Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga Gen 4 Review

About the Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga Gen 4

The Intel version of the Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga Gen 4 is available with Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 processors. The low-end Core i3 model carries Intel UHD graphics, while all other configurations come with Intel Iris Xe. You get up to 1TB of onboard storage and 8, 16, or 32GB of soldered on memory. The highest-end configuration comes with a brighter anti-reflection, rather than an anti-glare, screen (400 nits max). The L13 Gen 4 doesn’t feature an SD card reader, but there’s space for an optional smart card reader, as well as a nano SIM card slot.

For the AMD version, you can choose between the Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5 Pro, and Ryzen 7 Pro, each paired with Radeon graphics. While the CPU and GPU make this a different product altogether, much of the built-in hardware, including storage, memory, ports, card slots, speakers, webcam, and the screen options, are identical. Likewise, the top cover frame material, power adapter, battery pack, and speaker enclosure contain post-consumer content recycled plastic.

Color options include thunder black and storm gray.

Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga Gen 4 specs:

• Price as configured: $1,579
• Processor: Intel Core i7-1355U, 10-core (2 performance, 8 efficient), 12-thread, max clock speed 5GHz
• Graphics: Integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics
• Memory: 16GB Soldered LPDDR5 4800MHz
• Storage: 512GB SSD M.2 2242 PCIe 4.0x4 NVMe Opal 2.0
• Display: 13.3-inch, 1920 x 1200, 300 nits max (rated), 282 nits (measured), 100% sRGB, IPS anti-reflection and anti-smudge touchscreen with multitouch gestures and stylus support
• Ports: 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (1 x always on), 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (power delivery 3.0 and DisplayPort 1.4), 1 x Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 40Gbps (power delivery 3.0 and DisplayPort 1.4), 1 x HDMI 2.1 (up to 4K/60Hz), 1 x headphone / microphone combo jack (3.5mm)
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (11ax 2x2), Bluetooth 5.2
• Battery: 46Wh
• Weight: 2.92 pounds
• Dimensions: 12.0 x 8.58 x 0.67 inches
• Color: Thunder Black
• Webcam: 1080p FHD, IR hybrid with privacy shutter
• Warranty: 3-year, courier or carry-in
• Special features: Track Point, integrated active capacitive stylus pen, Windows Hello, backlit chiclet keyboard, fingerprint reader integrated in power button, US MIL-STD 810 military test passed

What we like

Excellent keyboard and touchpad

At 83 keys, the L13 Yoga’s keyboard is compact, but the layout is convenient and comfortable for touch typing. The keys require a tad more pressure than your average chiclet keyboard, which reduces accidental key presses and makes it feel more reliable.

You won’t know how much (or little) you needed a ThinkPad in your life until you used its Track Point. Once I got a grip on its sensitivity, I appreciated the Track Point for seamlessly switching between typing and navigating documents without having to reach for the touchpad or mouse. The trick is to press and hold the middle touchpad button while engaging the Track Point. It works like a charm on the L13 Yoga, but it’s also standard fare among ThinkPads.

The touchpad felt responsive and accurately interpreted multi-touch gestures, even along its edges. The three buttons do restrict the touchpad’s vertical space, but it never seemed too small.

If you’re new to ThinkPads, you’ll want to keep one thing in mind: the Fn key placement. Lenovo stuck with an IBM design choice from 1992, meant to ease turning on the ThinkLight keyboard light in the dark. As a result, the Fn key still sits in the bottom left, where all other Windows laptops feature a Ctrl key. Should you also find yourself hitting the Fn key every time your muscle memory guides you to the Ctrl key, consider remapping your keys.

Convertible design and built-in stylus

The 360-degrees hinge and the built-in active pen are hallmark features of the Yoga line, and this ThinkPad model incorporates them almost seamlessly.

The L13 Yoga’s hinges feel sturdy and firmly hold the screen in any position you choose. Folding the screen back beyond 180 degrees triggers tablet mode. In tablet mode, the keyboard is turned off, the screen automatically rotates, and double-tapping a document or text field causes the on-screen keyboard to come up. It’s a great mode for reading, drawing, or watching a show.

The pen garage is located in the chassis’ bottom right corner. While older Yoga laptops used a spring-loaded push-to-eject mechanism and others featured an eject button, the L13 Yoga relies on the strength of your fingernails. You’ll have to reach under the chassis’ bottom right corner, dig your fingernail into a small ridge on the edge of the stylus, and pull it out. At first, this may seem impossible, but the pen will slide out more easily over time.

The active capacitive pen integrates with Windows Ink, allowing for handwritten notes, drawing in Microsoft Whiteboard, or annotating documents and screenshots. The pen’s tip sensitivity and top and bottom barrel buttons can be customized in the Lenovo Pen Settings app.

Increased use of recycled materials

Lenovo is committed to transitioning to the circular economy, which requires the development and use of recycled materials. To that end, the ThinkPad L13 Yoga Gen 4 contains 30% post-consumer content (PCC) recycled plastic in its top cover frame material, instead of the conventional plastic found in previous generations. The use of recycled plastic in other components largely remains the same compared to Gen 3. In an effort to save energy and reduce CO2 emissions, Lenovo continues the use of low-temperature solder.

