Lenovo Yoga C940 14 vs. Yoga C740 14: Which should you buy?

These two convertible laptops from Lenovo are available in both 14- and 15-inch versions, though here we're focusing on the smaller models. They follow a similar design, though the C740 is considerably less expensive than the C940 due to some premium hardware offerings in the latter laptop. Let's take a look at the hardware that makes up these two PCs.

Lenovo Yoga C940 14 vs. Yoga C740 14 tech specs

Features and design

The 14-inch C740 and C940 share almost the same footprint, and they're nearly the same weight. It's a sweet spot between a small 13-inch laptop and a large 15-inch laptop, ideal for those who want just a bit more screen real estate without getting too bulky. Both laptops have a slick aluminum convertible design with large Precision touchpad and comfortable keyboard.

While the C740 relies on a more traditional dual-hinge format that allows the display to rotate around to tent, stand, and tablet modes, the C940 brings a single hinge that doubles as a soundbar. It delivers robust audio helped along by Dolby Atmos, and because it rotates around with the display, sound goes unmuffled no matter how you're using the laptop. The C740 has top-firing speakers with Dolby Atmos; they pump out good audio, but in tablet mode, they're a bit inconvenient.

Neither laptop has an IR camera for facial recognition, though there is a webcam shutter for the 720p front-facing cam. For biometrics, both laptops have a fingerprint reader for Windows Hello. As for connectivity, the Yoga C740 is stuck at Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), whereas the C940 has optional Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) for improved wireless performance.

Ports are physically the same on both laptops, with two USB-C, one USB-A, and a 3.5mm audio jack. However, the C940's USB-C ports feature Thunderbolt 3 for improved performance. If you plan on using your device with a docking station, those Thunderbolt 3 ports will allow for more powerful docking options.

Display and inking

If you're in search of a laptop that can handle inking duties, either of these will work. However, only the Yoga C940 comes with an active pen included. In this case, the pen is sized to fit a built-in silo along the top edge of the laptop. It's more of a pencil size than the standard active pen, but it still gets the job done. The C740's active pen is sold separately — something like the Lenovo Active Pen 2 works — so you'll have to add the price to the total cost.

The Yoga C740 has a single display option available. It's touch to go along with the convertible design and set at 1920x1080 (FHD) with Dolby Vision. It hits about 300 nits brightness, which, along with a glossy finish, has a bit of trouble dealing with a well-lit room. In any case, it has good color for the average user, hitting 100% sRGB and 78% AdobeRGB coverage.

If you'd like to move up to a 4K touch display, you'll have to go with the Yoga C940. It's a beautiful screen, with Dolby Vision HDR400, about 500 nits brightness, and 90% DCI-P3 gamut coverage. There's also an FHD display option that costs less. It has a glossy finish like its counterpart in the Yoga C740, but it hits closer to 400 nits brightness, making it easier to use in a sunny space.

Performance and price

These two Ultrabooks forego a dedicated graphics card (GPU), at least at this size. If you'd like to take advantage of the extra performance, the 15-inch Yoga C940 offers an NVIDIA GTX 1650. Still, the 14-inch Yoga C940 is going to get better graphics performance than the C740 thanks to Intel Iris Plus integrated graphics that come with 10nm Intel "Ice Lake" CPUs.

The Yoga C740's 14nm "Comet Lake" CPUs don't have the extra graphics performance, but they do have higher base and turbo clock speeds. Both laptops ultimately bring four cores with Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs. With either laptop, you're going to be able to easily crush productivity work like word processing, heavy web browsing, video streaming, and even some light editing or gaming. The C940 can be had with up to 2TB of M.2 PCIe solid-state drive (SSD) storage straight from the factory, while the C740 caps out at 1TB. However, both laptops can be upgraded with a new SSD after purchase.

As for battery, the 60Wh battery in the C940 should last longer than the 51Wh option in the C740, at least when both have an FHD display. In our testing, the Yoga C740 hit about six hours from a charge when going about regular work.

The 14-inch Yoga C940 is a convertible Ultrabook with high-end specs

If you need a 14-inch convertible with optional 4K display, built-in active pen, Thunderbolt 3, soundbar hinge, and Wi-Fi 6 — seriously premium features — the Yoga C940 is for you. It costs more than the Yoga C740, but it's worth the extra money.

The 14-inch Yoga C740 is a more affordable option

Don't mind an FHD touch display, top-firing speakers, USB-C, and Wi-Fi 5? You're going to save a ton of money by going with the well-built Yoga C740.