Lenovo Yoga 710 laptop review: All the right moves at all right places
Lenovo launched Yoga 710 in August last year running Intel 6th generation ‘Sky Lake’ Core i7 processor. In October 2016, it introduced the upgraded model with Intel 7th generation ‘Kaby Lake’ processor at Rs 85,490. Interestingly, the same model on Lenovo’s ‘The Do Store’ online shopping website is listed for Rs 92,000. Except for the processing power, everything else stays unchanged.
Priced upwards Rs 80,000, does Lenovo Yoga 710 has what it takes to outperform its competitors and justify the price tag? We have been using the Intel 7th generation ‘Kaby Lake’ processor variant of the convertible laptop since past one week and here's our review.
Design and display
Convertible laptops often flaunt a sleek and attractive body but what makes the Lenovo Yoga 710 stand apart is its metallic build with shining metal rims on the edges, lending it a premium look. The metal build definitely gives some extra weight to the device (1.5kg), making it unusually heavy for a convertible laptop. The weight also makes the convertible device less portable.
Nonetheless, the Lenovo Yoga 710 is sleek and has the durability required for a portable device. The exhaust vent is cleverly placed out of sight besides the screen hinge while the speaker powered by JBL is placed at the underside. It is loud and clear but Lenovo could’ve placed it somewhere else except for the underside as the sound gets blocked when kept on soft surfaces like bed. However, the device can be used in different modes so this shouldn’t be much of a hassle. You can find four rubber lids at the bottom to keep the laptop few millimetres above the surface though.
The backlit keyboard is a delight to use and gives almost the same tactile feedback like what you get in a regular laptop. The keys are evenly spaced throughout the board. The clickable touchpad works fine and looks aesthetically pleasing due to the metal rims on the edges. It won’t come in your way while typing. There are three LED indicators on the laptop representing the charging status, CAPS lock and the power button.
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The Yoga 710 doesn’t convince much in the connectivity department. Because of its slim design, it has limited number of ports. It comes with two USB 3.0 ports, mini HDMI with DisplayPort support, headphone jack and a 4-in-1 card reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC). The wireless connectivity options stay the same like with other laptops such as Wi-Fi, WLAN and Bluetooth v4.1. What we found interesting was the placement of the Wi-Fi antennas right on the laptop’s reliable screen hinge.
That said, the overall design of the laptop falls somewhere between the Lenovo Yoga 500 and Yoga 900 series. The Yoga 710 takes the same sleek looks from the Yoga 900 and finishing touches such as screen hindes, touch pad and more from Yoga 500 and Yoga 300 series. But the display of the Yoga 710 is unique in its own way.We absolutely had no complaints when it comes to the display. The Lenovo Yoga 710 unit we received sported a 14-inch screen with full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) resolution and 10-point touch screen support. Although full-HD is a norm with laptops, we would’ve appreciated if the convertible came with better resolution display, given the price tag.
Resolution apart, the laptop’s display is still impressive when it comes to colour reproduction, brightness levels and the distinctive minimal side screen bezels. With the Yoga 710 Lenovo seems to take on the Dell XPS series that features bezel-less screen. Lenovo has tried hard to cut the bezels and make the screen more immersive, but it might still take them some time to reach the benchmark created by the Dell for its XPS laptops.
The laptop’s display is also a touchscreen one, resulting in better productivity and faster opening and closing of apps. The screen orientation adjusts by itself depending on which side the laptop is tilted. The rotational screen can be swivel up to 360 degrees and doesn’t prove to be an issue even if looked from acute angles. It is bright enough to let people use it in ample light conditions.
Performance and battery
The performance section largely remains the same for almost all the laptops that run the newest Intel 7th generation ‘Kaby Lake’ processor. This also makes the Yoga 710 one of the most viable convertibles in the market right now.The processor is complemented by 8GB RAM, of which 7.85GB is usable. But you won’t be able to beef-up the RAM as 8GB is the maximum amount the laptop can support. The graphics department is taken care by the Intel HD Graphics along with an optional Nvidia GeForce 940MX GPU. Talking about the graphics, the Yoga 710 scores pretty decent at 5415 (CPU score - 12402, GPU score - 4559) when it comes to 3D Mark tests.
