Lenovo Yoga C740 2-in-1 15.6" Review

The Lenovo Yoga C740 is a 15.6-inch 2-in-1 that's trying to be your one device for everything. It's got a touchscreen, it folds into a tablet, and it's built for someone who wants a decent laptop for class or work without carrying a bunch of extra gadgets. The thing is, it's a few years old now, and that shows in some of the specs.

This laptop is really for the student or casual user who needs a reliable machine for notes, browsing, and maybe some light photo editing. The 2-in-1 hinge is solid, and having a touchscreen is genuinely useful for marking up PDFs or just scrolling through websites on the couch. It's not trying to be a powerhouse, and that's okay.

What makes it interesting is the price point. At $836, you're getting a full Windows 2-in-1 with a 512GB SSD and a 10th Gen Intel chip. It's a straightforward package. But you have to ask yourself if you're okay with some compromises, especially when you look at the performance numbers.

Let's talk about those numbers. The CPU lands in the 23rd percentile, which means it's slower than most modern laptops. For everyday stuff like web browsing, document editing, and video calls, it's perfectly fine. You won't notice it lagging. But if you try to run more than a dozen Chrome tabs while streaming music and have a few apps open, you might start to feel it chug a bit. It's a 'good enough' processor, not a fast one.

The integrated graphics are in the 18th percentile, which tells you everything you need to know about gaming. You're not going to game on this, period. Even light esports titles will be a struggle. The 8GB of RAM is also on the low side, sitting in the 10th percentile. That's the biggest bottleneck here. In 2024, 8GB feels tight, and it means you can't multitask as heavily as you might want to. The 512GB SSD is a bright spot, offering plenty of space for files and apps.

At $836, the value proposition is a bit tricky. You're paying for the 2-in-1 form factor and a large touchscreen. Compared to a standard clamshell laptop at this price, you're getting less raw performance for the money because of that convertible hinge. But if you really want a tablet mode, your options are limited.

The problem is the specs feel stuck in the past. That 8GB of RAM and older CPU would be easier to swallow at a $600 price point. At over $800, you're starting to look at newer laptops with better processors, more RAM, and modern connectivity. You're buying the Yoga for its specific shape, not for its power.

The ASUS Zenbook Duo is a direct competitor as another 2-in-1, but it's a dual-screen beast with much newer Intel Core Ultra processors. It'll cost more, but you get dramatically better performance and a more innovative design. If you don't need the 2-in-1, the Apple MacBook Pro with an M4 chip is in a completely different league for performance and battery life, though it's also more expensive and runs macOS.

Then there are the gaming laptops on the list, like the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i or MSI Vector. They're not comparable in form factor, but they highlight the trade-off. For the same money, you could get a machine with a dedicated GPU and a high-refresh-rate screen, but it would be thicker, heavier, and have worse battery life. The Yoga C740 is the opposite: it sacrifices all gaming and heavy performance for portability and flexibility.

If you're a student or casual user who absolutely needs a 15-inch touchscreen that turns into a tablet, and you found this Yoga on a deep sale, it's a fine, reliable choice. Just go in knowing the limits of that 8GB of RAM and be ready for average performance. It'll handle note-taking, research, and media consumption without a fuss.

For almost anyone else, I'd recommend looking at newer options. If your budget is around $800, you can find 2-in-1s with 12th or 13th Gen Intel chips and 16GB of RAM, which will feel much snappier and last you longer. The Yoga C740 feels like it's from a previous generation, because it is. Only buy it if the specific form factor is your top priority and the price is right.