Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga review: The L390 Yoga's successor refreshed, mostly for the better
The ThinkPad L13 Yoga, much like its older L390 Yoga sibling, is intended equally an affordable business convertible option with plenty of customization. In that location have been some tweaks to design, display bezel, and internal hardware to modernize the laptop for 2022, though information technology remains quite similar in most regards to the older model. I used it every bit my main PC for all work for a couple of weeks to see how well it performs and whether or not it's cut out to be your side by side convertible laptop.
Budget Business Convertible
Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga
Bottom line: The ThinkPad L13 Yoga remains an attractive "budget" convertible business option, with able performance, durable build, and generous port selection. Soldered RAM and average display with no option above FHD are downsides, but they can be ignored at this price.
Pros
- ThinkPad Pen Pro built into chassis
- Great typing
- Generous port selection
- Durable ThinkPad chassis
- 9-hr battery life
Cons
- FHD display is only option
- RAM is at present soldered
- No Wi-Fi 6
Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga at a glance
Lenovo supplied Windows Central with a ThinkPad L13 Yoga review unit, equipped with a 10th Gen Intel Core i5-10210U quad-core processor (CPU), 8GB of DDR4-2666MHz RAM (soldered to the lath), and a 256GB M.ii PCIe solid-state bulldoze (SSD). The 13.3-inch touch brandish has a 1920x1080 (FHD) resolution and has an anti-reflective layer to cut downward on glare. This exact model costs about $800 at All-time Purchase, making it a relatively affordable way to get your hands on a convertible ThinkPad. To put the price into perspective, the high-end ThinkPad X1 Yoga starts at nearly $one,749.
There are many customization options available that brand the ThinkPad L13 Yoga a smart majority purchase.
Because of the price, the L13 Yoga is mainly aimed toward bulk Enterprise buys, too as education or small-business sectors. The L13 Yoga can exist configured with upward to a 10th Gen Intel Cadre i7-10510U CPU, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB Yard.ii PCIe SSD, and there are options to forego a backlit keyboard, IR camera, and fingerprint reader to continue costs down for armada purchases.
That doesn't mean information technology's not an able PC for merely well-nigh anyone, as we will run across in this review. Information technology offers the standard ThinkPad immovability with MIL-STD 810G certification, dreamy keyboard, solid performance, and excellent port selection, making it an enticing buy for anyone who wants a well-rounded productivity auto that can flip around to deed as a tablet.
Compared to its predecessor, the ThinkPad L390 Yoga, the L13 Yoga has moved to 10th Gen Intel Core CPUs, a ThinkShutter webcam cover has been added, and display bezel has been shrunk down for a more than modernistic look. The L13 Yoga is also slimmer — 0.69 inches (17.6mm) compared to 0.74 inches (eighteen.8mm) — and lighter — 3.17 pounds (i.43kg) compared to 3.44 pounds (1.56kg) — than the L390 Yoga.
Here are the exact specifications of the ThinkPad L13 Yoga I used and tested for the last couple of weeks.
Category | Spec |
---|---|
OS | Windows 10 Home |
Processor | 10th Gen Intel Core i5-10210U 4 cores 15W TDP Up to 4.20GHz |
RAM | 8GB DDR4-2666MHz Soldered |
Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics |
Storage | 256GB M.two PCIe SSD |
Brandish | 13.three inches 1920x1080 (FHD) Anti-reflective Touch sixteen:9 aspect ratio Up to 300 nits |
Agile pen | Included ThinkPad Pen Pro |
Ports | 2 USB-C iii.1 (Gen i) 2 USB-A 3.1 (Gen one) HDMI 1.4 Ethernet extension connector microSD card reader 3.5mm audio |
Audio | Dual 2W speakers Down-firing Dolby Audio Premium |
Wireless | Intel Wireless-Air conditioning 9560 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) Bluetooth 5.0 |
Camera | Front-facing 720p ThinkShutter |
Biometrics | Fingerprint reader |
Battery | 46Wh 65W AC adapter Rapid Charge |
Dimensions | 12.26 10 8.62 10 0.69 inches (311.5mm x 219mm x 17.6mm) |
Weight | From 3.17 pounds (1.43kg) |
What I love most the Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga
Before switching to the 13-inch ThinkPad L13 Yoga, I was spending a lot of time with the mighty 15-inch ThinkPad X1 Extreme. The change to a lighter, more compact ThinkPad is a welcome modify. It's non every bit sleek and sexy every bit the ThinkPad X1 Yoga, but it'due south also not nearly as expensive.
