Lenovo Yoga

Lenovo Yoga is a range of laptop and tablet computer products from Lenovo, named for their ability to assume multiple form factors due to a hinged screen.

2016

Yoga Book

The Lenovo Yoga Book is an 10.1 inch notebook or tablet. It runs both Android and Windows 10.

Yoga 710

Lenovo announced the Yoga 710 at the Mobile World Congress in 2016. The Yoga 710 comes in versions with 11-inch and 14-inch displays. The 11-inch version uses Intel Core M low-power processors,weighing just 2.35 lbs and a mere 0.58” thin,^[1] has 8 gigabytes of memory, and includes a solid-state drive with a capacity up to 256 gigabytes. The same processor is used in Apple's 12-inch MacBook. The 14-inch version uses standard Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors and optional Nvidia GeForce 940M or 940MX graphics processors. Both versions use 1080p IPS screens.^[2]

Yoga 510

The Yoga 510 uses the same Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors as the 14-inch version of the Yoga 710. It comes in versions with 14-inch and 15-inch IPS displays with 1080p resolution. The 510 is called the Flex 4 in the United States.^[2]

2015

Yoga 900

The Yoga 900 (also known as Yoga 4 Pro) is the replacement for the Yoga 3 Pro. It was designed to improve upon problems with overheating and battery life. It uses Core i5 and i7 Skylake-class processors from Intel, integrated graphics, 256-gigabyte or 512-gigabyte solid state drives, and up to 16 gigabytes of RAM. It runs on a 66 watt-hour battery. It is somewhat heavier and thicker than the Yoga 3 Pro at 1.29 kilograms of weight and 14.9 millimeters in thickness. One USB 3.0 Type-C port and a USB 2.0 port are included.^[3] This device has a 3,200 x 1,800 pixel display. The Business Edition version of the Lenovo Yoga 900 is primarily differentiated from the standard model through its implementation of enterprise grade security via a Trusted Platform Module chip and accompanying security software.^[3]

2014

Lenovo Yoga Tablet with packaging

IdeaPad Yoga Tablet

The IdeaPad Yoga Tablet is an Android tablet with a multi-mode device with a rear kickstand designed to allow it to be placed upright for viewing videos and other media or tilted for easier text entry. The Yoga Tablet has a round battery that can last as long as 18 hours. It comes in models with 10-inch and 8-inch screens. Internal storage varies from 16 gigabytes to 32 gigabytes.^[4] An upgraded version was added in February 2014, called Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 HD+, which featured a Full HD display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. In addition the 3rd generation pro has a built in projector

Yoga 3 Pro

The Yoga 3 Pro is thin Broadwell-based 13.3-inch touchscreen laptop with a hinge that allows for use as a tablet and other configurations. It uses Intel Core M processors and comes standard with solid-state drives. Its screen has 3200 pixel by 1800 pixel resolution and is multitouch capable.^[5] It is 13 millimeters thick.^[6] The Yoga 3 Pro's hinge differs significantly from the Yoga 2 Pro. The new all-metal hinge is referred to by Lenovo as a "watchband." It is much less bulky and forms a continuous curved shape from the chassis of the laptop to the bottom of the screen. It has six mounting points as opposed to two for a more solid feel and structural strength.^[7]

In a review for PC World, Elias Plastiras wrote, "It's super-light and easy to handle as a laptop and as a tablet, and it feels good to type on for long periods of time. Basically, as far as user comfort is concerned, it's excellent. That said, it does have some issues. It can tend to get noticeably warm when you're streaming video or performing other tasks that make plenty of use of the CPU and Wi-Fi adapter, and the battery life is also not great, primarily due to the large screen resolution that needs a lot of power to be bright."^[7]

2013

ThinkPad Yoga

The ThinkPad Yoga has a "backlit" keyboard that flattens when flipped into tablet mode. This is accomplished with a platform surrounding the keys rises until level with the keyboard buttons, a locking mechanism that prevents key presses, and feet that pop out to prevent the keyboard from directly resting on flat surfaces. Lenovo implemented this design in response to complaints about its earlier Yoga 13 and 11 models being awkward to use in tablet mode. A reinforced hinge was required to implement this design. Other than its convertible form factor, the ThinkPad Yoga is a rather standard ThinkPad device with a black magnesium-reinforced chassis, island keyboard, a red TrackPoint, and a large buttonless trackpad. It has a 12.5-inch IPS touchscreen with 1080p resolution. The screen was designed for use with an optional pen-style digitizer. It is powered by Haswell processors from Intel. Solid-state drives and hard drives were both options on this model.

