Notebookcheck Logo

Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB (i5-8250U, FHD) Convertible Review

Flexibility for the masses. Lenovo's 13.3-inch Yoga 730 is an elegantly designed consumer 2-in-1 with impressive performance, great ergonomics and good battery life. Throttling under heavy load remains an issue, however - although that's less of a drawback than one might think.

Intel's Kaby Lake-R generation of ULV processors is firmly established in the notebook market now, so it's not surprising that both the older and newer generations of mid to high-end notebooks and Ultrabooks feature either an i7 or an i5 CPU from the series. At the beginning of the year, we reviewed the predecessor of our Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB, the Yoga 720-13IKB, which was already equipped with an 8th-generation i7-8550U CPU. At the time of writing, Lenovo offers both 13.3-inch as well as 15.6-inch versions in the 730 series; the older 720 series is also still available and comes in a third, smaller size (with a 12-inch screen) as well.

Lenovo seems to have focused on minor optimizations this time around, so as far as the construction, layout, and overall design are concerned, the Yoga 730-13IKB remains largely unchanged. For that reason, we recommend checking our existing reviews of the older-generation Lenovo Yoga 720 with i7-8550U and Yoga 720 with 7th-generation i5-7200U for more details. In this review, we'll focus our attention on notable differences between the generations and particularly the performance, as heavy throttling certainly has been an issue in the past. Competitors to our $850 review convertible include other similarly-sized 2-in-1 like the 13.3-inch Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF,  the upscale - but also more expensive - 13.3-inch HP Spectre x360 13t or the slightly larger 14-inch Asus ZenBook Flip 14.

Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT (Yoga 730-13 Series)
Processor
Intel Core i5-8250U 4 x 1.6 - 3.4 GHz, Kaby Lake Refresh
Graphics adapter
Memory
8 GB 
, DDR4 2400 MHz, Dual-Channel
Display
13.30 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel 166 PPI, multi-touch, LGD05B4 (LP133WF4-SPB8), IPS, glossy: yes
Mainboard
Intel Kaby Lake-U iHDCP 2.2 Premium PCH
Storage
Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G, 256 GB 
Soundcard
Conexant CX20751/2 @ Intel Kaby Lake-U/Y - High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
1 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 2 USB 3.1 Gen2, 2 Thunderbolt, 2 DisplayPort, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm combo-jack, 1 Fingerprint Reader, Brightness Sensor, Sensors: gyroscope
Networking
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.1
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 14.1 x 306.8 x 216.3 ( = 0.56 x 12.08 x 8.52 in)
Battery
48 Wh, 6080 mAh Lithium-Ion, 4-cell
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: 720p
Additional features
Speakers: sterio, 12 Months Warranty
Weight
1.242 kg ( = 43.81 oz / 2.74 pounds), Power Supply: 312 g ( = 11.01 oz / 0.69 pounds)
Price
850 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

From an aesthetic viewpoint, the aluminum-clad Yoga 730 looks much like the older Yoga 720: subtly rounded corners meet an otherwise quite angular design with a chamfered base. The surface areas - Lenovo calls our color "Platinum" with "Iron Gray" as the other option - are slightly rough to the touch, which prevents sweaty fingers from slipping, and are next to impervious to fingerprints. Overall build quality is impressive with tight tolerances, even gaps and smooth transitions. Rigidity is very good with only very minor warping and creaking during vigorous twisting attempts, although the lid has a little more give and responds to localized pressure with minor ripples on the display. The keyboard deck will flex slightly when medium pressure is applied, but not nearly enough as to pose problems even for heavy-handed typists. The 360-degree-hinges are not quite stiff enough to prevent the display from teetering in laptop mode - particularly when prodding the touchscreen - and because of the lightweight design and the fact that a notch is missing on the front edge, both hands are required to open the notebook. 

Closer inspection of the chassis reveals minor physical differences compared to the 720 as well: the size is ever so slightly different (by a few mm), the fan exhaust opening doesn't cover the entire rear edge any longer but is split into two separate sections, the perforations in the location of the loudspeakers are much finer, and the fingerprint reader now lines up with the right edge of the right arrow key instead of sitting in the middle. None of these changes have any impact on the overall usability or user experience.

While Lenovo touts a narrow-bezel design, it's actually only the left and right edges which are quite slim at 6 mm, while the bottom bezel is far from narrow at almost 30 mm. From a footprint, height and weight perspective, the Yoga 730 and the HP Spectre x360 13t seem to be carbon copies of each other. The 13.3-inch Acer Spin 5 and the 14-inch Asus ZenBook Flip 14 are almost 20 mm wider. When it comes to shaving off every last mm, Dell's XPS 13 Ultrabook still reigns supreme, as the size comparison below clearly shows.

327 mm / 12.9 inch 226 mm / 8.9 inch 13.9 mm / 0.547 inch 1.4 kg3.09 lbs324.4 mm / 12.8 inch 226 mm / 8.9 inch 15.9 mm / 0.626 inch 1.5 kg3.31 lbs313.5 mm / 12.3 inch 222.2 mm / 8.75 inch 18.2 mm / 0.717 inch 1.4 kg3.15 lbs306.8 mm / 12.1 inch 216.3 mm / 8.52 inch 14.1 mm / 0.555 inch 1.2 kg2.74 lbs307 mm / 12.1 inch 218 mm / 8.58 inch 13.8 mm / 0.543 inch 1.3 kg2.76 lbs302 mm / 11.9 inch 199 mm / 7.83 inch 11.6 mm / 0.4567 inch 1.2 kg2.67 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch 210 mm / 8.27 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 5.7 g0.01257 lbs

Connectivity

Lenovo has made no changes to the connectivity, so the Yoga 730 features the same 2 x Type-C (Thunderbolt) ports on the left - one of which doubles as a charging port - as well as the single USB 3.0 port on the right side. Unlike its competitors, the 2-in-1 doesn't come with a card reader at all - not even a MicroSD card slot like the HP Spectre or the Asus Zenbook Flip 14. The Yoga 730 also supports Cortana with Far-field capabilities and offers Active Pen 2 support as well.