With that processor and RAM combination, the device is bound to work fluently across applications. We not only tested several graphic-heavy applications but also browsers with multiple apps opened. The convertible can handle games like GTA 5 but anything more could result in frame lags and the laptop slightly heating up.
With that processor and RAM combination, the device is bound to work fluently across applications. We not only tested several graphic-heavy applications but also browsers with multiple apps opened. The convertible can handle games like GTA 5 but anything more could result in frame lags and the laptop slightly heating up.
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Talking about thermal levels, the Lenovo Yoga 710 barely has any noticeable heating issue. However, running multiple heavy applications at times or 4K videos makes it get mildly warm. Playing 4K videos for hours is not an issue either.
On the software side of things, the Lenovo Yoga 710 runs on Windows 10 Home which is fast and comes with usual set of features, including Cortana. Lenovo has also thrown in a bunch of home-brewed applications such as the Lenovo Photo Master, OneKey Recovery, User Manuals, Lenovo Account Portal, Lenovo App Explorer, Lenovo Companion and Lenovo Settings. The apps deal with photo editing, data backup, app search and download and more. It is not for sure how many would use these apps as they already have other options that also are free and slightly better.There is a 720p webcam on the Yoga 710, which breaks no ground as such but is decent enough to perform basic video calling and photo-capturing functions.
The battery performance of the convertible laptop doesn’t really aspires to impress you. Although Lenovo claims its Yoga 710’s 52Whr battery can deliver up to eight hours of life, in our day-to-day testing the device was able to stay alive for six hours. This includes constant browsing on the web, video streaming, playing games and working on a couple of apps simultaneously. On heavy usage, which included hours of 4K video streaming, internet browsing, working on photo-editing/video-editing apps and playing heavy games, the laptop ran for a little over 4 hours.
Verdict
While many laptop brands are still trying to find a balance in software and hardware innovations, Lenovo seems to have found its mark with Yoga 710. The premium aluminium design, 360-degree touch screen IPS display and latest Intel processor -- three vital factors that judge the fate of a laptop get thumbs up from us.
The price tag of Rs 85,000 may surely make many customers think twice before buying Yoga 710. However, the overall package, when weighed against the standards of convertibles coming from Dell, HP or other brands, is something that can't be ignored. As for those interested in cheaper alternatives, they can consider Dell Inspiron 5000 (Intel 7th gen. variant) costing approximately Rs 78,000 or HP X360 priced at Rs 73,990.
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Talking about thermal levels, the Lenovo Yoga 710 barely has any noticeable heating issue. However, running multiple heavy applications at times or 4K videos makes it get mildly warm. Playing 4K videos for hours is not an issue either.
On the software side of things, the Lenovo Yoga 710 runs on Windows 10 Home which is fast and comes with usual set of features, including Cortana. Lenovo has also thrown in a bunch of home-brewed applications such as the Lenovo Photo Master, OneKey Recovery, User Manuals, Lenovo Account Portal, Lenovo App Explorer, Lenovo Companion and Lenovo Settings. The apps deal with photo editing, data backup, app search and download and more. It is not for sure how many would use these apps as they already have other options that also are free and slightly better.There is a 720p webcam on the Yoga 710, which breaks no ground as such but is decent enough to perform basic video calling and photo-capturing functions.
The battery performance of the convertible laptop doesn’t really aspires to impress you. Although Lenovo claims its Yoga 710’s 52Whr battery can deliver up to eight hours of life, in our day-to-day testing the device was able to stay alive for six hours. This includes constant browsing on the web, video streaming, playing games and working on a couple of apps simultaneously. On heavy usage, which included hours of 4K video streaming, internet browsing, working on photo-editing/video-editing apps and playing heavy games, the laptop ran for a little over 4 hours.
Verdict
While many laptop brands are still trying to find a balance in software and hardware innovations, Lenovo seems to have found its mark with Yoga 710. The premium aluminium design, 360-degree touch screen IPS display and latest Intel processor -- three vital factors that judge the fate of a laptop get thumbs up from us.
The price tag of Rs 85,000 may surely make many customers think twice before buying Yoga 710. However, the overall package, when weighed against the standards of convertibles coming from Dell, HP or other brands, is something that can't be ignored. As for those interested in cheaper alternatives, they can consider Dell Inspiron 5000 (Intel 7th gen. variant) costing approximately Rs 78,000 or HP X360 priced at Rs 73,990.
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