Lenovo Yoga 920 Special Edition Vibes review: Neighbours’ envy, owners’ pride

NEW DELHI: Lenovo might not be a force to reckon with in the smartphone market – even though it has the entire umbrella of Motorola phones – it’s still a go-to brand for many when it comes laptops. And when we talk about convertible laptops then the Lenovo Yoga series has built a steady stream of fan following. It’s down to mainly its aesthetically appealing design, minimal footprint and the top-of-the-line specifications. While the Yoga 5xx and 7xx series are good value for money, they are not as ‘premium’ as the Lenovo Yoga 920, the company's 2-in-1 laptop, looks of which caught our attention.

The Yoga 920 is not a new convertible in the market per se, neither does it carry a pocket-friendly price as it is aimed for a different audience altogether. This audience – according to Lenovo – wants the best of both worlds: design and power. With the Yoga 920 Special Edition Vibes, the company is pushing more on the design front than anything else. This particular variant came out earlier this year and is priced slightly more than the regular version. So what's the difference and should you even consider buying this piece of machinery worth Rs 1,27,150? Read our review to find out the answer to that question:

Design

Lenovo Yoga 920 Special Edition Vibes’ design is based on the fast-paced yet demanding needs by users. These are users that just don't want a powerful laptop but also want to look stylish while rocking them. This special edition device takes several design cues from its regular Yoga 920 variant that in itself boasted a premium, metal-clad look. What's new, however, is the cover design. Instead of metal, Yoga 920 Special Edition Vibes has a Corning Gorilla Glass material with a wave-like design pattern, keeping the overall look classy.

Lenovo claims the new glass panel design comes from students at the Istituto Europeo di Design. The company says it chose this design as it ‘conveys the dynamism of Yoga through simplicity and refinement.’

Although it is a high-quality package, it does have a downside but not a major one though. The glass panel is a fingerprint and smudge magnet. Slightest of the touch would make you want to clean it to keep the look shiny.

While this is the only major design cue that makes it stand apart from the regular version, what adds to it is the watchband hinge, something Lenovo has perfected over the years. The hinge in the special edition Lenovo Yoga 920 makes the screen rotate easily. It not just looks premium but also cleverly hides the Wi-Fi antenna and air vents.

Like seen with the Yoga 920, you get the same display with less bezels on the sides, a good tactile keyboard that is comfortable to type on, fingerprint sensor powered by Windows Hello and two JBL stereo speakers (Dolby Atmos tech if used with headphones) on the underside, making it an ideal device to watch movies and TV shows.
Since it is sleek, it is supposed to sport less number of ports, pushing you more towards wireless networks. It has a USB 3.0 port with always-on charging, two USB Type-C with Thunderbolt support and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Lack of ports may come as a disappointment for those willing to connect using a LAN port or maybe a microSD card.

Display

While the CNC aluminium build, intricate watchband hinge and the glass cover design compliment the Yoga 920 Special Edition Vibes, it's display too plays and important role in taking on the mighty bezel-less laptop screen march that is being pioneered by the likes of Dell with its XPS series, HP with Spectre series and even Asus.

The Yoga 920 Special Edition Vibes uses the same display as its regular variant, which is a power-hogging 13.9-inch UHD resolution IPS multi-touch panel. The screen has its own charm as it shows saturated colours with best clarity seen in a laptop. Watching movies is a delight on this convertible machine. The touch-screen functionality is impressive and hardly gives you a chance to complain. It is usually activated by default regardless the position in which the laptop is kept. However, as soon as the screen rotation crosses 180-degrees, the tablet UI shows up.
Bundled with the laptop is a Lenovo Active Pen 2. This for those who want precision, specially editors and artists. The company claims the screen to feature 4096 levels of sensitivity, making it extremely precise. Most of the times we opted not to use the Pen to operate around as it is easy with your fingertips and you won’t go searching for a stylus every time.

Performance

Performance is top-notch with the Yoga 920 Special Edition Vibes, just like the regular Yoga 920 variant. The unit we reviewed runs on 8th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, which is one of the most powerful chipsets seen in PCs for now. So there’s no question of facing any kind of lags in any form. The operation is smooth in both conventional and tablet modes. Editing documents, photos and videos are smooth and the familiar Windows 10 makes it even easier to multi-task.

We ran both 3DMark 10 and PCMark 10 (basic version) only to find out the impressive 421 and 3361 scores. The powerful processor, clubbed with Intel HD 620 GPU and 16GB RAM is bound to deliver one of the best possible experience available in convertibles right now.
The audio performance needs a special mention here. With Yoga 920 Special Edition Vibes you get an impressive stereo speaker with Dolby Atmos support for a three-dimensional audio experience.

As for the software, you don’t get much bloatware though. But what you do get are Lenovo Vantage, Account Holder, Lenovo Settings and Lenovo App Explorer for customising the machine as per your need. The webcam shoots images in 0.9MP or HD resolution and can record videos in 720p at 30fps.

Battery

Battery is one of the strongest suits of the Yoga 920 Special Edition Vibes. It packs a 4-cell 70Wh battery that can run for at least 5 hours on heavy usage. For casual and light users the device can run for 10-12 hours easily. Our typical day includes several Chrome tabs along with constant network with Wi-Fi, backlit keyboard, a powerful processor and a QHD resolution display. The device easily ran for 5-6 hours before we reached for the charger.

Not to forget that you also get the usual battery-saving features provided by Windows 10. This includes dimming the screen and customizing different battery settings for certain tasks like playing videos.

Verdict

The Lenovo Yoga 920 Special Edition Vibes, more than anything else, is about the looks and design. While the watchband hinge is a cherry on top, what actually makes it unique is the glass cover design. The premium looking laptop is also premium in terms of specifications, let it be for the processor, display or multimedia features.

Since it is the best of both worlds, like we said above, it surely costs a an eye watering Rs 1,27,150 (excluding taxes), something that customers may think twice before giving away.

But if money is not an issue, this is definitely one of the bests out there. Possible rivals could be Dell Inspiron 13 7000, HP Spectre X360 and even the new launched Asus Zenbook Flip S but their focus on power and portability is more than design while the Yoga 920 Special Edition Vibes has everything balanced.