Lenovo yoga 900 vs HP Spectre x360:Which should you buy?
Lenovo yoga 900 The Lenovo Yoga 900 keeps the slim watchband-style hinge from last year's version, and adds major upgrades to performance and battery life. Even the lowest-cost version includes a big 256GB SSD. It has a bright, super-sharp multi-touch display, with a resolution of 3200 x 1800 pixels ("QHD+"). It has a thick bezel running along the bottom, giving it a 16 x 9 aspect ratio, which is great for watching video but makes just about everything else a little awkward. Position another 13-inch laptop next to the Yoga — whether it’s a MacBook (16:10) or the new Surface Book (3:2) — and the Yoga’s display will look slightly compressed in comparison.The Yoga 900 weighs 2.8 pounds and measures 0.59 by 12.75 by 8.96 inches. All of the standard ports are there, with the addition of a USB Type-C port. It is slightly heavier and thicker than last year’s Yoga 3 Pro laptop. But it never felt heavy to carry around. And when you consider the new stuff included in this one, it’s forgivable.
That "stuff" includes Intel’s sixth-generation Core i5 or i7 Skylake processor, a new chip touted for its speed, efficiency and graphics support; along with an Intel HD Graphics 520 GPU. The previous Yoga model got dinged for slowness; that wasn’t my experience with this one. In everyday use, the Yoga 900 was more than capable of running multiple apps, switching between tasks, and streaming video without any stutters.The Yoga 900’s battery life is definitely improved over last year’s Yoga 3 Pro, but compared to other laptops in this class, it’s still not the best. In a Verge battery test, the Lenovo Yoga 900 lived up to the company’s claim of nine hours. During a more normal day of use, running multiple apps, checking email, and browsing the web with some battery-saving settings turned on, it was inconsistent. Some days it lasted around five and a half hours, and other days closer to seven and a half. In either instance it doesn’t match the new Surface Book or recent MacBook Pro models.
This is where the 900 really does the job. As mentioned previously, the review model I was using was the top-end version of the 900 series. As you'd expect, Windows 10 ran perfectly smoothly in both Tablet and Desktop mode, with programs loading extremely quickly and no sign of any slowdown or crashes.
Whether or not you have the super-boss level version of the Yoga 900, with the new i5 and i7 processors backed up by SSDs and at least 8GB of RAM in each model, this device is sufficiently equipped to deal with pretty much anything you throw at it – short of hardcore gaming.
In terms of exact configurations, you can choose between the Intel Core i5-6200U or i7-6500U processors, 8GB of RAM – which can be upgrade to 16GB – and either a 256GB or 512GB SSD.
The integrated Intel HD Graphics 520 also does enough for the average user. The 900 scored fairly well on the PCMark 8 test, clocking in at 2,403. This puts it ever so slightly ahead of the Surface Pro 4’s 2,396 and somewhat behind the Dell XPS 13 Skylake’s 2,543.
In the Geekbench multi-core scores, the 900 beat both the Surface Pro 4 and theXPS 13. While the 900 had a score of 6,786, the Surface came in at 6,727 and the XPS at 6,242.
In 3DMark: Fire Strike test, the 900 scored a respectable 834. This puts it in the range of the Surface Pro and XPS 13 (Skylake), with scores of 853 and 838 respectively. And in the Cloud Gate test it came in at 5,860, behind the Surface Pro with 6,109 and the above the XPS 13 with 5,844.
Essentially, you won’t notice much difference between the Yoga 900 and similar Ultrabooks. The device is more than capable of handling most tasks, but it obviously isn't a gamer’s dream in terms of graphical performance.
But,Because of the change to more powerful processors, the body adds a little thickness. A few keys on the keyboard suffer from awkward placement.
