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By Joel Santo Domingo If you typically use a laptop, but want a system that can also be used as a tablet or a display, then the Lenovo Yoga 3 14 ($949 as tested) is worth serious consideration. The convertible-hybrid laptop's 14-inch, full HD screen makes it easy to share with others when in Tent and Stand modes, but it's somewhat unwieldy in Tablet mode unless you're looking to use it on a flat surface. Battery life is a strong point, and it sports the vaunted and oft-copied Yoga hinge, but there are other convertibles that flip over these days, so the Yoga 3 14 has plenty of strong competition.
The Yoga 3 14$949.00 at Lenovo is reasonably thin in Laptop mode, measuring 0.72 by 13.25 by 9 inches (HWD), and it weighs 3.65 pounds. That's larger and heavier than our current Editors' Choice for midrange convertible-hybrid laptops, the HP Spectre x360 13t (13-4003)$999.99 at Best Buy, but smaller and lighter than the 15-inch Toshiba Satellite Radius P55W-B5224$770.00 at Amazon. It has almost the same dimensions and weight as the Dell Inspiron 13 7000 Series 2-in-1$769.99 at Dell, which has a smaller 13-inch screen. The Yoga 3 14 is available in light silver or in black (like our review unit).
The 14-inch In-Plane Switching (IPS) screen has a 1,920-by-1,080 resolution, which is perfect for viewing movies from Netflix or other online video services. The built-in speakers aren't incredibly loud, but you can get by with them if you're watching a talk-heavy movie in a small, quiet room. Stand and Tent modes are perfect for video watching since those two modes don't have the backlit keyboard in your view. The default adaptive with like Acer Aspire One 521 AC Adapter, Acer Aspire 1551 AC Adapter, Acer Aspire 4551 AC Adapter, Acer Aspire 5251 AC Adapter, Acer TravelMate 8472 AC Adapter, Acer Aspire 7551 AC Adapter, Acer Aspire 1680 AC Adapter, Acer Aspire One AC Adapter, Acer Travelmate 3000 AC Adapter, Acer Travelmate 250 AC Adapter, Acer Aspire 9100 AC Adapter, Acer Travelmate 200 AC Adapterscreen brightness setting dims the screen aggressively, so you may want to turn it off if you're watching videos. There's a bit of screen bounce after quick taps, but you'll have to be really picky to have that bother you.
The size of the screen becomes problematic when the system is in Tablet mode. The bulkiness makes it hard to hold in one arm for an extended period of time, especially since the laptop weighs 3.65 pounds. That's lighter than the almost-five-pound Toshiba Satellite Radius P55W-B5224, but heavier than the HP Spectre x360, which, with its 13.3-inch screen, is easier to carry around.
The keyboard has curved and scalloped keys, like on previous Lenovo systems like the Lenovo Edge 15$699.99 at Best Buy, but the keys on the Yoga 3 14 seemed to have a shallower keystroke. It's easy to get used to, but if you're a stickler for key feel, give the system a try in your local big box store. The one-piece touchpad worked well, though the one on the HP Spectre x360 is proportionally wider.
It's worth noting that this is one of the few Lenovo models to use a USB plug for its power adapter (another is the pricey Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro$1,149.00 at Lenovo). That helps give you an additional USB 2.0 port when you're using the system on battery power. The Yoga 3 14 also has a micro HDMI port—which requires users to purchase a separate dongle to connect the laptop to a HDMI monitor or HDTV—as well as two USB 3.0 ports, an SD card slot, and a headset jack. 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 offer wireless connectivity.
The 8GB of system memory is excellent if you're the type of user that keeps two dozen browser tabs open simultaneously. The 256GB solid-state drive (SSD) offers lots of free space. There's an annoying amount of bloatware, however, including Dailymotion, Evernote Touch, Kindle, Share It, the Weather Channel, and Zinio. A bunch of Lenovo-branded apps like Companion, Photo Master, and Yoga Chef also take up space in the Start screen. The system has a standard one-year warranty.