Lenovo YOGA plays three trump cards. The mid-life crisis forces Lenovo to innovate subversively

In 2016, Lenovo is already 32 years old. As a national enterprise entering middle age, its every move will become the center of discussion.

On September 21, Lenovo held a new product launch conference and officially released three products that had been widely acclaimed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Berlin, Germany: YOGA BOOK, YOGA 5 Pro; and Miix 5.

YOGA has gradually become an extremely important sub-brand of Lenovo's PC business since 2012. The three new products launched this time are also quite bright, which shows Lenovo's positive attitude and efforts to reverse the current situation of its PC business.

The new YOGA series that makes people shine

The newly released YOGA series products have their own characteristics, mainly including the YOGA BOOK, the world's first paper-screen synchronization, thinnest and lightest two-in-one tablet; the YOGA 5 Pro, the world's first 4K ultra-narrow border, thin and light flagship notebook equipped with the seventh-generation Intel® Core™ processor; and the Miix 5, a two-in-one notebook with fully upgraded performance and configuration. The three products represent the latest innovative achievements of the Lenovo YOGA family.

The most popular among consumers is YOGA BOOK, which integrates new technologies such as Lingguang keyboard, original handwriting, paper-screen synchronization, and screen-off pen writing, representing the innovative trend of the two-in-one tablet market. Users can spread paper on the handwriting board to write or draw, and use the "paper-screen synchronization" function to display it on the screen simultaneously. At the 2016 Berlin Consumer Electronics Show (IFA), YOGA BOOK won 27 awards including the "Most Innovative Award".

Unique design has always been the most distinctive mark of YOGA. As the world's first 4K ultra-narrow bezel notebook, the screen side width of YOGA 5 Pro is 4.95 mm, and the screen-to-body ratio is as high as 81.5%. YOGA 5 Pro also continues the classic design of YOGA and further improves the details. For the first time, it adopts an integrated all-aluminum body, hides the air outlet at the junction of the hinge and the keyboard surface, and integrates the antenna into the bracelet-style hinge, making the whole machine feel lighter and thinner. At the same time, it is also the world's first notebook with fingerprint security payment function.

Another new product brought to the conference is the Miix 5, a 2-in-1 notebook with fully upgraded performance and configuration. Compared with the previous generation, Miix 5 has been upgraded to the sixth-generation Intel® Core™ processor, with a 50% improvement in overall performance. At the same time, the memory has been upgraded to DDR4, ensuring higher bandwidth and faster speed, and can run large games smoothly. As a compact 2-in-1 device, Miix 5 has a very complete range of interfaces, including 1 USB 3.0 interface, a USB Type-C interface, and a 3.5mm headphone and microphone jack.

In terms of price, YOGA BOOK starts at 3,499 yuan, and Miix 5 starts at 4,399 yuan. Both products will be launched on JD.com and Lenovo's official store at midnight on September 22. The price of YOGA 5 Pro has not been announced yet.

Innovation is a topic that can never be exhausted for Lenovo

Lenovo, which has already entered its 30th year, is now facing the "fourth hurdle," as Liu Chuanzhi put it. As the world's largest PC manufacturer, Lenovo is deeply concerned about the sluggish PC market.

The global PC market has experienced a double-digit decline for four consecutive quarters. Lauren Lawward, vice president of IDC, said that such a continuous decline is "unprecedented." This news is not only a bolt from the blue for Lenovo, but also for PC manufacturers such as Dell and HP. The adverse impact of the decline in PC sales on these companies has lasted for several years. Under such circumstances, PC manufacturers are hoping to save themselves through innovation.

In the past few years, Lenovo's R&D investment has been compared with Huawei. It has been accused of lack of innovation and its new products are unable to resist competitors. Large sums of money have been invested in the acquisition of IBM servers and Motorola. Lenovo still seems to attach more importance to achieving change through the integration of markets and marketing channels.

However, the current CEO Yang Yuanqing's determination to improve Lenovo's technological innovation capabilities is very obvious. He has also publicly stated on many occasions that Lenovo is continuously increasing its investment in R&D costs.

Tong Fuyao, senior vice president of Lenovo Group and president of China, said: "YOGA has always been striving to explore the unknown. Lenovo hopes that every YOGA product can maintain the characteristics of unique design, fresh technology and thoughtful applications to bring users the most perfect user experience." For the PC business, unlike Apple, Lenovo's innovation is more segmented.

He believes that "what Lenovo can do is to continuously segment the market under the guidance of a customer-oriented strategy, and to conduct research on these segments to launch a corresponding series of products." Regarding the development of the PC market, Tong Fuyao believes that users' demand for updates will be very strong, and there will be very strong growth in certain segments.

The new YOGA series products launched by Lenovo this time include innovations in details as well as disruptive innovations like YOGA BOOK. There are always some points that can hit the pain points of consumers' needs.

Whether it is the recently released MOTO Z or today's YOGA, the middle-aged Lenovo has begun to try to make constant changes. The road to innovation cannot be smooth sailing, but if it wants to be reborn from the ashes and keep the title of the world's number one, it is time to fight to the death.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.