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Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK Convertible Review

Weak cooling. The small Lenovo Yoga 700 is a portable and very versatile companion thanks to its 11.6-inch screen and different operating modes. However, there are problems in terms of input devices and the passive cooling solution, because the processor cannot utilize its full potential.

For the original German review, see here.

Notebook, tablet, or watch videos? Systems with 360-degree hinges are very versatile and Lenovo has been offering corresponding models with the addition "Yoga" for quite some time. Today we review the compact Yoga 700-11ISK, which aims to be the perfect travel companion with its 11.6-inch display and the low weight. Thanks to the efficient Core m processor, the convertible can be cooled passively. The other specifications including 4 GB of RAM, a 256 GB SSD, the FHD IPS display and AC Wi-Fi are also okay for a retail price of 800 Euros (~$851).

Despite the different naming scheme, our test model is the direct successor to the Lenovo Yoga 3 11. The former left a decent impression in our review, but there were some drawbacks. We will find out whether Lenovo has improved aspects of the Yoga 700 11.

Competitors include other notebooks with 360-degree hinges like the HP Pavilion x2 12, but also convertibles or tablets such as the Acer Aspire Switch 12 or the Surface Pro 4 (Core m3) from Microsoft. We will obviously compare the test model with the previous Lenovo Yoga 3 11 as well.

Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK (Yoga 700 Series)
Processor
Intel Core m3-6Y30 2 x 0.9 - 2.2 GHz, Skylake
Graphics adapter
Memory
4 GB 
, LPDDR3-1866, dual-channel, soldered
Display
11.60 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel 190 PPI, capacitive, CMN1137, IPS, glossy: yes
Mainboard
Intel Skylake-Y Premium PCH
Storage
Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN256HCHP, 256 GB 
, 180 GB free
Soundcard
Intel Skylake-U/Y PCH - High Definition Audio
Connections
2 USB 2.0, 1 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 HDMI, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm audio, Card Reader: SDHC, SDXC, SD, MMC, Sensors: Position sensor
Networking
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.2
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 15.8 x 290 x 197 ( = 0.62 x 11.42 x 7.76 in)
Battery
40 Wh, 4770 mAh Lithium-Polymer, 4 cells, Battery runtime (according to manufacturer): 7 h
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: 0.9 MP
Additional features
Speakers: Stereo, Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: no, Power adapter, service leaflets, Lenovo Tools, Dolby Audio, Office 365 (trial), McAfee LiveSafe (trial), 24 Months Warranty, fanless
Weight
1.094 kg ( = 38.59 oz / 2.41 pounds), Power Supply: 201 g ( = 7.09 oz / 0.44 pounds)
Price
800 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

The general construction of the Yoga 700 11 does not differ from the old Yoga 3 11 that we reviewed over a year ago. Once again, Lenovo uses silver and black plastic. The outer shell, more precisely the lid and the bottom of the base unit are silver-colored, while the rest of the base unit as well as the display bezels are black. The sides of the base are slightly rubberized and the top has a subtle texture. The two silver hinges and the chrome strip along the touchpad create a nice visual contrast when the lid is opened. There are no special rubber feet for the stand mode, for example.

The quality of the compact notebook leaves mixed impressions. The build quality is decent and there are no protruding edges or uneven material transitions, but the stability is average at best. The central area of the base in particular can be easily pushed in, which is also noticeable during typing. And the situation is not any better for the lid. Both twisting attempts as well as pressure from behind result in ripples on the screen. The two hinges are well-adjusted and limit bouncing to a minimum, but you will need both hands to open the lid. The control elements on the right side of the chassis (power button, volume rocker) do not wobble around and have a decent pressure point. The battery is integrated, and the entire bottom panel has to be removed for maintenance purposes.

One key advantage of the Yoga 700 11 is obviously the low weight of just 1.1 kg (~2.4 lb). It is no problem to put the small device in any backpack or even a larger purse. Microsoft's Surface Pro 4 is obviously even slimmer, but we have to be fair here and also consider the few millimeters of the keyboard dock.

