Lenovo's Yoga Book enjoyed much of the crowd's attention earlier this year at IFA 2016 mainly because it features a "Halo Keyboard," as Lenovo puts it.
In place of the actual keyboard with buttons is a flat surface with lettered keys that light up or vibrate when touched; it's not exactly the holographic keyboard one would expect but similar.
And since it was something people had never seen before at IFA 2016, it became the event's showstopper.
"To call the Yoga Book a laptop isn't quite right, but it's not just a tablet, either. The result is something in between: something eye-catching and something that feels futuristic, but at the same time, familiar," writes Lauren Goode of The Verge.
Lenovo definitely has a lot happening with its Yoga Book. It sports an elegant, light and slim design.
To achieve its sleek form factor, some features had to be discarded, including heavy hardware and the presence of ports that a laptop would normally have.
"Ditching physical keys is what allows for the Yoga Book's thinness, and enables its claims on the future. It's a nice thought — though Lenovo's not the first to try it — but in practice, it's crazy-making," Brian Barrett of The Wired says.
Because it is part of the Yoga product line, the Yoga Book rocks the company's patented watchband hinges, allowing it a full 360-degree rotation to switch from being a laptop to being a tablet, hence its branding as a 2-in-1.
The Yoga Book sports an aluminum hinge with a 3-axis bracelet-band design. When compared to Microsoft's Surface Book, the Yoga Book's design does not show any noticeable gaps when shut. The watchband's perfect resistance levels allow for hassle-free closing and opening.
"I think the hinge design is hands-down best in class," says Vincent Nguyen of Slash Gear. "Modeled after watchband straps, Lenovo’s patented hinge on the Yoga Book is similar to those found on the company’s high end Yoga laptops."
The "Create Pad," the Yoga Book's mimicry of a drawing board in a digital sense, works seamlessly with its responsiveness and the adequate pressure sensitivity of the stylus and digitizer pad altogether. The futuristic Halo Keyboard also transforms into a digital pad for writing or drawing.
A magnesium-aluminum alloy houses the entire 10.1 inch Yoga Book with a 920 x 1,200 Full HD IPS display. When closed, it only measures 9.6 millimeters, which is the world's thinnest to date.
The Lenovo Yoga Book is perfect for writers and designers who are always on-the-go and do not need laptops with heavy specs. It might not be suited for heavy users such as 3D modelers, programmers, and the like.
The company has yet to perfect its 2-in-1 laptop technology but, with the Yoga Book's set of features, it is safe to say that the company is getting there.
The Yoga Book comes with an Android 6.0 or Windows 10 version, and is priced at $500 and $550, respectively.
