Disclaimer: I received the Yoga 920 as a review loaner unit from Lenovo. All opinions are my own, nobody is paying for my review, and no one is reviewing this content before it's posted.
Left: Yoga 920 in Bronze. Right: Yoga 910 in Silver
On the surface, both the Yoga 910 and Yoga 920 look nearly identical, but in my testing, I prefer one over the other. Let's dig deeper to see the differences between the two!
To get this out of the way, both machines have 1TB PCIe storage, 16GB memory, and the Yoga 910 has the 7th gen i7-7550U processor, and the Yoga 920 has the 8th gen i7-8550U processor.
To get this out of the way, both machines have 1TB PCIe storage, 16GB memory, and the Yoga 910 has the 7th gen i7-7550U processor, and the Yoga 920 has the 8th gen i7-8550U processor.
Hardware & Design
Both the Yoga 910 and Yoga 920 are built out of aluminum, which gives them a high quality feel to them. Both laptops have the keyboard integrated into the chassis, which means less keyboard flex. One thing that I find better in the Yoga 920 is the fact that it's all smooth edges around. The Yoga 910 has pretty sharp edges which means you could scratch your surface or yourself. The sharp edges of the Yoga 910 was a common complaint, and I'm glad they rectified it.
The Yoga 920 also has a little slit on the display lid that makes it much easier to open the laptop. Anyone with the Yoga 910 knows that in order to open it, you'll need to hands to pry it open. The Yoga 920 can be easily opened with just one.
Top: Yoga 920... notice the slit in the top lid!
Overall, both machines are extremely well built, but I give the edge to the Yoga 920 for the small details.
Ports
Both have identical ports: 2 USB C, one USB A, and a headphone jack. The only difference is that the Yoga 920 has the headphone jack on the left side and further down than the Yoga 910. Small difference, but it's something worth noting.
Top: Yoga 910. Bottom: Yoga 920
Display
Both laptops have a 13.9" 3840 x 2160p displays, and are extremely vivid and sharp. The Yoga 910 has a definite warmer tone to it, whereas the Yoga 920 is cooler. The Yoga 920 is more vibrant and color accurate with 105 percent of the sRGB color gamut, compared to 101 percent from the Yoga 910.
Webcam
I usually don't compare webcams in laptops because they're usually really similar, but this time around, there is one big difference between the Yoga 910 and the Yoga 920: the location of the camera.
The Yoga 910's webcam was in the bottom chin of the laptop, meaning during a video conference, people will be seeing up your nose. And if you're typing while you're on that video call, your hands will just block the camera. Not intuitive at all.
The Yoga 910's webcam was in the bottom chin of the laptop, meaning during a video conference, people will be seeing up your nose. And if you're typing while you're on that video call, your hands will just block the camera. Not intuitive at all.
Yoga 910's webcam -- take a look at the display -- the keyboard is showing!
Thankfully, the Yoga 920's webcam is located on the top - where is should be.
Yoga 920's webcam is on the bottom, where it should be!
Even though the webcam on the Yoga 920 is on the top, Lenovo still managed to keep the top bezel as thin as the Yoga 910. Pretty impressive.
If you regularly video call on your laptop, then you definitely want the Yoga 920 over the 910.
If you regularly video call on your laptop, then you definitely want the Yoga 920 over the 910.
Speakers
Both laptops have JBL speakers tuned by Dolby. They both sound really good, with a good amount of bass and little distortion when turned to 90% volume.
One thing to note though: the Yoga 920 doesn't have the Dolby software preloaded on the Yoga 910, which means you can't change audio profiles. I can't seem to find it anywhere, so if Lenovo releases the software, I'll definitely come back and update.
One thing to note though: the Yoga 920 doesn't have the Dolby software preloaded on the Yoga 910, which means you can't change audio profiles. I can't seem to find it anywhere, so if Lenovo releases the software, I'll definitely come back and update.
This is the Dolby software on the Yoga 910 that is NOT available on the Yoga 920 for some reason. Will check with Lenovo on that.
Keyboard & Trackpad
One common complaint of the Yoga 910 is the tiny left shift key. Lenovo enlarged the Yoga 920's shift key at the expense of the arrow keys. I think that's a good move since people will use that shift key more often then they use the arrow keys.
The keyboard on the Yoga 920 is also a nice gray color, which is a welcome change from the status quo black on the Yoga 910!
The keyboard on the Yoga 920 is also a nice gray color, which is a welcome change from the status quo black on the Yoga 910!
Top: Yoga 920. Bottom: Yoga 910. Take a look at the left shift key; the Yoga 920's is much larger!
Typing on both are really similar. I do prefer using the Yoga 920's keyboard more because there's more clickiness and more tactile feedback than the mushier feel of the Yoga 910. I like typing on Cherry MX Blue mechanical keyboards the best, so the more tactile a keyboard, the better.
The trackpad on both are basically identical; I can't tell a difference between the two.
Performance
The Yoga 920 uses the latest Intel i7-8550U, which is a quad core processor that can turbo boost up to 4.0Ghz. That's quite impressive for a ultrabook device like the Yoga 920. The base clock speed on the i7-8550U is 1.8Ghz, which means that it will actually use less power and save battery life when you're doing basic tasks that aren't processor intensive. When you do need more power though, the processor is capable of utilizing all four cores and clocking up to 4.0Ghz.
