Lenovo Yoga 6 (13) review – stain-resistant fabric cover and Ryzen 4000U processors on board

For those of you that are looking for that sweet spot on the market, where a certain series is too expensive, but the one step cheaper option is just not worth it, there are devices like the Lenovo Yoga 6 (13). This little gap filler should be exactly for the people who need a fast, agile notebook, and don’t want to pay the extra premium.

By the way, the performance is not the top priority with 2-in-1s, as the display and its color representation should bother its artist users a lot more. However, with the rise of AMD and their 7nm Zen 2 mobile chips, things really got interesting. This is why, Lenovo offers the notebook with two very potent AMD processors – the Ryzen 5 4500U and the Ryzen 7 4700U.

And not in the last place, there are the visuals. Some people like aluminum devices, others enjoy the featherlight magnesium, but others… well apparently, others feel like using a cloth material on the laptop is a good idea. More on that – later.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/lenovo-yoga-6-13/

Contents


Specs Sheet

Lenovo Yoga 6 (13") - Specs

  • IVO M133NWFD R0 (IVO8544)
  • Color accuracy  3.8  1.5
  • HDD/SSD
  • up to 2000GB SSD
  • RAM
  • up to 16GB
  • OS
  • Windows 10 Pro, Windows 11 Home, Windows 10 Home, Windows 11 Pro
  • Battery
  • 60Wh, 60Wh, 4-cell
  • Body material
  • Plastic / Polycarbonate, Aluminum
  • Dimensions
  • 308.1 x 206.5 x 17.1 ~ 18.3 mm (12.13" x 8.13" x 0.67")
  • Weight
  • 1.32 kg (2.9 lbs)
  • Ports and connectivity
  • 2x USB Type-A
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
  • 1x USB Type-C
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), DisplayPort
  • 1x USB Type-C
  • 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort
  • Card reader
  • Ethernet LAN
  • Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ax
  • Bluetooth
  • 5.0
  • Audio jack
  • 3.5 Combo Jack
  • Features
  • Fingerprint reader
  • Web camera
  • HD
  • Backlit keyboard
  • Microphone
  • Dual-Array Microphone
  • Speakers
  • 2x 1.5W, Dolby Atmos
  • Optical drive
  • Security Lock slot

What’s in the box?

Inside the package of our unit, we found a 45W USB Type-C power brick, some paper manuals, and the laptop, itself. The word around town says that it will also come with an optional Pen.


Design and construction

A couple of sentences ago, we mentioned a cloth material, used in laptops. Well, the Yoga 6 (13) has a denim-like cover, which looks reasonably well, and definitely protects any metal below it from scratches. However, the cloth itself is susceptible to dirt, particles, and tears. Nevertheless, we didn’t saw any of this, so we are pretty much speculating. In terms of body dimensions, we got a weight of 1.40 kg and a profile going from 17mm to 18.2mm.

Unsurprisingly, the lid doesn’t open with a single hand. On the bright side, though, we feel that it is extremely sturdy, so flex is almost nonexistent. Sadly, this cannot be said about the base, which bends like crazy.

Despite that, we are happy with what we found there – a keyboard with clicky feedback and a decent key travel. Two speakers, flanking the keyboard, as well as a touchpad that is more than fine. And in addition to the flexy base, the keyboard deck bends. Big time.

Lastly, there is the bottom panel, where you can see the ventilation grills. Naturally, the hot air is blown out of the device backwards, through a set of fins just beneath the display.

Ports

The I/O here is a bit limited. You only get two USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) ports (one on each side), as well as two USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 1) ports that can charge the notebook and output a DisplayPort signal (again one of them on each side of the device), and an Audio jack. By the way, the right side also houses the Power button, which, thankfully, has tactile feedback.


Disassembly, upgrade options, and maintenance

Taking this laptop apart is extremely easy. Just undo all 6 Torx-head screws you see and pry the bottom panel away with a plastic tool or a guitar pick.

As you can see, in 2020, you can cool an 8-core processor with the help of a single heat pipe and a pretty small fan.

Sadly, the memory is soldered to the motherboard and according to Lenovo, you can configure the notebook with 8 or 16GB of DDR4 RAM upon purchase. This means that the only upgradable part of the laptop is its storage, via the single M.2 PCIe x4 slot.

At least the battery size is decent with its 60Wh capacity.


Display quality

Lenovo Yoga 6 (13) is equipped with a Full HD IPS panel, IVO M133NWFD R0 (IVO8544). Its diagonal is 13.3-inch (33.78 cm), and the resolution – 1920 х 1080p. Additionally, the screen ratio is 16:9, the pixel density – 166 ppi, their pitch – 0.153 х 0.153 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 53 cm (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels).

Viewing angles are comfortable. We offer images at different angles to evaluate the quality.

The maximum measured brightness is 282 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 274 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of 14%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 6600K – slightly colder than the 6500K temperature for sRGB.
In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 140 nits) – in this particular case at 84% Brightness (White level = 141 cd/m2, Black level = 0.09 cd/m2).
Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio is very good – 1570:1.

To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy.

Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people in HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook.

Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day.

The yellow dotted line shows Lenovo Yoga 6 (13)’s color gamut coverage.

Its display covers 94% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976.

Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode.

We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile.

Below you can compare the scores of Lenovo Yoga 6 (13) with the default settings (left), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right).

The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light.

The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions.

Response time (Gaming capabilities)

We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa.

We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 25 ms.


Health impact – PWM / Blue Light

PWM (Screen flickering)

Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.