The L13 Yoga brings the usual ThinkPad soft-touch black finish (just every bit much of a fingerprint magnet as e'er) and magnesium-aluminum chassis with MIL-STD 810G certification to ensure information technology's going to agree together well under atmospheric condition outside of what are normally constitute in an office or dwelling house setting.
The chassis is sturdy with merely a slight flake of flex under the keyboard, and the lid is rigid. That'south a expert thing considering the display is designed to fold around 360 degrees for tent, stand up, and tablet modes. The convertible "Yoga" portion isn't absolutely necessary — at that place is a non-convertible ThinkPad L13 bachelor for an even lower toll — but it'south a welcome addition for any students or professionals who like taking notes or sketching up diagrams and graphs by paw. Hinges are stiff enough that the lid won't flop around if you're working in a moving vehicle.
No worries about having to buy an agile pen separately; at that place'south a ThinkPad Pen Pro included with all models. It has its own silo for charging and storage along the right border of the laptop. Inking capabilities won't match up artistically to something like the Surface Pen with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt back up for shading. Still, the Pen Pro's 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity are enough for productivity work.
Also along the right edge of the laptop is an HDMI and USB-A port, equally well as a microSD card reader and Kensington lock slot. The power push button is embedded into the right border to avoid accidental presses when in tablet mode. The left side has two USB-C (i for charging), USB-A, and Ethernet extension connection, and a 3.5mm sound jack. Birthday this is the collection of ports you lot'd expect from a business laptop, and the simply complaint is a lack of Thunderbolt three. It's understandable in this toll range, and at least USB-C docking stations have come a long way in terms of functionality.
The backlit keyboard is outstanding. ThinkPads are tough to beat in this section, and the L13 Yoga is no exception. I typed thousands of words without issue thanks to ample travel, soft landing, and perfect spacing. There's a redpointing nub in the middle of the keyboard; it's accompanied by physical buttons above the Precision touchpad to make up the TrackPoint system. The touchpad offers shine pointing with no issues.
There's a fingerprint embedded into the right palm residual for added security through Windows Hi, and you can add an optional IR camera for facial recognition. A ThinkShutter allows y'all to cover the webcam. The 720p front-facing camera that comes standard gets the job done for video conferencing, though don't expect anything miraculous. Every bit for other Enterprise security options, a Smart Card reader can be added. Intel vPro CPU options (Core i5-10310U or Cadre i7-10610U) do testify up on some reference documents, though the US Lenovo site does not currently offer them.
The L13 Yoga has a down-firing 2W speaker on either side of the chassis. While top-firing speakers are becoming more than mutual, these really pump out some decent audio at a loud volume. When the lid is flipped around for tablet mode, you still have sound directed toward you lot, if a chip muffled from the back of the display.
You can leave the charger behind thanks to about ix hours of battery life.
The 46Wh battery might seem a bit small — the 13.3-inch Yoga C640 has a 60Wh battery — just it managed to last a full twenty-four hours of work. Testing with PCMark 10's Modernistic Office bombardment criterion with threescore% display brightness and Windows 10 "Ameliorate Bombardment" power setting landed a rating of just more than than nine hours. Y'all could theoretically exit the tiny AC adapter at home if yous head to the part, which is always a welcome feature. From nearly dead, the battery tin charge up to about 80% in 45 minutes, thanks to Rapid Charge technology.
You lot can configure a model with an Intel Core i3-10110U, though I recommend going with at least the Core i5 model if y'all programme on heavy productivity and multitasking. Information technology has twice as many cores and volition remain future-proof for longer. I had no bug with photo editing, heavy web browsing, video streaming, and give-and-take processing during my time with the L13 Yoga.