Size Comparison

300 mm / 11.8 inch 220 mm / 8.66 inch 19 mm / 0.748 inch 1.5 kg3.24 lbs298 mm / 11.7 inch 204 mm / 8.03 inch 15.6 mm / 0.614 inch 1.1 kg2.43 lbs290 mm / 11.4 inch 197 mm / 7.76 inch 15.8 mm / 0.622 inch 1.1 kg2.41 lbs291 mm / 11.5 inch 201 mm / 7.91 inch 11 mm / 0.4331 inch 1.3 kg2.84 lbs292 mm / 11.5 inch 202 mm / 7.95 inch 8.5 mm / 0.3346 inch 1.1 kg2.35 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch 210 mm / 8.27 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 5.7 g0.01257 lbs

Connectivity

The port selection has not changed compared to the old model. We still get three USB ports, but only one of them supports the fast USB 3.0 standard. The other two support only USB 2.0 (1x with power supply). We would have preferred at least one fast connector on each side. A modern USB Type-C port is not available either. At least, the transfer rates are no problem, because we determined an average of around 280 MB/s (USB 2.0: ~40 MB/s) with our external Samsung SSD T3.

The SD card reader is located on the left side. It is an internal module, but most probably only attached via USB 2.0, because the performance in combination with our reference card from Toshiba (Exceria Pro SDXC UHS-II, 64 GB) is very low at just 27 MB/s (sequential read). External displays can be attached via mini-HDMI, but the box does not include a corresponding adapter.

SD Card Reader
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs)
Dell XPS 13-9365 2-in-1
 
61.6 MB/s +319%
Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK
 
14.7 MB/s
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB)
Dell XPS 13-9365 2-in-1
 
87.2 MB/s +223%
Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK
 
27 MB/s
Left side: Power/USB 2.0, USB 3.0, mini-HDMI, SD-card reader
Left side: Power/USB 2.0, USB 3.0, mini-HDMI, SD-card reader
Right side: Power button, One-Key recovery, volume rocker, 3.5 mm audio, USB 2.0
Right side: Power button, One-Key recovery, volume rocker, 3.5 mm audio, USB 2.0

Communication

The Wi-Fi module of the Yoga 700-11ISK is provided by Intel and has the designation Dual-Band Wireless-AC 3165. It supports all modern technologies, including the fast 802.11ac standard, 5 GHz networks, and Bluetooth 4.2. It is only a 1x1 adapter with a maximum transfer rate of 433 Mbps, but we did not have any problems during our review period. The average transfer rate was around 210 Mbps in combination with a Fritz!Box 7490.

Accessories

The box of the Yoga 700-11ISK includes only the standard service brochures besides the convertible and the 40-watt power adapter.

Maintenance

The bottom panel of the Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK is secured by several Torx screws (T4). One screw was stuck on our test model, so we show you a picture of the similarly constructed predecessor Yoga 3 11 instead. The maintenance options are limited due to the soldered components (processor & RAM) as well as the missing fan. Only the Wi-Fi module and the M.2-SSD (2280) can be replaced.

Lenovo Yoga 3 11
Lenovo Yoga 3 11

Warranty

Lenovo offers a two-year warranty (Bring-In) for the Yoga 700. Please see our Guarantees, Return Policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Input Devices

Keyboard

The layout of the black chiclet keyboard has had to be adjusted slightly due to the compact chassis. All keys except for the standard letter keys are slightly narrower and the directional keys are also very small. Although you can get used to that, we cannot say the same for the typing experience. This is not a good keyboard, mainly because of the extremely limited key travel combined with a very spongy feedback. You will quickly want a better input if you write long texts or mails.

The white lettering is easy to read, but the orange symbols for the secondary functions are very small. A keyboard illumination is not available.

