Lenovo Yoga 530 Review : Powerful Laptop in Budget
Choosing a right laptop suiting your needs is a challenging task as the market is flooded with multiple options being offered by reputed brands like HP, Dell, Asus, Acer, Lenovo, Sony etc. Recently, Lenovo has expanded its budget Yoga series with two new additions – Yoga 730 and Yoga 530 out of which the latter is the more affordable option of the two. The successor of last year’s Yoga 520 model, Lenovo Yoga 530 is a 14-inch compact and stylish 2-in-1 laptop model packed with premium features and best suited for entertainment and multimedia needs. It is priced at Rs.69,999 with 256GB storage whereas the variant with Nvidia graphics and a higher 512GB SSD will be priced at Rs.79,999.
Build & Design
The overall design of the laptop is similar to that of its previous generation predecessor model with few minor refinements. It comes with textured plastic top and keyboard is constructed using the sheet of brushed aluminium. With foldable convertibles, it can be used as a laptop as well as a tablet. It features a responsive and smooth 14-inch full HD IPS touchscreen display with 1920 x 1080 resolution and minimalistic bezel. There is no auto-brightness feature which is little disappointing. The highlight of this laptop is that it comes with an optional Pen 2 active stylus support which is a blessing for students so that they can easily scribble notes on the laptop. It also works well with apps like Google Maps, when you can just draw on the map to get directions or find out distances between points. Also, the laptop is equipped with a sturdy and flexible hinge mechanism which lets you turn the device into a tablet by folding the screen at the back of the keyboard. Weighing around 1.6 kg, it is little heavy to carry it with a single hand. In terms of connectivity, it supports two USB 3.0 ports (one on each side), one USB Type-C port, one HDMI port, a 4-in-1 card reader, and an audio/mic 3.5mm jack. It is available in multiple colour options such as Onyx Black, Mineral Grey and Liquid Blue.
Keyboard & Fingerprint sensor
The keyboard with curvier keys is smooth to operate and comes with a fingerprint scanner just below it for better security and enables the user to unlock the device without having to enter a password. However, this feature is only present in premium laptops as of now. The fingerprint scanner which works quite well with Windows Hello is a delight for the consumers.
Performance
This 8th generation laptop model is a major upgrade over its previous generation counterpart. It comes with pre-installed Windows 10 Home and is packed with latest 8th Gen Intel Core i5 processor paired with 4/8/16GB of DDR4 memory, Intel UHD Graphics 620 graphics processor and 128/256/512GB of SSD storage. In terms of battery, it offers 7-8 hours of uninterrupted working, though switching to ‘best battery-life’ mode will further increase its operation by an hour.
Specifications & Features
- Display : 14-inch HD (1366x768) or Full HD IPS (1920x1080)
- Configuration : Windows 10 Home, 8th Gen Intel Core i5 processor
- RAM : 4/8/16GB of RAM, 128/256/512GB of SSD storage
- Connectivity : 1 x USB 3.1 type C, 2 x USB 3.0 type A, HDMI, 4-in-1 card reader, 3.5mm
- Weight 1.6kg
PROS
- Powerful performance.
- Sturdy and robust build.
- Sleek design with stylus.
- Smooth keyboard.
- Affordable price
CONS
- Unusually large bezel below the display.
- Poor stylus attachment mechanism.
- Lack of auto-brightness adjustment.
Should you buy Lenovo Yoga 530?
Lenovo Yoga 530 is an affordable and sturdy convertible laptop which is highly suitable for students and moderate users. At a price of Rs 69,999, it is a great choice owing to its vibrant display, excellent performance and beautiful design. The included stylus is also very beneficial. In case you can increase your budget, then consider Yoga 700 or 900 series notebooks with improved battery life and marginally lower weight.