THE BOTTOM LINE Lenovo clearly listened to feedback about last year's high-end Yoga, keeping the excellent overall design but boosting the specs to match other premium 13-inch laptops. Specifications
Processor: 2.5GHz Intel Core i7-6500U (dual-core, 4MB cache, up to 3.1GHz with Turbo Boost)
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 520
Display: 13.3-inch QHD+ 3,200 x 1,800 IPS display, 10-point multitouch, 300 nits brightness
Storage: 512GB SSD
Memory: 16GB LP-DDR3 RAM
Camera: 720p front-facing
Ports: 2 x USB Type A 3.0, 1 x USB Type C 3.0 with video out, 1 x DC input with USB 2.0 functionality, 4-in-1 card reader, audio combo jack.
Weight: 2.84 pounds
Size: 12.75 x 8.86 x 0.59 inches
Price :$1199.00
VS HP Spectre x360 The HP Spectre x360 has a solid aluminum body, smooth 360-degree hinges, an excellent display and very long battery life.The Spectre x360 is one of our new favorite laptops, thanks to its premium design, fast performance, vibrant screen and comfortable keyboard. It's relatively heavy compared to competing laptops, but it mostly makes up for it with nearly best-in-class battery life. With dual video outputs, HDMI and mini-DisplayPort, the Spectre x360 can drive two external monitors at once, and the system also follows a welcome recent trend of dropping older USB ports and making every port a USB 3.0 version.
But, before you expect too much in terms of performance from the new Intel CPUs, a MacBook with last year's Core i5 CPU, was still in the running (and led in one test), while a different Broadwell-generation chip, the ultra-low-voltage Core M found in the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, was slower in all tests by a noticeable margin.
It's battery life that really makes this system stand with the best in its category, with the Spectre x360 running for exactly 12 hours in our video playback battery drain test. That's not as rare a score as it might have been even last year, but having more laptops that top a dozen hours of battery life is not a trend anyone should argue with.
A pair of Dell XPS 13 systems, with substantially similar hardware configurations (including the same fifth-gen Intel Core i5 CPU), showed the wide range of possible battery life, with a higher-res touchscreen model running for about seven hours, while a non-touch 1,920x1,080 screen model running for about 12 hours, closely matching the Spectre x360.
The midrange x360 I reviewed featured Intel’s popular 5th-generation “Broadwell” Core i5-5200U, 8GB of DDR3/1600, a 256GB M.2 SATA SSD and an IPS 1920x1080 screen. This configuration will set you back $1,000, but you can step it down to $900 by halving the SATA SSD and RAM. Personally, I’d say spend the extra $100.
This configuration is actually fairly competitive. Outfitted with similar components, Dell’s XPS 13, for example, is $800—but it’s not a convertible and it even lacks the touchscreen at that price. Also, the XPS 13’s smaller, lighter form factor feels great until you touch the keyboard. The Spectre x360’s keyboard is far more comfortable to type on than the XPS 13’s. Frankly, I’d probably trade the XPS 13’s compact size for the Spectre x360’s keyboard in a second if it were my everyday driver.
Other details of the Spectre x360 also impressed me. The tiny power button on the left side of the frame is a bit annoying—you have to hunt for it. However, it takes just enough pressure that you can’t easily activate it by accident. On the convertible Yoga 3 Pro, I’d put the machine to sleep all the time just by picking up the chassis.
The clickable trackpad is superwide. While that can leads to false taps (I flail my thumbs when typing at full speed and mash my palms, too), I didn’t have any issues with it—my measured typing speed was comparable to what I’d achieve on a full-size laptop keyboard. I can’t say that about Dell’s XPS 13. One issue on the Spectre x360 worth noting: On occasion, I found it didn’t detect my right mouse-click.
In port selection, HP plays it safe and sane with three USB 3.0’s, mini DisplayPort and a full-sized HDMI. There’s also an SD card reader and a combo analog audio jack. Apparently HP doesn’t live in that bizarro MacBook world, where you get lauded for eliminating consumer choice in ports and forcing people to carry a bag of dongles.
The shell is milled from a solid block of aluminum. To add pizzazz, HP polished the edges of the body and screen. It gives this convertible a beautiful look that sets it apart from any other unit we’ve seen this year.
It's heavier than a MacBook Air, and like many similar hybrids, it leaves the keyboard exposed in tablet mode. Higher-end screen options could limit battery life.