Input devices
Input devices

Touchpad

The ClickPad from ELAN has a decent size of 9 x 6 cm (~3.5 x 2.4 in). The size of the palm rest is the only reason why Lenovo has not implemented a larger mouse replacement. You can easily feel the transition between the touchpad and the chassis, thanks to the polished edge. The handling is decent in general, only drag & drop actions are rather tricky. Gestures are recognized with up to three fingers and we did not have any problems with usual gestures such as two-finger scrolling.

Touchscreen

The third input option is obviously once again the capacitive touchscreen. As with the previous model, it is very precise up into the peripheral areas and executes inputs quickly.

Display

Subpixel array
Subpixel array

The glossy 11.6-inch display is provided by Chi Mei (CMN1137) and has a native resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. This results in a good pixel density of 190 PPI in combination with the small screen size, so you get sharp pictures. Subjectively, we like the bright pictures with vivid colors.

The PWM control of the background illumination could be an issue for some users. We can already determine flickering at a very low frequency of 50 Hz with a brightness setting of 70% and lower. Backlight bleeding was not a big problem on our test model. We also noticed another and rather rare display phenomenon: The luminance flickers when the power adapter is attached, which is shown by the response times picture. The flickering is not visible, because the frequency is high at 5000 to 6000 Hz.

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM detected 50 Hz ≤ 70 % brightness setting

The display backlight flickers at 50 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 70 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting.

The frequency of 50 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use.

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 17900 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

270
cd/m²
286
cd/m²
284
cd/m²
259
cd/m²
300
cd/m²
271
cd/m²
275
cd/m²
317
cd/m²
291
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
CMN1137 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 317 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 283.7 cd/m² Minimum: 4 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 82 %
Center on Battery: 300 cd/m²
Contrast: 909:1 (Black: 0.33 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 7.87 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 8.45 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
64% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
41% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
45.17% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
64.2% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
43.6% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.42
Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK
HD Graphics 515, 6Y30, Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN256HCHP
HP Pavilion x2 12-b000ng
HD Graphics 515, 6Y30, SanDisk Z400s SD8SNAT-128G
Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 SA5-271-56HM
HD Graphics 520, 6200U, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3256GG2
Microsoft Surface Pro 4, Core m3
HD Graphics 515, 6Y30, Samsung MZFLV128 NVMe
Lenovo Yoga 3 11 80J8001WGE
HD Graphics 5300, 5Y10c, Lite-On IT L8T-128L9G
Display
17%
49%
53%
2%
Display P3 Coverage
43.6
53.2
22%
65.5
50%
67.5
55%
44.54
2%
sRGB Coverage
64.2
72.4
13%
96.1
50%
96.6
50%
65.7
2%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
45.17
52.9
17%
66.9
48%
69
53%
46.15
2%
Response Times
-54%
611%
-54%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
23 ?(13, 10)
38 ?(17, 21)
-65%
20 ?(5, 15, detail 5 schraffiert)
13%
46 ?(17.2, 28.8)
-100%
Response Time Black / White *
19 ?(11, 8)
27 ?(14, 13)
-42%
34 ?(15, 19, PWM@100% mit/ohne PSU)
-79%
31 ?(6, 25.2)
-63%
PWM Frequency
50 ?(70)
1000 ?(100)
1900%
50 ?(50)
0%
Screen
7%
17%
41%
-0%
Brightness middle
300
314
5%
345
15%
389.2
30%
290
-3%
Brightness
284
308
8%
328
15%
392
38%
286
1%
Brightness Distribution
82
93
13%
91
11%
92
12%
86
5%
Black Level *
0.33
0.48
-45%
0.38
-15%
0.27
18%
0.42
-27%
Contrast
909
654
-28%
908
0%
1441
59%
690
-24%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
7.87
6.12
22%
8.4
-7%
3.61
54%
6.5
17%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
17.75
10.92
38%
11.9
33%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
8.45
6.1
28%
4.3
49%
3.8
55%
6.35
25%
Gamma
2.42 91%
2.35 94%
2.63 84%
2.16 102%
2.44 90%
CCT
6856 95%
7391 88%
7368 88%
5969 109%
7156 91%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
41
46.81
14%
62
51%
63
54%
42
2%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
64
71.74
12%
97
52%
65
2%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
-10% / 1%
226% / 142%
13% / 24%
1% / 0%

* ... smaller is better

Our display measurements determine a good maximum luminance of almost 320 nits, but the brightness distribution is just 82%, so the average result drops to around 280 nits. The combination of good luminance and decent black value (0.33 cd/m²) results in a good contrast ratio of ~900:1. This is an average result within our comparison group; only Microsoft's Surface Pro 4 is much better in this respect.

