Like the Apple silicon in modern MacBook Pros, RTX Spark is an Arm-based processor with a beefy integrated GPU and plenty of unified memory. And the Yoga is the most fun RTX Spark laptop yet because it’s a 16-inch 2-in-1 convertible with a stylus. Their Nvidia-powered compatriots also have touchscreens, like most Windows laptops, but they are conventional clamshell designs.
The Lenovo Yoga does all the typical 2-in-1 things: it can be used as a foldable laptop, and you can fold its hinge completely back for tent mode and tablet mode. As a tablet, you can use it in landscape or portrait orientation, and removing the keyboard is ideal for watching movies, gaming with a controller, or integrating your laptop into a multi-monitor desktop setup with keyboard and mouse.
The Yoga 9n’s included stylus is for taking notes and drawing on its excellent OLED display, but you can also use it on the haptic trackpad for a Wacom-like experience, without blocking the screen with your hand. And the stylus is magnetic, allowing it to attach to the lid of the Yoga, either alone or while housed in its case. I especially enjoy using the Yoga stylus to touch up photos in Lightroom Classic or Photoshop. I haven’t used a stylus for that kind of work in a long time, since I gave up my old Wacom, but having one that works on the screen or trackpad is incredibly convenient.
I hope a MacBook Pro with a touch screen supports Apple Pencil. And just like Lenovo, it would help a lot to go back to using a stylus for retouching. But I hope that, like Lenovo, it also works on the trackpad – the more options, the better. And if a touch MacBook is compatible with the Apple Pencil (which ought), I also hope it connects to the laptop, both for convenience and for wireless charging, like on the iPad Pro. Lenovo’s stylus relies on USB-C charging, which is nice, but it’s not as convenient as always having it charged and ready to go while connected to your laptop.
I don’t expect Apple to make a standard convertible laptop after all this time. Simply joining Windows makers to create a 2-in-1 or swapping out the MacBook Pro’s Mini LED for an OLED touchscreen and calling it a day doesn’t seem very Apple. I’m hoping for something special, like Apple’s version of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio (a clever idea that moved the touchscreen forward instead of rotating it back) or something entirely new. And there are signs in macOS 27 that Apple is updating Golden Gate to make touch functions feel more natural than just tapping and pressing things designed for the mouse cursor. As fun as I find 2-in-1 Windows laptops and Chromebooks, using those desktop operating systems with a finger or stylus can be tricky.
I’m really hoping Apple surprises us, because this touch-enabled MacBook Pro is sure to be expensive. And Apple’s recent design decisions aren’t perfect. The HomeView’s lack of apps is disconcerting. The iPhone Duo is a bit of a mess. Today’s MacBooks are so great that it’s easy to forget that the butterfly keyboard fiasco didn’t happen that long ago. After all this time waiting to add a touchscreen to the MacBook, Apple has to make it worth it. he.
Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
