The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 2 Pro upgrades the original Yoga with a next-generation processor, better battery life and higher resolution. It'll be available in October starting at $1,099.
The new Yoga has the laptop's trademark hinge, which bestows multiple ways to use it, like tent mode here.
The 13-inch screen makes for a big tablet.
The Yoga 2 Pro is fairly light at 3.06 pounds.
The keyboard on the new Yoga is backlit.
The Yoga 2 Pro is 0.61 inch thick at its thickest point.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga, a laptop with a screen that bends all the way back to become a tablet, was the Windows 8 hybrid that actually gave the category a good name. All good things must come to an end, though, and in the Yoga's case that end comes with a new beginning: the Yoga 2 Pro.
The Yoga 2 Pro is the new and improved Yoga, and it replaces the old model. It still has the same four-in-one design, letting you use it as a traditional laptop, tablet, display (with the screen bent past 180 degrees) or tent (à la an inverted "V"). But it's also thinner and lighter with a few design modifications aimed to streamline the experience.
See also: The Problem With Windows 8
First up is the backlit keyboard, a feature lacking on the original Yoga. The Pro's power button is on the side of the chassis instead of the front, which should cut down on accidental presses. There's also a thin, rubberized layer along the rim to prevent any slippage when using it in tent mode.
Overall hardware gets a step up, too: The Yoga 2 Pro packs a fourth-generation Intel Core chip (a.k.a. "Haswell"), and the resolution of the 13-inch screen can go as high as 3,200 x 1,800 — way beyond "retina" density. It's just 0.61 inch thick and weighs a mere 3 pounds.
I got some hands-on time with the Yoga 2 Pro, and the incremental improvements in size really make a difference. It's only slightly less hefty than the original Yoga, but it feels like a much smaller machine. The keyboard, with its chiclet-style keys, felt just as finger-friendly as the original's, and the backlight was a much-needed addition.
Extra bonus: The Yoga 2 Pro will be the first Lenovo PC equipped with gesture recognition. Lenovo Motion Control lets users wave their hands to perform some basic actions, like swiping to the next screen — handy if you're trying to follow a recipe with sticky hands.
On the software side, Lenovo throws in Dragon dictation and voice-recognition software as well as an app-recommendation engine that tells you which Windows 8 apps are best suited for the various modes. There's also Wi-Di for wirelessly connecting to an external display.
The Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro will be available in October, starting at $1,099.
How do you like the Yoga 2 Pro? Let us know in the comments.