Why You Can Trust CNET Lenovo unfolds new ThinkPad Yoga models
This business-minded hybrid gets new Skylake CPUs and a rechargeable stylus.
- Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
Lenovo's Yoga hybrid was one of the first convertible PCs with a hinge that folded back a full 360 degrees to form a tablet. This fold-back style became popular during the Windows 8 era, and Lenovo added it to all sorts of systems, including Chromebooks and business laptops.
That ThinkPad Yoga always felt like the best iteration of the Yoga idea, largely because it used a clever lift-and-lock system to hide the keyboard out of the way when the system was folded back into tablet mode.
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While we just saw new ThinkPad Yoga models at the start of 2015 during the annual CES show, another round is coming soon, named the ThinkPad Yoga 260 and ThinkPad Yoga 460.
These revamped Yogas are slightly thinner and lighter, but still have the black button-down look we've come to expect from the ThinkPad family. But if you need a change of scenery, a new silver version is also going to be available.
The 12.5-inch Yoga 260 is 2.9 pounds, and can be configured with up to a full HD 1,920x1,080-pixel display and 512GB solid-state hard drive.
The larger 14-inch ThinkPad Yoga 460 weighs 3.9 pounds, and goes up to a 2,560x1,440-pixel-resolution display. Storage tops out at either a 1TB hard drive or 256GB SSD, and dedicated graphics, up to the Nvidia GeForce 940M chip, are available.
The biggest upgrade for both models is the move to Intel's sixth generation of Core i-series chips, also known by the code name Skylake. Both also add optional LTE wireless antennas, a feature seen less often now that phone tethering is so common for data on the go. A powered stylus, called the ThinkPad Pen Pro, can recharge when plugged into the slot built into the side of the chassis.
The 12.5-inch ThinkPad Yoga 260 will start at $949, while the 14-inch Yoga 460 starts at $1,049. International pricing was not yet available. The 260 will be available in November in the US and "select countries," according to Lenovo, while the 460 model is coming to the US in January, 2016, but may be available internationally as early as October.