Head-To-Head: Lenovo Yoga 920 Vs. Apple MacBook Pro

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Apple's Mac business is having a moment, with Mac sales surging 25 percent during the company's most recent quarter compared to the year before. Also, it's the recently updated MacBook Pro that's providing much of the growth, according to Apple executives. Once a neglected part of Apple's product lineup, the MacBook Pro has gotten not one, but two, updates over the past year. Other popular laptop lines are keeping pace, however – such as Lenovo's Yoga lineup, which just added the Yoga 920 with advancements in some areas over the latest MacBook Pro. Which of the laptops is a better fit for you? In the following slides, the CRN Test Center compares Apple's MacBook Pro 2017 vs. Lenovo's Yoga 920 on specs and price.

First Things First

A key thing to know upfront about the latest MacBook Pro is that it differs from past models by including the Touch Bar – a touch-sensitive display strip that takes the place of the function row of keys. The Touch Bar expands the capabilities of the MacBook Pro by providing controls that automatically adapt to whatever app is being used. There's one MacBook Pro model, an entry-level configuration, without the Touch Bar, but all of the other models include the feature. In total there are three distinct editions of Apple's newest MacBook Pro: a 15-inch version with the Touch Bar, a 13-inch Touch Bar version, and a 13-inch version without the Touch Bar.

Lenovo's Yoga 920, meanwhile, comes in two versions with differing display resolutions—though both have touch screens. Apple's MacBook Pro does not have a touchscreen display option.

Another fundamental difference to mention up front: the Yoga 920 runs Windows 10, while the MacBook Pro runs Apple's latest PC operating system, macOS High Sierra.

Display

Another main difference between the two laptops is that the Yoga 920 includes a hinge that enables the touch screen display to fold partway or all of the way back (for use in tablet mode). And while the MacBook Pro comes with either 13- or 15-inch displays, the Yoga 920 falls in between the two in size, with a 13.9-inch display.

As mentioned, the Yoga 920 offers two choices on resolution -- UHD (3,840 x 2,160) and FHD (1,920 x 1,080) – for its IPS display. The MacBook Pro, meanwhile, features a Retina display with 2,880 x 1,800 resolution for the 15-inch model and 2,560 x 1,600 for the 13-inch models.

Additionally, the Yoga 920 display works with Lenovo's Active Pen 2, marking the first time that a Yoga 900 series laptop supports the digital pen.

Processor – CPU

Apple's re-discovered commitment to the MacBook Pro is evidenced by the company's move, in June, to update the laptop with seventh-gen Intel Core processors (aka "Kaby Lake") just a few months after launching the refreshed model with sixth-gen Intel processors. The 15-inch MacBook Pro is available with a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor from the Kaby Lake series, while the 13-inch models have options for configuring with Core i5 or Core i7 chips (dual-core processors in all cases).

However, despite that effort on Apple's part, the Yoga 920 still benefits from newer processors as one of the first laptops on the market to feature the eighth-generation, "Kaby Lake R" Intel Core processors. One difference from the seventh generation is that the eighth-gen Core i5 processor is quad-core, rather than dual-core, for boosted speed. Lenovo says the processors offer "in some cases improvements in performance by up to 40 percent." Thus, while either laptop in our comparison is going to deliver big on horsepower, the Yoga 920 may have an advantage from including the latest that Intel has to offer in processor technology.

Processor – Graphics

Apple has a leg-up in the graphics department. While the Yoga 920 includes Intel HD Graphics 620 (integrated with the CPU), the 15-inch MacBook Pro offers AMD's powerful Radeon Pro 555 or 560, in addition to CPU-integrated Intel HD Graphics. The 13-inch MacBook Pro has options for Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 or 650.

Battery Life

The winner in battery life for our comparison is the FHD model of the Yoga 920, which promises up to 13 hours on a charge. The UHD model comes in second with a pledge of 10.5 hours. For the MacBook Pro, meanwhile, Apple promises 10 hours of battery life on a charge for both the 13- and 15-inch models.

Thickness & Weight

Despite its larger display size, the Yoga 920 weighs the same amount as the 13-inch MacBook Pro – 3.02 pounds. The Yoga 920 is also thinner, at 0.55 of an inch thick, versus the 13-inch MacBook Pro (0.59 of an inch thick) and 15-inch MacBook Pro (0.61 of an inch). The 15-inch MacBook Pro is the heaviest laptop in our comparison, at 4.02 pounds.

Ports

If you're a fan of USB-C/Thunderbolt 3, there's a lot to like with both laptops in our comparison. Apple has famously, or infamously, gone all-in on the technology with the MacBook Pro. The Touch Bar versions include four USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports. The 13-inch, MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar has two of the ports. For the Yoga 920, two Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports are included – though Lenovo also includes a USB-A port for a bit more flexibility.

Memory & Storage

Several configurations are available for both the MacBook Pro and Yoga 920. Both laptops are configurable with 8 GB or 16 GB of RAM (though the 15-inch MacBook Pro and UHD Yoga 920 automatically come with 16 GB).

For storage, the Yoga 920 offers 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB. The MacBook Pro Touch Bar models also start at 256 GB of storage and can be configured with 512 GB or 1 TB. The non-Touch Bar model starts with 128 GB of storage and goes up to 256 GB.

Price

Even though it has features the MacBook Pro doesn't have – such as a convertible touchscreen display and an eighth-gen Intel Core processor -- the Yoga 920 is still more affordable. The starting price for the Yoga 920 is $1,200 (with FHD display, eighth-gen Core i5, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB storage). The entry-level MacBook Pro without the Touch Bar (and with a notably slower seventh-gen Core i5, 8 GB of RAM, and 128 GB of storage) starts at $1,299.

The Yoga 920 with UHD display starts at $1,800 (which also brings eighth-gen Core i7, 16 GB RAM, and 1 TB of storage). By comparison, that's roughly the same price as the 13-inch Touch Bar MacBook Pro (which has a seventh-gen Core i5 processor, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB of storage—along with a smaller, lower-res display). Regarding specs, the Yoga 920 would appear to offer a lot more value for the money. Meanwhile, the 15-inch MacBook Pro has a starting price of $2,399 (seventh-gen Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB storage).