'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?
ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.
When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.
ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.
Lenovo Yoga 730 (15.6-inch) review: A well-built 2-in-1 convertible, but battery life could be better
Lenovo Yoga 730 (15.6-inch)
pros and cons
- Discrete Nvidia graphics
- Full 360-degree hinge
- Solid build
- Bundled Active Pen 2
- Poorly thought-out holder for Active Pen 2
- Moderate battery life
- Bulky and heavy
The Lenovo Yoga 730 comes in two different sizes -- with a 13-inch or a 15.6-inch screen. Both sizes of this laptop have the power user in mind, accepting pen input, featuring discrete graphics and sporting a generally high-level specification -- including, of course, the Yoga range's characteristic 360-degree rotating screen. I took the top-end 15-inch model for a spin. Coming in at £1,499.99 (inc. VAT), this will make a serious dent in the finances. Is it a good buy?
The Lenovo Yoga 730 15-inch is a well-made piece of kit with a very solid aluminium chassis. I usually try to bend laptop lids in my hands, and in this case, while I was able to get some movement, it wasn't enough to cause concern. You probably won't require a protective case when you take this laptop on your travels.
On the other hand, it's a big and heavy system. The 15.6-inch screen demands a chassis measuring 360mm by 249mm by 17.15mm, and it weighs 1.98kg. That's quite a lot to tote around on a daily basis, and you'll need a large bag or backpack. It needs a fair bit of desk space too, so it's not ideal for using on a cramped train or airplane.
The Yoga 730 is designed for flexibility, and as its name suggests, the hinge rotates a full 360 degrees, enabling the now-familiar laptop, tent presentation and tablet modes:
Lenovo has not implemented the kind of key lockdown system seen in its premium ThinkPad X1 Yoga. I like the lockdown system as it protects keys when a laptop is held in tablet mode. That matters less with a big, heavy machine like this than it does with a smaller one, as few people will want to hold nearly 2kg of laptop in their hands for long, and it's more likely that people will work in tablet mode with the 15-inch Yoga 730 sitting on a desk. However, the keys are vulnerable when working in tablet mode with the keyboard resting on your knees.
SEE: 20 pro tips to make Windows 10 work the way you want (free PDF)
The screen is touch responsive in both the available UK configurations, with a Lenovo Active Pen 2 provided in both cases. The pen supports 4,096 pressure levels. Lenovo has struggled in the past to find ways to tether a stylus to its laptops, and here it provides a plastic dongle that occupies a USB 3.0 port. This not only renders the USB port unusable, but it also blocks other ports. There are two USB 3.0 ports, one on each edge, and when one is used for the pen all other ports on the chosen edge are blocked.
Top ZDNET Reviews
The Yoga 730 comes with Lenovo's £74.99 (inc. VAT) Active Pen 2, but the laptop attachment uses a USB 3.0 port and blocks other ports on the same side when the pen is inserted.
My review sample had a 3,840-by-2,160-pixel IPS touch-screen that was sharp, bright and clear with great viewing angles. The very reflective screen will be an irritant to some, but colours pop nicely and if you're interested in detailed stylus work you should be happy. The less expensive preconfigured model has a 1,920-by-1,080 touch-screen.
The keyboard is not quite as pleasurable to use as those on the top-end ThinkPad X1s. Keys depress less far and feel slightly less responsive, with very little noise generated while typing. None of this is problematic, though, and I could touch-type at my normal speed.
There's no TrackPoint here, and consequently no hardware buttons above the trackpad. The two-level backlight can be controlled via the Fn key and spacebar combination.
This is billed as a laptop that prioritises speed as well as physical flexibility. There are discrete graphics in the shape of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050, supported by either 2GB or 4GB of GDDR5 RAM. There are two processor options, with the top-end model powered by an Intel Core i7-8550U with 16GB of RAM.
