Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S: At First Glance
The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S is a combination of the Yoga 11’s ultra-portability and the Yoga 13’s performance capabilities. On the Yoga 11S, Lenovo ditched Windows RT in favor of Windows 8 and featured a third-generation Intel Core i5 processor.
This laptop offers a lot of power and awesome performance at a decent price. Speaking of price, when I published this article (July 2021) the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S has a starting price of $399.
With other similarly priced laptops sporting fourth-generation Haswell processors, it’s easy to say that the Yoga 11S’ processor is a bit out of date, but it’s still competent.
However, the Yoga 11S’ biggest advantage over its competitors is its simple 360-degree hinge design; but, will that be enough to entice customers?
Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S: Design, Dimension & Weight
Lenovo is known for its distinctive, elegant design, and the IdeaPad Yoga 11S is no exception, with a sophisticated two-tone color scheme. The laptop has a silver soft-touch metallic exterior with a dark gray and black design on the inside.
In addition, a clementine-orange color option is also available for the Yoga 11S.
The metallic lid of the laptop is smooth to touch and fingerprint-resistant. The bezel, on the other hand, is pretty thick, but that’s to be expected from a convertible laptop nowadays.
The Yoga 11S’ lid can bend 360 degrees, just like the Yoga 13 and 11. This allows the device to be used in Notebook, Stand, Tent, and Tablet modes.
The typical clamshell arrangement is the notebook mode. In stand mode, the keyboard is flipped beneath the display, making it ideal for tight areas like an aircraft tray table.
Tent mode, as the name implies, turns the laptop into the shape of a tent, or an upside-down V. Finally, Tablet mode folds the keyboard with the lid, exposing both the keyboard and the display.
The transition between the four modes is pretty easy. This is due to the sturdy hinges on the laptop.
Lenovo equipped IdeaPad Yoga 11S with an 11.6-inch IPS LED HD touchscreen display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. While the standard resolution isn’t particularly great, nevertheless the screen manages to deliver crisp visuals and bright color.
Furthermore, the touchscreen display supports full 10-point multi-touch controls. A 10-point multi-touch screen is a touch screen that can recognize and respond to ten points of contact at the same time.
This implies that users will be able to use up to 10 fingers on the screen at the same time to perform various gestures. However, on an 11.6-inch screen like the Yoga 11S, you may find it difficult to use all 10 fingers at the same time.
The touchscreen display is sensitive and accurate when interpreting swipes and multi-finger gestures. The IPS display also has a wide viewing angle range, with images holding up to around 170 degrees before deterioration is noticeable.
As a result, you will be able to see clearly on the display from different angles. However, at extreme angles, you might experience some image deterioration.
The AccuType keyboard on the Yoga 11S provides quick feedback and a very comfortable typing experience. The keys, on the other hand, are obviously compressed, but Lenovo was able to offer adequate spacing by compressing the keys, making navigation easier.
The device’s large touchpad is located just below the keyboard spacebar. However, the touchpad lacks traditional mouse buttons.
Instead, Lenovo uses the bottom left and right corners of the touchpad as left and right mouse clicks, respectively. Multi-touch gestures are also available on the touchpad, with a single touch working as a left click and a double touch acting as a right-click.
The Yoga 11S features two speakers, one on the left and one on the right. Given their small stature, the speakers deliver adequate sound volume.
Furthermore, while the pair of speakers can easily deliver adequate sound for a small group of people, they might struggle to fill an entire room. The speakers can also manage to deliver a good level of audio quality, with no distortion even at full volume.
A webcam is also featured in the Yoga 11S, which is situated above the laptop’s display screen. The 720p webcam produces clear, detailed images and is suitable for video chatting or skyping.
Despite its portable size, the Lenovo Yoga 11S comes equipped with all of the necessary ports. A microphone/headphone jack, a USB 3.0 port, an HDMI-out connector, and volume controls are located on the left side of the laptop.
On the right side, there is a power jack, an SD card reader, a USB 2.0 port, and an auto-rotate display button. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, there is no Ethernet or Thunderbolt port on the laptop.
