Lenovo Yoga C630 Review: Big Battery Life, Always Connected
Lenovo Yoga C630: Summary and Final Analysis
We put the Yoga C630 through its paces, traveling up and down the West Coast for two weeks while visiting various state parks and beaches and we never had a problem. Tucked into a backpack, the C630 slumbered on, automatically receiving updates, emails, and messages. When we pulled it out of the bag and flipped it open, it was on, connected, and ready to go no matter where we were. Frankly, it was a little weird, always being connected, and without having to do anything to find a broadband connection while on the road. Our LTE download speeds ranged from 4 Mbps to 25 Mbps, depending on the strength of the cell signal and our location. This proved significantly more than usable, and sometimes faster than what the Wi-Fi connections at restaurants and hotels / motels offered.
We were somewhat lukewarm about the convertible aspects of the system. Because this is a Yoga system, it can be used in multiple modes; it's not a basic clamshell. The Yoga C630 folds flat so that multiple people around a table can view the screen. And it'll fold back even more into a "tent," which makes it easier to watch movies and to interact with the touchscreen. It can also fold completely back 360 degrees over itself to create a tablet-like experience. Tablet mode is a bit of a stretch with a 13-inch 2.5 pound machine, though. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, by comparison, weighs in at 17 oz. and is a svelte .28 in. thick. That form-factor is more suitable to tablet use. That said, the convertible aspect of the Yoga C630 may be appealing to some users and having more form-factor options is not a bad thing, after all. We just found ourselves using the machine in clamshell mode most often.
The Software Compatibility Conundrum
The C630's virtues are many and its shortcomings are few. However, one of those shortcomings might be a deal-breaker for some users: software compatibility. If you intend to use the system for Web browsing, email, running office applications (it ran MS Office and LibreOffice with no problems), light-duty gaming, and streaming media, the Lenovo Yoga C630 has you covered, and it brings to the table that continuous connectivity and instant-on gratification that makes life (or using a computer, anyway) much easier. But if you're a heavy-duty user of sophisticated 64-bit applications that may not run well (or at all) on the C630, this machine is obviously not for you.
However, as a tool for browsing the Web (we ran Chrome, Firefox, and Edge with no trouble at all), emailing, or standard office tasks, the Lenovo Yoga C630 is an excellent small computer. Light, fast, convertible, always on, and always connected, the C630 gets the job done for mainstream consumption and productivity use cases. For those of us who don't always need more demanding 3rd party 64-bit applications that the Snapdragon-based system won't run, the Lenovo Yoga C630 is solid, compelling option. An affordable computer that's fast, convertible, always on, and always connected can be a real game changer for users who are constantly on the go.
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