SD Card Reader
maximum SDCardreader Maximum Transfer Rate
Average of class Convertible
  (22.6 - 263, n=35, last 2 years)
94.9 MB/s
average SDCardreader Average Transfer Rate
Average of class Convertible
  (17.7 - 177.7, n=37, last 2 years)
73.9 MB/s

Communication

Internet connectivity is courtesy of the extremely common Intel Wireless-AC 8265 (a/b/g/n/ac) module. Transfer rates 1 m away from our Linksys EA8500 test router are within the expected range and comparable to those of other premium convertibles and notebooks. 

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Average of class Convertible
  (1003 - 1395, n=2, last 2 years)
1199 MBit/s +139%
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
668 MBit/s +33%
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
666 MBit/s +33%
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
Atheros/Qualcomm QCA6174
580 MBit/s +16%
Dell XPS 13 9370 FHD i5
Atheros/Qualcomm QCA6174
557 MBit/s +11%
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
502 MBit/s
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
478 MBit/s -5%
iperf3 receive AX12
Average of class Convertible
  (1178 - 1578, n=2, last 2 years)
1378 MBit/s +115%
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
641 MBit/s
Dell XPS 13 9370 FHD i5
Atheros/Qualcomm QCA6174
588 MBit/s -8%
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
580 MBit/s -10%
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
517 MBit/s -19%
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
491 MBit/s -23%
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
Atheros/Qualcomm QCA6174
308 MBit/s -52%

Accessories

The box contains the convertible, the 65 W power adapter, a quick-start guide and both safety and warranty information. The Active Pen 2 is an optional accessory and sells for $60. In addition, Lenovo offers a wireless laser mouse ($30), a slim DVD burner ($50), and a laptop sleeve ($17).

Maintenance

The dual fans are easy to clean
The dual fans are easy to clean

Despite the lack of a dedicated maintenance hatch, servicing the unit isn't an overly complicated affair, as the bottom plate comes of quite easily once the nine Torx screws have been removed. Note that the RAM is soldered on, so upgrade activities are restricted to the SSD and the WLAN-module. The two small fans are accessible as well and can be cleaned quite easily should the need arise.

Warranty

In the US, Lenovo provides a standard 12 month mail-in service against manufacturing defects. An upgrade to an onsite 3 year warranty with accidental damage protection costs $190.

Input Devices

The keyboard and the touchpad are direct carry-overs, so please check our existing review of the Lenovo Yoga 720 for more information. The touchscreen works flawlessly as well, but unfortunately we weren't able to test the functionality of the Active Pen 2, as we didn't receive one for our review unit.

Display

For the Yoga 730, a 1080p IPS multitouch display is standard with a higher-resolution UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS display remaining an option only for Lenovo's consumer flagship 13.9-inch convertible Yoga 920. While the predecessor with i7-8550U made use of a panel from BOE, our convertible is equipped with an LG display. Average and maximum brightness, as well as the contrast and brightness distribution are very similar. Backlight bleeding is very minimal and only noticeable at maximum brightness and a black background. One welcome change: the LG panel doesn't use PWM for brightness regulation - the Yoga 720 i7-8550U with BOE panel cycles the display at a frequency of 350 Hz at anything less than 90 percent brightness. Curiously enough, the Yoga 720 with 7th-generation CPU also featured a panel from LG (a slightly different model) as well and also didn't resort to PWM to regulate the brightness. It seems Lenovo uses several different panel types and users sensitive to flickering can only hope that their unit will feature the LG and not the BOE display panel.

Subpixel array (166 PPI)
Subpixel array (166 PPI)
Very minimal backlight bleeding
Very minimal backlight bleeding
288.2
cd/m²
295.3
cd/m²
292.6
cd/m²
282.2
cd/m²
301
cd/m²
296
cd/m²
293.5
cd/m²
299.2
cd/m²
309.2
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
LGD05B4 (LP133WF4-SPB8) tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 309.2 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 295.2 cd/m² Minimum: 3.75 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 91 %
Center on Battery: 301 cd/m²
Contrast: 836:1 (Black: 0.36 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 6.02 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5, calibrated: 4.74
ΔE Greyscale 2.9 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
83.92% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
61.38% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
61.4% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
83.9% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
65.6% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 1.96
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
LGD05B4 (LP133WF4-SPB8), IPS, 13.30, 1920x1080
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
BOE NV140FHM-N62, IPS, 14.00, 1920x1080
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
BOE CQ NV133FHM-N61, IPS, 13.30, 1920x1080
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
LC133LF102, IPS, 13.30, 1920x1080
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
LGD0588, IPS, 13.30, 3840x2160
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
Lenovo M133NWF4 R3, IPS, 13.30, 1920x1080
Display
0%
4%
11%
15%
8%
Display P3 Coverage
65.6
64.4
-2%
67.8
3%
69.8
6%
71.9
10%
65.9
0%
sRGB Coverage
83.9
84.6
1%
88.2
5%
94.6
13%
98.1
17%
95.8
14%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
61.4
61.8
1%
64.4
5%
69.3
13%
73.1
19%
67.8
10%
Response Times
-30%
-40%
-26%
-41%
-31%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
34 ?(16.4, 17.6)
44 ?(24, 20)
-29%
48 ?(26, 22)
-41%
49 ?(30, 19)
-44%
51.6 ?(25.6, 26)
-52%
50 ?(24, 26)
-47%
Response Time Black / White *
25.2 ?(13.6, 11.6)
33 ?(19, 14)
-31%
35 ?(19, 16)
-39%
27 ?(15, 12)
-7%
32.4 ?(16.4, 16)
-29%
29 ?(15, 14)
-15%
PWM Frequency
200 ?(90)
350 ?(90)
1000 ?(20)
1000 ?(90)
Screen
-7%
-2%
15%
24%
6%
Brightness middle
301
302
0%
297
-1%
295
-2%
329.8
10%
314
4%
Brightness
295
288
-2%
277
-6%
276
-6%
318
8%
302
2%
Brightness Distribution
91
90
-1%
87
-4%
88
-3%
74
-19%
84
-8%
Black Level *
0.36
0.57
-58%
0.33
8%
0.27
25%
0.25
31%
0.16
56%
Contrast
836
530
-37%
900
8%
1093
31%
1319
58%
1963
135%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
6.02
5.17
14%
4.93
18%
2.97
51%
2.37
61%
5.73
5%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
11.36
7.68
32%
8.39
26%
5.67
50%
4.08
64%
10.43
8%
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated *
4.74
Greyscale dE 2000 *
2.9
3.26
-12%
4.84
-67%
3.12
-8%
2.8
3%
7.39
-155%
Gamma
1.96 112%
2.45 90%
2.5 88%
2.45 90%
2.145 103%
2.14 103%
CCT
6408 101%
7142 91%
6894 94%
6676 97%
6441 101%
6351 102%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
61.38
55
-10%
58
-6%
62
1%
67
9%
61
-1%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
83.92
85
1%
88
5%
94
12%
98
17%
96
14%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
-12% / -9%
-13% / -6%
0% / 9%
-1% / 14%
-6% / 1%