The Yoga 11S has a very awkward flaw. The power button is on the front left side of the chassis, which most users will find difficult to locate.
Even by convertible notebook standards, the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S has a wonderfully portable form factor. The Yoga 11S is slimmer than most of its competitors, measuring 297.9 x 203.9 x 17 mm and weighing 1397 g.
In comparison, the Yoga 11S is less heavy and slimmer than the popular Dell XPS 12. The Dell XPS 12 weighs 1540 g and measures 317 x 241 x 20 mm.
Finally, the Yoga 11S boasts a solid build and is undoubtedly one of the most portable 11-inch laptops available in the market. As a result, in this design review, I’ll rate the laptop a nine.
Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S: Processor (CPU) Performance
The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S comes standard with a 2-core Intel Core i5-4210Y processor. This processor has a base frequency of 1.50 GHz and a maximum frequency of 1.90 GHz, with a 3 MB cache.
The Yoga 11S is quite speedy, regardless of the fact that it still uses an “Ivy Bridge” processor instead of the latest Haswell processor. Haswell is the codename for Intel’s “fourth-generation core” processors which is a successor to the Ivy Bridge.
This means a Haswell processor will definitely be faster and better than an Ivy Bridge processor since Ivy Bridge are for “third-generation core” processors. In addition, Ivy Bridge processors are actually fast but not as fast as Haswell processors.
Therefore, I expected the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S’s processor to be fast and good for multitasking, and it didn’t disappoint. In a multitasking test, while streaming a movie on Netflix with 10 tabs opened on chrome browser, the Yoga 11S performed brilliantly without slowing down.
To further determine the Yoga 11S’s processor performance, I conducted a Cinebench R15 benchmark test. In the test, the Yoga 11S processor scored 147 points which is slightly above the category average of 120 points.
In comparison, the Yoga 11S was outperformed the Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T. The Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T which has an Intel Core i5-3317U processor scored 160 points.
In conclusion, the Yoga 11S’s processor is quite fast and good for multitasking but it was outperformed by most of its competitors. Therefore, it is fair to rate the laptop an eight in this processor review.
Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S: Memory (RAM) Performance
The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S comes with a single 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM slot. This RAM slot can take a maximum memory capacity of 16 GB.
With a maximum RAM capacity of 16 GB, users will be able to enjoy a speedy boot time and multitask with ease. However, even though the laptop I reviewed came with 8 GB RAM, the laptop was still great at multitasking with 8 GB RAM.
As a result, I was able to easily navigate between over 20 Chrome browser tabs without noticing any slowness. To further determine the laptop’s RAM performance, I conducted a PCMark 7 benchmark test.
According to the test results, the Lenovo Yoga 11S scored 3,896 points, this score is slightly above the category average of 3,682 points. However, the Lenovo Yoga 11S was once again outperformed by most of its competitors.
For instance, in the same test, the Sony VAIO Pro 11 scored 4,474 points and the Acer Aspire S7-191 scored 4,584 points. Finally, I am rating the Yoga 11S a seven out of ten in this Memory review.
Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S: Storage Option & Performance
The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S comes with a 256 GB SSD. This laptop also features an SD card reader for an extra storage option.
As we all know, SSDs are faster than HDDs, so I expect the Yoga 11S to have a very fast transfer speed. The laptop I reviewed came with a maximum storage capacity of 256 GB.
256 GB of storage is quite sufficient for most users to save their files, videos, applications, and pictures. However, storage-hungry users can add an SD card for extra storage.
To determine the transfer speed of the Yoga 11S’s storage, I conducted a transfer test. The Yoga 11S was able to copy 4.97GB of multimedia files in 36 seconds, resulting in a 141.3 MBps transfer rate, according to the transfer test.
In addition, this transfer rate is way over the category average of 88.7 MBps.
Comparatively, the Yoga 11S has a better transfer speed than most of its competitors. For instance, the HP Stream pro 11 was able to copy 4.97 GB of multimedia files in 58 seconds for a 98 MBps transfer rate.
