Lenovo Yoga 13.3" 13w Yoga Gen 2 Thunder Black 2023

Good six-core performance in a light, touchscreen body, but the 8GB RAM and tiny SSD will annoy you sooner than you think. Buy it for basic work, not for heavy multitasking.

The Ryzen 5 7530U surprised us. Six cores at 2.0GHz base clock is more than enough for browser tabs, Office apps, and light photo work. The compact score sits in the 91st percentile, which means this thing is genuinely easy to carry at 3.34 lbs. But the RAM and storage are the weak links. 8GB of DDR4 and a 256GB SSD land in the 14th and 16th percentiles respectively. That's rough. You'll feel it the moment you open 20 Chrome tabs or try to keep a few large files local.

Against the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition, the Yoga 13w Gen 2 is cheaper but feels cheaper too. The Surface has better build quality and a more premium screen. The ASUS ProArt PX13 is in a different league for creators, with far better GPU options. And the Apple MacBook Pro M5? Not even the same conversation. If you need a basic touchscreen laptop for school or light office work, the Yoga holds its own. But if you're doing anything beyond that, the Surface or a mid-range ASUS will serve you better.

At $609 USD, this is a fair deal for a Ryzen 5 2-in-1 with Windows 11 Pro. But the RAM and storage limitations mean you're likely to outgrow it faster than you'd like. If you can find a config with 16GB of RAM for a bit more, do that instead. As configured, it's a decent budget pick, not a long-term workhorse.

The Lenovo Yoga 13w Gen 2 is a compact 2-in-1 that nails the basics for students and office workers who need a touchscreen without spending a fortune. The Ryzen 5 7530U gives it real six-core muscle, and the 13.3-inch 1920x1200 display is sharp enough for daily work. But the 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD feel tight in 2025, and that's where this thing starts to show its budget roots.

If you're a power user who keeps 30 browser tabs open while editing photos and running Slack, this isn't your machine. The 8GB RAM will choke. Go get a Lenovo ThinkPad or a Surface Laptop with 16GB instead. Also skip it if you need serious storage, 256GB is gone before you know it.

The Lenovo Yoga 13w Gen 2 is a solid budget 2-in-1 for students and light office users who want a touchscreen and Windows 11 Pro without spending a lot. The Ryzen 5 is genuinely good, but the 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD cap its potential. If you can live with those limits, it's a decent buy. If you can't, save up for something with more memory.