14 DAY TRIAL // Lenovo launched the successor of the Yoga 2 Pro convertible a week ago and since then the first units have been sent out to testers across the world.
On paper the Yoga 3 Pro seems to be quite a device, but how does the model stack up in the real world when put to the test? Continue reading if you want to find out more.
Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro specs roundup
The 2-in-1 takes advantage of a 13.3-inch display with QHD+ resolution (3200 x 1800) and 10-point multitouch screen.
Under the hood Lenovo has taken advantage of a new Intel Core M SoC which is said to be gentle on thermal requirements and to reduce the motherboard's size. These aspects allow the manufacturer to make a really thin and light convertible.
On top of that, Lenovo has added a new type of hinge design, made of aluminum which helps maintain the low-weight of the overall product.
But even if the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro sounds extremely good in theory, the preliminary tests show the machine might not actually be the convertible of your dream.
Ultrabook News has stumbled upon a forum threat over on the Notebookreview website where we find evidence of throttling in tablet mode and in multi-threated CPU tests.
When Intel introduced the Core M platform, it offered us encouraging statistics, but this is because the chip giant performs high-speed tests in optimized casings; but when real-life products are concerned, it is up to manufacturers to juggle the size-performance ratio.
Furthermore, the Yoga 3 Pro was tested in the CineBench (11.5 multi-CPU test) and came out with only 2.08 points, a result which places it below the Lenovo Yoga 11S with last year’s Core i7 Y-series chip and the original Lenovo Yoga 13. These are quite disappointing results indeed.
The Yoga 3 Pro has some positive feats too
But the preliminary impressions are not all bad. For example, the keyboard and build quality are said to be great, as well as the display.
Moreover, the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro is actually quite lightweight in real life and testers have managed to squeeze up to 9 hours of juice on a single charge.
Even so, you will probably be disappointed by the performance. We should also mention here that the Yoga 3 Pro has a fan, which can be a good thing if you consider it increases the thermal space so that Turbo Boost does its thing.
Half of Core M CPU performance relies on the fact that there’s enough room for heating when in overclocking mode. But if the temperature goes off the roof, Turbo Boost will turn off and users will be left with a 1.1GHz CPU, which is lower than what the Yoga 2 Pro offered. Bummer!