Lenovo Yoga 6 (13)’s display doesn’t flicker at any brightness level. This makes it comfortable for long periods of use.

Blue light emissions

Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.

Conclusion

Lenovo Yoga 6 (13)’s IPS touchscreen panel has a Full HD resolution, comfortable viewing angles, good contrast ratio and covers 94% of sRGB. On top of that, its backlight doesn’t flicker. As a 2-in-1 it is very important to have standard-matching color accuracy. And while its default settings fall short of that, our Gaming and Web design profile really helps to drop the Average dE down to a value of 1.5.

Buy our profiles

Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for Lenovo Yoga 6 (13) configurations with 13.3″ IVO M133NWFD R0 (IVO8544) (FHD, 1920 × 1080) IPS panel.

*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].

Read more about the profiles HERE.

In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.

Office Work

Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.

Design and Gaming

This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.

Health-Guard

Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.

Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount


Sound

Lenovo Yoga 6 (13)’s speakers produce a clear sound with good quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations.


Drivers

All of the drivers and utilities for this notebook can be downloaded from here: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks

Battery

Now, we conduct the battery tests with Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits, and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. Yoga 6 (13)’s 60Wh battery lasts for almost 14 hours of Web browsing and about 11 hours of video playback.


CPU options

As far as we know, this notebook will be sold with the Ryzen 5 4500U and the Ryzen 7 4700U processors.


GPU options

And for the graphics cards, you’re going to rely only on the integrated RX Vega 6 and Vega 7 solutions.


Gaming tests

cs-go-benchmarks

CS:GOHD 1080p, Low (Check settings)HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings)HD 1080p, MAX (Check settings)
Average FPS94 fps67 fps50 fps

DOTA 2HD 1080p, Low (Check settings)HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings)HD 1080p, High (Check settings)
Average FPS107 fps69 fps38 fps

Temperatures and comfort

Max CPU load

In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.

Average core frequency (base frequency + X); CPU temp.

AMD Ryzen 7 4700U (15W TDP)0:02 – 0:10 sec0:15 – 0:30 sec10:00 – 15:00 min
Lenovo Yoga 6 (13)2.64 GHz (B+32%) @ 69°C2.72 GHz (B+36%) @ 85°C1.55 GHz @ 65°C
ASUS ZenBook 14 UM4332.79 GHz (B+40%) @ 64°C2.64 GHz (B+32%) @ 70°C2.07 GHz (B+4%) @ 58°C
HP Envy x360 13 (13-ay0000)2.87 GHz (B+44%) @ 60°C2.63 GHz (B+32%) @ 71°C2.13 GHz (B+7%) @ 69°C

Well, this year’s Yogas definitely lag behind when it comes to cooling.

Comfort during full load

The notebook seems quiet and relatively cool on the outside.


Verdict

Apart from the rather inefficient cooling setup, and the lack of memory upgrades, this notebook delivered a more than a good experience for the end-user. Its processor and NVMe storage provide a super snappy experience and the touchscreen seemed to work really well, although we weren’t able to use it with a dedicated Pen.

Not only is it swift, but it lasts for 14 hours of Web browsing and about 11 hours of video playback, meaning you will have a couple of spare hours to watch some Netflix after work.

Lenovo Yoga 6 (13)’s IPS touchscreen panel (IVO M133NWFD R0 (IVO8544)) has a Full HD resolution, comfortable viewing angles, good contrast ratio and covers 94% of sRGB. On top of that, its backlight doesn’t flicker. As a 2-in-1 it is very important to have standard-matching color accuracy. And while its default settings fall short of that, our Gaming and Web design profile really helps to drop the Average dE down to a value of 1.5.

Also, it has two USB Type-C ports, one of which can be used for charging, while the other can output a DisplayPort signal. By the way, there is one feature that we found a lot of people might enjoy. Actually, we weren’t big fans of it, but we’re also not art people, so how would we know if professionals would like the cloth denim-like material, used to cover the lid. In fact, it almost seems like it misses a pocket, but hey, Lenovo says that it is stain-resistant.

Nevertheless, the Yoga 6 (13) is a great convertible for professional work, and if you want to check something similar from a different manufacturer – the HP Envy x360 13 (13-ay0000) is something that deserves your attention, as well.

Pros

  • Fabric cover with stain resistance
  • Covers 94% of sRGB colors (IVO M133NWFD R0)
  • Very high color accuracy when Gaming and Web design profile is installed (IVO M133NWFD R0)
  • Good battery life
  • Great input devices + an optional fingerprint reader
  • Monstrous performance form the ULV chips
  • PWM-free at all brightness levels (IVO M133NWFD R0)


Cons

  • The cooling solution is inefficient
  • Memory is soldered to the motherboard

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/lenovo-yoga-6-13/

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Mathew7
Mathew7
3 years ago

If you want larger but still cheap storage, SATA M.2 works, even thought Lenovo does not offer such a choice.
Had a Samsung 850 Evo laying around and it works. I even transfered the Windows installation, thus having the confirmation that AHCI was needed; I did edit the registry through a PE environment to boot-enable it, but that may be too complicated for many (especially non-IT) people.

Ahn
Ahn
2 years ago

Does the laptop support 4k video output? Can I connect it to 4k smart TV and it runs as 4k?

RJG
RJG
2 years ago

Both USB C do NOT charge. Oly one on the left side does. This could be a problem if that port wears out which happens often with USB C ports.

Ahn
Ahn
2 years ago

Does this mean you can’t use second monitor through HDMI?