*Consider this a preliminary review as I have only had the laptop for about a week.*
I was looking for an upgrade from my 3-year-old 13.3" HP Specter x360 i7-5550. I needed something lightweight with a 15" or bigger screen that could handle AutoCAD. I wanted a 2-in-1 but it wasn't a deal breaker. That's when I found the Yoga 730. I saw a lot of good but also quite a few bad reviews, so at first I was skeptical about purchasing this laptop. After purchasing, I thought I'd write a review about the pros, cons, and respond to some of the complaints I've seen.
Pros: Packaging is pretty sexy and has very little plastic (awesome for those who are environmental conscious). 4K screen (It. looks. AWESOME.). built in Bluetooth and webcam. NVidia 1050 GPU. Quad core. short travel space on the keyboard, narrow bezels, the track pad is smooth, very sturdy (no bend or give in the chassis). Hinging on the screen is sturdy.
Cons: ran hot on start up (had to install a lot of updates right off the bat), short battery life, no SD card slot, the power cord is kind of hard to pull out from the charging port on the computer, few external ports, stickers were put on sloppily.
**Most of the cons are "I wish it had..." as I have only had it for about a week**
I wish the battery life was a little better because I'm not sure how it would handle 4 or 5 hours of classes. I read reviews about this laptop running hot. It doesn't run as hot as I was expecting, but I still use a laptop cooling pad. I wish it had more ports (e.g. one more USB 3 and a second USB C port would be nice) because you'll most likely have to purchase a dongle with more external ports. The charging cable really sticks in the charging port and it makes me nervous that one day I'll pull really hard and I'll go flying in one direction while my laptop flies in the other. The sloppiness of the stickers is really nit picky but it makes me think about the quality control issues I've read about this laptop and Lenovo having.
***Many reviews seem to be about Best Buy or Lenovo, not the computer itself. Definitely read the reviews for this laptop, don't just look at how many stars the reviewer gave the laptop***
One of the complaints I've seen is that this computer runs hot. Most computers will run hot. Most laptops don't have advanced cooling systems like external GPUs and desktops. ALWAYS get a laptop cooling pad. You can find them pretty cheap on a number of sites. This will help (but not prevent) the system from throttling, and will overall help your system run better.
Some people think that the keyboard travel space is short. This is completely a preference thing. I love the travel distance being shorter because my hands are small. I actually type better on this keybaord than my previous HP spectre.
I've also read a lot of reviews that all point out quality control issues. My laptop does not seem to have any quality control issues, but, again, I have only had this laptop for about a week. Most reviews claim to have issues within the first two months, so I will update this review if there are any issues or if nothing happens in two months or so.
Purchasing tips: First, never buy used or certified refurbished from Best Buy. You might be getting the display unit which has been used a TON before you. Second, If you have an issue, Geek squad will not help you unless you already pay for them. Third, Best Buy has some strict return policies, so always research if you're purchasing online or ask A MANAGER. Three different employees will tell you three different things about policies. The only reason I was comfortable purchasing this from Best Buy is because I'm aware of the policies. Fourth, I can't speak to Lenovo's customer service, but many people have complained about them. Their copy and paste responses to all of these reviews doesn't help. They also make claims in those responses about returning items to Best Buy, showing that they are pretty ignorant about Best Buy's return policies.
****This is not a gaming laptop, and Lenovo should not claim that it is. It contains a pretty good GPU for a laptop but, again, this does not make it a gaming laptop. I have been able to run light games on it at the highest settings no issues. (I use a cooling pad which helps with this).
I would recomend this laptop depending on what you are using it for. You get what you pay for with this one (in a good way!).