Review: Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S

When Lenovo released the IdeaPad Yoga 13 last year, there was plenty to like about the 13-inch hybrid laptop. It had decent battery life, it came with a fantastic touchpad, and the 360-degree hinge mechanism that let you flip the laptop into a tablet was well thought out.

There was, however, one glaring problem: size. The Yoga 13 was simply too big to enjoy as a tablet.

The new IdeaPad Yoga 11S solves this issue by shaving 1.7 inches from the screen diameter and 3.08 pounds from the total package. The result is the best Windows 8 hybrid currently available.

Other than reductions in size and weight, the 11S is nearly identical, spec wise, to its heftier sibling. It packs a 1.5 GHz Core i5 processor, 8GB of memory, and a 256GB SSD. Connectivity options are minimal, though not out of the ordinary, with two USB ports (one 2.0 and one 3.0), an HDMI out, and an SD card reader slot.

Where the Yoga 13 felt a little like a tablet con artist, the 11S is more than comfortable enough to use in stand, tent, and even tablet mode while at a desk or on the couch. Sure, it still feels heavy compared to an iPad and even the Surface Pro. But it's a sacrifice worth making considering you also get a fully functional laptop – and a good one at that.

What's more, because it has less weight to hold up, the hinge actually feels sturdier this time around. It took aggressive prodding and tapping on the screen to get a noticeable bounce. The screen itself is responsive and bright. Though the 1366 x 768 resolution display isn't as impressive as other Windows 8 HD displays on the market, it didn't bother me on the 11-inch screen.

As I've said before, Windows 8 is best used with a touchscreen. That said, you still need a trackpad for desktop mode and finer navigation. The 11S offers one of the best. It wasn't quite as sensitive as I would have liked, but I never had any problems with it. The keyboard also shines. It was easy to type on and the soft-touch interior finish gave my wrists a pleasant place to rest while I was tapping away. I was actually kind of sad to return to the cold hard aluminum of my MacBook Air.

Still, the 11S comes with some of the standard hybrid annoyances. The keyboard can get in the way when you want to use it as a tablet. Fold the screen back completely and you can feel the keys awkwardly against your fingers. The keys and trackpad don't function after you've bent the screen past 180 degrees, but they're still pretty annoying on the back of your tablet. Lenovo makes you shell out $40 for a special sleeve that covers up the keys and provides a smooth rear surface.

There's also the fact that the 11S is running on a third-generation Intel chip. While several manufacturers have already released notebooks with the latest Intel Haswell silicon, sadly it's not an option for the 11S. Haswell processors pick up the speed and graphics a little, but the most noticeable improvement is in battery life. The Yoga 11S fared decently – I got around six hours of battery life with regular usage – but notebooks with Intel's fourth-gen processors have gotten significantly better battery life – up to 10 to 12 hours.

If you need a computer now, and you want a Windows 8 hybrid, there isn't anything better than the Yoga 11S available. The computer is speedy, great for multitasking, and performed on par to computers with similar specs. It's a great everyday laptop, and thanks to its new smaller form factor, you'll actually use it in its various modes.

WIRED Sturdy build with strong hinge. Soft-touch finish is smudge- and fingerprint-proof. Great keyboard for typing. Cool motion-control bonus from Lenovo lets you pretend you're in Minority Report.

TIRED Power button is hard to find at first. (It's at on the front left edge of the lip of the computer.) Last-generation processor. You'll have to spend money for a sleeve or deal with a buttony back in tablet mode.