I ran some synthetic benchmarks to see exactly how the L13 Yoga fares against other laptops nosotros've recently reviewed.
Geekbench 5
Geekbench 5.0 (CPU) (College is better)
Device | CPU | Single cadre | Multi core |
---|---|---|---|
Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga | i5-10210U | one,069 | 3,754 |
Lenovo Yoga C640 | i3-10110U | i,015 | two,111 |
Lenovo Yoga C740 14 | i5-10210U | 1,094 | 3,767 |
Samsung Galaxy Book Flex | i7-1065G7 | 1,317 | iv,780 |
Dell XPS 13 (9300) | i7-1065G7 | 1,284 | 4,848 |
Dell XPS xiii 2-in-ane 7390 | i7-1065G7 | one,209 | three,571 |
Surface Laptop 3 fifteen | i7-1065G7 | 1,336 | 4,893 |
HP Elite Dragonfly | i7-8665U | 1,125 | two,942 |
Surface Laptop three thirteen.five | i5-1035G7 | 1,177 | four,413 |
HP Spectre x360 13 | i7-1065G7 | 1,006 | 3,402 |
Surface Pro 10 | SQ1 | 725 | 2,819 |
Surface Laptop 3 15 | Ryzen 5 | 769 | two,720 |
Milky way Volume S | SD 8cx | 685 | 2,681 |
Acer Swift seven | i7-8500Y | 732 | one,106 |
Surface Pro vii | i5-1035G4 | i,191 | iv,441 |
Operation as expected from the quad-core i5-10210U. It made curt work of any standard office tasks I threw its way.
PCMark
PCMark ten
Device | Score |
---|---|
Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga | 4,899 |
Lenovo Yoga C640 | four,008 |
Lenovo Yoga C740 | 4,941 |
Samsung Galaxy Volume Flex | three,924 |
Dell XPS 13 (9300) | 4,524 |
Surface Laptop 3 15 (Intel) | four,604 |
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 | 4,554 |
HP Spectre x360 13 | four,261 |
Surface Laptop 3 15 (AMD) | 4,006 |
HP Elite Dragonfly | 3,716 |
LG gram 17 | iv,157 |
Acer Swift 5 (SF514-54T) | 4,415 |
Surface Pro 7 (i5) | 3,992 |
Dell Inspiron xiii 7390 2-in-1 | 3,764 |
Dell XPS 15 7590 | 5,521 |
PCMark 10 measures how well the PC'south hardware works together to perform everyday tasks. Nothing out of the ordinary hither.
Cinebench
Cinebench (R20) (Higher is meliorate)
Device | CPU | Range |
---|---|---|
Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga | 1,137 to 1,442 | |
Lenovo Yoga C640 | Cadre i3-10110U | 924 to 929 |
Lenovo Yoga C740 15 | Cadre i7-10510U | 1,415 to i,613 |
Lenovo Yoga C740 14 | Core i5-10210U | 1,450 to ane,535 |
LG gram 17 | i7-1065G7 | ane,079 to one,199 |
Acer Swift five (SF514-54T) | Core i7-1065G7 | 1,361 to 1,400 |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53 | Xeon Due east-2276M | 2,686 to two,701 |
Surface Laptop 3 13.5 | Core i5-1035G4 | 1,584 to 1,606 |
Surface Laptop 3 15 | Core i7-1065G7 | 1,703 to 1,745 |
Running the Cinebench R20 render examination multiple times in a row tin can show how well a laptop deals with rut and thermal throttling. There is a dip in functioning that suggests some throttling, though this isn't a laptop that's intended for rendering.
