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Here’s how the Lenovo Yoga 910 performed in our suite of benchmark tests:
3DMark Sky Diver: 3,816; Fire Strike: 902; Time Spy: 357
Cinebench CPU: 335 points; Graphics: 45 fps
GeekBench 3: 3,674 (single-core); 7,890 (multi-core)
PCMark 8 (Home Test): 2,506 points
PCMark 8 Battery Life: 4 hours and 23 minutes
Battery Life (techradar movie test): 4 hours and 32 minutes
The Lenovo Yoga 910 comes ready to get work done, and it ran flawlessly through multiple days of punishing tasks in our testing. There isn’t the slightest hint of slowness, even while editing multiple photos in Photoshop with a dozen websites open in both Firefox and Chrome, and yet another app streaming Google Play Music.
Although it’s great that the Lenovo Yoga 910 is powerful enough to keep up with our daily tasks, it doesn’t do so without protest. The laptop’s fans kick on regularly and loudly, even with a simple process such as a web browser. What’s more, the notebook gets noticeably warm on our lap, even with the cooling system operating at full blast.
The Yoga series has had a history of turning in lower benchmark numbers and better battery life in our testing; however, that trend doesn’t continue this time around.
Lenovo’s top 2-in-1 bests everyone – that includes the Razer Blade Stealth and HP Spectre x360 – in the graphics department with the highest 3DMark scores. However, it has a markedly lower score in PCMark 8 and other processor-testing benchmarks than HP’s rivaling hybrid and Razer’s Ultrabook.
We attribute these results to the fact that Lenovo may have tuned the integrated graphics on it’s 2-in-1 to better help it drive 4K screen, whereas the Blade Stealth is only QHD+ and the Spectre x360 features a Full HD display. 3DMark puts every machine on a level playing ground by running the tests at Full HD, allowing the Yoga 910 to pull ahead.
PCMark 8 and the other CPU-taxing benchmarks make no such accommodation, and so the Ultra HD resolution ends up hurting the convertible’s overall scores elsewhere. For instance, the Yoga 910’s results sit about even with and follow the same trends as the Dell XPS 13.
Battery life
Lenovo rates the Yoga 910 for 10 hours of battery life with its new 79 Watt-hour cells, but it really should cut that estimate in half. The convertible laptop lasted an average of 4 hours and 23 minutes through the grueling PCMark 8 battery test, and then only nine minutes longer on our more conservative movie test.
We were also only able to put in about four hours of work – with an extra 30 minutes if we lowered the screen brightness – before we had to plug in the notebook.
That’s far less than the nine-hour marathon the Spectre x360 managed to run on our movie benchmark. Sure, HP’s 13-inch convertible has a far lower screen resolution, but even its bigger, 4K 15-inch brother with discrete graphics lasted a full hour longer.
Despite packing denser energy cells, they simply can’t keep up with the greater energy demands of the Lenovo Yoga 910’s 4K display and near-constantly running fans.
We liked
In an age of the ever-thinning Ultrabook, Lenovo dares to swim against the current to bring us an 2-in-1 laptop that’s bigger, badder and still a tiny bit thinner. What’s more, it doesn’t sacrifice a quality typing experience nor all its legacy USB ports to get there.
The added screen real estate and bump up in resolution rivals even the Surface Book’s spacious, sharp display. Add a solid pair of speakers to back up the visuals, and the Lenovo Yoga 910 is one of the best 2-in-1 devices for watching video.
We disliked
Unfortunately, for all the good that comes with the Yoga’s latest revision, battery life takes a dramatic hit. How hot and loud this laptop runs, as well as almost always requiring maximum screen brightness, are both knocks against the Lenovo Yoga 910.
Final verdict
The Lenovo Yoga series has been a rollercoaster of admirable innovations and disappointments. The Yoga 3 Pro was a feat of engineering marred by poor performance and poorer battery life. Short after, the Lenovo Yoga 900 was a resounding improvement, adding more battery life and processing power. Unfortunately, the Yoga 910 feels like both an improvement and misstep for the storied laptop line.
On one hand, it’s one of Lenovo’s best designs yet, packing a 14-inch screen into a 13-inch chassis. On the other, we wish the machine’s thermals were more refined. The larger, sharper display would have been a welcome addition if it didn’t come at such a cost to battery life.
Ultimately, the Lenovo Yoga 910 is an undeniably unique 2-in-1 laptop in a sea of homogeneous hybrids. It’s sleek styling and gorgeous, larger display are well worth your attention. However, if you’re looking for something a little cheaper and longer lasting, the HP Spectre x360 (both the 13- and 15-inch versions) may better suit your needs.
