Lenovo offers an impressive catalogue of personal computers. They’ve had several hits over the years, most notably the Thinkpad series meant for business and entrepreneurship. There’s the yoga series meant for creatives and students, and there’s the Ideapad also meant for students and everyday use. I’ve gotten this question about a hundred times at least. “Hey, I’m on the website, should I buy Yoga or an IdeaPad?” or “Lenovo Yoga vs IdeaPad, which one do you think is better?”
The choice depends on a lot of factors and people have their unique tastes, so I’m here to guide you the best I can based on my personal experiences with each series. Let’s get into it.
Lenovo Yoga Series: An Overview
If we’re going to do an honest review of Lenovo Yoga vs IdeaPad it is only natural for us to go over the specs first. Some of the features that the Lenovo Yoga offers are as follow:
Design & Build Quality
Something that the Yoga series is most known for is its sleekness. When I used the PC myself I did feel like it was a very elevated laptop. It looks chic, it looks expensive, and that is probably what people are drawn towards at first.
Yoga offers a 360-degree hinge that allows you to flip the screen all the way back, use the touch feature to navigate and just like that you have a convenient tablet at your disposal. Many of the yoga models also come with a tablet pen support, a very useful feature if you’re into design or digital art.
That is not to say that looks and fancy gimmicks are all that this laptop has. Let’s go over its performance.
Performance & Features
Lenovo Yoga, if one was to characterize it, is a high-end PC. It supports Intel i5, Intel i7, Ryzen 5, or Ryzen 7 processors. For my experiment, I used Intel i7. I found the processing power very compatible with my everyday needs.
It’s great for heavy multitasking, video editing, 3D design, and other creative work, as well as for office work if you work from home and have multiple tabs or files open at once. Coupled with Yoga’s 8GB RAM and SSDs makes for a very smooth, very nice experience.
All of those features combined make the laptop feel quick, responsive, and very capable.
Target Users
Lenovo definitely knows how to cater to everyday users and this laptop is no exception. It is most suited for students in design and art, but also, digital creators, mobile professionals, office workers, and basically everyone who’s looking into great everyday laptops. Trust me, it does not disappoint.
Price Range
Typically, the Lenovo Yoga retails between $600–$1100, depending on configurations. A bit pricey but it is much better than other high-end laptops with similar features that go for much higher.
All that said, is Lenovo Yoga better than IdeaPad? Let’s find out.
Lenovo IdeaPad Series Overview
Right off the bat, when I look at the Lenovo IdeaPad, it doesn’t look more than your average laptop. The casing is plastic so it doesn’t have that premium feel that the Yoga did.
Lenovo Yoga vs IdeaPad, first impressions-wise, the Yoga is a clear winner but looks can be deceiving. If it's a functional, convenient option, this seemingly simple computer can be your new favorite.
Design & Build Quality
You’ll find the IdeaPad sporting that classic laptop look. If you see it across the store you’d think “yes! that’s a laptop for sure” That is not me downplaying the look, it is to say it has its own charming vintage feel. It’s something we’re all familiar and comfortable with.
These little charmers offer an entry-level to mid-range focus. They are on the heftier side compared to other models, that is the most noticeable difference between IdeaPad and Yoga. You may find even lighter models on the market, probably not ultrabook-level light but light enough to take with you to school.
For users who like a better grippiness to their laptop, or feel like the lighter models are difficult to balance as well, IdeaPads might be the one for you.
Performance & Features
Now to the main show. A lot of us don’t care what the outside looks like, it's the inside that matters right fellas? The IdeaPad supports more budget-friendly processors like the Intel N200, AMD Athlon, Ryzen 3, and Ryzen 5. These may not seem like much, but these processors are what most of the population needs for their day-to-day.
The memory on the IdeaPad is flexible which is a huge plus. You can keep it at a minimum capacity of 4GB RAM or extend it to 8GB depending on your needs. I for one found working with 8GB a lot more comfortable and that is my recommendation.
If you’re not using your laptop in a professional capacity where the workload is very heavy you’re good to go. Basic tasks like documenting, editing, streaming, and browsing are a cakewalk for the IdeaPad.
Target Users
The IdeaPad is ideal for the average person, whether that be students, casual users, or anyone needing a second machine for light work. It is so simple even your parents can use it without facetiming you 10 times to figure it out which is why it is a very popular option amongst parents when buying laptops for K-12 education.
Price Range
The savings you’ll make when purchasing the IdeaPad is another feather in its plastic casing. These retail for about $250 to $550, depending on specs and you can make it as high-end as possible as you could do for any computer you buy.
Full Comparison between Lenovo Yoga and Lenovo IdeaPad
Lenovo Yoga vs IdeaPad, which is better for you? Let's do a side-by-side comparison.