Grayscale
Grayscale
ColorChecker
ColorChecker
Saturation Sweeps
Saturation Sweeps

We can notice a slight green cast ex-works and both the grayscale as well as the colors reveal high DeltaE-2000 deviations compared to the sRGB reference. The average deviations clearly miss the target value of 3 at 7.87 (colors) and 8.45 (grayscale). This can be improved by a calibration, and the corresponding ICC profile is linked in the box above. Still, the low color gamut (64% sRGB, 41% AdobeRGB) prevents any (semi) professional picture editing, but this is not the main purpose of a small convertible anyway.

sRGB coverage: 64%
sRGB coverage: 64%
AdobeRGB coverage: 41%
AdobeRGB coverage: 41%

A small convertible is obviously an ideal portable device. You can utilize the full luminance on battery power, but the very glossy screen is an issue. There will be a lot of annoying reflections, even when you can avoid direct light sources.

Outdoor use (sunshine)
Outdoor use (sunshine)
Outdoor use (sunshine)
Outdoor use (sunshine)

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
19 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 11 ms rise
↘ 8 ms fall
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 36 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.5 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
23 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 13 ms rise
↘ 10 ms fall
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 29 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.7 ms).

The viewing angles of the IPS display are very wide, but this is no surprise for a convertible. It is, for example, no problem to look at the screen from multiple directions in the tablet mode without noticing any color deviations. The reflections from the touchscreen are a bigger problem from extreme angles.

Viewing angles
Viewing angles

Performance

Lenovo's small convertible is designed for private users. The performance is sufficient for everyday tasks (mails, web browsing, video playback) with the efficient Core m processor and 4 GB of RAM. The SSD also ensures a very responsive system. However, you will quickly reach the limits when you want to execute more demanding tasks.

 

Processor

The passively cooled Intel Core m3-6Y30 is an efficient dual-core processor based on the Skylake architecture. The base frequency is just 0.9 GHz, but the processor can reach up to 2.2 GHz (2 GHz for two cores) via Turbo Boost. Hyperthreading is also supported, so the CPU can execute up to 4 threads simultaneously. The TDP is 4.5 watts (can be adjusted by the manufacturer).

We can only notice the high clocks for a brief moment in the benchmarks. The consumption drops to 3 watts after around 10 seconds and the clock drops to 1.6 GHz (@CB R15 Multi). The benchmark scores are therefore very low, and only the previous Lenovo Yoga 3 11 is even slower in the Single-Core test. The Surface Pro 4 shows the potential of the m3-6Y30, and it is more than twice as fast in the Multi test.

The performance is not reduced on battery power. More benchmarks with the Core m3-6Y30 are available here.

Cinebench R15
CPU Multi 64Bit
Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 SA5-271-56HM
Intel Core i5-6200U
289 Points +198%
HP Pavilion x2 12-b000ng
Intel Core m3-6Y30
216 Points +123%
Microsoft Surface Pro 4, Core m3
Intel Core m3-6Y30
206 Points +112%
Lenovo Yoga 3 11 80J8001WGE
Intel Core M-5Y10c
131 Points +35%
Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK
Intel Core m3-6Y30
97 Points
CPU Single 64Bit
Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 SA5-271-56HM
Intel Core i5-6200U
114 Points +61%
HP Pavilion x2 12-b000ng
Intel Core m3-6Y30
92 Points +30%
Microsoft Surface Pro 4, Core m3
Intel Core m3-6Y30
88 Points +24%
Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK
Intel Core m3-6Y30
71 Points
Lenovo Yoga 3 11 80J8001WGE
Intel Core M-5Y10c
57 Points -20%
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
71 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
97 Points
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
18.93 fps
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
97.8 %
Help

System Performance

Subjectively, the system feels pretty fast in practice. The Yoga 700-11ISK boots up very quickly and applications are launched without delays. You will only notice the performance limits when you run multiple applications or use several browser tabs. The small convertible also performs well in the synthetic PCMark 8 benchmarks and it is usually average within our comparison group.

PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2
Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 SA5-271-56HM
6200U, 4096, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3256GG2
3281 Points +25%
HP Pavilion x2 12-b000ng
6Y30, 4096, SanDisk Z400s SD8SNAT-128G
2831 Points +8%
Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK
6Y30, 4096, Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN256HCHP
2625 Points
Microsoft Surface Pro 4, Core m3
6Y30, 4096, Samsung MZFLV128 NVMe
2426 Points -8%
Lenovo Yoga 3 11 80J8001WGE
5Y10c, 8192, Lite-On IT L8T-128L9G
2114 Points -19%
Creative Score Accelerated v2
Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK
6Y30, 4096, Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN256HCHP
3202 Points
HP Pavilion x2 12-b000ng
6Y30, 4096, SanDisk Z400s SD8SNAT-128G
3198 Points 0%
Microsoft Surface Pro 4, Core m3
6Y30, 4096, Samsung MZFLV128 NVMe
2968 Points -7%
Work Score Accelerated v2
Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 SA5-271-56HM
6200U, 4096, Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3256GG2
3996 Points +7%
HP Pavilion x2 12-b000ng
6Y30, 4096, SanDisk Z400s SD8SNAT-128G
3773 Points +1%
Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK
6Y30, 4096, Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN256HCHP
3729 Points
Lenovo Yoga 3 11 80J8001WGE
5Y10c, 8192, Lite-On IT L8T-128L9G
3253 Points -13%
Microsoft Surface Pro 4, Core m3
6Y30, 4096, Samsung MZFLV128 NVMe
3186 Points -15%
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
2625 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2
3202 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
3729 points
Help

Storage Devices

Samsung's PM871 is an M.2-SSD (2280) and attached via SATA-III interface, so the transfer rates are limited to around 500 to 550 MB/s. The 256 GB drive leaves a good impression in the benchmarks. The important 4K results in particular, are very good. About 180 GB can be used for your own files and applications ex-works.

More comparisons and benchmarks for many hard drives and SSD are available in our Tech section.

Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK
Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN256HCHP
HP Pavilion x2 12-b000ng
SanDisk Z400s SD8SNAT-128G
Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 SA5-271-56HM
Kingston RBU-SNS8152S3256GG2
Microsoft Surface Pro 4, Core m3
Samsung MZFLV128 NVMe
Lenovo Yoga 3 11 80J8001WGE
Lite-On IT L8T-128L9G
CrystalDiskMark 3.0
-33%
-13%
-19%
-15%
Write 4k QD32
268.6
173.2
-36%
197.1
-27%
149.2
-44%
216.7
-19%
Read 4k QD32
324.2
136.4
-58%
272
-16%
243.7
-25%
222.3
-31%
Write 4k
73.6
57.9
-21%
76.8
4%
68
-8%
34.96
-52%
Read 4k
31.27
21.12
-32%
29.3
-6%
30.14
-4%
23
-26%
Write 512
301.9
176.2
-42%
201
-33%
158.2
-48%
318.9
6%
Read 512
385.7
226.2
-41%
374.9
-3%
313.1
-19%
352.4
-9%
Write Seq
302.8
184.3
-39%
199.9
-34%
158.2
-48%
322
6%
Read Seq
456.2
477.3
5%
518
14%
663
45%
468.7
3%
Samsung SSD PM871 MZNLN256HCHP
Sequential Read: 456.2 MB/s
Sequential Write: 302.8 MB/s
512K Read: 385.7 MB/s
512K Write: 301.9 MB/s
4K Read: 31.27 MB/s
4K Write: 73.6 MB/s
4K QD32 Read: 324.2 MB/s
4K QD32 Write: 268.6 MB/s

GPU Performance

All the graphics calculations are handled by the integrated GPU of the processor. The HD Graphics 515 is the GT2 version of the Skylake GPU and is equipped with 24 shaders, just like the faster HD Graphics 520. However, the core can reach a maximum clock of only 850 MHz in combination with the Core m3.

