Convertible laptops combine the features of a laptop and tablet in one device.
This increases the versatility of the laptop. However, they are not as common as traditional laptops.
In this article, we compare the Lenovo Flex and Lenovo Yoga. Here’s everything you need to know about Lenovo Flex Vs Lenovo Yoga.
Lenovo Flex vs Lenovo Yoga Overview
| Lenovo Flex | Lenovo Yoga | |
|---|---|---|
| Design (5) | 4 | 4 |
| Build Quality (5) | 3 | 4 |
| Upgradeability (5) | 4 | 3 |
| Display (5) | 3 | 4 |
| Thermals (5) | 3 | 4 |
| Performance (5) | 4 | 5 |
| Battery Life (5) | 4 | 4 |
| Total (35) | 25 | 28 |
Lenovo Flex – Pros & Cons
Pros
Solid Performance
Affordable
Slim & Lightweight
Decent Battery Life & Fast Charge
Cons
Not The Best Build Quality
Dim Display
Lenovo Yoga – Pros & Cons
Pros
Great Performance
Solid Build Quality
Decent Display
Quick Charger & Decent Battery Life
Thunderbolt Port
Cons
Keyboard Flex
Shallow Travel Keyboard
RAM Is Soldered
Differences Between Lenovo Flex and Yoga
Configurations
The Lenovo Flex belongs to the Ideapad Flex series. And in that family, there is the Flex 14 and Flex 15.
The Lenovo Flex has a 14 or 15-inch display. The Lenovo Flex can be configured up to Intel Core/AMD Ryzen, 16GB RAM and a 2TB SSD.
The Flex 14 and 15 are affordable 2-in-1 laptops. However, the Flex 14 is the more affordable of the two.
The Lenovo Yoga, on the other hand, belongs to its family- Yoga. The Yoga family offers better features than the Flex. Features such as USB-C charging, Thunderbolt ports and better build quality.
There are several members of the Yoga family. But, they can be grouped into three – the Yoga 900s, Yoga 700s, Yoga C and 7i series.
Both three categories have a wide range of configurations. But, what sets them apart is the design and build quality.
The Lenovo Yoga 700s and Yoga C have similar designs. But, the Yoga 900s are slightly different and the display hinge is a dead giveaway.
Design & Build Quality
Budget convertible laptops rarely have a metallic build. The Lenovo Flex 15 is a convertible laptop and it’s entirely made of plastic.
The plastic build makes it have a good amount of flex on the display and keyboard area. An all-black colour that looks clean and modern.
The position of the Lenovo logo has also been changed. It’s now located at the top-left corner and it’s no more horizontal.
But, vertical. The Lenovo Flex is a fairly thin and lightweight device. It’s about 0.8 inches in thickness and 4.41 lbs (2.0 kg).
It also has a decent port selection. Overall, the Lenovo Flex is one of the best laptops out there.
The plastic has a smooth and shiny finish making look like a premium laptop. The build quality, however, is questionable.
The Lenovo Yoga has a stronger build quality. Made from aluminium. It’s sturdier than the Lenovo Flex. However, the keyboard area has quite a bit of flex.
The convertible comes in two colours – silver and black. If you look closely, the shape of the laptop closely resembles the HP Envy and parts of the HP Spectre. The corners are sharp and the hinge design is similar.
The metallic build has a smooth finish and it’s a fingerprint magnet. The Lenovo Yoga is a thin and light device. You can easily carry this with you anywhere.
The 13-inch model weighs 2.47 lbs (1.12kg) and half an inch thick. The 15-inch model weighs 4.2 lbs (1.88 kg) and it is a little over an inch thick.
Port selection is decent. You have a Thunderbolt port which supports USB-C charging and two USB 3.0 ports.
All in all, the Lenovo Yoga design looks so much better than the Lenovo Flex. The design and build quality embody that of a mid to high-end convertible laptop.
