Since Ultrabooks or laptops that are premium and portable came into the PC market, it’s been hard to ignore their appeal. They’re sleek and at the same time powerful. There’s no sacrifice needed just to have a reliable notebook that you can put in your bag with ease.

A number of manufacturers have come up with their own style for the next-gen laptop, but it was Lenovo who inked the Yoga brand into our minds. A Yoga laptop can instantly transform into multiple modes, but the one I have here is different.

Let’s take a look at the Yoga S730.

It has a 13.3-inch IPS display…

With a full HD resolution

… that can lay flat on a table

Might come in handy when presenting

There are two Thunderbolt 3 ports on the right…

You may connect a 4K monitor or an eGPU

… and a USB-C port for charging on the left

It supports Lenovo’s RapidCharge technology

It has a pretty large touchpad

It uses Windows Precision drivers

Windows Hello is present via the fingerprint reader

Login without typing a long password

It’s indeed a lightweight notebook

One of the lightest in its class

Thin and really light

First things first, the Yoga S730 doesn’t have a 360-degree hinge despite having the “Yoga” moniker attached to it. Lenovo now has a new naming scheme that classifies all of its premium notebooks as Yoga. What matters now is its model name, which is S730. The “S” denotes that it’s part of the slim and sleek lineup. If you want a true Yoga that’s a convertible, you gotta look for the letter “C” in the name.

I know it’s confusing, but that’s what Lenovo is pushing for now. So now, not all premium notebooks from Lenovo will have a bendy display; however, the 360-degree hinge is part of the premium package a Yoga offers, right?

Anyhow, the Yoga S730 features a 13.3-inch IPS LCD with a Full HD resolution. It’s nowhere near the sharpness of MacBook’s Retina Display, but it’s crisp enough for its size. I even find it even more pleasant to look at than my other 13-inch notebook with the same resolution. Perhaps, the Dolby Vision feature really works on Lenovo’s screen.

I also do appreciate the slim bezels surrounding the display. It’s not edge-to-edge like Dell’s XPS 13, but it’s close enough. Despite having a 13-inch screen, the Yoga S730 is just as big as a good old 11-inch netbook from yesteryears.

With its size, it’s pegged as an ultraportable notebook. At just 11.9mm thin, the Yoga S730 is Lenovo’s slimmest Yoga notebook. With that, I worked on the laptop for a few days at a coffee shop. Indeed, it’s light and easy to carry around; however, I find the keyboard to be a bit shallow. The typing experience is not quite what I expected from a high-end Lenovo notebook.

The whole body of the laptop is made from sand-blasted aluminum. It’s cold to touch, which is always welcome.

Capable of more

Inside, the Yoga S730 is powered by an 8th-gen Intel Core i7 processor with 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage. It’s a specced-up variant, so you don’t have to compromise performance over mobility.

Without a dedicated graphics unit though, the Yoga S730 won’t be able to handle intensive games as well as gamers would like. Casual titles will run just fine (even CS:GO and Sims 4), but don’t expect it to be a portable gaming laptop despite its high-end specifications.

The Yoga S730 doesn’t have any full-size HDMI or USB ports, a sacrifice that has to be made in order to keep the laptop slim. Instead, it has three USB-C ports; two of which supports Thunderbolt 3.

If you fully take advantage of Thunderbolt for extra graphics oomph and external 4K displays, the Yoga S730 will please you. If not, you better do because having Thunderbolt 3 is an added premium you already paid for and it doesn’t come cheap.

Battery-wise, Lenovo promises up to 12 hours of continuous use. Real-life usage might clock in around nine to 10 hours only, though. Also, Lenovo’s RapidCharge technology will fill up the battery up to 80 percent in just one hour.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

For PHP 69,995, the new Yoga S730 is one of the premium yet not-so-expensive laptops in the market. It’s portable thanks to its slim and light body, but it has more than enough power for everyday computing. With its Thunderbolt 3 ports, it also has the ability to have external graphics power when needed.

Lenovo has a competitive laptop here, and it’s an easy recommendation for its specs and price. Just keep in mind that it’s not a convertible despite having the Yoga brand.

SEE ALSO: This is the World’s First Foldable Computer by Lenovo