The Yoga 910 has the Intel i7-7500U, which is less capable than the Yoga 920, albeit still pretty powerful. It has a max turbo frequency of 3.5Ghz, but is only dual core. When you're video editing, those two extra cores from the Yoga 920 certainly help a lot.
I ran a few benchmarks, and they all concur that the edge for both processing and graphics performance go to the Yoga 920.
The Yoga 910 has the Intel i7-7500U, which is less capable than the Yoga 920, albeit still pretty powerful. It has a max turbo frequency of 3.5Ghz, but is only dual core. When you're video editing, those two extra cores from the Yoga 920 certainly help a lot.
I ran a few benchmarks, and they all concur that the edge for both processing and graphics performance go to the Yoga 920.
Fans & Thermals
The Yoga 910 had an issue with constant loud fan noise, and even though a BIOS update from Lenovo reduced the effect, it still isn't as flawless as the Yoga 920's cooling solution.
Even with a few apps open, the Yoga 910's fan is clearly audible. A lot of this is due to the coil whine that I here. It's a high-pitched squeaky noise that won't go away unless the fan is throttled all the way down. It can be a bit annoying, but is easily drowned out if you're listening to music or in a public area.
I haven't noticed any such fan issues with the Yoga 920, and with the same amount of apps open, the Yoga 920 is close to silent. Even at heavy loads, the Yoga 920 doesn't have that high-pitched coil whine I described from the Yoga 910.
I'll have a video below demonstrating the two. It's pretty hard to hear, so you'll need to increase the volume to actually hear something.
Even with a few apps open, the Yoga 910's fan is clearly audible. A lot of this is due to the coil whine that I here. It's a high-pitched squeaky noise that won't go away unless the fan is throttled all the way down. It can be a bit annoying, but is easily drowned out if you're listening to music or in a public area.
I haven't noticed any such fan issues with the Yoga 920, and with the same amount of apps open, the Yoga 920 is close to silent. Even at heavy loads, the Yoga 920 doesn't have that high-pitched coil whine I described from the Yoga 910.
I'll have a video below demonstrating the two. It's pretty hard to hear, so you'll need to increase the volume to actually hear something.
Battery Life
The battery size on the Yoga 910 is slightly larger than the one on the Yoga 920 (78Wh vs 70Wh). Even with that, Lenovo claims that the Yoga 920 has up to 15.5 hours and the Yoga 910 has up to 15 hours on the FHD model.
In my experience using the Yoga 920, I get about 7 hours on my UHD model. I get a slightly lower amount for the Yoga 910.
I'd say that the battery life on the Yoga 920 is slightly better than the Yoga 910, even though the physical battery size is smaller, and that's primarily because of the more efficient processor. Just goes to show how much optimization and efficiency matters.
In my experience using the Yoga 920, I get about 7 hours on my UHD model. I get a slightly lower amount for the Yoga 910.
I'd say that the battery life on the Yoga 920 is slightly better than the Yoga 910, even though the physical battery size is smaller, and that's primarily because of the more efficient processor. Just goes to show how much optimization and efficiency matters.
Charging Speed
Lenovo bundles a 65W charger with the Yoga 920, but a 45W charger with the Yoga 910. I would consider the 65W charger as a fast charger, and it certainly does charge faster than the Yoga 910.
I'd like to note that with my review unit, I received a 45W charger with the Yoga 920, but if you purchase a retail model, you'll be getting the 65W charger (the one in the photo is from the X1 Yoga -- you should check out my Yoga 910 vs X1 Yoga article too!)
I'd like to note that with my review unit, I received a 45W charger with the Yoga 920, but if you purchase a retail model, you'll be getting the 65W charger (the one in the photo is from the X1 Yoga -- you should check out my Yoga 910 vs X1 Yoga article too!)
Odds and Ends
The Yoga 920 has options for bronze, platinum, copper, or even some glass vibe designs. The Yoga 910 has options for silver, champagne gold, or dark grey. Which one you prefer is up to you, but I really dig the bronze model.
Color options for the Yoga 920
There's also Active Pen 2 support on the Yoga 920 that isn't available on the Yoga 910. I'm pretty sure that Lenovo ships the Yoga 920 with an active pen, but I just didn't get one with my review unit.
Conclusion
The Yoga 920 is better than the Yoga 910 is almost every aspect. Some of this are minor design changes, but some are major design and performance upgrades.
If you care a lot about performance, then I'd recommend the Yoga 920. If you video call often, I would also recommend the Yoga 920 because of the camera position. I would also say that I expect the Yoga 920 to be more reliable than the Yoga 910 because of the lack of cooling and fan issues that are present on the Yoga 910.
However, if you're looking to save some money, then definitely get the Yoga 910. There is currently a killer deal on it where it's around $899! You can't really beat that price for such a great machine that the Yoga 910 is.
And that concludes my Yoga 910 vs Yoga 920 review/comparison! Let me know if you have any questions down below!
If you care a lot about performance, then I'd recommend the Yoga 920. If you video call often, I would also recommend the Yoga 920 because of the camera position. I would also say that I expect the Yoga 920 to be more reliable than the Yoga 910 because of the lack of cooling and fan issues that are present on the Yoga 910.
However, if you're looking to save some money, then definitely get the Yoga 910. There is currently a killer deal on it where it's around $899! You can't really beat that price for such a great machine that the Yoga 910 is.
And that concludes my Yoga 910 vs Yoga 920 review/comparison! Let me know if you have any questions down below!
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