Feature | Lenovo Yoga | Lenovo IdeaPad |
|---|---|---|
Design | Premium 2-in-1 touchscreen | Basic, Clamshell |
Performance | Mid to High (i5/i7 or Ryzen 5/7) | Entry to Mid-level (N200, Ryzen 3) |
Best Use Case | Creative Work, Multitasking | Schoolwork, light office tasks |
Portability | Lightweight, ultrabook | Slightly heavier, more basic |
Battery Life | 7-10 hours | 6-8 hours |
Price Range | $600-$1100 | $250-$550 |
Touchscreen | Always included | Often not included |
WPS Office: A Perfect Match for Both Yoga and IdeaPad
The Lenovo Yoga vs IdeaPad debate aside, you will need Office and editing tools to make your assignments, finish presentations, edit PDFs, etc. Don’t worry if you’re worried about paying for the licenses because you don’t have to, not when you have WPS Office. It is THE perfect companion for both Lenovo Yoga and IdeaPad users.
Why WPS Office is a Perfect Match
Yes, stepping away from the mainstream is scary, especially when most of the world is hooked on Microsoft for most of its needs but if you’re worried about your colleagues not being able to open the documents you send them, worry no more. WPS Office is fully compatible with ALL Microsoft Office formats such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
The software itself is very lightweight making it your IdeaPad’s new best friend. It takes up less RAM allowing it to run smooth as butter on both my Lenovo Yoga AND my Lenovo IdeaPad.
WPS comes loaded with other tools and features as well, you can edit PDFs, sync your files to the cloud, and make use of its AI-powered writing assistant. All that and more without spending so much as a nickel, the free version comes with the essentials and if you want even more features you can switch to premium with an insanely affordable subscription.
I’ll go over some of the basic tools
WPS Writer
Is the free version and alternative to MS Word. Similar to MS Word you can use WPS Writer to create and edit documents whether it's essays or business documents. It supports formatting, tables, images, comments, and track changes
WPS Presentation
Boss asked you to make the presentation but you don’t have MS PowerPoint? Don’t sweat it. Design slides with text, images, animations, and transitions in both .ppt and .pptx formats with WPS Presentation.
WPS Spreadsheet
If you’re looking to create a budget sheet, plan the next fiscal year for a company or perform data analysis but you don’t have Microsoft Excel, WPS Spreadsheet is here to save the day. You can manage data, perform calculations, and create charts. Much like Excel, it also supports functions, pivot tables, and conditional formatting
WPS PDF
A built-in tool that takes WPS Office a notch above MS Office, you can view, annotate, merge, and convert PDFs, do PDF to Word conversion (and vice versa) all with one application.
Let's take a look at how you can download and start using Office tools for free in 4 easy steps.
Step 1: Open your browser and visit the official WPS Office website. Click on the “Free Download” button to begin downloading the installer.
Step 2: Once the download is complete, run the installer to begin installation. WPS Office is compatible with both Windows and Linux, so it works on Lenovo Yoga, IdeaPad, and other models. Open the installation wizard and click “Install” to proceed.
Step 3: Open or create a document using WPS Writer, Spreadsheet, or Presentation.
Step 4: You can even use WPS AI to improve your productivity. For example, it can help with writing tasks or generate presentations for you with just a few prompts.
While you’re there you can also explore the latest Top WPS AI Features about spreadsheet:
AI Formula Assistant
Struggling to remember formulas you learned in math class? Don’t need to. With this AI tool, you can simply write whatever you need in English and have it translate that into a formula. For example, you give the AI a prompt that says “Generate total sales for August” and it will generate a spreadsheet formula to calculate just that.
Smart Data Cleaning
You don’t have to spend hours trying to find every little inconsistency to clean up your work, let AI do it for you. This tool helps you create cleaner sheets by detecting and fixing duplicate entries, empty cells, formatting inconsistencies, or incorrect data types
AI Chart Recommendations
This one is fun. Take the guesswork out of data visualization and use this tool to generate the right graphs for you. All you have to do is activate it and watch it suggest the best chart types based on your data, be it bar graphs, pie charts, line charts, or something more complex.
FAQs
1. Is Yoga better for school or work?
If you value touch input and plan to multitask or create content, Yoga should be your pick, but other than that (keeping in mind that a student will need something more budget-friendly), the IdeaPad offers enough for basic school or office work.
2. Can either series run Office apps smoothly?
Yes, especially with WPS Office. Yoga handles heavy documents, and IdeaPad runs WPS faster than Microsoft 365.
3. Which is better for travel or hybrid work?
If your job requires hybrid work or you’re on the move and want a laptop that flips and folds easily, go yoga, but if you’re glued to your desk and need something on a budget, IdeaPad will do the job.
Lenovo Yoga VS IdeaPad: Office Tools That Deliver.
Lenovo Yoga vs IdeaPad, which is better? Truth is both of these computers cater to certain audiences. Not everyone needs a high-performance laptop. A lot of people might not be willing to invest a lot of money into a laptop just to sit around with it and write a novel without using any high-tech features. Sometimes people like it simple, whereas others like the payback of a more high-end laptop. I’m sure you can figure out your priorities before your purchase, regardless, you always need accessible, lightweight, high-performance office tools and WPS Office will always make that happen for you.