* ... smaller is better

Color space is approximately 84 percent and 61 percent of the professional sRGB and AdobeRGB color spaces, respectively. The HP Spectre x360 13-ac033dx with the 4K panel reaches close to 100 percent of the sRGB color space and is therefore a much better choice for aspiring digital artists or anybody who prefers a wider gamut.

vs. sRGB
vs. sRGB
vs. AdobeRGB
vs. AdobeRGB
vs. Asus Zenbook Flip 14
vs. Asus Zenbook Flip 14

An analysis with the X-Rite spectrophotometer reveals slightly below average colors out of the box with an average DeltaE-deviation of about 6 and a maximum deviation of above 11. A quick calibration does very little to improve the color accuracy, as the DeltaE decreases by just a little over a point. Grayscale is already very good as shipped with a measured DeltaE of <3, with the result improving to an astounding 1 after our attempt. The display does its job well enough for everyday use, but users demanding higher color accuracy need to look elsewhere. The HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000 with UHD display once again is the best choice in our direct comparison.

ColorChecker before calibration
ColorChecker before calibration
Grayscale before calibration
Grayscale before calibration
Saturation Sweeps before calibration
Saturation Sweeps before calibration
ColorChecker after calibration
ColorChecker after calibration
Grayscale after calibration
Grayscale after calibration
Saturation Sweeps after calibration
Saturation Sweeps after calibration

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
25.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 13.6 ms rise
↘ 11.6 ms fall
The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 55 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
34 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 16.4 ms rise
↘ 17.6 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 40 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

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 not detected

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18100 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

As expected, the outdoor usability isn't all that great, since the average brightness of less than 300 nits isn't quite able to overcome the drawbacks of the glare-type touchscreen. Tablet mode suffers the most while walking around in direct sunlight or even under cloud cover, but working in the shade is possible if the panel is adjusted properly. The viewing angles are very wide as it is typical for an IPS panel without significant darkening or color shifts at more shallow angles.

Tablet mode - shade
Tablet mode - shade
Tablet mode - direct sunlight
Tablet mode - direct sunlight
Tent mode - sunlight
Tent mode - sunlight
Wide IPS viewing angles
Wide IPS viewing angles

Performance

At the time of writing, the Yoga 730 is available in five different SKUs. The lowest-end configuration comes with an i5-8250U CPU, 8 GB of RAM and a 128 GB SSD; the high-end model uses the i7-8550U, doubles the RAM to 16 GB and is equipped with a 512 GB SSD. All models feature the integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 with no dedicated options available. Prices currently range from $800 on the low to $1350 on the high end.

 
 

Processor

Just like the predecessor, the Yoga 730 suffers from declining Turbo Boost clock rates under heavy load. Running just the Multi-Thread test of the Cinebench R15 benchmark without running the OpenGL portion first resulted in a Multi-Thread score of 646 points, which is actually quite impressive. This result dropped to 516 points when we ran the entire CB15 benchmark - a decline of about 20 percent. The same behavior can be observed during the Cinebench R15 loop test: after the initial score of 640 points, subsequent scores drop to below 490 after 3 passes (a drop of 24 percent) and they don't recover during the remainder of the test. Other notebooks like the Asus ZenBook Flip 14 with the same CPU have a more gradual slope, so the average raw performance of the processor under load is likely higher, particularly during the earlier segments of the test. 

