The Yoga 900 is the successor to the Yoga Pro 3 but several key changes have been made for the new generation. Asides from the dropping of “Pro” from the title, the “Yoga” family name now features more heavily than the Lenovo brand on the device itself, with a stylized “Yoga” logo replacing the Lenovo one on the lid.
The 13.3-inch IPS display has an eye-popping resolution of 3200×1800 pixels. Underneath lies an Intel Skylake processor, offered in variants right up to the range-topping Core i7.
This is a marked improvement over last year, when reviewers complained as Lenovo axed the powerhouse that the Yoga Pro line traditionally offered in favour of trimming the chassis to decrease weight and width. For 2016, it has responded to the feedback and brought back Core i5 and i7 instead of the low-power Core M of the Yoga Pro 3.
Despite this change, the Yoga 900 is still respectably thin and light. It weighs in at 1.29kg and has a girth of 14.9mm at its widest point. It’s still one of the thinnest devices around but it does represent a substantial increase over its predecessor, even if users may not necessarily notice. The Yoga Pro 3 weighed 1.19kg with a maximum width of 12.8mm. Lenovo also says it has improved the cooling system by 30 percent so the device will remain cooler and quieter when in use.
For connectivity, Lenovo has included a USB Type-C port alongside two traditional USB 3.0 ports. There is also a combined headphone jack and microphone port and an SD card reader, but no standard display outputs.
Like the other members of the Yoga line, the 900 can be used in four different modes: traditional laptop, stand, tent and tablet. The hinge lets the screen flip back and remain supported at any angle and is still made of over 800 individual, “intricately woven” parts in a unique “watchband” design. The updated hinge apparently offers “butter-smooth rotation” that surpasses anything Lenovo has announced before.
The keyboard has been reworked for the new generation and the dedicated row of function keys reinstated. To the annoyance of many Yoga Pro 3 owners, Lenovo removed this usual set of keys last year to save space on the keyboard tray. It has responded to the feedback and returned to a more traditional layout with its successor.
Another area in which the company has acknowledged customer complaints regards the battery. Last year, the Pro 3 often fell well short of achieving its stated 12 hours of battery so the company has upped the battery density by 50 percent and now promises up to nine hours of video playback.
The Yoga 900 will be available in several different storage configurations ranging from 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD to 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. Availability and pricing for each variant remains vague but Lenovo says it will go on sale in the U.S. this month priced from $1,199. It will be offered in clementine orange, platinum silver or champagne gold.