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro

The Yoga 2 Pro is an Ultrabook-class device. It weighs 3.1 pounds, is 0.61 inch thick and has tapered edges, giving it an appearance more like a conventional ultrabook laptop vs the earlier model's "book-like" symmetrical design. The Yoga 2 Pro features a 360-Degree Flip-and-Fold design that encompasses four modes—laptop, stand, tablet, and tent mode and has a subtle rubber trim around the edge of its top half in order to prevent slipping on hard surfaces when in tent mode. It comes with an backlit AccuType keyboard and features stereo speakers with Dolby Home Theater. Unlike earlier Yoga products, the home button has a touch-key on the bottom center of the display. Lenovo moved the power button away from the front and to the side in order to prevent accidental key presses.^[8][9]

The base model has an Intel Core i3 4010U, 4 gigabytes of RAM, and a 128-gigabyte solid state drive with configurations up to an Intel Core i7 4500U, 8 gigabytes of RAM, and a 512-gigabyte solid-state drive. The 13.3-inch screen uses in-plane switching (IPS) technology, has a high resolution QHD+ (3,200 x 1,800) 10-point multitouch display, and a brightness of 350 nits. The Yoga 2 Pro has Intel Wireless Display technology in order to conform to the Ultrabook specification. It has ports for USB 3.0, USB 2.0, micro-HDMI, a 2-in-1 card reader, and a combination audio input-output jack. Lenovo claimed a battery life of up to nine hours.^[8][9][10]

IdeaPad Yoga 11S

The IdeaPad Yoga 11S is a compact ultralight hybrid notebook/tablet computer released in 2013. The Yoga 11S runs the full version of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system.^[11]

2012

IdeaPad Yoga 13

The Yoga 13's capacitive touch display allows for up to 10-point touch control. The Yoga 13 is powered by an Intel Chief River platform, using an Ivy Bridge processor, has 4 GB or 8 GB of RAM, and SSD with 128 GB or 256 GB.^[12] The battery life of the Yoga 13 is estimated to last around eight hours.^[12] After testing the Yoga 13's battery life TechRadar said, "Our only real concern is that the battery life is squarely average. In our Battery Eater test, which maxes out the system until the battery dies, we only clocked 177 minutes, which is short of the 200-minute gold standard. This said, in normal day-to-day usage, we experienced closer to six to eight hours of life, depending on the screen brightness and CPU saturation." ^[13]

The Yoga 13 makes use of a 13.3-inch display with a resolution of 1600 x 900. The display uses an IPS panel in order to provide wide viewing angles and maintain the thin profile of the Yoga 13.^[14] The Yoga 13 has 720p front-facing webcam. It has one USB 3.0 port and one USB 2.0 port, an HDMI output, a memory card reader, and a combo jack for audio input and output.^[13]

The 13-inch Yoga was released by Lenovo on Oct. 26, 2012. Best Buy released an alternative version of the Yoga 13 with an Intel Core i5 processor (vs. Lenovo's base model's i3 processor) and no Microsoft Office (whereas Lenovo's base model includes Microsoft Office). Its smaller cousin, Yoga 11, which runs Windows RT (as opposed to the Yoga 13, running Windows 8), was released in December 2012.^[12][15]

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11

The Yoga 11 was powered by a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 that runs at a maximum clockspeed of 1.3GHZ and features an integrated graphics processor. The Tegra 3 is also found in numerous Android-based tablets. 2GB of RAM comes standard. This relatively small amount of RAM is sufficient due to the reduced memory requirements of Windows RT applications. The Yoga 11 was sold with solid state drives in 32GB and 64GB capacities. The Yoga 11 ran the Windows RT operating system. Microsoft Office 2013 ships pre-installed.^[16] Like all Windows RT devices, the Yoga 11 cannot run software designed for earlier versions of Windows, only apps designed for the new Metro interface are compatible.^[17]

The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11 was released in late 2012. It was discontinued on July 17, 2013 due to the poor sales of Windows RT devices.^[18]

Known Issues

Many users have discovered that a Linux operating system cannot be installed on many Yoga models including the 900 ISK2, 900 ISK for business and 710.^[19][20] There has been much accusation and rumour in the computer press including unfounded claims that Lenovo have deliberately prevented Linux from being installed. The reason that Linux cannot be installed is that Lenovo have implemented the solid state drive (SSD) on these models in RAID mode rather than the more usual AHCI. RAID mode requires additional drivers from Intel that are provided with Windows (version 7 and later) but not currently provided with Linux.

Intel recommends that all new motherboards using Intel chips should be configured using RAID even for a single disc, since this avoids problems when upgrading an AHCI configuration to multiple RAID drives later. However, this reason alone is pointless on a laptop where a second disc cannot be installed. Intel also recommends that solid state discs be setup in RAID mode as it provides improved performance with their chips.^[21] Lenovo have apparently followed this advice and have also removed the ability to change the mode back to AHCI in the UEFI set up utility. Although it is theoretically possible to change the mode to AHCI using suitably programmed bootable USB stick, it is not wise to attempt it because the affected models check the UEFI configuration at startup and will detect the change and refuse to boot.

This inability to change to AHCI means that without RAID drivers, either in the system itself and on the installation media, Linux cannot be installed. Claims that this was a deliberate act on the part of Lenovo are unfounded and unproven because there in nothing to prevent the Linux community from writing their own RAID drivers.

Other products are equally affected. Windows 10 itself cannot be clean installed because the bootable installation media lacks the RAID drivers (the installation would have them but it is the installer itself that lacks them). Rescue media built by the 'Backup and Restore' utility cannot restore the backed up image to the SSD drive because it cannot see it. Even third party disc imaging utilities such as Acronis True Image lack RAID drivers in the rescue media which are generally based on a Linux system.

See also

• ThinkPad

References