CineBench R15
CineBench R15
CineBench R11.5 64-bit
CineBench R11.5 64-bit
CineBench R10 32-bit
CineBench R10 32-bit
0102030405060708090100110120130140150160170180190200210220230240250260270280290300310320330340350360370380390400410420430440450460470480490500510520530540550560570580590600610620630640Tooltip
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit - Yoga 730
0102030405060708090100110120130140150160170180190200210220230240250260270280290300310320330340350360370380390400410420430440450460470480490500510520530540550560Tooltip
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit - Zenbook Flip 14
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Average of class Convertible
  (68.6 - 287, n=65, last 2 years)
229 Points +70%
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
Intel Core i7-8550U
155 Points +15%
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
Intel Core i7-8550U
152 Points +13%
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
Intel Core i5-8250U
144 Points +7%
Dell XPS 13 9370 FHD i5
Intel Core i5-8250U
144 Points +7%
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
Intel Core i5-8250U
144 Points +7%
Average Intel Core i5-8250U
  (81 - 147, n=97)
141.1 Points +5%
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
Intel Core i5-8250U
135 Points
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
Intel Core i7-8550U
109 Points -19%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Average of class Convertible
  (110.1 - 2889, n=67, last 2 years)
1556 Points +144%
Dell XPS 13 9370 FHD i5
Intel Core i5-8250U
669 Points +5%
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
Intel Core i5-8250U
639 Points
Average Intel Core i5-8250U
  (320 - 730, n=101)
570 Points -11%
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
Intel Core i5-8250U
558 Points -13%
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
Intel Core i5-8250U
534 Points -16%
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
Intel Core i7-8550U
509 Points -20%
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
Intel Core i7-8550U
489 Points -23%
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
Intel Core i7-8550U
407 Points -36%
Cinebench R11.5
CPU Single 64Bit
Average of class Convertible
  (1.86 - 3.26, n=8, last 2 years)
2.69 Points +71%
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
Intel Core i7-8550U
1.76 Points +12%
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
Intel Core i5-8250U
1.65 Points +5%
Average Intel Core i5-8250U
  (0.91 - 1.79, n=35)
1.615 Points +3%
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
Intel Core i5-8250U
1.57 Points
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
Intel Core i7-8550U
1.51 Points -4%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Average of class Convertible
  (4.31 - 25, n=8, last 2 years)
17.9 Points +175%
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
Intel Core i5-8250U
6.52 Points
Average Intel Core i5-8250U
  (3.15 - 7.76, n=35)
6.02 Points -8%
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
Intel Core i5-8250U
5.93 Points -9%
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
Intel Core i7-8550U
5.35 Points -18%
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
Intel Core i7-8550U
4.38 Points -33%
Cinebench R10
Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
Average of class Convertible
  (13139 - 53525, n=7, last 2 years)
35016 Points +77%
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
Intel Core i5-8250U
19802 Points
Average Intel Core i5-8250U
  (14148 - 22097, n=42)
18261 Points -8%
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
Intel Core i5-8250U
16465 Points -17%
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
Intel Core i7-8550U
15705 Points -21%
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
Intel Core i5-8250U
15292 Points -23%
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
Intel Core i7-8550U
11694 Points -41%
Rendering Single 32Bit
Average of class Convertible
  (6243 - 10510, n=7, last 2 years)
8241 Points +49%
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
Intel Core i7-8550U
6098 Points +10%
Average Intel Core i5-8250U
  (5349 - 8356, n=42)
5631 Points +2%
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
Intel Core i5-8250U
5530 Points 0%
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
Intel Core i5-8250U
5528 Points
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
Intel Core i5-8250U
5523 Points 0%
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
Intel Core i7-8550U
4202 Points -24%
wPrime 2.10 - 1024m
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
Intel Core i7-8550U
435 s * -8%
Average of class Convertible
  (98.3 - 1260, n=8, last 2 years)
406 s * -1%
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
Intel Core i5-8250U
402.1 s *
Average Intel Core i5-8250U
  (243 - 402, n=13)
309 s * +23%

* ... smaller is better

Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
9458
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
19802
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
5528
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
48.74 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
6.52 Points
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
1.57 Points
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
97.8 %
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
55.6 fps
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
639 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
135 Points
Help

System Performance

One might be tempted to think that the declining Turbo Boost would significantly impact the overall performance as well. Nothing could be further from the truth: the Yoga 730 only trails the XPS 13 - known to be a very fast Ultrabook - in the PCMark 8 benchmark tests and is actually the undisputed leader in our comparison when running PCMark 10. Even Lenovo's own ThinkPad X380 Yoga with i7-8550U trails the review convertible by 10 percent; the older Yoga 720 with the i7-8550 scores 20 percent lower.

Real-world performance is top notch and the convertible handles everyday tasks with aplomb. Programs open quickly and we didn't encounter any lag or other issues during the review period.

PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 8 Creative Accelerated
PCMark 8 Creative Accelerated
PCMark 8 Work Accelerated
PCMark 8 Work Accelerated
PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2
Average of class Convertible
  (4404 - 5830, n=3, last 2 years)
4890 Points +26%
Dell XPS 13 9370 FHD i5
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
3994 Points +3%
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
3895 Points
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG4 NVMe (THNSN5512GPUK)
3815 Points -2%
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
3687 Points -5%
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, SanDisk SD8SN8U256G1002
3660 Points -6%
Average Intel Core i5-8250U, Intel UHD Graphics 620
  (2986 - 4458, n=69)
3584 Points -8%
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Lite-On CA1-8D256-HP
3306 Points -15%
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Micron 1100 MTFDDAV256TBN
3197 Points -18%
Work Score Accelerated v2
Dell XPS 13 9370 FHD i5
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
4906 Points 0%
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
4901 Points
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, SanDisk SD8SN8U256G1002
4700 Points -4%
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG4 NVMe (THNSN5512GPUK)
4685 Points -4%
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
4656 Points -5%
Average Intel Core i5-8250U, Intel UHD Graphics 620
  (2699 - 5106, n=58)
4646 Points -5%
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Micron 1100 MTFDDAV256TBN
4563 Points -7%
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Lite-On CA1-8D256-HP
4149 Points -15%
Average of class Convertible
  (2921 - 6089, n=3, last 2 years)
4045 Points -17%
Creative Score Accelerated v2
Dell XPS 13 9370 FHD i5
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
5044 Points +3%
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
4901 Points
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Lite-On CA1-8D256-HP
4885 Points 0%
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
4788 Points -2%
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG4 NVMe (THNSN5512GPUK)
4748 Points -3%
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, SanDisk SD8SN8U256G1002
4666 Points -5%
Average of class Convertible
  (last 2 years)
4645 Points -5%
Average Intel Core i5-8250U, Intel UHD Graphics 620
  (3308 - 5090, n=35)
4594 Points -6%
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Micron 1100 MTFDDAV256TBN
3343 Points -32%
PCMark 10 - Score
Average of class Convertible
  (1486 - 7963, n=60, last 2 years)
5628 Points +38%
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
4081 Points
Dell XPS 13 9370 FHD i5
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
3764 Points -8%
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Micron 1100 MTFDDAV256TBN
3664 Points -10%
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
3632 Points -11%
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, SanDisk SD8SN8U256G1002
3473 Points -15%
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Lite-On CA1-8D256-HP
3313 Points -19%
Average Intel Core i5-8250U, Intel UHD Graphics 620
  (3358 - 4081, n=67)
3296 Points -19%
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG4 NVMe (THNSN5512GPUK)
3260 Points -20%
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
3895 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2
4901 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
4901 points
PCMark 10 Score
4081 points
Help

