Big ideas in a small hybrid
Lenovo has made such a name for itself recently with its innovative, laptop-tablet contraptions that it’s easy to forget the company started out as part of that most conservative of computer companies, IBM. But it still sells systems under the ThinkPad brand, once the standard laptop used in every business. And this model does a surprisingly interesting job of updating the concept.
As with other Yogas, the keyboard can bend around to sit flat behind the touchscreen, letting you use it as a tablet. The ThinkPad Yoga 260 has a stylus for drawing and writing notes on screen. It stows in a slot, where its battery charges automatically. This is very convenient, and knowing the battery won’t run out at a crucial moment is a relief.
That’s not the only improvement on the convertible design. When you fold the keyboard back, the keys retract, like a cat’s claws, leaving a flat surface that feels less odd to hold on to. At 18mm thick, this isn’t the thinnest laptop, let alone tablet. But it looks and feels elegant, with that classic clunkiness, like an old-model BMW, that reassures you function has been put ahead of form. Although slightly heavier than some rivals, it’s easy to hold in one hand, and certification to the US military’s basic durability standard confirms it’s reasonably tough.
The 12.5in screen is a practical size, neater than the common 13.3in format without being as cramped as an 11in. It does mean the keys are slightly squished to fit, but their concave tops and long travel feel like a proper old-fashioned desktop keyboard – another traditional ThinkPad virtue that full-time users will appreciate. As in the IBM days, between the G, H and B keys is a little plastic prong known as the TrackPoint (or pointing stick), which you can push around to control the cursor. There’s also a conventional touchpad below.
The display is matt, cutting reflections at the expense of making images look slightly grainy despite the sharp Full HD (1920x1080-pixel) resolution. Brightness and contrast are decent, but with only 62 per cent of the sRGB colour range covered, it can’t do full justice to photos and videos. This attitude to ‘business machines’ should be the next thing Lenovo updates.
There are three versions of the ThinkPad Yoga 260, all customisable to your preferred specification. To get a top-end Intel i7 processor with 256GB of SSD storage, like the one we tested, you’d pick the middle option, which normally comes with an i5 and 4GB of memory at £1,010, and add the i7 and 8GB for an extra £109. The range starts at £889 with an adequate i3 processor and a 192GB SSD; the screen has a coarser 1366x768 pixels, but given the limitations of the Full HD display you’re not missing much. In the highest model, the i7 is paired with 8GB of memory and a 512GB SSD at £1,290. All have a built-in fingerprint reader.
As expected, the i7 ploughed through our Windows tasks without a pause, helped by the SSD. That said, the i5 model would be fine for most purposes. The integrated Intel HD graphics processor isn’t up to much 3D gaming or video editing, but the ThinkPad Yoga 260 isn’t aimed at those tasks.
This feels like the kind of laptop you’d persuade your boss to buy you. If you’re spending your own money, there are better bargains, but it’s a well-executed reminder of why, as they used to say, nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.
VERDICT
Good build quality, clever features and more connectivity than most small laptops justify the ThinkPad Yoga’s high price.
SPECIFICATIONS
2.5GHz Intel Core i7-6500U dual-core processor • 8GB memory • 256GB SSD • Intel HD Graphics 520 • 12.5in 1920x1080-pixel screen • OneLink Ethernet/dock adapter • 2x USB 3.0 • Mini DisplayPort • HDMI • microSD card slot • 802.11ac Wi-Fi • Windows 10 • 18x310x220mm (HxWxD) • 1.3kg • One-year warranty