 inches of size.

If you can get beyond the odd naming of the products, you’ll find Lenovo doing what Acer first showed us last week, with an all-in-one desktop that also acts as a tablet you can take off the desk.

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Inside the Home 900, you’ll find up to an Intel fifth-generation Core i7, one of last year’s processors being used, with Nvidia GeForce graphics, Windows 10, and a battery life of up to three hours.

Lenovo’s Yoga Home 900 doesn’t seem built for your regular computer usage, either, with this one able to be taken into the kitchen to serve as a giant cook book, used for homework in the arts, or even switched into a game board for old school board games or something like digital air hockey.

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“From introducing the convertible laptop category three years ago with Yoga, we know people love the flexibility and portability of our multimode design,” said Dilip Bhatia, Vice President of Worldwide Marketing and User Experience for the PC and Enterprise Business Group at Lenovo.

“The new Yoga 900 and Yoga Home 900 are not your traditional PC. We studied real user needs to make them as thin and light as possible for the portability that they need, while upping the PCs’ performance and refining the Yoga’s signature watchband hinge for an even smoother rotation to switch between modes.”

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Pricing on the computers is only know for one of the models, that being said, with the 13.3 inch Yoga 3 Pro successor in the Yoga 900 set to be made available from this month for a starting price of $2199. Meanwhile, that humongous Yoga Home 900 tablet will be available later this year, though Lenovo is keeping mum on pricing details, so we’ll let you know when we do.