Recently, I have reviewed a large number of Chromebooks aimed at students. They are a target market for many manufacturers, both due to the dominance of Google Classroom at many different grade levels, and also for the Chromebook’s affordable price tag (compared to similar Windows and MacOS machines).
But adults and professionals like Chromebooks, too. Some may be power users running Linux applications, some may make heavy use of the Google workspace in Office, and some may be like Chrome OS. This is what the ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook is for: It’s a Chromebook for growing up.
This means that it breaks some conservative “Chromebook” conventions. Primarily, it is not cheap: it is not far from the MacBook Air in price. Lenovo is not the first company to try this quick: for example, both Samsung and Google have targeted this market in the past with $ 999 Chrome OS machines, and are Dell latitude chromebook Swimming around is even more expensive.
But the C13 Yoga is my favorite attempt at a premium, convertible Chromebook that I’ve seen to date. It has ThinkPad features that have made Lenovo so effective in the business space for so many years: lightweight and robust build, great keyboards, solid specs, business-focused privacy features, and more. This is not correct, but it is practical. And lastly, it works.
Put this Chromebook next to other members of the ThinkPad line, and you can fool me into thinking it was another premium Windows machine. The ThinkPad is known for its robust build, and is no exception. The chassis is aluminum all around. There is no flex in the keyboard or screen – and I can’t remember the last time I said about the Chromebook. The 360 hinge is sturdy, and there is no screen wobble. The C13 achieves all of this without getting too clinky: it’s 3.3 pounds and 0.61 inches thick. Lenovo says it has been tested against 12 “military-grade” certification methods.
The display on my review unit is a 300-night 1920 x 1080 IPS panel. The C13 is also one of the very few 13-inch Chromebooks that offers 4K OLED display options – up to 400 nits. Most people shouldn’t need that one, as the FHD screen is good. It gives good colors, good contrast and impressive details. It has a 16: 9 aspect ratio cramp, which makes me happy to see some other ThinkPad running this year.
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Elsewhere, you’ll see many other signature ThinkPads flourishing. The center features a very comfortable backlit keyboard including a signature red trackpoint. (It comes with a standard Chromebook layout instead of the usual ThinkPad layout, although the inverted-T arrow key remains.) ThinkPad fans will also recognize discrete clickers on top of the touchpad, as well as match-on-keyboard decks and Chip fingerprint sensor to the right of the small webcam shutter.
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There are some unique tidbits as well. Inside is a Google H1 security chip, which acts like the TPM chips you’ll often find in Windows Business laptops. There is an optional camera on the keyboard deck (other than the one on the top bezel), which you can use to snap forward-facing photos if you’re using the C13 in tablet or tent mode. There are two stereo speakers at the bottom of the device that give a good surround quality, although the audio itself is tinny and not great.
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But the really exciting thing about the C13 is that it is the first Chromebook to use AMD’s Ryzen Mobile 3000 C-series processors. AMD last introduced this “C-Series” as a line specifically designed for the Chromebook. That said, they are mostly the rebirth of the older AMD chips – the Ryzen 5 3500C that my C13 model originally has a redesigned Ryzen 5 3500U from the regular 3000 mobile series. It is two generations old (5000 Mobile Series earlier this year), but it is still a solid processor for such computers.
The base C13 starts at $ 909 for 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and an Athlon Gold 3150C processor. It’s a terrific deal for $ 909, but Lenovo pricing is often oddly and randomly discounted and this configuration is currently listed at a more reasonable $ 590.85. The model I listed is $ 1,247 (but currently available for $ 810.55) – it comes with the Ryzen 5 3500C, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. She still Bit High for those specs, but it is more reasonably priced. I appreciate that storage is a PCIe SSD (rather than the slow eMMC storage that companies sometimes try to sneak into pricey Chromebooks).
This is definitely the best performing Chromebook I’ve used in a long time. I used the device as my primary driver for a few days, running well on more than a dozen Chrome tabs and Android apps, and I never felt heat until I placed my ear on the keyboard deck. Did not feel and listened to the fans. Nothing slowed the system. I was able to open a batch of photos in Adobe Lightroom with a dump of tabs and apps and both Zoom calls and Spotify running in the background, and the experience was fine. Speaking as someone who has recently tested several sluggish budget Chromebooks, it is actually refreshing to have Chrome OS running this smoothly.