The graphics adapter can benefit a little from the dual-channel memory configuration, but the clocks are reduced after a few seconds – the same as the processor. Our test model is ahead of the previous Lenovo Yoga 3 11 in the 3DMarks, but other systems with the HD Graphics 515 are about 40% faster on average. The performance is not reduced on battery power.

Thanks to the integrated video decoder, the GPU is still a decent solution for private users, because it has no problems with high-resolution video playback. More benchmarks with the HD Graphics 515 and other GPUs are listed here.

3DMark 11
1280x720 Performance
Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 SA5-271-56HM
Intel HD Graphics 520
1585 Points +74%
Microsoft Surface Pro 4, Core m3
Intel HD Graphics 515
1344 Points +48%
HP Pavilion x2 12-b000ng
Intel HD Graphics 515
1260 Points +38%
Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK
Intel HD Graphics 515
911 Points
Lenovo Yoga 3 11 80J8001WGE
Intel HD Graphics 5300
498 Points -45%
1280x720 Performance GPU
Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 SA5-271-56HM
Intel HD Graphics 520
1428 Points +65%
Microsoft Surface Pro 4, Core m3
Intel HD Graphics 515
1206 Points +40%
HP Pavilion x2 12-b000ng
Intel HD Graphics 515
1133 Points +31%
Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK
Intel HD Graphics 515
863 Points
Lenovo Yoga 3 11 80J8001WGE
Intel HD Graphics 5300
458 Points -47%
3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Score
Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 SA5-271-56HM
Intel HD Graphics 520
5608 Points +107%
Microsoft Surface Pro 4, Core m3
Intel HD Graphics 515
4604 Points +70%
HP Pavilion x2 12-b000ng
Intel HD Graphics 515
4330 Points +60%
Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK
Intel HD Graphics 515
2705 Points
Lenovo Yoga 3 11 80J8001WGE
Intel HD Graphics 5300
1361 Points -50%
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 SA5-271-56HM
Intel HD Graphics 520
7307 Points +68%
Microsoft Surface Pro 4, Core m3
Intel HD Graphics 515
6597 Points +51%
HP Pavilion x2 12-b000ng
Intel HD Graphics 515
6178 Points +42%
Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK
Intel HD Graphics 515
4357 Points
Lenovo Yoga 3 11 80J8001WGE
Intel HD Graphics 5300
2895 Points -34%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Score
Microsoft Surface Pro 4, Core m3
Intel HD Graphics 515
740 Points +59%
HP Pavilion x2 12-b000ng
Intel HD Graphics 515
671 Points +44%
Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK
Intel HD Graphics 515
466 Points
Lenovo Yoga 3 11 80J8001WGE
Intel HD Graphics 5300
331 Points -29%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Microsoft Surface Pro 4, Core m3
Intel HD Graphics 515
810 Points +56%
HP Pavilion x2 12-b000ng
Intel HD Graphics 515
740 Points +43%
Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK
Intel HD Graphics 515
519 Points
Lenovo Yoga 3 11 80J8001WGE
Intel HD Graphics 5300
389 Points -25%
3DMark 11 Performance
911 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
2705 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
466 points
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Gaming Performance

Our gaming benchmarks do not produce good results for the Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK. Even older games such as “Tomb Raider” from 2013 are hardly playable at reduced settings and resolutions. You should focus on casual games from the Windows Store. We have more results for the HD Graphics 515 in our comprehensive gaming list.

low med. high ultra
Tomb Raider (2013) 27.9 14.8
BioShock Infinite (2013) 21.8 12
The Witcher 3 (2015) 5.1

Emissions

System Noise

The Yoga 700 11 is always a silent companion thanks to the passive cooling. We did not notice any other noises such as coil whining either.