THE BOTTOM LINE With long battery life, good performance and an attractive design, the HP Spectre x360 is one of the best convertible notebooks you can buy. While not as light, or convenient, in tablet mode as the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, the x360 is less expensive, has a more powerful processor and lasts longer on a charge. If you're not interested in a convertible, the nontouch version of the Dell XPS 13offers similar performance and much longer battery life in a smaller package. But if you want something that can adapt with your needs, the Spectre x360 is a very good choice.
Price:$899.00
That "stuff" includes Intel’s sixth-generation Core i5 or i7 Skylake processor, a new chip touted for its speed, efficiency and graphics support; along with an Intel HD Graphics 520 GPU. The previous Yoga model got dinged for slowness; that wasn’t my experience with this one. In everyday use, the Yoga 900 was more than capable of running multiple apps, switching between tasks, and streaming video without any stutters.The Yoga 900’s battery life is definitely improved over last year’s Yoga 3 Pro, but compared to other laptops in this class, it’s still not the best. In a Verge battery test, the Lenovo Yoga 900 lived up to the company’s claim of nine hours. During a more normal day of use, running multiple apps, checking email, and browsing the web with some battery-saving settings turned on, it was inconsistent. Some days it lasted around five and a half hours, and other days closer to seven and a half. In either instance it doesn’t match the new Surface Book or recent MacBook Pro models.
This is where the 900 really does the job. As mentioned previously, the review model I was using was the top-end version of the 900 series. As you'd expect, Windows 10 ran perfectly smoothly in both Tablet and Desktop mode, with programs loading extremely quickly and no sign of any slowdown or crashes.
Whether or not you have the super-boss level version of the Yoga 900, with the new i5 and i7 processors backed up by SSDs and at least 8GB of RAM in each model, this device is sufficiently equipped to deal with pretty much anything you throw at it – short of hardcore gaming.
In terms of exact configurations, you can choose between the Intel Core i5-6200U or i7-6500U processors, 8GB of RAM – which can be upgrade to 16GB – and either a 256GB or 512GB SSD.
The integrated Intel HD Graphics 520 also does enough for the average user. The 900 scored fairly well on the PCMark 8 test, clocking in at 2,403. This puts it ever so slightly ahead of the Surface Pro 4’s 2,396 and somewhat behind the Dell XPS 13 Skylake’s 2,543.
In the Geekbench multi-core scores, the 900 beat both the Surface Pro 4 and theXPS 13. While the 900 had a score of 6,786, the Surface came in at 6,727 and the XPS at 6,242.
In 3DMark: Fire Strike test, the 900 scored a respectable 834. This puts it in the range of the Surface Pro and XPS 13 (Skylake), with scores of 853 and 838 respectively. And in the Cloud Gate test it came in at 5,860, behind the Surface Pro with 6,109 and the above the XPS 13 with 5,844.
Essentially, you won’t notice much difference between the Yoga 900 and similar Ultrabooks. The device is more than capable of handling most tasks, but it obviously isn't a gamer’s dream in terms of graphical performance.
But,Because of the change to more powerful processors, the body adds a little thickness. A few keys on the keyboard suffer from awkward placement.
THE BOTTOM LINE Lenovo clearly listened to feedback about last year's high-end Yoga, keeping the excellent overall design but boosting the specs to match other premium 13-inch laptops. Specifications
Processor: 2.5GHz Intel Core i7-6500U (dual-core, 4MB cache, up to 3.1GHz with Turbo Boost)
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 520
Display: 13.3-inch QHD+ 3,200 x 1,800 IPS display, 10-point multitouch, 300 nits brightness
Storage: 512GB SSD
Memory: 16GB LP-DDR3 RAM
Camera: 720p front-facing
Ports: 2 x USB Type A 3.0, 1 x USB Type C 3.0 with video out, 1 x DC input with USB 2.0 functionality, 4-in-1 card reader, audio combo jack.
