ThinkPad L380 Yoga Offers World-Facing Camera in Affordable Package

Lenovo's new ThinkPad L380 Yoga is not only the company's least-expensive business 2-in-1, but also its most versatile. The 13-inch convertible starts at just $1,049 and is the only Yoga you can use to capture video and photos of the world in front of you.

Designed for education and small business, the L380 Yoga has a camera above the keyboard that faces you when you've got it in tablet mode. According to Lenovo, many teachers want to be able to photograph projects for class, and in vertical industries such as construction, being able to capture images is critical.

I had a chance to spend a few moments with the Yoga L380 and it appeared to have the same strong build quality and sturdy hinges that we've found on other ThinkPad Yogas. However, unlike the X1 Yoga, it does not have a keyboard that retracts when you bend it.

The ThinkPad Yoga L380 weighs a reasonable 3.44 pounds and is a decent 0.74 inches thick, which makes it thicker and heavier than the 14-inch X1 Yoga, but the lighter laptop costs a whopping $840 more and doesn't have the world-facing camera.

The L380 Yoga is available in both traditional Lenovo black and a new graphite color that's darker and more refined than the silver finish on 2017 ThinkPads. Like all ThinkPads, it has passed several Mil-Spec durability tests.

The laptop has plenty of room for ports, including two USB Type-C connectors (not Thunderbolt 3). three USB 3.0 ports and a full-size HDMI out connection. Lenovo claims that the L380 Yoga will last up to 12 hours on a charge.

On the inside, the ThinkPad Yoga L380 packs an Intel 8th Gen Core i5 or i7 CPU, up to 32GB of RAM and up to 512GB of PCIe SSD storage. The display panel carries a full HD, 1920 x 1080 resolution.

Lenovo says that the ThinkPad Yoga L380 should be available later this month. If you're looking for a business-class 2-in-1 with a sense of style and plenty of functionality, it could be for you.

Laptop Guide

The official Geeks Geek, as his weekly column is titled, Avram Piltch has guided the editorial and production of Laptopmag.com since 2007. With his technical knowledge and passion for testing, Avram programmed several of LAPTOP's real-world benchmarks, including the LAPTOP Battery Test. He holds a master's degree in English from NYU.