2-in-1 laptops are now becoming a mainstream category in the tech world and are pretty much dominated by the two giants — Apple who’s crossing the 2-in-1 space with the Ipad Pro and Microsoft with generations unshaken on their Surface Pro line.

What appears to be an overlooked option though is Lenovo with their Yoga Duet 2-in-1 series.

The word yoga is often associated with the ability to assume multiple forms. This is exactly the case with the Lenovo Yoga Duet 7i. It can take the form of a handheld tablet, a slim laptop, a drawing tablet and even a PC with a detached keyboard.

The good half

I see the Yoga Duet 7i as two halves. The first half is a tablet where the weight of all the internal components are packed in and the other half a magnetically attached Bluetooth keyboard.

A 13-inch 2K resolution IPS touch screen display, an Intel Core i7-10510U processor, 16GB memory, and 1TB of SSD storage all stored in a metal finish body of the tablet with an adjustable kickstand.

The detachable keyboard is predominantly made of plastic while its bottom is covered with fabric. The purpose behind the fabric bottom is that when clasped together, the whole device seems to mimic the look of a sophisticated planner.

There’s no denying that the Yoga Duet 7i is a handsome device. It feels really well made and the metal with fabric finish is just a luxurious touch.

Its metal finish has this sort of rubberized coat on it. I assume this is to add a slight grip to its body making it a bit easier for our hands to hold while adding a bit more to the premium feel of the device.

Performing up to the task

On paper, the specs of the Yoga Duet 7i isn’t really what I would consider to be spectacular. Nowadays, any Core i7 powered device would most definitely breeze through word processing, spreadsheets and browsing.

The Lenovo Yoga Duet 7i isn’t any different. Despite being an upper midrange processor, the eight logical cores of the Core i7-10510U handled all tasks I threw at it without any problems. That includes some relatively heavy editing using Adobe Lightroom.

The device did quite heat up when performing tasks that were a bit more power intensive. You could hear the fans blowing out warm air from the top portion of the device. This might be a concern if you’re using the device in tablet mode as it did feel uncomfortable to a certain degree.

The better half

I have a big appreciation for good keyboards. And Lenovo just happens to be on my personal list of brands of which I’m confident would provide good ones especially with their reputation on the ThinkPad series.

Though the Yoga Duet 7i is a different story. Since this device isn’t a laptop structurally, the detachable keyboard shouldn’t be compared with a laptop. Or so I thought.

Lenovo had definitely taken some notes on laptops as the Yoga Duet 7i’s keyboard felt surprisingly similar to the ones of a MacBook Pro. The satisfying click and feedback are all there and despite its compact form, the size of the keys and its spacing are just right.

I can say the same for the trackpad. The feel certainly had a striking similarity to a MacBook Pro trackpad. I guess I can attribute this similarity in feel to its substantial size. Multitouch integration with Microsoft Gestures was seamless. I found myself navigating the Chrome browser just as how I would on a standard sized laptop.

Now, imagine for a moment typing on your lap without the weight and heat of a whole laptop. Or placing the display farther or even eye level while keeping the keyboard at arms reach.

These are just some of the conveniences the Duet 7i’s keyboard can provide. It can work either attached or detached from the tablet. With a flip of the switch, the keyboard shifts to Bluetooth mode, automatically connects and draws power from its internal battery.

With homes being offices to many of us these days, this really opens up more possibilities on how we can position the device as we use it.

Faithful to your eyes

Gazing into this beautiful display was a delight. The 2K resolution on a 13-inch screen felt adequate and didn’t feel too small at all. I was surprised that I did not have the urge to transfer to a bigger monitor at any given point. Not even for photo editing.

As I have, content creators can trust color representation that would be coming from this display. Since rated 100% on sRGB color gamut means there isn’t any over saturation of colors.

Determined to last

Without conserving battery power, I was able to get the Yoga Duet 7i to reach a good eight hours before power saving mode kicked in. Pretty decent considering I tend to keep brightness levels at max. I assume I can easily squeeze in around an hour or two more on power saving mode.

A power issue that I did have with the Duet 7i though was its charging. I didn’t quite understand why there were instances when charging was really fast and then times that it wasn’t. In fact, it was very slow. Oftentimes, I’d have to observe if it was charging and have to re-plug the charger when it wasn’t. There were occasions where I left the unit plugged for hours and came back puzzled to see a very minimal increase on its charge.

Color my world

The E-Color Pen as Lenovo calls it, is the optional digital pen for the Yoga Duet 7i. And it has the ability to pick up colors from real life objects through its sensor by just touching on it. While in concept this may sound useful for creatives doing digital artwork, I was frustrated that I wasn’t able to make it work. I’m not sure if it just required a specific software for capturing color but on Paint 3D, everything else worked as it should.

Also, a nice refresh from Lenovo’s previous stylus pen, the E-Color Pen now is rechargeable through USB-C not anymore needing disposable batteries.

Is the Lenovo Yoga Duet 7i your GadgetMatch?

The Lenovo Yoga Duet 7i has a lot of tricks up its sleeve. I even doubt calling it just a 2-in-1 for its diverse capabilities. It’s attractive, has a great screen and the detachable Bluetooth keyboard is just excellent. 

This gadget would certainly be a good fit for people who work for creatives and those who are always on the go for numerous meetings and presentations. If you can live with its shortcomings, the Lenovo Yoga Duet 7i is a solid choice and should definitely be among the top contenders in its class.

Available in Space Grey and Orchid colors, the Lenovo Yoga Duet 7i’s price starts at PhP 59,995 for the Intel Core i5-10210U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD variant up to PhP 85,995 for the Intel Core I7-10510U, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD variant.