Yoga Book 2, C930
Lenovo announced their new Yoga Book (2) C930 at IFA in Berlin yesterday. It's a big deal, not just because the Yoga Book got a refresh, but it brings a form factor to the market I've been waiting ten years for (Microsoft Courier). Dual-screen devices have been tried, but no one has ever done it well. Lenovo looks like they've found the secret sauce, or just waited for the tech to advance far enough along, and seized the moment.
Either way, I win! I already carry a Yoga Book 1 and an E-Ink Tablet with me most places, and the Yoga Book C930 basically combines the two into one easy to carry device.
UPDATE:
Reached out to Lenovo for some clarity on some things and heard back. See below.
Let's look at the specs.
Processor
The Yoga Book (2) C930 comes with either an Intel Core i5-7Y54 Processor or Intel Core m3-7Y30 Processor. Both of these are going to be passively cooled, Hyper Threading, and pushing Intel HD Graphics 615, dual-channel memory (DDR3L/LPDDR3), and a fairly high Turbo clock.
If you're used to using a passively cooled device, particularly a Yoga Book 1, either of these processor options should feel like a big upgrade. If you're using anything with fans, 15 watts and up, this is going to feel as fast or slower for applications. These are the trade offs for a silent, energy efficient machine, that stays cool to the touch.
Sound
2 x Speakers with Dolby Atmos®
2 x Microphones with Noise-Cancelling Support
Lenovo has really been pouring the love into sound production across other models announced at IFA. While not a selling feature of the Yoga Book 2, I bet there's a significant improvement over the Yoga Book 1.
Memory
RAM - 4 GB LPDDR3 (Rumored 8GB option?)
ROM - 128 or 256 GB SSD
Card Slot - microSD; Supports Up to 512 GB
I'm not sure what kind of hard drive will actually land in the Yoga Book 2 (I'm going to try and find out), but it isn't EMMc type. That's good for speed, really good, but not as good for battery life or reliability where EMMc really shines.
UPDATE:
Me: Are the SSD options, SATA, M.2, or... ???
Lenovo: its M2. PCIE SSD
Is 4 GB of RAM enough? For me, even with slower, passively cooled machines, it has been. I've been able to draw fluidly in Photoshop at 300 DPI, twelve layers, with that kind of RAM and not had a problem. Typically, that would be all I would have open, other than some reference images.
The press release says 4 GB, but I’ve heard reporters say 4 or 8 GB reporting from IFA. I’ll try to verify.
UPDATE:
Me: Will there be a 4GB RAM and an 8GB RAM option be offered?
Lenovo: There is only a 4GB RAM variant announced. It's technically ready to support 8GB but we are not planning to ship it now, unless there are some specific demand which would likely be only in B2B.
For my varied use case, with devices like this, the EMMc hard drive has been the bottleneck, not the RAM.
Hopefully, the microSD card slot works reliably, unlike the Yoga Book 1 where it was hit or miss.
Battery
Type - Li-ion Polymer
Capacity - 4650 mAh / 35.8 Whr
Standby Time - Over 16 Days
General Usage - About 8.6 Hours
8.6 hours for that capacity mAh battery feels like optimism. Could be real. I'll believe it when I see it.
Even if I only got seven hours out of it, I wouldn't be sad, and I carry a spare battery with me most of the time anyway to charge my phone and tablet. The Yoga Book 2 has two USB 3.1 (Gen 1) Type-C ports, one for charging.
Display
LCD
Size - 10.8" QHD (2560 x 1600), 281 ppi
Type - LCD with IPS Technology
Brightness - 400 nits
Color Depth - 16.7 Million
Color Gamut - 85% (Typical)
Touch - Capacitive Multitouch and Precision Pen Support (4,096 pressure levels)
I love QHD displays. Love. I understand that this is Wacom Tech, and probably not proprietary to Lenovo. I'll try to verify, but I think any AES pen stylus should work. This was a major gripe with the Yoga Book 1, that both surfaces didn't take pen input. It didn't bother me because I preferred to draw offset on the Create Pad surface, but for some, it was a hard transition.
E Ink
Size - 10.8" FHD (1920 x 1080), 204 ppi
Type - Flexible E Ink Mobius Display
Touch - Capacitive Multitouch and Precision Pen Support (4,096 pressure levels)
This panel provides the keyboard (with support for thirty languages), with haptic/audio feedback, and keen key press animations. Switch modes, and it is a digital notebook, for sketching and taking notes. At 10.8″ it should be a little bigger and better to use than the Yoga Book 1. Also, Infrared Fingerprint reader built in. Whether this will make Windows Hello viable or not, remains to be seen. I keep hoping Lenovo will go back to having their own biometric access for their machines, as Microsoft can’t make a ham sandwich correctly right now.
Edit: The Infrared Fingerprint reader, sitting flush with the surface of the keyboard, looks to be the power button. Nice!
Last year, Onyx teased an E Ink typewriter (laptop) with a 10.3 Flexible E Ink display. It ended up being canceled, and attempts by other companies to bring such a device to the US have fizzled. I kickstarted the Pomera foldable E Ink writer, but it didn't go. I've been watching to see if something with that display would land in the US. Looks like it will.
The Yoga Book appears to have that tech built in. Excite! I thought that maybe the "Flexible" nature of the display was a literal description, and it appears to be. The Yoga Book 3 teased at Computex appears to maybe have a flexible display, maybe? Squint, and look at that hinge!
Here's the product page for the E Ink Mobius product. Check out the embedded video. Draw your own conclusions.
The bad news; it only supports PDF format right now. Lenovo has told reporters that they will add ePub (non-DRM), Mobi, and Text formats, but I wouldn't hold your breath. Lenovo, or any OEM, adding functionality to a consumer product after release is very unlikely. I'm sure Lenovo has the best intentions here, but if having those formats recognized on the E Ink side is mission critical, this might not be the device for you.
UPDATE:
Me: When will Lenovo add ePub, Mobi, and txt format options to the E ink display reader application?
Lenovo: In Q1 calendar, 2019.
There's also handwriting to text conversion right now. It sounds like Lenovo might add the same for mathematical calculations, diagrams, and such, but if it ships lacking that functionality, I wouldn’t count on seeing it added later. It is what it is.
UPDATE:
Me: Will it ship with the ability to convert mathematical calculations and diagrams the same as handwritten text?
Lenovo: Yes
Other Stuff
You can knock on the lid twice to reverse the polarity of the magnets holding it closed. It makes the device feel very premium, and it is great for nail biters, and people that like knock-knock jokes.
The Precision Pen that comes in the box looks nice, but appears to lack barrel buttons. Like the Yoga Book 1, designers and artists will be looking for alternatives, and like before, there will probably be many options. I'll try to verify that. Hopefully, with the Yoga Book 3, Lenovo gives us a stylus pen we don't immediately replace with something else.
UPDATE
Me: Does the Precision Pen have barrel buttons? Will other AES Lenovo and Wacom stylus pens rated for 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity work with the Yoga Book 2?
Lenovo: It has barrel 2 buttons and one eraser button at the top. Only Bluetooth AES 2.0, yes, but shortcuts of physical buttons may not work as intended as our built-in software pairs and configures in the background for this Pen specifically;
Edit: I found a video where one of the reviewers demonstrates the use of the barrel buttons (2). There’s a flat toggle piece on one side of the stylus pen. One for erasing, and one for making selections. Yay!
Edit: There are conflicting reports about release, September, or October.
This video actually does a good job demonstrating what the device can do.