Weight: 2.84 pounds
Size: 12.75 x 8.86 x 0.59 inches
Price :$1199.00
VS HP Spectre x360 The HP Spectre x360 has a solid aluminum body, smooth 360-degree hinges, an excellent display and very long battery life.The Spectre x360 is one of our new favorite laptops, thanks to its premium design, fast performance, vibrant screen and comfortable keyboard. It's relatively heavy compared to competing laptops, but it mostly makes up for it with nearly best-in-class battery life. With dual video outputs, HDMI and mini-DisplayPort, the Spectre x360 can drive two external monitors at once, and the system also follows a welcome recent trend of dropping older USB ports and making every port a USB 3.0 version.
But, before you expect too much in terms of performance from the new Intel CPUs, a MacBook with last year's Core i5 CPU, was still in the running (and led in one test), while a different Broadwell-generation chip, the ultra-low-voltage Core M found in the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, was slower in all tests by a noticeable margin.
It's battery life that really makes this system stand with the best in its category, with the Spectre x360 running for exactly 12 hours in our video playback battery drain test. That's not as rare a score as it might have been even last year, but having more laptops that top a dozen hours of battery life is not a trend anyone should argue with.
A pair of Dell XPS 13 systems, with substantially similar hardware configurations (including the same fifth-gen Intel Core i5 CPU), showed the wide range of possible battery life, with a higher-res touchscreen model running for about seven hours, while a non-touch 1,920x1,080 screen model running for about 12 hours, closely matching the Spectre x360.
The midrange x360 I reviewed featured Intel’s popular 5th-generation “Broadwell” Core i5-5200U, 8GB of DDR3/1600, a 256GB M.2 SATA SSD and an IPS 1920x1080 screen. This configuration will set you back $1,000, but you can step it down to $900 by halving the SATA SSD and RAM. Personally, I’d say spend the extra $100.
This configuration is actually fairly competitive. Outfitted with similar components, Dell’s XPS 13, for example, is $800—but it’s not a convertible and it even lacks the touchscreen at that price. Also, the XPS 13’s smaller, lighter form factor feels great until you touch the keyboard. The Spectre x360’s keyboard is far more comfortable to type on than the XPS 13’s. Frankly, I’d probably trade the XPS 13’s compact size for the Spectre x360’s keyboard in a second if it were my everyday driver.
Other details of the Spectre x360 also impressed me. The tiny power button on the left side of the frame is a bit annoying—you have to hunt for it. However, it takes just enough pressure that you can’t easily activate it by accident. On the convertible Yoga 3 Pro, I’d put the machine to sleep all the time just by picking up the chassis.
The clickable trackpad is superwide. While that can leads to false taps (I flail my thumbs when typing at full speed and mash my palms, too), I didn’t have any issues with it—my measured typing speed was comparable to what I’d achieve on a full-size laptop keyboard. I can’t say that about Dell’s XPS 13. One issue on the Spectre x360 worth noting: On occasion, I found it didn’t detect my right mouse-click.
In port selection, HP plays it safe and sane with three USB 3.0’s, mini DisplayPort and a full-sized HDMI. There’s also an SD card reader and a combo analog audio jack. Apparently HP doesn’t live in that bizarro MacBook world, where you get lauded for eliminating consumer choice in ports and forcing people to carry a bag of dongles.
The shell is milled from a solid block of aluminum. To add pizzazz, HP polished the edges of the body and screen. It gives this convertible a beautiful look that sets it apart from any other unit we’ve seen this year.
It's heavier than a MacBook Air, and like many similar hybrids, it leaves the keyboard exposed in tablet mode. Higher-end screen options could limit battery life.
THE BOTTOM LINE With long battery life, good performance and an attractive design, the HP Spectre x360 is one of the best convertible notebooks you can buy. While not as light, or convenient, in tablet mode as the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, the x360 is less expensive, has a more powerful processor and lasts longer on a charge. If you're not interested in a convertible, the nontouch version of the Dell XPS 13offers similar performance and much longer battery life in a smaller package. But if you want something that can adapt with your needs, the Spectre x360 is a very good choice.
Price:$899.00
Very nice.. i really like your blog… Hp Spectre X360 is my most fevorate laptop till now, Read more about Hp Spectre X360 Review by our expert.Thanks for sharing such a good blog.
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