Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, Watchband Hinge And Intel Core M Deliver Thin And Light Performance

by Dave Altavilla — Wednesday, November 26, 2014, 09:29 AM EDT

Design And Yoga Modes (cont.)

The six link "watchband" hinge mechanism of the Yoga 3 Pro works really well, and though it does occasionally clatter a little bit, like a real watchband does when you pick it up, we actually grew fond of the sound. It's subtle and the hing itself does class things up nicely, like a good stainless steal watchband does on a timepiece. And though we'd agree with Lenovo that the hinge does offer stronger support for multitouch use, we did find the display to be so thin that there was even a bit too much flex there as well. Again, not overly so but noticeable nonetheless.

Yoga 3 Pro - Tablet Mode

Left: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2014) - Right: Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro

Yoga 3 Pro - Tent Mode - And no, it doesn't break like a MacBook when you do this.

Yoga 3 Pro - Stand Mode

And yep, you guessed it, Notebook mode.

If you've been hanging around these parts for any length of time, you're probably familiar with the Yoga line's different modes. Seen here in Tablet, Tent, Stand, and traditional Notebook modes, Lenovo actually builds in some intelligence with the hinge as well. When the display is extended beyond a 190 degree swing, the keyboard and touchpad are automatically disabled, leaving you with the Windows 8 touch interface for Tent, Tablet or Stand modes.

All told, the Yoga 3 Pro's build is a good mix of innovative design with real use case advantages. Its build quality is also premium throughout, though the design does reach its limits in thinness in spots, which we found tolerable though not ideal. It terms of style and finish, the Yoga 3 Pro looks great and it's definitely a head-turner with its watchband hinge.