Lenovo launched a new Yoga computer, but it’s not a laptop – it’s the new Yoga AIO 7 desktop. But while it may look like a standard all-in-one desktop, like its more portable cousins, Yoga AIO 7 has a display trick on the sleeve: the entire screen can rotate, turning the 27-inch landscape monitor into a vertical form factor.
Of course, the ability to rotate a screen is not an entirely new idea. Standalone desktop monitors have been offering the feature for years, making it easier for users to display content more suited to a taller panel, such as Twitter feeds, long documents or TikTok videos. But it is much rarer to see the concept on an all-in-one computer.
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The idea is reminiscent of Samsung’s Sero TV from last year, a similar rotating product that expanded the idea to a 43-inch television in response to the popularity of vertical video formats from apps like Instagram and TikTok (which in turn is directly due to the ubiquity of smartphones with video cameras). Lenovo appears to be aware of the potential for a vertical TV, promising a future software update that will allow the AIO 7 to function as a full 4K smart TV.
As for the specifications, Yoga AIO 7 offers a choice between two 27-inch 4K panels (one regular and one that meets Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 color standards); a choice between AMD’s Ryzen 7 4800H and Ryzen 5 4500H CPUs; Nvidia’s integrated RTX 2060 GPU; 16 GB or 32 GB of RAM; and a mix of PCIe and HDD storage options (at most, 1 TB SSD and 2 TB hard drive, respectively).
It’s noteworthy how Lenovo is taking advantage of USB-C with Yoga AIO 7. Connect your laptop with a USB-C cable and you’ll be able to use the Yoga AIO 7 hardware – including the display, speakers, mouse and keyboard , power supply and even the integrated hard drive – directly with your laptop.
Yoga AIO 7 is now available in China (where it is called Yoga 27), but will be launched in “select markets” in February starting at $ 1,599.