In conclusion, the Yoga 11S offers a fast storage transfer speed and an optional SD card reader. Therefore, in this storage review, I’ll rate the Yoga 11S a nine out of ten.
Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S: Graphics Card Performance
The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S comes with an integrated Intel HD Graphics 4200 graphics card. This graphics card has a base GPU frequency of 200 MHz and a maximum GPU frequency of 850 MHz.
Unfortunately, this graphics card doesn’t feature a dedicated VRAM. Lack of VRAM means the graphics card will have to share the system memory with the processor.
As a result, the laptop will struggle to run AAA games or the majority of graphical-intensive applications.
However, even with the lack of VRAM, the Yoga 11S is capable of running games that aren’t too graphically demanding. To determine the graphics card performance, I conducted a 3DMark 11 test.
In the test, the Yoga 11S’s Intel HD Graphics 4200 scored 501 points. Unfortunately, this score failed to match the category average of 722 points.
To further determine the graphics card performance, I also conducted a gaming test. On the gaming test, the Yoga 11S achieved a frame rate of 30fps while playing World of Warcraft on a 1366 x 768 screen resolution.
In comparison, the Yoga 11S achieved the same frame rate as the HP Stream Pro 11. However, it did outperform the Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T.
The Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T was only able to reach a frame rate of 23fps while playing World of Warcraft.
In conclusion, the Yoga 11S’s integrated graphics card isn’t for gaming, however, it is capable of running some less graphically demanding games. Therefore, I will rate the laptop an eight in this graphics review.
Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S: Battery Life & Performance
The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S is powered by a 42 Wh, Li-Polymer battery. The battery should last about 6 hours, as advertised by Lenovo.
To verify Lenovo’s claim about the Yoga 11S battery life, I conducted a battery test. The Yoga 11S lasted 5 hours and 54 minutes on the Laptop Battery Test, which involves continuous Web surfing over Wi-Fi.
Although it comes only a minute short of the category average of 5 hours 55 minutes, it falls short of some of its competitors. For instance, the Sony VAIO Pro 11 lasted 6 hours and 23 minutes on the same battery test.
On the bright side, the Yoga 11S battery runtime was better than the Acer Aspire S7-191. The Acer Aspire S7-191 managed to last only 3 hours and 51 minutes on the battery test.
In conclusion, I think the Yoga 11S’s battery is quite adequate for a portable laptop, however, it was outperformed by some of its competitors. Therefore, Yoga 11S deserves an eight in this battery review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it is. The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S is a fantastic 11-inch ultraportable touch-screen laptop with a convertible display that can also be used as a tablet.
Lenovo Yoga is a brand of consumer-oriented laptop computers and tablets created, manufactured, and marketed by Lenovo. It is known for its ability to take on numerous forms thanks to a hinged screen.
Yes, it does. The Yoga 11S features an 11.6-inch IPS LED HD touchscreen display.
Yes, it is. Lenovo Group Limited, or just Lenovo, is a multinational technology firm based in China. It was founded in Hong Kong and has worldwide headquarters in Beijing, China, as well as operational headquarters in Morrisville, North Carolina, and a Singapore operations center.
When I published this article in July 2021, the Yoga 11S had a starting price of $399.
Conclusion
The Yoga 11S has a lot to offer as a laptop. It’s a nice little machine that performs admirably in most situations.
The Lenovo Ideapad Yoga 11S has a distinctive design that makes it one of my favorite portable laptops. This laptop will also be appreciated by travelers due to its portable form and decent battery life.
The IdeaPad Yoga 11S has gone from a cute and capable hybrid to a true Ultrabook thanks to the addition of an Intel Core CPU and complete Windows 8. In addition, even though the Yoga 11S doesn’t feature the latest Haswell processer, its Ivy Bridge processor is quite adequate and fast.
I particularly appreciate the comfortable keyboard and the fact that you get a powerful 256GB SSD at a lower price than the competitors. In conclusion, if you need a portable laptop with decent specs, then this Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S is for you!
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