Back in 2016, Lenovo unveiled an interesting device called the Yoga Book. The device tried to balance being a tablet, a laptop, and an artist’s creation station at once. It got pretty good reviews (including from myself), but most of us had our gripes about the gadget. That all looks to change today as Lenovo has unveiled the new Yoga Book C930, the very first successor to the original Yoga Book which improves upon the device in many ways.
For starters, the device now comes with two screens instead of one. You get a standard 10.8-inch LCD Quad HD panel on the top, while the bottom houses a full-on 10.8-inch Full HD E Ink display which lets you draw, take notes, and read content like on an Amazon Kindle. Of course, the screen also doubles as your keyboard, and Lenovo says it’s done a lot of work to improve the typing experience.
According to the company, the keyboard, which features larger keys and bigger touch targets, now gives you visual feedback by offering a more three-dimensional appearance before you actually begin typing. This is similar to a standard keyboard which is obviously three-dimensional. Lenovo also says the new Yoga Book C930 has better haptic feedback to make the keys feel better to type on. What’s more, the keyboard will now learn how you use it and adjust its settings accordingly (e.g. if you’re one to find a key and strike it with a single finger or if you’re a fluent typer busting out 200 words per minute).
Of course, we can’t say whether the typing experience has actually improved in this case until we get a chance to try it out. But you better believe we’ll give it our all to get a unit of this thing as early as possible. Follow us @TheMatridox on Instagram to find out when we get our hands on one.
In addition, Lenovo says both the LCD and E Ink displays work together in conjunction. The company built custom software to allow the panels to operate both independently and together to help you get work done. The device also ships with a Bluetooth-enabled Precision Pen with 4,096 points of pressure sensitivity and Wacom technology so you can doodle, take notes, and more. All in all, this generation of the Yoga Book seems pretty promising in the productivity space.
For specs, you really can’t expect much from a device that measures in at 4mm at its thinnest point, but you’d be surprised by what Lenovo was able to pack inside. The Yoga Book C930 comes with either a 7th-generation Intel Core m3 or m5 processor, Windows 10, 4GB of RAM, up to 256GB of storage, and Intel HD Graphics 615. That’s pretty impressive for such a slim machine. What’s more, the company also says the new Yoga Book features up to 8.6 hours of battery life on a single charge, available 4G LTE connectivity, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, dual Dolby Atmos speakers, two USB-C ports (finally!), and a fingerprint reader for Windows Hello log-ins.
A common problem many users of the Yoga Book had was the inability to open the device with one hand. I can testify to the fact that you absolutely, 100 percent have to pry that sucker open with both hands, and there’s no getting around it. Luckily, Lenovo aims to solve this problem with the C930’s new double-knock feature.
Now, when you knock twice on the device’s lid, the magnets holding it together contract and move to change the attraction of force from “pull” to “push,” therefore opening the lid and allowing you to open the device much easier. Again, we’ll need to test this feature out for ourselves to determine whether it works well so be sure to stay tuned.
Lenovo’s Yoga Book C930 certainly seems interesting. The company is targeting this generation as an ultra-portable laptop that lets you do more. This is in direct contrast to the original Yoga Book which tried to blend productivity and entertainment. On paper, the latest generation looks like it could be a hit, but only real-world usage will determine if it’s a worthy successor to 2016’s variant.
Lenovo says the new Yoga Book C930 will launch this October. It starts at $999.99 which is twice the price of the original Yoga Book. I guess with all the new tech on board, the company had to increase the price. Still, it’s a high cost to ask for what with the uncertainty of this device actually becoming a hit.
