The desktop computer, once a dream for any household, has slowly taken the backseat as more and more people opt for laptops. Hang on. What has become less popular is the presence of big black cabinets containing the CPU and a thousand wires attached to it. The all-in-one or AIO continues to do brisk business as these save desk space and serve as the family computer.
There are two ways to look at AIO PCs. The first category comprises AIOs that have squeezed components to give us a space-saving form factor but are not powerful enough to see you through video editing. Then there are those that are powerful enough to last several years. Either way, there is the advantage of buying everything you need at once, instead of piecing together components, which can be a costly affair. Plus, the screen size is far bigger than on laptops. It is also important to remember that AIOs rarely have room for upgrades, so buy something looking at your workflow five-six years down the line.
Most AIOs turn out to be problematic because they are either too expensive or not powerful enough. The Apple iMac defies this issue because it strikes a good balance, especially after its M1 refresh last year. What about a Windows alternative? Companies keep coming up with options but it’s tough to recommend most of them. An exception is the new Lenovo Yoga AIO 7. Since remote working is not going away anytime soon, Lenovo has made the effort to deliver an AIO that should keep you company for years. Even if you go back to office full-time, this will be a great device to have at home for the family.
The keyboard and mouse connect via Bluetooth
It’s for everyone
The good thing about having the Yoga AIO 7 is that everyone in the family can use it because it comes with a full-size keyboard that has keys spaced out, a monitor that’s optimal for use over long hours each day and has an audio set-up that’s loud enough. So my wife can work on new 3D interior-designing maps or my daughter can type out her notes and connect with her friends over video call without having to squint. As for me, I like working on machines that make you feel like the king of the tech hill. Video and photo editing, everyday office work via remote desktop login, editing podcasts or simply finding some me-time by checking out a streaming service.
The set up is (almost) simple. The AIO has the monitor attached to a well-designed stand and there is a biggish speaker below the monitor. You can easily swivel the monitor to become a vertical display that helps while editing photographs or watching videos that have been uploaded in portrait format.
The rig weighs around 12-13kgs, so watch your back while taking it out of the box because it’s a single unit. Place it on the table, plug it in and connect the Bluetooth-enabled keyboard and mouse. Personally, it took me quite a few minutes to wirelessly connect the accessories but once done, the machine worked flawlessly. Needless to say, AIOs are usually not moved around the house because, hey, it’s a big desktop computer.
The speaker is loud enough to fill a room
Big on screen estate and audio
The biggest advantage of having an AIO is massive screen estate. Here it’s a 27-inch 4K UHD (3840x2160) touch display. Yes, that’s a beauty to have. It supports 99 per cent Adobe RGB colour gamut and DCI-P3 colour space, so colour reproduction will not be an issue. No matter the angle you view it from you will always get clarity while the touch display response is stunning. I worked with the onscreen keyboard as much as the Bluetooth-enabled, coming away very happy. Not just the screen, the audio this machine produces is enough to fill a mid-sized room. And it’s not always about loudness — there is a good soundstage, vocals are crisp, and sound separation is exceptionally good.
There is another aspect to the screen — you can use it on its own or connect it to your laptop via USB-C to charge your battery while using the AIO’s keyboard, mouse, display, and speakers for the laptop. The two devices can even share their respective storage drives. In case you have multimedia content on your phone or tablet, take advantage of the gorgeous rotatable screen via wireless casting.
The all-in-one has a processor powerful enough to see you through a few years
Capable processor for most tasks
Of course, it all comes down to performance and that too for years. The review unit is powered by an AMD Rysen 7 5800H with Radeon Graphics, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage.
The computer feels responsive even with multiple apps are open. Even after doing a bit of photo and video editing, things don’t slow down. In fact, the processor could be overkill for most tasks one usually asks out of an AIO. If you really need to do something very powerful, like high-end editing or workstation application, you would need something with a discreet GPU. But for some 4K video editing, this is just a fine option.
As far as gaming goes, the onboard graphics are fine if you play less-demanding titles or drop the settings a bit to play complicated titles. My favourite game, Age of Empires, played out easily and had smooth graphics. The PC remains silent the whole time, so if you are using something like this in your office, there will be no issues.
My workflow will probably not change too much over the next few years. There will still be video and audio editing, office-related work, browsing and handling a lot of Word documents and Excel sheets. The processor should serve me well. Being a full-fledged Windows computer, I don’t see any problems downloading software packages.
Should you buy it?
There are a few things to remember. I wish there were at least two USB-C ports given the machine’s pricing. Second, I like the Cloud Grey colour but more colour options would have helped. Barring these two quibbles, I like the clean lines on the machine and also the fact that there is a detachable 5MP IR webcam module which works well and comes with a privacy shutter.
Yes, it’s costly for a desktop but pricing is a very personal issue and if we can get over it then the machine is capable of basically all computing tasks — rendering 3D graphics to processor-intensive tasks like encoding videos and rendering complex spreadsheets as well as videos. Lenovo Yoga AIO 7 wins with its thoughtful design as well as innovative features.
The webcam is detachable and comes with a privacy shutter
At a glance
Device: Lenovo Yoga AIO 7
Price: 171999
High notes
- Clean design
- Excellent touch display
- The speaker easily fills a room
- Processor is powerful enough to see users through several years
- Easy to set up
- Screen can be rotated to edit portrait photos
Muffled notes
- More USB-C ports would have been better
- More colour options required