Both preconfigured specifications in the UK run Windows 10 Home -- and, unlike with other Lenovo laptops, there are no options to tweak the specifications:
- Intel Core i5-8250U, Windows 10 Home, 15.6-inch 1,920 x 1,080 touch screen, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 (2GB GDDR5), 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Active Pen 2
£1,099.99 (inc. VAT) - Intel Core i7-8550U, Windows 10 Home, 15.6-inch 3,840 x 2,160 touch screen, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 (4GB GDDR5), 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Active Pen 2
£1,499.99 (inc. VAT)
There is a fingerprint reader on the wrist rest, and a decent range of connectors on the left and right edges. The left edge houses the old-fashioned rectangular charge connector, a USB 3.0 port and a 3.5mm headset jack. The right edge houses a second USB 3.0 port, a full size HDMI port and a USB-C connector with Thunderbolt. The on/off switch is here, too. This has an LED frame that glows white when the laptop is on and has 21 percent or more battery power, glows amber when battery is at 20 percent or lower, and blinks white if the laptop is in sleep mode.
The power switch glows amber when the battery charge falls to 20 percent or lower.
Lenovo says the Yoga 730's battery will last for up to 9 hours with the UHD (3,840 x 2,160 pixels), display and up to 11 hours with the FHD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) display. I had the former, and I think this claim is achievable -- but only with careful management of screen brightness.
In one working session, with the laptop on its default screen brightness setting, the Yoga 730 depleted 73 percent in three hours. I wasn't doing much more than writing into a local app, browsing and a bit of music streaming. I recharged, changed to the 'suggested' screen brightness and did another session with a similar workload. This time, 76 percent depletion was reached after 7 hours.
The saving grace for those who wish to push the screen hard is rapid charge support. Lenovo says this will deliver up to 2 hours of usage from a 15-minute charge.
With the battery on 73 percent I administered a 15-minute charge and the battery rose to 87 percent -- a boost of 14 percent. With my 'suggested' brightness setting I was losing 10.5 percent every hour, so I'd expect to get less than two hours of life from a 15-minute charge. You can, of course, drop the screen brightness lower, or rapid charge for longer.
Conclusions
The Lenovo Yoga 730 is a powerful laptop. Discrete graphics, a touch-screen, a high resolution display and the bundled Active Pen 2, along with 360-degree hinge, make it tempting for creative types. The relatively short battery life is a let-down, but this can be mitigated by taking the FHD rather than UHD screen option. That will also make this a less expensive purchase.
RECENT AND RELATED CONTENT
Best 2-in-1 laptops, convertibles, and hybrid laptops for business 2018
2-in-1 devices that can function as laptops or tablets are a growing segment of the PC market. But which type and model of hybrid laptop should you buy? We explore the options and list some of the best.
Sales of 2-in-1 devices to carry a sinking PC market in 2018: IDC
The research firm expects shipments of 2-in-1s, such as detachable tablets and convertible notebooks, to grow by more than 9 percent this year.
Fastest Windows 10 on Arm PC yet: Lenovo Snapdragon 850 2-in-1 passes FCC hurdle
Lenovo's new Snapdragon 850-based Windows 10 2-in-1 is on course for a November launch.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (3rd Gen) review: A top-quality convertible laptop for business
The third outing for Lenovo's 360-degree ThinkPad X1 convertible is excellent in almost every way except for battery life, which could be better.
Best Touchscreen and Hybrid Laptops for 2020 (CNET)
Our editors hand-picked these products based on our tests and reviews.
Read more reviews
- Hands on with the Chuwi Hi9 Plus: A high performing, low cost tablet for home and office
- Linksys Cloud Manager, First Take: Affordable wi-fi administration for multi-location businesses
- PureGear cases for Apple iPhone XR: Clear cases show off the bright colors, protect the iPhone
- Doogee S70 and Game Pad hands on: A rugged phone with add-on games console
- Apple iPhone XR first take review: Coral is not really orange and an iPhone XR is just like any other iPhone X