Lenovo ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook: review, specifications, price

Enterprise as normal

Visually, the C13 is under no circumstances inferior to its Home windows colleagues. Lenovo is adopting nearly each component of its skilled line for the Chromebook. An LED within the ThinkPad emblem lights crimson when the gadget is in operation. The well-known trackball in the course of the keyboard additionally ensures a excessive recognition worth. Within the model of a businessman, the C13 Yoga additionally is available in a darkish aluminum casing that’s easy however decidedly trendy. It appears good in each convention room or ICE. The 360 ​​diploma hinges are additionally from the Yoga collection, with which you’ll simply fold the display utterly and use the gadget in tent mode or as a pill.

Chromebook with AMD processor

It continues somewhat in another way inside. Many Chromebooks include power-saving ARM or Intel N processors, whereas dearer gadgets additionally use Intel’s present technology of Tiger Lake. None of this stuff are discovered within the ThinkPad C13 Yoga. As a substitute, Lenovo depends on the Ryzen 5 3500C. The producer AMD launched the chip in September 2020. It’s specifically designed for Chromebooks and ensures an honest tempo of labor within the Yoga C13. Functions open shortly. A file in Google Docs or spreadsheets could be edited shortly, and modifying photos with Snapseed can also be fast and straightforward. Nonetheless, there are points with the video games. This was already noticeable within the take a look at lab. A efficiency take a look at did not work, the values ​​of one other benchmark to find out the take a look at rating have been transformed. This has penalties for gamers particularly. As a result of greater Play Retailer titles like “Asphalt 9” stuttered on the Chromebook in commonplace settings. Solely those that need to play small informal video games through the break don’t have any downside. So you will not be disturbed by the fan, which rotates easily however audibly at full load.

Not an artist

The actual fact stays: ThinkPads are only for work, not for enjoyable, no matter Chrome OS or Home windows put in. It is also clear on the display. There is no such thing as a Full HD right here. The C13 Yoga brings content material to the display with 1536×864 pixels. That is truly not applicable for the value vary. As is typical for Chromebooks, the picture is a bit darkish. The colours additionally seem a tad too pale, the pores and skin tones barely distorted. YouTube and Netflix? So goes. The poor sound contributes to the truth that media content material is not actually enjoyable on the Chromebook.

These extras are on board

Lenovo needs to compensate for the dearth of leisure with different capabilities. The Chromebook, for instance, incorporates two cameras, which is kind of uncommon. The traditional webcam on the prime of the display is for video conferencing, the second can be utilized to take snapshots like a typical iPad vacationer on the go. Nonetheless, it takes a very long time to get out and excellent images don’t succeed even in the very best lighting circumstances. On prime of that, with a weight of 1.46 kilograms, the gadget is way too heavy as a long-term digital digicam. The second, rather more handy plus is the fingerprint sensor, which unlocks the ThinkPad and is able to use.

An exception to the requirements

The remaining are Chromebook compliant. In different phrases: The take a look at candidate has a working reminiscence of 8 gigabytes (GB). That is okay with a Chromebook. You will get the gadget cheaper with much less RAM. However think twice about whether or not you need to avoid wasting cash at this level, because the RAM can’t be upgraded afterwards. It appears totally different with knowledge storage. This isn’t a lame eMMC however mounted SSD storage. As with nearly all Chromebooks, this one is tight. 109 GB can be utilized. No surprise: with notebooks with the Google system, knowledge ought to migrate to the cloud if potential. In spite of everything, they’re out there there always. The draw back: sooner or later, it can price you cash. Solely 15 gigabytes are free on Google. A further 100 gigabytes can be found free to consumers for one yr. Past that, 1.99 euros per 30 days or 19.99 euros per yr are due. However there’s additionally excellent news: Skilled screwdrivers can swap the C13 Yoga’s NVMe SSD for a mannequin with more room. The gadget additionally comes with a microSD card reader and two USB-A and USB-C sockets for connecting equipment. If essential, there may be room for an exterior show at an HDMI connection. It is a disgrace: Battery life continues to be lengthy at slightly below six hours, however many cheaper gadgets final for much longer at over seven hours.

Operation with restrictions

The ThinkPad nonetheless has a shock up its sleeve. A stylus is hidden within the case. You may function the touchscreen from the desk and simply take notes, for instance. It isn’t essential. The display is straightforward to make use of even and not using a stylus. Ditto for the keyboard. The keys have an excellent strain level and typing is enjoyable. For those who’ve by no means had a ThinkPad earlier than, you have to get used to the format. The trackball makes it tight across the g, h, and b keys. Those that have used ThinkPads for a very long time, alternatively, are conversant in the additional button above the touchpad that can be utilized to scroll by way of web sites utilizing the trackball. The issue: The touchpad, which is nice in itself, seems to be a bit too small.

Conclusion: adequate for the workplace

Whether or not with Home windows or Chrome OS, ThinkPads are workaholics. Lenovo isn’t any exception with the ThinkPad C13 Yoga. Because of the Ryzen processor, it really works quick and the battery life continues to be first rate. There are issues particularly with greater video games. They did not essentially lose something on a enterprise laptop computer, and people spending round $ 700 on a Chromebook can count on smartphone video games to work on it as effectively. An excellent different is the Acer Chromebook Spin 513. There have been no gaming points, the battery lasts longer, it is no much less trendy and at 400 euros it is also cheaper.