Storage Devices

Toshiba XG5 PCIe NVMe SSD
Toshiba XG5 PCIe NVMe SSD

The 256 GB PCIe NVMe drive performs as expected for a Toshiba XG5 series SSD: while the read rates are quite good, the write rates fall behind other drives - in particular when compared to the 256 GB Samsung PM961 SSD in the more upscale Yoga 920 or the Liteon drive in the HP Spectre x360. Still, during normal use, this difference is of no consequence whatsoever. Both the Asus ZenBook Flip 14 and the Acer Spin 5 are equipped with SATA SSDs and hence much slower.

CrystalDiskMark 5
CrystalDiskMark 5
PCMark 8 Storage
PCMark 8 Storage
AS SSD
AS SSD
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
SanDisk SD8SN8U256G1002
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
Micron 1100 MTFDDAV256TBN
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
Lite-On CA1-8D256-HP
Lenovo Yoga 920-13IKB-80Y7
Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
AS SSD
-49%
-41%
11%
46%
Copy Game MB/s
565
186.1
-67%
246.6
-56%
839
48%
319.2
-44%
Copy Program MB/s
285.6
118.6
-58%
157.3
-45%
300.9
5%
463.3
62%
Copy ISO MB/s
893
324.1
-64%
327.5
-63%
1492
67%
1341
50%
Score Total
1713
908
-47%
813
-53%
1998
17%
2536
48%
Score Write
617
236
-62%
340
-45%
590
-4%
608
-1%
Score Read
793
441
-44%
310
-61%
968
22%
1316
66%
Access Time Write *
0.053
0.086
-62%
0.055
-4%
0.13
-145%
0.028
47%
Access Time Read *
0.065
0.123
-89%
0.11
-69%
0.121
-86%
0.044
32%
4K-64 Write
467.2
146.4
-69%
216.5
-54%
404.1
-14%
391.3
-16%
4K-64 Read
530
368.3
-31%
235.5
-56%
725
37%
1039
96%
4K Write
120.2
50.7
-58%
80.8
-33%
91.4
-24%
128.1
7%
4K Read
23.64
26.93
14%
25.48
8%
29.84
26%
48.46
105%
Seq Write
297
388.2
31%
421.4
42%
945
218%
885
198%
Seq Read
2392
459.9
-81%
486.3
-80%
2133
-11%
2282
-5%

* ... smaller is better

Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
Sequential Read: 1975 MB/s
Sequential Write: 322.8 MB/s
512K Read: 775 MB/s
512K Write: 336.7 MB/s
4K Read: 7.04 MB/s
4K Write: 132.5 MB/s
4K QD32 Read: 395.8 MB/s
4K QD32 Write: 348.3 MB/s

GPU Performance

The Yoga 730 relies on the integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 for graphics processing. Once again, the results of the synthetic benchmark tests are quite surprising, as the Yoga 730 manages to pull ahead of other systems with integrated graphics. The 15.6-inch HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100 with dedicated GeForce MX150 is up to 200 percent faster depending on the benchmark.

Gaming performance is as about as expected: only older games run stutter-free and that only, if they are not played at the native FHD resolution and at maximum details. Systems with an entry-level dedicated GPU like the Nvidia MX150 in the HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100 offer much higher gaming performance and from double to tripple the frame rates.

See our dedicated page on the Intel UHD Graphics 620 for more technical information and gaming benchmarks. 

