Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro: Is It Good for Business?

Yoga laptops get the name from their flexible hinge.Yoga laptops get the name from their flexible hinge. BUY Lenovo's Yoga 3 Pro >>> Credit: Lenovo

Lenovo's latest ultraportable laptop is a sleek, flexible work machine. In fact, it's thinner and lighter than Apple's 13-inch (33 centimeters) MacBook Air, making it one of the most portable laptop computers around. Plus, it packs a super-sharp display and a powerful processor, and it lives up to the Yoga name with a design that folds back so you can use the laptop like a tablet. But the device isn't perfect, as it has an unimpressive battery life and a hefty price tag. Check out a full review of the Yoga 3 Pro at our sister site Laptop Mag, or read on for a quick breakdown of the device's pros and cons for business.

Pros:

• Flexible design: Yoga laptops get the name from their flexible hinge, which lets you use the machine like a typical laptop computer for productivity, or fold the display back a full 180 degrees to use the device as a large tablet. You can also fold the screen back 90 degrees to prop it up in display mode, which is handy for business presentations.
• Portability: At just 0.5-inches (1.3 cm) thick and 2.6 lbs. (1.2 kilograms), the Yoga 3 Pro is incredibly thin and light, so it won't weigh you down on business trips, or on your daily commute. In comparison, the Yoga 2 Pro is 0.6 inches (1.5 cm) thick and weighs 3 lbs. (1.4 kg), while Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air measures 0.68 inches (1.7 cm) thick and weighs 2.9 lbs. (1.3 kg).
• Efficient processor: The Yoga 3 Pro is extremely snappy for a notebook this thin and light. It runs on Intel's new Core M processor, which provides good speed with a lot less energy and heat than an Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 chip. That helped Lenovo build a thinner, more compact laptop that's still very fast. Other hardware highlights include a brilliant high-res display, and compatibility with Lenovo's desktop dock.

Cons:

• Expensive: The Yoga 3 Pro is a premium notebook at a premium price. At a whopping $1,299, it's more expensive than competing machines like the MacBook Air 13 and Microsoft's Surface Pro 3.
• Lackluster battery: Lenovo's laptop also delivered lackluster battery life, running for a measly 6 hours and 8 minutes in our battery-life test. That's nearly 2 hours less than average among similar ultraportable laptops, and far below the long-lasting MacBook Air 13, which ran for an incredible 12 hours and 20 minutes.
• Finicky touchpad: The Yoga 3 Pro comes with a responsive, high-quality keyboard, but we noticed that the touchpad could stand to be a bit more responsive and accurate.

BUY Lenovo's Yoga 3 Pro >>>