Lenovo Yoga 920 vs. HP Spectre x360: Who Wins
When it comes to choosing a fantastic two-in-one transformation, the two best options are Lenovo’s Yoga 920 and HP’s Spectre X360. it’s not a simple choice. Because both phones are the 8th Intel CPU and weigh about 3 pounds, but there are some important differences between the two machines.
To help you pick the best 2-in-1, we compared the Yoga 920 and the Spectre x360 side by side in several categories, including design, display, performance, battery life and value. And Lenovo’s sleek system has the edge.
Update Dec. 18 at 5:01 pm: This face-off is based on a version of the HP Spectre x360 with a Sure View privacy screen, which has an impact on Hp pavilion dv6 laptop battery life. We will update this comparison once we’ve had a chance to review the non-Sure View version of the Spectre x360.
| Lenovo Yoga 920 | HP Spectre x360 | |
| Starting Price | $1,099 | $999 |
| Price As Reviewed | $1,099 | $1,309 |
| CPU | 8th-Gen Intel Core i5, i7 | 8th-Gen Intel Core i5, i7 |
| GPU | Intel UHD 620 (Integrated) | Intel UHD 620 (Integrated) |
| Display | 13.9-inch, 1920 x 1080 | 13.3-inch, 1920 x 1080 / 3840 x 2160 |
| Ports | 1 USB 3.0, 2 Thunderbolt, fingerprint reader, headphone jack | 1 USB 3.0, 2 Thunderbolt, fingerprint reader, headphone jack, microSD memory reader |
| Battery Life | 12 hours and 22 minutes | 8 hours and 26 minutes |
| Size | 12.7 x 8.8 x 0.6 inches | 12 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches |
| Weight | 3.1 pounds | 2.9 pounds |
Design
The Lenovo Yoga 920 (12.7 x 8.8 x 0.6 inches, 3.1 pounds) is a bit larger and heavier than the HP Spectre x360 (12 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches, 2.9 pounds), but that’s actually an impressive feat for the 13.9-inch Yoga 920, which gives you a larger screen than the 13.3-inch Spectre.
The Spectre x360 comes in three colors: Natural Silver, Dark Ash Silver with Copper Luxe and Pale Rose Gold. The Yoga 920 also comes in a trio of hues: Bronze, Copper and Platinum.
If you want to use the fingerprint sensor in multiple modes, the Spectre x360 has an advantage, as its reader is embedded in the power button. The fingerprint sensor on the Yoga 920 is on the deck beneath the keyboard. However, not everyone wants to reach around to the side of the system when in laptop mode to use the reader.
The Yoga sports a slick, watchband-style hinge, while the Spectre has a pretty basic — but shiny — pair of hinges. Overall, we prefer the look and feel of the Yoga 920, and the fact that it gives you a slightly larger screen for not much more weight.
Winner: Yoga 920.
Ports
When it comes to ports, the Spectre x360 and Yoga 920 are nearly identical.
Both offer dual Thunderbolt 3 ports, a Type-A USB 3 port, a headphone jack and a fingerprint reader. The Spectre x360 sneaks out a win here, though, by offering a microSD memory reader.
Winner: Spectre x360.
Display
Both of these convertibles feature colorful displays, but one is brighter. That’s the Yoga 920, which packs a nearly bezel-free 13.9-inch display that comes in 1920 x 1080 and 3840 x 2160 resolutions, produces 105 percent of the sRGB color gamut and emits up to 284 nits of brightness.
The Spectre x360, on the other hand, produces 109 percent of the sRGB spectrum and emits a dimmer 261 nits of brightness. Nor can the Spectre match the Yoga’s viewing angles; colors on the Spectre darkened at 45 degrees to the left and right, while the Yoga’s screen stayed strong at 60 degrees in each direction.
HP also offers an optional privacy-screen technology upgrade called Sure View that makes it harder for others to peep over your shoulder. It costs $60 extra.
Winner: Yoga 920.
Keyboard
Both theYoga 920 and the Spectre x360 offer OK typing experiences, but neither keyboard stands out. Both feature a slightly shallow 1.3 millimeters of travel and try to make up for this by offering a higher actuation-force requirement than the 60-gram minimum we look for. The Spectre x360 registered 80 grams, while the Yoga 920’s keys require 68 grams.
Winner: Draw.
Performance
Both the Spectre x360 and the Yoga 920 can be configured with fast and capable 8th-Generation Intel Core processors. The Spectre x360 (Core i7-8550U CPU, 16GB of RAM) notched a strong 13,568 on the Geekbench 4 general performance test, while the Yoga 920 (Core i7-8550U, 8GB) we reviewed was close behind, scoring 13,306.
The Spectre x360’s fast 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe solid-state drive notched a 566-MBps speed on our file-copy test. That’s nearly twice as fast as the 300 MBps from the Yoga 920’s 256GB NVMe PCIe SSD.
The Yoga 920 got a win in our OpenOffice macro test, where it matched 20,000 names and addresses in 3 minutes and 17 seconds, which is 6 seconds less than the 3:23 from the Spectre x360.
We also saw mixed scores in gaming tests, though both units include the same Intel UHD Graphics 620 chip. Both laptops ran the Dirt 3 racing game above our 30-frame- per-second playability threshold, but the Spectre x360 was smoother (56 fps) than the Yoga 920 (35 fps). The Yoga 920 earned 86,267 on the 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited graphics benchmark, clearing the Spectre x360’s score of 79,528.
Winner: Draw.
Battery Life
The Yoga 920 offers enough Lenovo e390 battery life to leave your charger at home, even on longer days.
It lasted 12 hours and 22 minutes on the Laptop Mag Battery Test, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi. The Spectre x360 lasted 8:26, which is nearly 4 hours less. However, this was with the Sure View privacy screen, and we expect better results without Sure View.
Winner: Yoga 920.
Value
When configured with matching specs, the Spectre x360 repeatedly comes in at lower prices. So while you’ll pay $1,179 for a Spectre with a Core i7-8550U CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, the Yoga 920 with those specs costs $120 more, at $1,299.
The more affordable Spectre x360 costs $999 and packs a Core i5-8250U processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, while a Yoga 920 with the same specs costs $1,199.40.
Winner: Spectre x360.
Overall Winner: Yoga 920
| Lenovo Yoga 920 | HP Spectre x360 | |
| Design | ✓ | |
| Ports | ✓ | |
| Display | ✓ | |
| Keyboard | ✓ | ✓ |
| Performance | ✓ | ✓ |
| Battery Life | ✓ | |
| Value | ✓ | |
| Overall Score | 5 | 4 |
Yes, this was a close fight, but the Yoga 920’s superior battery life and more attractive design put it over the top. Sure, it costs a bit more, but we’d happily pay that slight premium for a longer-lasting 2-in-1, especially when the performance is comparable to that of the Spectre x360 and you get a slightly bigger screen.
If budget is your deciding factor, you have a good reason to go with the HP Spectre x360, which still offers a lot of speed and gives you a microSD card slot. But the best 2-in-1 for our money is the Lenovo Yoga 920.
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