3DMark 11
3DMark 11
Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate
Fire Strike
Fire Strike
Ice Storm
Ice Storm
Ice Storm Extreme
Ice Storm Extreme
Ice Storm Unlimited
Ice Storm Unlimited
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU
Average of class Convertible
  (471 - 40768, n=65, last 2 years)
7603 Points +324%
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, i5-8550U
4564 Points +155%
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U
1793 Points
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U
1765 Points -2%
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U
1764 Points -2%
Average Intel UHD Graphics 620
  (1144 - 3432, n=244)
1749 Points -2%
Lenovo Yoga 920-13IKB-80Y7
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U
1709 Points -5%
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U
1614 Points -10%
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U
1607 Points -10%
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U
1577 Points -12%
3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
Average of class Convertible
  (2965 - 154219, n=50, last 2 years)
31444 Points +219%
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, i5-8550U
20470 Points +108%
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U
9852 Points
Lenovo Yoga 920-13IKB-80Y7
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U
9678 Points -2%
Average Intel UHD Graphics 620
  (6205 - 16400, n=225)
9262 Points -6%
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U
9252 Points -6%
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U
9214 Points -6%
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U
8654 Points -12%
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U
8112 Points -18%
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U
6910 Points -30%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Average of class Convertible
  (365 - 29684, n=65, last 2 years)
5731 Points +373%
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, i5-8550U
3563 Points +194%
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U
1211 Points
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U
1180 Points -3%
Average Intel UHD Graphics 620
  (557 - 2608, n=213)
1161 Points -4%
Lenovo Yoga 920-13IKB-80Y7
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U
1150 Points -5%
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U
1112 Points -8%
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U
1064 Points -12%
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U
1049 Points -13%
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U
862 Points -29%
1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Graphics
Average of class Convertible
  (60398 - 459924, n=2, last 2 years)
260161 Points +372%
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U
55131 Points
Lenovo Yoga 920-13IKB-80Y7
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U
54785 Points -1%
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U
49254 Points -11%
Average Intel UHD Graphics 620
  (26409 - 59483, n=71)
42924 Points -22%
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
NVIDIA GeForce MX150, i5-8550U
38250 Points -31%
3DMark 11 Performance
1974 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score
79073 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
8859 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
1113 points
Help
Rise of the Tomb Raider
1366x768 Medium Preset AF:2x (sort by value)
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
12.8 fps
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, SanDisk SD8SN8U256G1002
10.9 fps
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
9.5 fps
Lenovo Yoga 920-13IKB-80Y7
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
12.7 fps
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
40.8 (23min - 17.6max) fps
Average Intel UHD Graphics 620
  (6.5 - 49.3, n=62)
13 fps
1024x768 Lowest Preset (sort by value)
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
22.9 fps
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, SanDisk SD8SN8U256G1002
17.9 fps
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
15.5 fps
Lenovo Yoga 920-13IKB-80Y7
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
22.9 fps
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
72.3 fps
Average Intel UHD Graphics 620
  (10.4 - 110.7, n=82)
21.4 fps
BioShock Infinite
1920x1080 Ultra Preset, DX11 (DDOF) (sort by value)
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
10 fps
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, SanDisk SD8SN8U256G1002
9.8 fps
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Micron 1100 MTFDDAV256TBN
8 fps
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Lite-On CA1-8D256-HP
8 fps
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
9.3 fps
Dell XPS 13 9370 FHD i5
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
9.8 fps
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG4 NVMe (THNSN5512GPUK)
8.4 fps
Lenovo Yoga 920-13IKB-80Y7
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
10.1 fps
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
34.8 fps
Average Intel UHD Graphics 620
  (4.5 - 17, n=176)
9.2 fps
1366x768 High Preset (sort by value)
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
27.8 fps
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, SanDisk SD8SN8U256G1002
27.1 fps
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Micron 1100 MTFDDAV256TBN
24.6 fps
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Lite-On CA1-8D256-HP
25 fps
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
26.7 fps
Dell XPS 13 9370 FHD i5
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
29.1 fps
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG4 NVMe (THNSN5512GPUK)
25.9 fps
Lenovo Yoga 920-13IKB-80Y7
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
30.5 fps
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
94.3 fps
Average Intel UHD Graphics 620
  (8.1 - 35.9, n=187)
27.5 fps
1366x768 Medium Preset (sort by value)
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
34 fps
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, SanDisk SD8SN8U256G1002
31.2 fps
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Micron 1100 MTFDDAV256TBN
29.9 fps
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Lite-On CA1-8D256-HP
27 fps
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
32.4 fps
Dell XPS 13 9370 FHD i5
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
34.1 fps
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG4 NVMe (THNSN5512GPUK)
31.4 fps
Lenovo Yoga 920-13IKB-80Y7
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
36.2 fps
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
112.9 (94.3min - 34.8max) fps
Average Intel UHD Graphics 620
  (11.5 - 45.5, n=187)
32.8 fps
low med. high ultra
BioShock Infinite (2013) 64.9 34 27.8 10
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) 22.9 12.8 7

Stress Test

As always, we stress the notebook with Prime95 and Furmark to reveal potential throttling or stability issues. When under Prime95 load, the temperature rises quickly to 98 C with the CPU cores dropping from 2.9 GHz to between 1.2 - 1.5 GHz at 61 C after about 10 minutes. The cores recover for longer periods of time before the cycle begins again.

Furmark on its own has the GPU running at 1100 MHz with the temperature rising to above 90C very quickly before the fan system kicks in. Within 30 seconds, the GPU dips to under 1000 MHz at a more comfortable 84 degrees. At the 5 min mark, the GPU speed has declined further to 700 MHz at only 60 C, but recovers again to about 1000 MHz, at which point the cycle repeats.

Simultaneous CPU and GPU load massively affect both the CPU and the GPU speeds: within 3 min, the CPU drops to between 1.2 - 1.3 GHZ with the GPU running at 1000 MHz; over the next 20 minutes, the clock rates decline to 700 MHz for the CPU and 500 MHz for the GPU. As before, the system "recovers" occasionally with the CPU and GPU rebounding to 1.3 GHz and 1000 MHz, respectively. Temperatures generally fluctuate between 70 and 85 C.

While the observed throttling seems to be rather extreme, we should point out that continuous loads are very unlikely to occur during normal use, which helps to explain why the Yoga 730 still does quite well when running synthetic benchmark tests.

A repeat of 3DMark 11 on battery shows nearly unchanged GPU and CPU performance with Physics and Graphics scores within a couple of percent of our previous run and thus a near-identical final score. 

