The Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro is the latest release from Lenovo’s convertible laptop line which is most commonly referred to as the Yoga. This especially caught my eye since I was an early adopter of the original Yoga. While the original Yoga was supposed to be a lightweight convertible Windows laptop, for me it wasn’t quite was I was looking for. It was a little bulkier than I expected and I just wasn’t impressed overall. But then Lenovo gave me the opportunity to review the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro for an extended period and I was immensely impressed.
Instantly I noticed that the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro was significantly lighter than the original Yoga pro. A noteable pound lighter and thinner by 0.05 inches. This made the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro much easier to carry around with me in crowded subways to and from work. It’s amazing how much difference a pound can make while traveling. Weight was the main issue I found upon deciding whether to bring along my original Yoga Pro or another tablet. I often found myself opting for a tablet while traveling but it’s good to know that when I had the choice, I found myself optioning to bring the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro a lot more.
Additionally, the major issues I had with the original Yoga Pro are finally dealt with. One of them being the reposition of the Power button. So the initial problem where you found yourself accidentally powering off your Yoga Pro are gone with the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro. The Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro also features a backlit keyboard, which was a much needed feature from the original Pro, and could be easily turned on by pressing the Function and Spacebar simultaneously. But the tweaks do not end there! The Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro also features Palm Rejection which means that there are absolutely no issues with the palm moving your cursor around while you’re typing. And the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro continues to bring Touchpad Gestures to Windows devices, a selling point that used to be highly touted by Apple.
Overall the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro remains my top choice when you’re thinking about dipping your feet into the convertible laptop pool and still seek something that is akin to a regular laptop but can easily convert into a tablet when needed. The rubberized grips to prevent slipping which easily frees the worry of the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro from sliding around on surfaces while watching a video or viewing a presentation with an audience, or even just by yourself. The resolution continues to be amazing and is able to view 4K videos with ease.
But with all the good, I did find a few flaws. The keyboard is still on the outside when switching to tablet mode which to me still feels weird. But Lenovo does provide covers that allow you to protect your keyboard while in tablet view. But to be totally honest, I don’t use my cover on the original Yoga Pro as much when in tablet mode and the same held true when using the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro. Furthermore, the keyboard layout still needs getting used to. The right side of the keyboard just feels tight, and if that is your dominant hand you’ll find that using some of the keys on that side of the keyboard might be a little frustrating at first. However, over time you do get accustomed to the overall layout of the keys and this issue appears to resolve itself. The overall battery life is not bad but can’t last an entire day of hard core development work which requires the screen to be on for a prolonged length of time – even on Power Saving Mode. And I’m slightly concerned about the fraying of the rubberized grips on the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro because I have used covers with rubberized grips before and they always wear after months of use. I’d be curious to know if this might happen to the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro.
Like I stated early, the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro is the best entry into the convertible laptop market. It’s pros greatly outweigh the cons in my opinion and I’m already thinking about ditching my Yoga Pro for an updated Pro 2.
[box type=”info”] DISCLAIMER: The Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro was loaned to us for review purposes only. This review is the outcome of having the tablet in my possession for 30 days. Images provided by Lenovo.[/box]