The all-around best-in-class example of a first-generation Windows 8 hybrid was the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga, a clever fold-back laptop-turned-tablet that was almost universally liked in both its 13-inch and 11-inch versions (let's just not mention the 11-inch Windows RT variant). It's a tough act to follow, but the flagship for the Windows 8.1 era may well be the IdeaPad Yoga 2 Pro.
If you're not familiar with how the Yoga line works, it masquerades as an ordinary thin clamshell laptop, but the lid and display fold back a full 360 degrees to form either a thick tablet, or a stand/kiosk device when only folded partway back. That basic hook applies to both the original and updated models.
How exactly does the Yoga 2 top the original? The star of the show is an ultrahigh-res 13.3-inch display, with a native resolution of 3,200x1,800 pixels. That puts the Yoga 2 in similar territory to the Toshiba Kirabook , the MacBook Pro with Retina Display, the Chromebook Pixel, the Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus, and a handful of others. That's an especially notable improvement, as the original Yoga had a 1,600x900-pixel display, which was not what one would expect from a modern $1,000 laptop.
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The price can be a bit difficult to pin down, as Lenovo is infamous of late for offering a confusing array of preconfigured systems, many with poorly explained "coupon codes," discounting some models to what feels like what the original price should have been.
As of this writing, our Intel Core i5, 4GB RAM, 128GB solid-state drive (SSD) review unit is available for $999 both from Best Buy and from Lenovo's Web site, although the latter is technically a discount from the $1,099 list price. In any event, the specs listed above are just right for $999, if you consider the higher-than-HD resolution, slim design, and flexible tablet modes.
IdeaPad is Lenovo's line of forward-thinking consumer products, in contrast to its ThinkPad line of business laptops and tablets, so adding the superfluous "Pro" to its name is an odd choice. But despite the naming confusion, this is still a strong consumer hybrid. And like the original Yoga, the Yoga 2 scores by remembering that it's a laptop first, and doing nothing to interfere with the traditional laptop form. Adding that higher-res screen for $999 is also a price breakthrough, and makes the Yoga 2 a hard-to-ignore value.
| Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 2 Pro | Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus | Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (October 2013) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $999 | $1,399.99 | $1,499 |
| Display size/resolution | 13.3-inch, 3,200x1,800 touch screen | 13.3-inch, 3,200x1,800 touch screen | 13.3-inch, 2,560x1,600 screen |
| PC CPU | 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-4200U | 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-4200U | 2.4GHz Intel Core i7-4850HQ |
| PC memory | 4,096MB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz | 4,096MB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz | 8GB DDR3 SDRAM 1,600MHz |
| Graphics | 1,792MB (shared) Intel HD Graphics 4400 | 1,749MB (shared) Intel HD Graphics 4400 | 1GB Intel Iris Graphics |
| Storage | 128GB SSD | 128GB SSD | 256GB SSD |
| Optical drive | None | None | None |
| Networking | 802.11b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 | 802.11b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 | 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Operating system | Windows 8.1 (64-bit) | Windows 8 (64-bit) | OS X Mavericks 10.9 |