Temperature

Stress test Yoga 700-11ISK
Stress test Yoga 700-11ISK

The convertible warms up quite a bit under light workloads due to the passive cooling solution, but average temperatures of around 30 °C (~86 °F) are not inconvenient at all. We can measure up to 42 °C (~108 °F) at the bottom under load as well. This is noticeable, but does not affect the handling of the device.

Our benchmarks have already shown that the low temperatures are a result of the reduced performance. The stress is even higher in our tests with the tools Prime95 and FurMark. We can see a consumption of 9 watts at the start of the test (2 GHz CPU, 800 MHz GPU), but it quickly drops to 4.5 watts (600 MHz CPU, 350 to 400 MHz GPU) after about 10 seconds. The TDP will continue to drop in ~2 minute steps and eventually level off at 3 watts and a temperature of ~65 °C (~149 °F; 500 MHz CPU, 300 MHz GPU). A 3DMark 11 run immediately after the stress test results in a slightly lower score. The performance could also be affected in daily situations, especially with higher ambient temperatures.

Max. Load
 34.4 °C
94 F
36.8 °C
98 F
33.8 °C
93 F
 
 32 °C
90 F
34 °C
93 F
31.3 °C
88 F
 
 27.1 °C
81 F
26.2 °C
79 F
27.7 °C
82 F
 
Maximum: 36.8 °C = 98 F
Average: 31.5 °C = 89 F
35.7 °C
96 F
42 °C
108 F
37 °C
99 F
30.4 °C
87 F
35 °C
95 F
31.9 °C
89 F
27.1 °C
81 F
27.4 °C
81 F
27.1 °C
81 F
Maximum: 42 °C = 108 F
Average: 32.6 °C = 91 F
Power Supply (max.)  39.2 °C = 103 F | Room Temperature 22 °C = 72 F | FIRT 550-Pocket
(+) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 31.5 °C / 89 F, compared to the average of 30.2 °C / 86 F for the devices in the class Convertible.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 36.8 °C / 98 F, compared to the average of 35.3 °C / 96 F, ranging from 19.6 to 55.7 °C for the class Convertible.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 42 °C / 108 F, compared to the average of 36.8 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 29.6 °C / 85 F, compared to the device average of 30.2 °C / 86 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 27.8 °C / 82 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.1 °C / 82.6 F (+0.3 °C / 0.6 F).

Speakers

The two speakers are located at the bottom and direct the sound downwards. It will then be reflected from the surface, so a solid surface is preferable, while softer surfaces or the hands will quickly result in a muffled sound. The hands will also quickly cover the small opening when you move the convertible around. As with the predecessor, the sound is mainly defined by medium tones. The maximum volume is sufficient and there are no distortions, but we recommend external solutions such as headphones for a better quality.

Speaker measurements
Speaker measurements
Dolby Audio Software
Dolby Audio Software

Energy Management

Power Consumption

The Lenovo Yoga 700 11 is a very efficient system, but the load results, in particular obviously benefit from the reduced processor performance. The current rivals consume more power, only the predecessor Yoga 3 11 is even more efficient under light workloads (20 to 30%). The provided 40-watt power adapter has a special USB connector and has no problems with the maximum consumption of the test model.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.35 / 0.45 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 4.3 / 7.1 / 7.2 Watt
Load midlight 14.6 / 15.7 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK
40 Wh
HP Pavilion x2 12-b000ng
33 Wh
Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 SA5-271-56HM
37 Wh
Lenovo Yoga 3 11 80J8001WGE
34 Wh
Power Consumption
-28%
-62%
23%
Idle Minimum *
4.3
5.3
-23%
7.3
-70%
2.9
33%
Idle Average *
7.1
8.2
-15%
10
-41%
5.5
23%
Idle Maximum *
7.2
9
-25%
10.15
-41%
5.7
21%
Load Average *
14.6
20.7
-42%
25.2
-73%
11.3
23%
Load Maximum *
15.7
21.4
-36%
29.3
-87%
13.6
13%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Runtime

Lenovo has increased the battery capacity from 34 Wh on the Yoga 3 11 to 40 Wh on the Yoga 700 11, so the test model also has the biggest module within our comparison group. It compensates for the slightly higher consumption and our battery runtime results are therefore roughly on par with the previous model.