Prime95 stress
Prime95 stress
Furmark stress
Furmark stress
Prime95 + Furmark stress
Prime95 + Furmark stress
CPU Clock (GHz) GPU Clock (MHz) Average CPU Temperature (°C)
Prime95 Stress 1.5-3 - 61-90
FurMark Stress - 700-1000 60-84
Prime95 + FurMark Stress 0.7-1.3 500-100 70-85

Emissions

System Noise

The 2-in-1 doesn't get particularly noisy during normal use. The system is completely quiet at idle and lower loads like word processing and browsing, but the noise level can increase to a maximum of 39 dB under medium (first scene of 3DMark06) to high (stress test with Prime95 and Furmark) load levels. While louder than other systems in our comparison, the Yoga never gets overly annoying thanks to a fairly smooth fan control. Coil whine is not noticeable even in very close proximity to the base unit and while running SSD benchmark tests. 

Noise Level

Idle
28 / 28 / 28 dB(A)
Load
39 / 39 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   Audix TM1 (15 cm distance)   environment noise: 28 dB(A)
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, SanDisk SD8SN8U256G1002
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Micron 1100 MTFDDAV256TBN
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Lite-On CA1-8D256-HP
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG4 NVMe (THNSN5512GPUK)
Lenovo Yoga 920-13IKB-80Y7
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP
Noise
-2%
-2%
6%
-2%
2%
-3%
off / environment *
28
30.4
-9%
30.4
-9%
28.2
-1%
30.5
-9%
28
-0%
28.4
-1%
Idle Minimum *
28
30.4
-9%
30.4
-9%
28.2
-1%
30.5
-9%
28
-0%
28.4
-1%
Idle Average *
28
30.4
-9%
30.4
-9%
28.2
-1%
30.5
-9%
28.8
-3%
28.4
-1%
Idle Maximum *
28
32
-14%
30.9
-10%
28.2
-1%
30.5
-9%
30.3
-8%
28.4
-1%
Load Average *
39
31.7
19%
34
13%
30.7
21%
32.8
16%
34.5
12%
41.6
-7%
Load Maximum *
39
35.9
8%
33.5
14%
32.9
16%
34.7
11%
34.3
12%
41.6
-7%
Witcher 3 ultra *
36.1

* ... smaller is better

Temperature

Rear exhaust (dual fans)
Rear exhaust (dual fans)

Surface temperatures when idling and under load are very comparable to those of the outgoing Yoga 720 with i7 CPU. The middle area towards the rear does reach up to 40 C under extreme conditions, but even so, it's not too uncomfortable to hold the convertible while it is in tablet mode. The palm rests remain cool at all times with no noticeable temperature differential between the left and right side. The larger Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF isn't nearly as well-behaved and reaches up to 48 C under maximum load.

System idle (top)
System idle (top)
System idle (bottom)
System idle (bottom)
Maximum load (top)
Maximum load (top)
Maximum load (bottom)
Maximum load (bottom)
Max. Load
 30 °C
86 F
35.2 °C
95 F
29.8 °C
86 F
 
 30.2 °C
86 F
33.2 °C
92 F
28.4 °C
83 F
 
 24.4 °C
76 F
23 °C
73 F
23.2 °C
74 F
 
Maximum: 35.2 °C = 95 F
Average: 28.6 °C = 83 F
29.4 °C
85 F
39.8 °C
104 F
32.2 °C
90 F
27 °C
81 F
29.6 °C
85 F
29.8 °C
86 F
25.4 °C
78 F
26.2 °C
79 F
27 °C
81 F
Maximum: 39.8 °C = 104 F
Average: 29.6 °C = 85 F
Power Supply (max.)  31 °C = 88 F | Room Temperature 20 °C = 68 F | Raytek Raynger ST
(+) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 28.6 °C / 83 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 35.2 °C / 95 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 39.8 °C / 104 F, compared to the average of 36.7 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 25.5 °C / 78 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 24.4 °C / 75.9 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 (+3.7 °C / 6.7 F).

Speakers

The stereo speakers from JBL produce acceptable sound given the slim-and-light design, but they don't quite live up to Lenovo's promise of "truly immersive sound". Although the mids and highs are well balanced, the speakers lack bass and don't get very loud to boot. With the location of the speakers under the palm rest, slight reverberations can be felt at maximum volume, although there's no rattling to speak of. The included Dolby Atmos software features various settings and a configurable equalizer, but we nonetheless recommend headphones or external speakers particularly when listening to music.

Lenovo Yoga 730
Lenovo Yoga 730
Speakers by JBL
Speakers by JBL
dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2035.538.42532.732.73133.534.54034.134.45032.532.16332.531.68030.531.110029.6311252928.616028.732.920026.539.325026.748.931525.153.74002557.850024.756.963024.456.280023.660.9100023.859.6125023.654.2160023.154.4200022.954.725002356.9315022.856.1400022.953.2500022.847630022.849.1800022.849.61000022.749.11250022.6541600022.649.2SPL35.567.5N2.522.8median 23.6median 53.7Delta1.26.135.335.132.931.831.83236.535.132.428.93328.936.328.848.32761.52752.924.860.92462.822.763.32269.521.267.82174.82075.919.472.718.97117.770.117.86917.671.817.668.117.671.417.673.717.670.417.571.617.671.617.669.617.459.717.583.630.662.51.5median 69.6median 17.84.72.4hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseLenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CTApple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz
Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT audio analysis

(-) | not very loud speakers (60.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 14.6% lower than median
(-) | bass is not linear (15.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.1% away from median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (7.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.7% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (7.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (25% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 72% of all tested devices in this class were better, 7% similar, 20% worse
» The best had a delta of 6%, average was 21%, worst was 57%
Compared to all devices tested
» 72% of all tested devices were better, 6% similar, 22% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 11.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (14.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (10.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 5% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 93% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 19%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 3% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 96% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Energy Management

Power Consumption

Idle power draw is up in comparison to the Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB with i7 CPU and ranges between 8.5 to 13 W when idling. This range actually exceeds the power requirements of the other convertibles in our comparison except for the 15.6-inch HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100 with UHD display. Our Yoga 730 draws up to 50 W at medium and high load levels, which is higher than the consumption of notebooks with similar hardware.