SSD
CrystalDiskMark (Higher is better)
Device | Read | Write |
---|---|---|
Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga | 3,188.82 MB/south | 1,685.61 MB/south |
Lenovo Yoga C640 | 1,906.78 MB/south | 970.69 MB/due south |
Samsung Milky way Volume Flex | 3,376 MB/south | 2,983 MB/s |
Dell XPS 13 (9300) | 3,000 MB/s | 1,217 MB/s |
HP Spectre x360 (Optane) | two,092 MB/due south | 515 MB/s |
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 | 2,400 MB/s | 1,228 MB/s |
HP Elite Dragonfly (Optane) | two,124 MB/due south | 548 MB/s |
Lenovo Yoga C740 | 3,408 MB/south | two,982 MB/s |
LG gram 17 (2020) | 3,477 MB/southward | 2,900 MB/due south |
Surface Laptop 3 15 | 2,028 MB/s | 806 MB/s |
Surface Laptop iii 13.5 | 2,338 MB/south | 1,583 MB/s |
Acer Swift 5 (SF514-54T) | one,641 MB/due south | ane,025 MB/s |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 2) | 3,416 MB/due south | three,016 MB/due south |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53 | 3,567.23 MB/s | 2,813.25 MB/s |
Lenovo ThinkPad P52 | 3,120 MB/s | ane,551.v MB/southward |
Dell XPS fifteen 7590 | 3,000 MB/s | 2,796 MB/s |
MSI PS63 Modern | three,300 MB/s | 1,875 MB/s |
The L13 Yoga has a speedy M.2 PCIe SSD that can be upgraded later purchase. Information technology'due south also bachelor up to 1TB straight from the factory.
What I dislike virtually the Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga
For the sub-$ane,000 asking price, the ThinkPad L13 Yoga has a lot to offer. The 13-inch size is a breeze to carry around, though some people might adopt a larger display for multitasking. Equally it stands, the FHD display — the only choice available from Lenovo — is proficient but not great. Testing with a SpyderX Pro colorimeter, I got back 100% sRGB, 77% AdobeRGB, and 79% DCI-P3, all excellent numbers that make for a colorful movie. The dissimilarity is excellent.
The display gets upwards to 336 nits brightness, and the anti-reflective display helps manage glare. Still, at that place is some glare to contend with, especially when working in a bright space. Brightness does lower to only 4.1 nits, which makes information technology a viable option for working late into the night. It'due south a perfectly manageable brandish for most productivity piece of work, but it would be prissy to have an upgrade choice. Even a bump to QHD for a couple hundred dollars more than would no doubt be welcomed by a lot of people.
Function of the charm of ThinkPads is their ability to exist upgraded. The L390 Yoga predecessor had dual SODIMM slots nether the hood for upgrades, but those are removed in the L13 Yoga. RAM is soldered and maxes out at 16GB available from the factory. That'south not a bad combination with the U-series CPUs, but I know some people will desire the option to upgrade whether they e'er actually do or not. There's likewise a lack of Wi-Fi 6, though that could be coming to some markets subsequently as an option since it is included in some reference documents.
Should y'all purchase the Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga?
The refresh and rename of the L13 Yoga bring a slightly lighter and thinner chassis, thinner bezel, tenth Gen Intel Core hardware, and a webcam shutter for added privacy. Those are all worthwhile updates, and the laptop feels nifty to use. RAM is no longer upgradeable (though the SSD is), and the FHD display is good but nothing miraculous; if yous can look by those qualms, the L13 Yoga is an affordable way to go your hands on ThinkPad features.
The keyboard is outstanding, and anyone typing all day shouldn't accept an issue, the chassis is well-congenital and durable, and the generous collection of ports makes it easy to connect all your peripherals. The docked ThinkPad Pen Pro offers a natural fashion of sketching or jotting down notes, and performance will keep upwards with productivity work and photo editing. Cheers to a rather deep customization, the L13 Yoga should appeal to both bulk buys and casual users who just want a solid business partner at a competitive cost.
The convertible characteristic isn't necessarily i you need to pay extra for, either. If you don't foresee yourself using the PC as a tablet, you can e'er check out the non-convertible ThinkPad L13.
Budget Business Convertible
Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga
Out with the L390 Yoga, in with the L13 Yoga
It'southward non a huge refresh, simply slimmer bezel, lighter and thinner chassis, and 10th Gen Intel Core CPU options make this mid-range ThinkPad a tempting selection for those who need a convertible concern partner.
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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/lenovo-thinkpad-l13-yoga-review
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