My New Laptop!

Below is the story of how I got my new laptop as well as a chart comparing it to me old one along with some input on what I think about it. You can check out my unboxing/ review video here as well.

Link to my unboxing/review video:

https://youtu.be/sP3b0Rh3cVU

When I was in graduate school, I was given a laptop by the college I was attending. I loved that laptop. It had a built-in pen and had a tablet mode. Unfortunately, despite all the sports and dance that I did growing up, I can be clumsy and oblivious. I accidentally stepped on it. However, this laptop somehow managed to continue working... sort of. The screen was cracked and the touch screen didn't work right. I had to stop using the built-in pen and the tablet function. I also had to turn off the touch screen function.

Fast forward and I stepped on it again. I thought, "Surely it's broken and done for this time." To my greatest surprise, I found that while the mouse pad needed deactivated, I could still use the little red circle mouse pad or use an external mouse. It could still work! So, over the last few years, I have said that I need to get a new laptop, but my sad old laptop just kept chugging along, doing what I needed.

Last year, I found myself getting frustrated when it came to digitalizing my art for book covers, working on my comic, and for creating products for the merch store. My tablet is a bit of a nightmare to use because it is so old. It is slow and hard to work with. While I realized this, I started having more issues with my laptop. It would suddenly crash or the screen would freeze and I would have to completely restart it, sometimes losing some of my work in the process. More recently, I've started to have issues with the battery, and the screen will flicker now and then.

When I was making my plan for 2026, I finally came to the determination that I really did need a new laptop. I didn't want to be working on my book and lose half of it or something. I also wanted something that would be more powerful and easier to use to make my covers and other digital art. I messaged back and forth with my dad, sometimes sending him a laptop. He ended up suggesting that I increase my budget and get something better than what I was looking at because that is what I'll need in the long run. So, I did it. After a lot of research, I found a laptop and it turns out it's in the same series as my old one. I decided to do a breakdown of the specifications of my old laptop compared to my new one and film my unboxing of my new laptop. The video is at the top of this page but here is my chart down below.

Area	ThinkPad Yoga 380 (S-90V1C6N)	Yoga 7 2-in-1 (16AKP10)
Processor (CPU)	Intel(R) Core (TM) i5-8250U CPU @ 1.60GHz 1.80 GHz	AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 w/ Radeon 840M (2.00 GHz)
Memory (RAM)	8.00 GB (7.90 GB usable)	16.0 GB (15.2 GB usable)
System Type	64-bit operating system, x64-based processor	64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Storage	237 GB	477 GB
Display	Desktop resolution: 1920x1080 Active signal resolution: 1920x1080 Refresh rate (Hz): 60 Hz (current stats read at 59.984Hz) Bit depth: 8-bit Color format: RGB Color space: Standard dynamic Range (SDR)	Desktop mode: 1920x1200, 60Hz Active signal mode: 1920x 1200, 60Hz Variable refresh rate: Supported by driver Bit depth: 8-bit Color format: RGB Color Space: Standard dynamic Range (SDR)
Battery Life	3-12 hours (personally, this is about right depending on what you are doing)	up to 16 hours depending on use (I have been able to go about this long but it's hard to tell battery use right now since I just got it)
Graphics Card (GPU)	Intel(R) UHD Graphics 620	AMD Radeon(TM) 840M Graphics 512 MB
How it feels and looks subjectively	It feels nice and lightweight. It has often been mistaken as an apple laptop at first glance. It is on the smaller side making it very convenient for traveling with it.	It is a little heavier than the Yoga 380 but still very lightweight. My first impression was that it's fairly sturdy, but the longer I have it, the more fragile it seems. I think perhaps this has more to do with my fear of breaking it right after I got it... It looks very sleek and nice. I like how shiny the Lenovo logo is. It is a lot bigger than I am used to but I'm growing accustomed to it. It does make it harder to travel with though.
How it feels to type	I love typing on this thing, but I can definitely tell that the keys are worn out. You can see on the space bar where it has been smoothed down from my thumbs hitting it. The keys all work, though, and I still enjoy using it.	I wasn't sure how I felt about typing at first, but after a minute or so, I knew I liked it. It isn't as satisfying as some other keyboards but it is still very enjoyable to type on. A note on the backlight for the keys is that if the angle of the screen is too far towards the keys, you can see the light reflecting obnoxiously off the screen, even with the dimmest light.
2 in 1 experience	I loved using the 2 in 1 feature of this laptop. It came with a pen and the pen was very nice to use in tablet mode, especially to sign documents which I have to do for my job all the time.	I love it even more than my experience with the 380. It did not come with a pen, but the pen that I did buy with it (Lenovo-Digital Pen 2). The pen works really well with it. Creating my new cover for my book coming out this month was such an amazingly wonderful experience. I am so glad I got this laptop and pen to do that.
Making art experience	I remember trying to draw in tablet mode and it was okay... I definitely wasn't as skilled with it as I am now, though, which I think makes a huge difference. Unfortunately, it is too broken now for me to do a better comparison in this area.	I kind of answered this above already but I looooove making art with this laptop. I feel so much more willing to work on the art related things such as designs for the merch store, cover art, and Stories Have Power. It is so nice to finally have a way to digitize my art without relying on someone else's device or my ancient tablet to do so.
Video editing experience	Video editing can be a bit slow, but it does what I need it to.	I've only edited one video with my new laptop so far, but it was a decent experience. I wouldn't say it's the best thing experience ever. It's a little faster than the old laptop but considering that one was 6 years old and stepped on twice, I think it deserves a bit of grace. I think it also might be impacted by the software I'm using as well, which isn't premium editing software (it's Clipchamp in case you're wondering). I do prefer plugging in an external mouse to video edit as opposed to using the mouse pad. Since the mouse pad is all one piece with no separate "clicking" buttons, I feel it makes it harder to drag and drop things in general. However, the touch screen feature definitely helps in that area. This is possibly more of a preference than a downside.
Overall	For being 6 years old, this laptop has really held up. It has gotten the job done and withstood my clumsiness far better than I expected it to.	I have had this laptop for a few weeks, and I love it. I have found myself getting used to the different features and ended up purchasing better software for digitizing my art. After getting past the learning curve of that application, I have had an amazing time making art on my laptop. The pen and laptop work really well together. I wish that the pen could slide into a pocket in the laptop for safe keeping like my last laptop though. I'm constantly worried I'm going to lose it somewhere, especially if I go out and about. In terms of speed, I'd say this laptop is pretty average. I enjoy typing on it, but I will say it is not as satisfying as some keyboards. Still, I love this laptop overall and am very happy with it. Now to see if it can live up to or even exceed the durability of its predecessor.

Going into this, I expected to be highly impressed and amazed by my new laptop. I mean, my previous one is 6 years old and technology is constantly improving and changing at an exponential pace. It won't be long before my new laptop falls far behind but for now, I will enjoy the improved experience.

None of this was sponsored by the way. Here are the links to everything.

Best Buy Laptop Link- https://www.bestbuy.com/product/lenovo-yoga-7-2-in-1-copilot-pc-16-2k-lcd-touchscreen-laptop-amd-ryzen-ai-5-340-2025-16gb-memory-512gb-ssd-seashell/JJGSHC52HW

Best Buy Pen Link- https://www.bestbuy.com/product/lenovo-digital-pen-2-gray/JJGCYLHP39