The AC adapter is rated for 65 W and easily has enough headroom to cope with the maximum power draw of 50 W.

Prime95 at the 20s mark. Note the decline in power consumption because of the declining Turbo Boost.
Prime95 at the 20s mark. Note the decline in power consumption because of the declining Turbo Boost.
Maximum brightness initiated at the 20s mark.
Maximum brightness initiated at the 20s mark.
Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.38 / 0.58 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 8.5 / 11.8 / 13.1 Watt
Load midlight 51.1 / 49 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 730-13IKB-81CT
i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV256G, IPS, 1920x1080, 13.30
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620, SanDisk SD8SN8U256G1002, IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620, Micron 1100 MTFDDAV256TBN, IPS, 1920x1080, 13.30
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
i5-8550U, UHD Graphics 620, Lite-On CA1-8D256-HP, IPS, 3840x2160, 13.30
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
i5-8550U, UHD Graphics 620, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ, IPS, 1920x1080, 13.30
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
i5-8550U, UHD Graphics 620, Toshiba XG4 NVMe (THNSN5512GPUK), IPS, 1920x1080, 13.30
HP Spectre x360 15t-bl100
i5-8550U, GeForce MX150, Samsung PM961 NVMe MZVLW512HMJP, IPS, 3840x2160, 15.60
Power Consumption
39%
40%
25%
44%
33%
-30%
Idle Minimum *
8.5
3.3
61%
3.9
54%
5.9
31%
4
53%
3.8
55%
11.6
-36%
Idle Average *
11.8
6.3
47%
8.2
31%
9.8
17%
4.9
58%
8.4
29%
13.8
-17%
Idle Maximum *
13.1
11
16%
8.8
33%
10.6
19%
6.9
47%
9.7
26%
14.2
-8%
Load Average *
51.1
30
41%
28.5
44%
36.6
28%
36
30%
36
30%
67.9
-33%
Load Maximum *
49
35.4
28%
30.7
37%
34.3
30%
34.4
30%
36
27%
76.9
-57%
Witcher 3 ultra *
59

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

Despite the higher power consumption, the Yoga 730 easily outperforms the Yoga 720 when it comes to the battery life, while offering similar run times as the competitors with larger batteries. Under normal condition, a user can expect about 9.5 hours of real-world WLAN use with a screen brightness of 150 nits and the balanced profile active. Lenovo's Rapid Charge technology makes for short charge cycles as well: with the laptop on, we reached 50 percent after about 35 minutes. Lenovo claims that "fifteen minutes of charging* will give two hours of use - a claim that seems achievable with judicious battery use.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
15h 01min
WiFi Websurfing
9h 25min
Load (maximum brightness)
1h 36min
Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT
i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620, 48 Wh
Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UA
i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620, 57 Wh
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-54SF
i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620, 53.9 Wh
HP Spectre x360 13t-ae000
i5-8550U, UHD Graphics 620, 60 Wh
Lenovo ThinkPad X380 Yoga 20LJS02W00
i5-8550U, UHD Graphics 620, 51 Wh
Lenovo Yoga 720-13IKB
i5-8550U, UHD Graphics 620, 48 Wh
Battery Runtime
19%
-12%
1%
24%
-18%
Reader / Idle
901
1131
26%
1250
39%
WiFi v1.3
565
566
0%
500
-12%
424
-25%
511
-10%
466
-18%
Load
96
125
30%
121
26%
138
44%

Pros

+ high-end, versatile design
+ light and sturdy
+ decent input devices
+ fingerprint reader
+ surprisingly good performance
+ great battery life
+ fast charging is supported
+ Lenovo Active Pen 2 (optional)

Cons

- no SD card reader
- color space coverage & color accuracy are low
- display could be brighter
- can get a little noisier than some under load
- only SSD and WLAN module are removable
- throttling under load

Verdict

In review: Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB
In review: Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB

The Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB is aesthetically pleasing, well built, and generally a pleasure to use. Despite the apparent throttling under prolonged load, the performance potential is surprising with the Yoga outperforming even some competitors with the higher-end i7 CPU. The convertible is quite light and easy to hold, but at the same time - thanks to the all-metal construction - it's also sturdy enough to survive the rigors of the road. The battery life is surprisingly good and the battery recharges quickly. The input devices including the touchscreen work flawlessly and the surfaces stays cool to the touch regardless of the load.

The display is reasonably bright, but unfortunately the color accuracy isn't quite as good as we would hoped. Since one of the Thunderbolt ports is taken up by the charger cable, we'd like to see one additional USB port as well. We are also still quite bewildered by Lenovo's decision to forgo an SD card reader. 

The Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB is a solidly-built, well-performing 2-in-1 and a great choice for users considering a smaller convertible. 

Potential buyers hoping to use the convertible for photo editing or similar tasks are better off looking at the - in our opinion - still class leading HP Spectre x360 13t with UHD display, although the price of admission is obviously higher.  

Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB-81CT - 05/13/2018 v6(old)
Bernie Pechlaner

Chassis
90 / 98 → 91%
Keyboard
92%
Pointing Device
91%
Connectivity
64 / 80 → 81%
Weight
72 / 35-78 → 86%
Battery
0%
Display
83%
Games Performance
59 / 68 → 87%
Application Performance
90 / 87 → 100%
Temperature
94%
Noise
95%
Audio
46 / 91 → 50%
Camera
47 / 85 → 56%
Average
77%
87%
Convertible - Weighted Average

Pricecompare

Read all 6 comments / answer
static version load dynamic
Loading Comments
Comment on this article
Please share our article, every link counts!
> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Lenovo Yoga 730-13IKB (i5-8250U, FHD) Convertible Review
Bernie Pechlaner, 2018-05-10 (Update: 2018-07- 2)