Lenovo all but invented the 2-in-1 hybrid laptop, and is still one of its foremost innovators. A number of Lenovo hybrids have won PCMag Editors' Choice awards, including the entry-level 11-inch Yoga 710 and the luxury-minded Yoga 910, both convertibles, and the Miix 510, a midrange tablet—and those are just since December.
It's clear the company has no intention of getting out of the game yet, as can be seen from its offerings in conjunction with Mobile World Congress this year. Lenovo has revealed a trio of new convertible and detachable systems that expand on the many inroads it's already made into this rapidly expanding market.
Windows Convertibles
The Yoga 720 and the Flex 5 are both convertibles, which feature a screen that rotates all the way around so they can be used as traditional laptops, nouveau tablets, or anything in between. Both use the latest Intel 7th Generation Core ("Kaby Lake") processors, which are designed to provide improved processing power while also remaining easy to cool and energy efficient—just what you'd want from a thin laptop.
And these laptops are thin, as well as light: The Yoga 720 measures about 0.56 inches thick and weighs about 2.86 pounds; the Flex 5 is about 0.78 inches thick and weighs 3.84 pounds. Along with their svelte designs, Lenovo also claims that the 15-inch Yoga 720 has battery life of about 9 hours and the Flex 5 a full 10 hours. But you shouldn't have to sacrifice capability just to get a thin, long-lasting laptop. The Yoga 720 is equipped with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 discrete graphics card, and has a Thunderbolt 3 port for some of the fastest connectivity you can get. You can also configure it with an In-Plane Switching (IPS) display at 4K resolution (3,840 by 2,160), for superb visuals whether you're at work or play.
In addition, both the Yoga 720 and the Flex 5 have pen support, so you can write and draw on them just as you would a regular tablet one you're using them in that mode. A fingerprint reader is integrated into the Yoga 720 and is an option on the Flex 5, all ready for use with the Windows Hello automatic login function.
Two varieties of the Yoga 720 will be available in the United States in April: a 13-inch version starting at $859.99 and a 15-inch version starting at $1,099.99. The 14-inch Flex 5 will make its debut in May at a starting price of $799.99.
Windows Detachable
Lenovo isn't neglecting its Miix line of detachable-hybrids, either. It's also introducing the Miix 320, an Intel Atom-based tablet with an included keyboard dock. It can hold up to 4GB of RAM and 128GB eMMC flash storage, and is equipped with a 10.1-inch 1,920-by-1,200-resolution touch screen. According to Lenovo's estimates, the Miix 320 should only weigh about 2.25 pounds with the keyboard attached. Without the keyboard, the 0.69-inch tablet is expected to weigh only 1.21 pounds. The Miix 320 should last you quite a while out and about, too—Lenovo rates its battery life at 10 hours. And if you don't have Wi-Fi everywhere you go, don't worry: dual-antenna LTE connectivity is an option.
The Miix 320 will be available in April, at a starting price of $199.99.