We determine more than 14 hours while idling (minimum luminance, power-saver mode), but the tests with an adjusted luminance of around 150 nits are more interesting. Web browsing is possible for almost 7 hours; video playback for more than 7.5 hours before the battery is empty. The direct rivals have to be recharged sooner, only the Surface Pro 4 with the Core m3 lasts one hour longer in the WLAN test.

The minimum runtime is almost four hours, which clearly beats the rivals. This is once again a result of the reduced TDP of the processor, which was already the case with the predecessor. A full recharge of the battery takes about 2 hours when the device is turned on.

Maximum runtime (Battery Eater Reader's Test)
Maximum runtime (Battery Eater Reader's Test)
WLAN test
WLAN test
Video test
Video test
Minimum runtime (Battery Eater Classic Test)
Minimum runtime (Battery Eater Classic Test)
Charging
Charging
Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
14h 24min
WiFi Websurfing
6h 57min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
7h 42min
Load (maximum brightness)
3h 46min
Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK
40 Wh
HP Pavilion x2 12-b000ng
33 Wh
Acer Aspire Switch Alpha 12 SA5-271-56HM
37 Wh
Microsoft Surface Pro 4, Core m3
38 Wh
Lenovo Yoga 3 11 80J8001WGE
34 Wh
Battery Runtime
-41%
-25%
-10%
7%
Reader / Idle
864
474
-45%
640
-26%
791
-8%
856
-1%
H.264
462
311
-33%
468
1%
WiFi v1.3
417
285
-32%
321
-23%
488
17%
443
6%
Load
226
109
-52%
112
-50%
138
-39%
260
15%

Pros

+ small and versatile
+ bright IPS screen
+ low temperatures
+ silent operation
+ good battery runtimes

Cons

- low performance due to weak cooling
- bad input devices
- PWM flickering at very low frequency
- lid is not very stable
- only 1x USB 3.0

Verdict

In review: Lenovo Yoga 700 11ISK. Test model courtesy of Lenovo Germany.
In review: Lenovo Yoga 700 11ISK. Test model courtesy of Lenovo Germany.

The Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK is a small and versatile convertible. Lenovo has increased the performance compared to the predecessor, thanks to more modern components, which has improved media playback in particular. You should still consider that the convertible is mainly limited to simple applications. The test model is probably not the right choice if you plan to edit movies or run multiple applications simultaneously.

Other advantages of the Yoga 700-11ISK include the passive cooling and therefore the silent operation. The IPS display is bright and offers wide viewing angles, but some users might have problems with the PWM flickering.

Small, light and portable – the Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK is a good choice for simple tasks, but the keyboard is particularly disappointing.

The two main drawbacks are the keyboard and the performance. The input provides little feedback and is one of the worst keyboards we have reviewed so far. We also expect more in terms of performance, because even the efficient Core m3 is heavily throttled under load – a more capable passive cooling solution would have been better. Overall, there are much better alternatives in this price range – for example, the Acer Aspire Switch 12 Alpha.

Lenovo Yoga 700-11ISK - 02/07/2017 v6(old)
Andreas Osthoff

Chassis
82 / 98 → 84%
Keyboard
66%
Pointing Device
76%
Connectivity
42 / 80 → 53%
Weight
74 / 35-78 → 90%
Battery
89%
Display
79%
Games Performance
43 / 68 → 63%
Application Performance
69 / 87 → 79%
Temperature
92%
Noise
100%
Audio
56 / 91 → 62%
Camera
46 / 85 → 54%
Average
70%
81%
Convertible - Weighted Average

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Andreas Osthoff, 2017-02-11 (Update: 2019-04-13)