Disclosure: Lenovo Yoga 910 as part of the Lenovo INsiders program. All opinions are my own.
New year, new Yogas. This year's Yoga 910 refines essential every flaw of last year's Yoga 900 by drastically improving the keyboard and trackpad, increasing the size of the display, decreasing the size of the bezel, and topping it off with 50% more battery capacity. Is it the best 2-in-1 ultrabook out there? Let's find out.
Hardware & Design
On the outside, the Yoga 910 looks very similar to the Yoga 900. They both have Lenovo's trademark watchband hinge, which looks just as stunning as last year's model. The hinge on the Yoga 910 is actually much sturdier than the Yoga 900's hinge, even though they look almost identical. I'll cover more of that on my Yoga 900 vs Yoga 910 article.
Inside, the Yoga 910 sports the latest generation Intel i7-7500U, a 13.9" UHD display, up to 16GB of memory, up to 1TB PCIe storage, and a massive 78Wh battery.
Inside, the Yoga 910 sports the latest generation Intel i7-7500U, a 13.9" UHD display, up to 16GB of memory, up to 1TB PCIe storage, and a massive 78Wh battery.
The sides of the device is covered with shiny, chrome metal that looks great, especially when light hits it; creating a shiny effect.
We're also greeted with two USB C ports, a USB A port, and a headphone/microphone combo, There is no SD card reader this time around, so you'll need an adapter for that.
We're also greeted with two USB C ports, a USB A port, and a headphone/microphone combo, There is no SD card reader this time around, so you'll need an adapter for that.
Open the lid and you'll see the all-metal unibody design, a larger trackpad, and a fingerprint sensor. Since the whole interior is metal, resting my arms on the chassis feels cool to the touch. The metal is also pretty durable, and I have no scratches yet.
The fingerprint sensor is extremely fast and accurate; and almost always logs me in the first try.
Display: Near-edgeless
The Yoga 910 has a UHD display (3840x2160) 13.9" IPS display. This is about an inch larger than last year's model, even though it has the same dimensions. That's because of the near-edgeless display. Display quality is superb; texts and photos are extremely sharp on the UHD display, and the display gets pretty bright as well. I had no problems viewing the display in direct sunlight. The panel has great color reproduction, with a high contrast ratio that produces accurate colors. There is no active pen, however. Take a look at the X1 Yoga or the Yoga 900s if you're looking for an active pen.
Keyboard & Trackpad
This is an area where Lenovo drastically improves over the Yoga 900.
The keyboard is more clicky, with more tactile feedback. The left shift key is larger, meaning less mistakes when captilizating letters. The right shift key is a bit on the short side though, so that would take some getting used to. Within a week of usage, I was able to type my typical 80wpm. Short activities like taking notes, or even long activities like writing a paper will be very enjoyable on this keyboard. Take a listen at how the keyboard sounds during a Type Racer test.
The keyboard is more clicky, with more tactile feedback. The left shift key is larger, meaning less mistakes when captilizating letters. The right shift key is a bit on the short side though, so that would take some getting used to. Within a week of usage, I was able to type my typical 80wpm. Short activities like taking notes, or even long activities like writing a paper will be very enjoyable on this keyboard. Take a listen at how the keyboard sounds during a Type Racer test.
The Lenovo Yoga 910's trackpad is a Microsoft Precision trackpad, meaning it uses Microsoft's trackpad drivers instead of the typical Synaptics drivers. This not only means that you get a ton of gestures exclusive to the Microsoft experience, but also that scrolling and regular trackpad usage is miles better than a non-precision trackpad. Zooming on Edge is just as smooth as using the touchscreen, and it feels almost the same, if not a bit better than a MacBook Pro.
Audio
The Yoga 910 has two JBL Premium Audio speakers, with Dolby Audio software. There are various modes for you to choose between, and the Dolby app automatically changes the speaker's output, depending on what mode you're in.
The audio is crisp and clear, especially considering the form factor of this laptop. There is a decent amount of bass; and when configured to music or movie mode, you'll get a great, immersive experience.
Battery Life
As mentioned in the hardware section of this review, the Yoga 910 has a 78Wh battery inside. Lenovo advertises 15.5 hours with the FHD display, and 10.5 hours with the UHD display. If you're looking for some of the best battery life in the ultrabook market, the FHD model is the one for you. I have the UHD unit, and I'm able to get about 9 hours of mixed usage. I switched entirely to Microsoft Edge on this device, and the battery life is amazing when browsing with Edge.
Webcam & Microphone
The Yoga 910 sports a 720p webcam with dual-array microphones. Because the bezels on the device is so thin, the webcam is located on the bottom of the display, meaning that the other person on a video call will see your hands if you start typing. Since this is a Yoga, you can easily prop the laptop into tent or stand mode, and it'll be at a normal angle.
The dual array microphone is crisp and clear. It hides background noise pretty well, and also does a good job at supressing keyboard noise.
The dual array microphone is crisp and clear. It hides background noise pretty well, and also does a good job at supressing keyboard noise.
Performance & Heat
With an Intel Core i7-7500U, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB PCIe storage drive, the Yoga 910 flies through almost everything you throw at it. I edited all the videos for this review on the Yoga 910, and rendering times were pretty short. I didn't notice any stuttering when rendering video and web browsing at the same time. Even with 20 Edge tabs open, the Yoga 910 fared just fine.
The Yoga 910's fans does a pretty good job at keeping the heat down on the device. After rendering 4 videos in a row, the bottom of the laptop measured 87 degrees Fahrenheit (31 degrees Celcuis); and after general web browsing, the laptop measure 81 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celcuis), with the room temperature being 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 degrees Celcuis). I noticed that the fans spin quite a bit, but Lenovo has since pushed out a BIOS update that rectifies that problem. After the BIOS update, the fan is nearly silent when simply web browsing or typing Word documents, and will kick on when streaming video.
Conclusion
The Lenovo Yoga 910 is simply the best 2-in-1 ultrabook you can buy. You get a powerful Intel i7 processor, a big and beautiful 13.9" display, more than 10 hours of battery, all with the stellar unibody metal design and watchband hinge, all starting at only $1,199.
You get many different configurations to choose from. If you're into the best possible battery life, go for the FHD model. If you're into the highest resolution display but willing to sacrifice on battery life, go with the UHD model. Either way, you will be getting an amazing experience.
You get many different configurations to choose from. If you're into the best possible battery life, go for the FHD model. If you're into the highest resolution display but willing to sacrifice on battery life, go with the UHD model. Either way, you will be getting an amazing experience.