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AMD has claimed that its integrated Vega graphics are the best graphics you can find in a Chromebook, and while I can only claim that realistically, I had a better gaming experience on the C13 than I All I ever did was with an Intel Chromebook. rest in PiecesOne of my favorite mobile games, is usually a playable-but-stuttery experience on a Chromebook. But without stuttering in sight, it was quite smooth on the C13. Photo editing on both Google Photos and Adobe Lightroom was also not a problem on this machine.
I ran a doubles benchmark to see how this system stacked up for competition. On AndroBench, which measures storage speed, the C13 Yoga was far ahead of the pack on the majority of Chromebook functions, and head and shoulders above the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2. On Geekbench 5, the C13 scored 890 on a single. Core and a 2963 on multi-core. While those scores are not as good as those we’ve seen from our top Chromebook picks. Acer Chromebook Spin 713, (And don’t compare to the likes of the MacBook Air), of course, they’re still close to the top of the Chrome OS pack, beating the score we’re seeing. Both Samsung galaxy chromebook And this Pixelbook Go.
I found the built-in stylus on this touchscreen to be smooth and responsive, although it was a little painful to remove from the garage.
One disappointment underscores all this, and that is battery life. Although the C13 largely has a 51Wh battery, I turned the screen off at 50 percent with only six hours and two minutes of continuous use. I tested using all kinds of Android apps, and tested only using Chrome, without seeing any huge differences. I have seen more than this (with similar workloads) from all types of Chromebooks, not to mention Windows and MacOS laptops. It certainly makes me hesitate to recommend that someone get the 4K screen option – I can’t imagine that most people would get acceptable battery life on those configurations if that’s what I’m getting with the FHD screen .
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I would like this battery life to be ready to slide on a budget device (although a lot of budget Chromebooks have longer budgets than this). But on a $ 1,247 device, I’m not disappointed to see an all-day life span. Certainly, the processor is powerful, and there is often a trade-off between performance and efficiency. But at this price point all types of Windows laptops leave this battery in the dust.
Another concern: I could never get a fingerprint sensor to actually read my fingerprint. Lenovo says it has not seen this problem before, so it may be a problem with my unit.
Android apps on the Chromebook became a hit-or-miss when I first started reviewing them, but many of them work well on the C13. For example, Messenger bricks my device every time, but it works fine now. That said, most services that I use on a daily basis – Twitter, Messenger, Gmail, Reddit, etc. – have equivalent or slightly better experiences in Chrome, and some work-related Android apps (like Slack and Google Docs) still do Are bad on Chromebooks so I don’t typically use Android apps except for things like Podcast Addict that don’t really have browser equivalents – but I’m happy to see the ecosystem improve.
The C13 also supports the tablet mode of Chrome OS, which has been especially improved with the stylus. It supports various handy Android-esque gestures (for example, swipe to go home). After re-arranging the device sometimes a second or so and rearranging all my Chrome windows I changed it to clamshell mode, which is not the worst thing in the world.
The ThinkPad line is, in many ways, the opposite of what many people consider a Chromebook. ThinkPad are traditionally expensive, and they are very well made. But times are changing (or at least, companies like Lenovo are trying to change them). Why shouldn’t Chrome OS fans also get the ThinkPad option?
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The C13 Yoga is not an ideal machine. The 16: 9 screen makes me sad, and battery life is a big memory. It is a bit expensive for what it offers, as is often the case with laptops that target business users.
With that said, the C13 is also the closest thing to a MacBook I’ve yet seen in the Chromebook space. It has a solid, sturdy construction that looks and feels premium. It has a robust processor, an excellent keyboard and a solid screen, and comes from a highly respected brand with a dedicated base of fans.
So while the C13 may not be the right choice for most people – there are more affordable Chromebooks with better battery life that would be a better buy for most consumers – it is purposefully a monotonous device that is probably best suited to a certain denomination of Chrome OS users. Will make you happy . If you’re a Chrome OS business user who is jealous of the premium chassis Windows and Mac users get, here’s a ThinkPad for you.
Photography by Monica Chin / The Reporter Door
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