Lenovo has been showing true signs of growth and progress ever since it made its foray into the market of Chrome OS. With absolutely scintillating Chromebooks like the Lenovo Duet and the Lenovo Flex 5, the Chinese manufacturer is well on its way to create chaos amidst this industry. We have at our disposal the Lenovo ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook today, and it measures up to be a promising device. However, we’ll be the judge of how far that really stretches, considering the sprawling competition of modern-day Chromebooks.
In this article, we’ll take a close, hard look at the ThinkPad C13 Yoga and gauge if it’s worth its lofty price tag. As we highlight its major pros and cons and also review it in general, we’re hoping that you’ll be able to decide if this device is the one for you by the end of the read. Let’s begin with the technical specifications.
Lenovo ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook Specs
- CPU: AMD Athlon Gold 3150C Processor
- Display: 13.3″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS Touchscreen
- Hard Drive Size: 32 GB eMMC
- RAM: 4 GB
- Camera: 720p HD Webcam
- Ports: 2x USB-C, 2x USB-A, 3.5 mm Headphone Jack, microSD Card Reader Slot, HDMI port
- Weight: 3.30 pounds
- Price: $585
Lenovo ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook In-depth Review
ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook
Design
The C13 Yoga does not fail to leave a staggering first impression design-wise. Considering that it’s a Lenovo ThinkPad, the traditional boxy design has been replaced with something much more alluring. The color scheme on this device is officially named “Abyss Blue,” and this shade looks simply magical. Moving on to the build quality, this is where the C13 tells us that it’s a proper professional-grade Chromebook with a standard that puts tremendous respect to its name. Picking it up, one can easily feel how well-built this device is, and this comes from factoring in the overall firmness and rigidity – outright splendid.
Lenovo had “enterprise” in mind through-and-through with this Chromebook. The robust design with a nice and firm hinge makes it clear that the manufacturer means serious business. It’s no surprise that the compactness of the C13 Yoga will declare it a favorite for many requiring a daily driver for in and out work hours. The smooth aluminum finish over the chassis has a nice ring to it, and the device’s dimensions measure 0.61 x 12.1 x 8.4 inches, allowing it to comprise a decent footprint. It also weighs just a bit above 3 pounds but still offers fairly average portability.
Next up, we have the screen of this Chromebook, and we have nothing but positive things to say about this facet. First off, we’re looking at a 13.3″ FHD (1920 x 1080) touchscreen with an IPS display that looks remarkable. It also boasts exceptional viewing angles, and brightness isn’t something to worry about here. This Chromebook sporting a 16:9 panel has thin bezels, giving it more of a nano-edge appearance. Additionally, the convertible form-factor makes the C13 Yoga a flexible enterprise laptop since there are multiple viewing modes in which you can use your device.
Moving on, we have this Chromebook’s keyboard to talk about. This is yet another area where the C13 slithers beyond expectations. The keyboard deck, in general, seems as if it was built with meticulous attention to detail since the quality of it can be prompt observed. It’s marvelous for long bouts of typing as the keys are spaced appropriately, and typing feels snappy, responsive, and easy to use. Right below the backlit keyboard is the glass trackpad with a touch of enterprise features. Being a ThinkPad, Lenovo has slapped on three buttons above the touchpad for users who aren’t fans of Chrome OS’s double-tap-to-right-click scenario. Among the three buttons is one that has a similar function to the middle button of a mouse.
Right beside the trackpad is an industry-grade fingerprint scanner for a more secure sign-in option. Lastly, for the design, the I/O on this device is terrific. There are x2 USB-C ports for more present-day functionality, two USB-A ports that offer their part of the job, a standard microSD card reader slot, an appreciable 3.5 mm headphone jack; the next one is a surprise – an HDMI port. This gets a lot of stuff going for the C13 Yoga Chromebook.
Performance
All sorts of flashy internal stuff power the Lenovo C13 Yoga. The whole C13 line-up can get pretty powerful on the higher end, but we’re going to talk about its base model that costs somewhere around $580. Before we get into that, it’s worth mentioning that this Chromebook is one of the many firsts to come out with AMD processors, and this is a rare sight to behold. The model in question comes with an AMD Athlon Gold 3150C processor with 4 GBs of RAM and 32 GB eMMC flash storage which is satisfactory enough for enterprise usage – something that this Chromebook is particularly made for.
In terms of performance, the C13 Yoga puts up a highly competitive fight with its rivals. In other words, the specifications loaded onto it are capable enough of soaring through all day of work with peak efficacy. Android games and the applications of the Linux Terminal are no sweat for this powerhouse. The device shows a great ability to run demanding software with comfort and ease. Nevertheless, if you’re willing to pay a premium price, the C13 Yoga series has a much superior model as well – the $1600 AMD Ryzen 7 3700C processor C13 Yoga with 16 GBs of RAM and 128 GBs of storage. If the base model doesn’t do the trick for you, this overly extraversion of the Chromebook definitely will.
The C13 Yoga is equipped with future-proof features as well. We’re referring to Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, which may not be as ubiquitous as they are right now but will definitely be in the coming years or so. This is because buying this laptop will set your requirements straight for quite a long while, so while purchasing this stature, one needs to make sure what’s what. This Chromebook, therefore, seems as if it’s all geared up.
Battery Life
If the battery life concerns you when deciding to buy a new device, you’ll have a tension-free time with the C13 Yoga. Lenovo managed to pack a 51Wh battery inside this device that supposedly gives its users 12.5 hours of usage. That’s a decent figure, but it still may vary depending on different situations. Even in the worst case, it’s almost guaranteed that the C13 will cover you all day because powerful hardware is meaningless if there isn’t a battery that can handle it.
Additionally, the Chromebook charges up pretty fast as well. This was obvious, though, as the device packs two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C ports. Give it 30 minutes of charging, and you’ll get 3-4 hours of usage easily. All in all, the battery life of the C13 Yoga earns our nod of approval.
Final Verdict
The Lenovo C13 Yoga is a great Chromebook for working-class people. The only worry when buying this device should be its price if it gets out of your budget a bit. Other than that, expect no shortcomings from this device in any way. It’s loaded with state-of-the-art features for effective use in businesses and enterprises, and it’s safe to say that Lenovo has done it once again. For those looking for a laptop with a friendly interface, lesser complications, good design, and top-class performance, the C13 Yoga definitely makes the cut.
