The IdeaCentre Yoga A940, a convertible all-in-one desktop, is Lenovo’s response to Microsoft’s Surface Studio concept (starts at $2,299.99 for the variant tested). The A940’s touch screen reclines for use as a digital drafting board, similar to the Studio’s, enabling users to sketch, model, and perform common work on a single PC. A stylus and a Precision Dial that resembles the Surface Dial are included in the package, and the A940 offers somewhat more speed than the Studio 2 at a lesser cost. Overall, the A940 succeeds, but there are several areas where it falls short, particularly with regard to the build and screen quality. Although the Surface Studio 2 continues to be our best recommendation in this admittedly specialized category of Computers, the Yoga 940 is an interesting, useful alternative if your budget is limited.
Versatile and fashionable design with some restrictions
A elegant (but plastic) all-in-one design replaces the conventional hefty PC tower in the Lenovo Yoga A940. You can organize your workspace with the aid of extras like a built-in Qi wireless charging pad, LED lights underneath the display, and lots of base storage for tidily storing the included accessories. Yet, you’ll need at least 25 inches to fit the machine’s entire length and over 10 inches to support the depth of the base—not to mention enough desk space to operate in drafting mode.
Most of the peripherals are successful. For left-handed or ambidextrous users, the accuracy dial can be set to either side of the display. Moreover, the wireless keyboard can be used wirelessly or in USB wired mode. The battery-operated mouse has a dial to cycle through three tracking speed settings and connects through nano-USB.
Yet, the Lenovo Digital Pen’s quality might be much better. It uses a AAA battery and features a storage compartment next to the wireless charging station. I had no trouble inserting the battery into the pen, but I was unable to remove the pen cap, which ought to be as simple as a twisting motion. After that, the pen became ineffective because the battery wasn’t correctly oriented and the cap was partially stuck. This looks to be a problem that at least a few other users have also encountered and is an entirely avoidable obstacle.
The port issue is improved, but you’ll still need to position the device such that you can easily see and use any USB, HDMI, or Ethernet ports on the base’s back. The group of ports that are conveniently and quickly accessible on the device’s left side are its saving grace.
The display’s motion when it hinges is another minor design fault. Although it may be moved with one hand, two hands allowed for better transitions. By no means did it require hard lifting, but I couldn’t help but be concerned by the plastic clicks that seemed to accompany practically every change. The display’s bottom awkwardly contacted the work surface when it was lowered, and despite its 25-degree flexibility, it needed an odd nudge to be secured in its flattest position.
Display: Potential of 4K is limited
The generously sized Yoga A940 4K UHD 3840×2160 display measures 27 inches across. I wasn’t impressed with the picture quality, despite the fact that these display specifications and the Adobe RGB working space accuracy are selling features for graphic artists, photographers, and everyday users. You should keep looking if you’re seeking for a device that can also function as a home theater Computer.
Games generally looked much richer and crisper than any streaming content, which often appeared hazy or just not nearly as crisp as possible, especially 4K content. Moreover, colors frequently come off as being a little too intense and incorrect. At times, despite keeping the display’s brightness at its highest setting, the content appeared a little too dark.
When the image needed some assistance, I activated the Dolby Atmos 4K function to test whether the image might be improved. It did seem to make a nominal difference, but it was tough to quantify.
The viewing experience was not enhanced by the very reflective display. Even though I wouldn’t say anything ever seemed washed out from extreme side views, the glare made it difficult to see clearly. Even straight on, the brightness made it difficult to see anything during the height of the day without getting distracted. Glare was far less of a problem when in drafting mode, however this isn’t always advantageous for all users.
Pricing and accessibility
The Yoga A940 comes in a variety of variants, though many of them are presently out of stock, so it’s difficult to tell what price the upgrades will cost. However, the cheapest model costs $2,199 in the US and has an AMD RX 560 GPU, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive, and a 256GB SSD in addition to an 8th generation Intel Core i7-8700 CPU.
One Lenovo Yoga A940 model is offered in the UK for £1,999. It has an AMD RX 560 GPU with 4GB of GDDR5 memory, an Intel Core i5-8400 CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive, and a 256GB SSD.
For AU$4,999, however, you can purchase one with an AMD Radeon RX 560 4GB GDDR5 GPU, a 9th generation Intel Core i7-9700 eight-core CPU, 16GB RAM, 2TB hard drive, and 1TB SSD.
It is annoying that different nations receive different specifications, and it is unclear how simple it will be to customize the base models for every nation. Australia currently has the model with the finest specifications, whereas the UK is treated rather unfairly.
The Lenovo Yoga A940 is unquestionably less expensive than the iMac Pro, which has a starting price of $4,999 (£4,899, AU$7,299). It is far less potent, though. The iMac 27-inch model, which is more competitively priced, starts at $1,799/£1,749/AU$2,799.
Compared to the Surface Studio 2, which starts at $3,499 or AU$5,499 (about £2,680), both of these are significantly less expensive.
The Lenovo Yoga A940 is therefore more expensive than the iMac, but it is a better value if you want an all-in-one Windows computer and the Surface Studio 2 is too expensive. It’s simply a shame that purchasing the stupid device is so difficult right now, with varying specifications for different regions, and limited stock levels.
Performance
When put to the test using benchmarking tools, this desktop computer performed admirably. The overall PCMark productivity rating was 5226, which is just a little bit higher than the business’s standard suggestion that computers set up for office use should get at least a 4500. This PC also scored a 7635 score for photo editing, which surpasses the suggestion of 3450 and above is optimal for creative jobs.
The results of GFXBench were fair as well. The TREX test yielded a score of 61.5 fps, whereas the high-level Manhattan test yielded a score of 126.3 fps. This isn’t a gaming machine by any means, but you might get by loading a game here or there and not be too disappointed.
While not the most powerful choice available, the dedicated desktop processor and graphics card provide more than enough speed for a variety of jobs and multimedia capability. The majority of customers’ needs for media file and document storage should be met by the 256GB of SSD storage, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of HDD storage.
Camera: So-so but gets the job done
The Lenovo Yoga A940 should be adequate for the odd discussion unless you often engage in video conferencing. Even in extremely bright natural light, the 1080-pixel IR camera delivers very poor video quality that leans toward the black and blurry. Overall, it will have no issue creating faithful and jitter-free video recording, thus it’s adequate for video conferencing.
The good news is that there is a privacy shield to cover the lens while not in use if you hardly ever use a webcam. However, you may use the facial recognition capability to save a few steps if you’re all for using the camera rather than manually signing into your computer.
