Lenovo Yoga C930 review: power house and entertainment machine
A TEST REPORT from David Haydl 
on March 04, 2019, 16:00 | Write a comment
The Lenovo Yoga C930 was developed as part of the IFA 2018 unveiled in Berlin. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary ultrabook. But is there more to the device? I've been able to find out in the past four weeks.
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Unboxing and initial setup
The Lenovo Yoga C930 comes in a gray packaging with Yoga lettering and a Lenovo logo in a stylish neon blue. If you lift the lid, you have to open two wings again to see the device, which is supplied in a synthetic fiber cover. Two boxes were placed underneath to keep the USB-C charger (65 watts) and several instructions.
Everything unpacked once. (Image: TechnikNews)
The C930 runs Windows, so the initial setup is basically self-explanatory - as you would expect from an operating system. You log into your accounts, set a password and optionally enter a fingerprint and agree to the terms of use. That's all there is to the process. Should take about a quarter to half an hour if everything goes smoothly.
However, I would have liked to have Office 365 pre-installed, as that would have saved a lot of time during further setup.
Design: the space used well
At first, the C930 looked like an ordinary ultrabook, which is available in dark gray, light gray and a special glass finish. It is only 14,5 millimeters thick and, with dimensions of 322 x 227 millimeters and a weight of 1,38 kilograms, is also very compact and light. As you would expect from such a device. It only got interesting when I opened the Yoga 930.
Lenovo built the loudspeaker into the display hinge. (Image: TechnikNews)
The loudspeaker that Lenovo built into the display hinge caught my eye immediately. In my opinion, this decision makes a lot of sense, as you can still enjoy the good sound when you use the tablet mode. And yes, the display of the Lenovo ultrabook can be completely folded back steplessly. In addition, the speaker supports Dolby Atmos. As a result, its sound is on the same level as that of the Razer Blade Stealth (2019) and can therefore be used perfectly for listening to music while working.
Unfortunately, I had to realize that the hinge was not 100-prowas processed perfectly. If you hit the part with the display only slightly, it wobbles quite a lot. I also noticed that the display and base are not flush with each other when closed.
You get these connections with the Yoga C930. (Image: TechnikNews)
It looks better for the connections. The C930 comes with two USB-C ports, a jack plug and a USB-A port, which is based on generation 3.1. The first two jacks mentioned also have Thunderbolt 3 functionality, so that, for example, an external graphics unit can be connected. The power button was let in on the right side. Unfortunately, the manufacturer didn't think of dedicated buttons to control the volume, which is a shame. I would have benefited from these a few times, especially in tablet mode.
What you don't see at first glance is the stylus, which is already included, is housed in a slot in the housing and is also charged there. To get this out, you simply have to push in at this point so that the pin is extended. I found it quite funny that the power button can be triggered during this activity, so that the touchscreen turns black and you have to log in again. The stylus itself cannot keep up with the Surface Pen or the Apple Pencil when it comes to handling; it is intended more for small notes. On the other hand, writing and palm suppression work pretty well, even if not consistently flawlessly.
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- The stylus is stowed in the case. (Image: TechnikNews)
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- Picture: TechnikNews
Display: touch and good
The Yoga C930 is available in two different display options. One with a full HD panel and one with a 4K screen. The size of the two touch screens is 13,9 inches in both cases.
The display is 13,9 inches and reflects very strongly. (Image: TechnikNews)
My test device is the one with the full HD display. And even though this resolution is significantly below 4K, I was able to work really well with it. Editing photos is also no problem, although the screens of the Surface Laptop 2 and the Razer Blade Stealth (2019) seem to produce a better and more color-accurate image. On the other hand, the C930's can get very bright, which is desperately needed, as the glass surface is not anti-reflective - as you can clearly see in the photos. In addition, the edges all around could have been a little smaller for my taste, especially the bottom one.
The webcam is covered by a physical shutter (Image: TechnikNews)
I especially liked the fact that Lenovo built in a physical shutter that covers the webcam. So worries about your own privacy should be a thing of the past.
Keyboard and trackpad
Let's take a closer look at the keyboard deck, where in addition to the two usual suspects, namely a trackpad and a keyboard, a fingerprint sensor was also installed. This reacts very quickly and reliably if the finger is not dirty. It also reacts a little slowly if the user does not place their finger in the middle of the sensor.
The trackpad is nicely placed in the middle, is a good size and has a (for me) fairly hard click feel. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the Razer Ultrabook. The keyboard extends over most of the deck without wasting any space. Compared to similar products, the keys have a fairly long travel. At first I thought I didn't like it, but after a while I was able to type faster on the C930 than on Ultrabooks, whose keys have a shorter travel. The whole thing is also backlit in three levels, which makes it easy to write texts or emails in the dark.
Picture: TechnikNews
Specifications
Lenovo also offers several configurations for the internal components. The processors available are the i5-8250U or the i7-8550U from Intel, both of the eighth generation. The RAM ranges from eight to 16 gigabytes depending on the configuration and the SSD holds two terabytes of data in the best configuration. My test device has the Core i7, 16 gigabytes of RAM and 512 gigabytes of storage. The manufacturer does not have a configuration with a dedicated graphics unit in its range.
When I found out during unpacking what internal components were waiting for me review device provided to me, all my worries about possible performance problems disappeared. And I was not disappointed here either. The C930 literally flies through Windows. Everything works lightning fast and without waiting times or stuttering. This also applies to working with Photoshop and Lightroom. However, because there is no built-in graphics card, I stayed away from gaming. But as already mentioned above,proHowever, it is still possible to connect an eGPU to one of the Thunderbolt ports.
Lenovo specifies 14,5 hours as the battery life, which is actually a fairly realistic value. I was able to experience that the battery lasts what feels like an eternity, so that from the second day of the test I no longer worried about the charger. Once it was even possible to go through two school days (each from 08:00 a.m. to 13:15 p.m.) without going to the shop. Apropos Charging: After one and a half to two hours, the energy storage is full again.
Software
Windows 930 Home runs on the C10 in version 1803, which was rolled out last April. In the meantime, however, version 1809 was released, which I had not yet been offered. Too bad.
One negative thing I noticed about the operating system is that the default scaling of the user interface is 150 percent, not the usual 110 to 120 percent. This means that all elements are displayed comparatively large and can become pixelated if you reduce the scaling.
The companion app for the pen, however, left a positive impression on me. Even though this program is very simple, it offers significant added value. For example, you can reassign the function keys on the pen or manually adjust the sensitivity of the tip.
Prices and availability
The Lenovo Yoga C930 is available from Amazon, from electronics retailers and from Lenovo itself. Lenovo even offers to fully configure the ultrabook, as is known from Apple or Microsoft, for example. The entry-level package costs 1.362 euros, while the top-of-the-line model costs a full 2.166 euros.
Picture: TechnikNews
Lenovo Yoga C930: Conclusion
The Lenovo Yoga C930 is a very good work machine, and at the same time it is also very suitable for watching videos, films, series and music - thanks to the speakers with Dolby Atmos and the 360-degree display. Thanks to the good battery life, you don't even have to worry about charging anymore. The Yoga C930 is also very portable and light. Lenovo could only improve on the display and the workmanship. I would also be happy if the successor has a dedicated graphics chip.
Thank you for providing the Lenovo Yoga C930.