Upgradeability
Opening the Lenovo Flex is easy to do. All you need to do is remove a few screws. Once inside, you can easily upgrade the SSD, HDD and WLAN card. The RAM is also upgradeable but only one slot is.
The other slot is inaccessible and it’s only 4GB of RAM. You will also notice that there are one cooling fan and a single heat pipe. The cooling system is enough to prevent your laptop from getting too hot.
The Lenovo Yoga is also easy to open. But, in terms of upgradeability. You are limited. The only components upgradeable are the SSD and WLAN card.
There is no HDD storage and you also can’t upgrade the RAM since it is soldered.
So you are stuck with whatever RAM the laptop comes with. The Lenovo Yoga 730 has two cooling fans and a single heat pipe.
For a slim device, that is pretty good cooling. Unless you subject it to heavy loads example gaming. It will run cool most of the time.
Display
The Lenovo Flex is a budget convertible laptop. And budget laptops do not have the best displays. However, the Lenovo Flex display is decent.
A 14 or 15.6-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) display that has fairly thin bezels. All touchscreen displays are glossy and this laptop is no exception.
In bright environments, there will be a lot of reflections on the display. It is also not that bright and will make outdoor use quite difficult. The touchscreen has multi-touch support of up to 10 fingers.
The colour accuracy is decent for a budget laptop and has good viewing angles. All in all, the Lenovo Flex 15 has a good display for an affordable laptop.
The Lenovo Yoga is a bright and sharp display.
There are 13-inch and 15-inch display options. You can also choose between a Full HD (1920 x 1080) and a 4K (3840 x 2160) display.
The 4K display is going to be sharper, brighter and more colour accurate than the Full HD display.
But, at the cost of lower battery life. The Full HD has above-average colour accuracy and good viewing angles.
In short, the Lenovo Yoga has a better display than the Lenovo Flex. It is bright, sharp and has above-average colour accuracy. Overall, a pleasant display to look at it.
Keyboard & Touchpad
The Lenovo Flex has a decent keyboard and touchpad. The keyboard has no Numpad. And this makes the keys well-sized and adequate size.
The key travel is not shallow and the tactile feedback is quite good. The keyboard is also backlit.
The touchpad is large, fast and responsive. Overall, the keyboard and touchpad are quite good.
The Lenovo Yoga has a backlit low-travel keyboard. This is due to its thin form factor. It’s a full-size keyboard that doesn’t have a Numpad.
Just like the Lenovo Flex, the keys are well-spaced.
The trackpad has Windows precision drivers and so it is fast, responsive and accurate. The touchpad is also large giving your fingers more room.
All in all, both laptops have decent keyboards and trackpads.
Performance
Performance-wise, they are the same because both convertible laptops have the same configurations.
An Intel Core/AMD Ryzen, 8-32GB RAM and SSD storage configurations.
However, you won’t get the best performance since convertible laptops run hot. Both will thermal throttle under heavy loads.
Battery Life
Both offer decent battery life. The Lenovo Flex can last about 8 hours under consistent use. The convertible also supports a fast charge and it can get it to 80 per cent an hour.
The Lenovo Yoga also has the same duration of battery life. But, no fast charging capabilities. Instead, it makes use of a quick charge. 15 minutes of charge will allow you to use it for 2 hours.
Lenovo Flex Vs Lenovo Yoga – Which One Should You Get?
Overall, the Lenovo Yoga 730 is the better option. It has a solid build quality, display and performance. In addition to that, one of the few affordable laptops to have a Thunderbolt port.
A well-designed laptop that gives off a better “premium” look than the Lenovo Flex.
But, if you are on a tight budget. The Lenovo Flex will be the better option. Because it has an unbeatable price-to-performance ratio.
The Lenovo Flex 15 still overs great value. An affordable convertible laptop with decent performance and display. You can easily upgrade the RAM if you want more performance out of it.
All in all, it is a solid laptop especially if you are on a tight budget.