Why You Can Trust CNET Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 370 review: A solid 2-in-1 with productivity potential
The Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 370 is a durable 13-inch convertible laptop that includes the stylus.
Why have a ThinkPad laptop or Yoga tablet when you can have both? That's the idea behind this two-in-one convertible Lenovo laptop. Lenovo was one of the first to embrace this concept with its Yoga line, starting in 2012, and latest Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 370 nails it on the head.
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Starting at $1,265 (£1,030, AU$1,760) the 13.3-inch laptop is the happy medium between a 12- and 14-inch laptop. Its 360-degree hinge lets its screen flip over so it can be used as a tablet, and it has a stylus with a built-in holder so you can easily jot down notes.
It comes with a stylus and a dedicated compartment that also charges.
It's a great productivity laptop for business or college students, though it doesn't come cheap. The model reviewed here costs $1,389 and has a 2.5GHz Intel Core i5-7200U CPU, 8GB of DDR4 RAM and 256GB SSD.
The keys to success
The Lenovo laptop features the familiar island-style ThinkPad keyboard with a signature red TrackPoint nub and medium-sized touchpad for accurate navigation. There's also a fast and precise fingerprint reader (optional) that works with Windows Hello next to the keyboard that adds an extra level of security.
Lenovo ThinkPad laptops tend to have great keyboards and a useful TrackPoint cursor.
The extremely responsive and tactile keyboard is one of the laptop's best features; typing on it feels like collapsing onto a comfortable mattress at the end of a long day. The way the smooth keys bow out slightly along the bottom edges is a unique Lenovo design innovation. It feels satisfying when writing long pieces and the wrist rest is comfortable.
The laptop comes with the Lenovo ThinkPad Pen Pro stylus, a Wacom AES digitizer that works with the 10-point touchscreen. It's capable of detecting 2,048 different levels of pressure, has two buttons and charges when stored in the dedicated digitizer compartment on the laptop's right side.
The dedicated digitizer compartment also charges.
The small, skinny digitizer responded accurately to movement and pressure, and it nostalgically reminded me of an old-school Palm Pilot stylus.
A commendable convertible
The laptop's two sturdy 360-degree hinges allows its screen to rotate back to stand, prop up as a tent or transform into a tablet, though at 3.1 pounds it's a little heavy to hold and use as a tablet for a long time.
The ThinkPad Yoga 370 is made of a mix of materials, including a carbon shell and lid. It's coated with a soft, smooth finish with a premium, rubbery feel. According to Lenovo, the laptop passed 12 MIL-SPEC durability tests, so it should withstand strong shocks. It definitely feels solid and well constructed.
It can fold flat, in case you ever need to use a laptop that way.
With an impressive number of connectivity options, the notebook is ready for almost anything. Also, it uses Lenovo's proprietary slim tip charging connector, so the USB-C port is free to charge your phone.
Ports:
- USB-C/Thunderbolt 3.0 port
- Two USB 3.0 ports
- HDMI port
- MicroSD card reader
- SIM slot (Optional LTE)
- Headphone jack
The Lenovo laptop only lasted six hours and 46 minutes in our streaming video tests, which is considerably less than many other laptops , for example, the 13-inch LG Gram's whopping 10 hours. In everyday use, I found it lasted me a full work day, but I definitely needed a charger by the evening.
An above average two-in-one laptop.
Performance was smooth and zippy, even when I had over a dozen tabs open. Switching between apps was also fast. Add a few more tabs though and lag becomes noticeable.
Unlike other ThinkPad Yoga laptops that have matte screens, the Yoga ThinkPad 370 has a glossy screen, which is considerably more reflective and prone to fingerprints. Despite the unavoidable glare in bright environments, images and HD video look crisp and clear and colors appear vibrant yet accurate.
Screen specs:
- 13.3-inch LED IPS panel
- 1,920x1080-pixel resolution
The touchscreen responds fast to swipes and taps, and the glass display feels velvety smooth when using the stylus. Palm detection also worked well when I rested my palm on the screen and used the digitizer to draw or jot down notes.
Worth it
Since the capable Lenovo laptop successfully combines the flexibility of the Yoga line with the performance of the ThinkPad line, its lofty price tag is actually pretty reasonable for a convertible with competitive specs.
If you're looking for something more affordable, the Lenovo ThinkPad 13 is a cheaper model that still has a solid keyboard. Interested in something nicer? The 14-inch ThinkPad X1 Yoga has a better design, longer battery life and larger port selection.