Other sustainable design features are ThinkPad staples, but noteworthy if you care about your laptop’s longevity. Key parts of the L13 Yoga Gen 4 are secured with standard clips or screws, making them easy to replace, including the keyboard, battery, and SSD. And should something else break, the base warranty for the model we reviewed is three years with courier or carry-in service.

In terms of repairability, the L13 Yoga isn’t quite as serviceable as a modular device like the Framework laptop, but it’s much more modular than most of its competitors. One part you can’t upgrade or replace, however, is the memory, which is soldered onto the motherboard.

Reliable security features

Built for professionals, the ThinkPad L13 Yoga Gen 4 adopted the trusted security features of its predecessors. This includes the nifty power button that doubles as a fingerprint reader, as well as the IR webcam with facial recognition, both enabling quick sign-in through Windows Hello.

In our tests, both features worked without fail. The webcam recognized me with and without glasses, even in dim light. Since I prefer keeping the webcam’s privacy shutter closed, the fingerprint reader was a lot more convenient.

Setup via the Windows Settings menu is quick and easy. Windows lets you associate multiple fingerprint scans with the same account, meaning you can give multiple users access. That’s not an option with facial recognition. Lenovo’s match-on-chip technology keeps your biometric data safe by storing fingerprint scans on a separate chip.

What we don’t like

Underwhelming battery life

At just under 8 hours, the battery life was one of the most disappointing data points. Our standardized battery test cycles through a set of browser tabs with the screen set to 200 nits. It’s essentially a simulation of low intensity browsing at indoor light conditions.

In the ThinkPad L13 Yoga’s price and size class, we have yet to test a laptop with significantly better battery life. If you don’t mind a slightly larger touchscreen, consider the 14-inch HP Dragonfly Pro (2023), which offers almost 17 hours of battery life. In our tests, the HP’s battery life is outmatched by only one Windows laptop, the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s (2022), as well as several Apple MacBooks, none of which feature a touchscreen.

Screen too dim for bright environments

The ThinkPad’s IPS touchscreen is rated at 300 nits, but we only measured 282 nits. That’s fine in your average indoor space, but you’ll struggle to see the screen in a bright environment. For working outdoors, pick a screen that hits closer to 400 nits, like the Apple MacBook Pro 14 M3 (2023) or the HP Dragonfly Pro (2023). The MacBook doesn’t have a touchscreen, though.

For general office work, an IPS screen is perfectly suitable. If you do any kind of graphics work, however, or plan to use your laptop for gaming or entertainment, you might regret not investing in an OLED screen. OLED screens have better contrast and make colors pop. The Asus Zenbook 14X OLED (2023) sports a vivid OLED display and falls within the same price and performance range as the ThinkPad L13 Yoga.

The touchscreen itself was responsive and reliably recognized multi-touch inputs. While the glass covers the screen from edge to edge, note the relatively thick bezels of around 0.35–0.47 inches.

Average performance

The ThinkPad L13 Yoga generally stays cool under load, and the fan rarely comes on, even when switching between a dozen or more browser tabs. Pushed to its limits with heavy duty graphics tasks or gaming, its performance is average.

The 10-core Intel Core i7-1355U processor performed reasonably well in the Geekbench 6 single core test (2463), landing in the upper third. Its multi-core score (8228), however, saw it drop to the midfield. We saw similar results in the Cinebench R23 single and multicore tests (1715 and 6276, respectively).

In the 3D Mark Night Raid test, a score of 18,591 landed the ThinkPad L13 Yoga in the upper third. The test evaluates the performance of the integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics card and suggests the laptop should be able to handle most mainstream games.

Should you buy the Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga Gen 4?

Maybe, if you appreciate the Track Point and stylus features

The ThinkPad L13 Yoga Gen 4 is a compact 2-in-1 productivity laptop with a touchscreen display that folds back 360 degrees and can be used like a tablet. It features a fantastic keyboard, a standard ThinkPad Track Point, and a built-in stylus. The power button doubles as a fingerprint sensor and, just like the IR webcam, lets you reliably log into your account using Windows Hello. Purchasing this laptop will leave you with a good feeling, knowing it was partially made from recycled materials. ThinkPads have a legendary reputation for high build quality, they’re generally easier to repair, and this model has several user-replaceable parts. Each unit is also covered by a generous warranty.

Battery life, performance, and the IPS screen are weak points, though. For a touchscreen laptop with significantly longer battery life, slightly better performance, and a much brighter screen, we recommend the HP Dragonfly Pro (2023). The Dragonfly runs on an AMD Ryzen 7 7736U CPU with AMD Radeon 680M graphics. The two things that are holding it back compared to the L13 Yoga are its lack of stylus support and the dedicated myHP keys, which we think is worse than the ThinkPad’s Fn key placement.

Another decent alternative for office work is the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 (2023). It lacks fancy features like a touchscreen, onboard stylus, or Track Point, but it has a good keyboard, offers almost 10 hours of battery life, and performs better in tests related to office work.

Despite its drawbacks, the ThinkPad L13 Yoga Gen 4 is a great laptop for school and office work. It’s well-built, reliable, and performs reasonably well. Get it if you expect to gain great value from features like the Track Point or built-in stylus. If that’s not the case, you’ll find better battery life, performance, and screen quality in other laptops. On the other hand, if it’s a ThinkPad you want, this one’s an affordable option.