By Brian Westover

The Yoga is back. TheLenovo Yoga 2 13 ($999 as tested) sits nicely between the smaller Yoga 2 11 and the premium Yoga 2 Pro with its high-resolution display. The new 13-inch ultrabook-class convertible hybrid laptop gets an updated design, new hardware, and a slightly shorter name (the company has dropped the IdeaPad designation). While the new chassis design improves usability, the quality of the construction seems to have fallen off somewhat.

Design The new Yoga 2 keeps the flip-and-fold functionality seen on the previous model, and the 360-degree hinge continues to be the one of the better designs in the convertible space. With the hinge, the Yoga becomes a multimode device, rather than a simple laptop. Open the display up and back to go from Laptop mode to Display mode. Flip it over to switch to Tent mode. Finally, by bringing the display all the way around, you have Tablet mode. All of these modes work as well on the new Yoga 2 13 as they did on the previous iteration.

The design has been changed somewhat from the original iteration. The chassis incorporates more plastic into the construction, with aluminum across the lid of the laptop, but not the palm rest or the underside. The palm rest has a matte finish that unfortunately picks up smudges very easily, so it will look a bit grimy if you don't wipe it down regularly. A rubber bumper wraps around both the display and the keyboard edges, providing grip when in Tent Mode, and adding a bit of protection from bumps and bangs in both Laptop and Tablet modes. Folded closed, the Yoga 2 13 measures 0.6 by 13 by 8.7 inches (HWD), making it slimmer than the original IdeaPad Yoga 13, which was 0.66 by 13.4 by 8.85 inches (HWD), but a little heavier at 3.7 pounds (the first Yoga weighed just3.4 pounds).

The 13-inch display hasbeen upgraded to 1,920-by-1,080 resolution. This is a step up from the 1,600-by-900-resolution display on the original Lenovo Yoga 13, but not as impressive as the 3,200-by-1,800 (QHD+) resolution offered on theIdeaPad Yoga 2 Pro. The full HD display strikes a happy medium, with all the resolution you needfor multitasking and enjoying HD content, but without the high price and reduced battery life that comes with ahigher-resolution screen. The touch-enabled display also boasts 10-finger tracking, giving you touch and gesture support in anymode.

The excellent AccuType keyboard is one of the best features, providing as good a typing experience as ever. The sculpted keycaps are comfortable, and the backlight provides good visibility in the dark. In modes where the keyboard isn't in use, such as Tablet,Tent,or Display mode, the keyboard deactivates to prevent unwanted key presses.

The only worrisome aspectof the design is that the keyboard is still fully exposed when flipped around into these other modes, andI havelegitimate concerns about damage to the keys. This problem isn't new to this model, but it already has a solutionthe business-focused Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga has a mechanism that raises the deck of the keyboard up flush with the tops of the keycaps, protecting the keyboard from potential damage. It looks like the feature hasn't migrated over to the consumer models yet. The Yoga 2 13 also boasts a clickable trackpadand support for Windows 8 gesture controls.

Two built-in stereo speakers provide decent sound, with Dolby Home Theater v4 software enhancement. When turned up, however, the volume produced isunderwhelming. Listening to music and watching YouTube videos during testing, the sound quality also dropped off at high volume.

Features The laptop is outfitted with two USB ports (one USB 3.0, one USB 2.0), a 2-in-1 card reader (SD/MMC), micro HDMI, and a headset jack. On the right side of the system, you'll find buttons for Power, Volume Up and Down, and Lenovo's OneKey Recovery (an automatic system recovery app). Inside, the Yoga 2 13 is equipped with 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. Early customer reviews have mentioned Wi-Fi problems in the new Yoga laptops, but we didn't encounterany issues during our testing, which included streaming media, browsing with multiple tabs open, and writing portions of this review in Google Docs. The Yoga 2 13 has a hybrid storage solution, combining a 500GB, 5,400rpm hard drive with a 16GB solid-state drive (SSD) for speedy performance and fast boot times.

Lenovo includes plentyof software on the system, but most of it is useful, like 30-day trial subscriptions to McAfee Security Suite and Microsoft Office, and apps like AccuWeather,Evernote, Kindle, and Zinio Reader. There are also manyLenovo-branded apps and tools. Motion Control lets you perform simple tasks, like advancing through a playlist or turning a page with the wave of a hand, using the built-in webcam. Another is Voice Control, which lets you tell the laptop to perform basic functions, or even simply ask it a question. Lenovo has several other apps that take advantage of the different modes the Yoga can take, providing programs fit for Tablet, Laptop, or Tent and Display modes. Lenovo covers the Yoga 2 13 with a one-year warranty on parts and labor.

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Lenovo Yoga 2 13