The Lenovo Yoga A940 all-in-one might give the Surface Studio a run for its money

Photo by Lenovo

Not too long time ago, digitalEPIGRAPHY wrote about the release of the Surface Studio 2, the second iteration of Microsoft’s attempt on designing an all-in-one creative desktop computer for the wealthiest of the creative community. Although we found the high price quite off-putting when considering the Surface 2 as a serious contender in digital epigraphy, we must admit that we were quite impressed by its specifications and overall quality. Undoubtedly, with the Surface 2, Microsoft created a top-notch studio device which hasn’t had any serious contenders until now. It seemed natural to ask if it’s influencing any other PC manufacturers to follow in their footsteps. Now we have an answer coming fresh from the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES), where Lenovo announced its Yoga A940, a desktop all-in-one with a movable display aimed at digital content creators. Although judging by the looks, the comparison with the Surface Studio seems valid, there are some unique twists in the design and function Lenovo brings to the table, that are worth mentioning.

First and foremost, while the Studio accommodates a low-powered laptop processor, the Yoga A940 has a powerful desktop-class engine (Intel Core i7-8700 65 Watt) that seems more capable when using Photoshop on demanding tasks and keeps the overall cost at bay - another significant distinction between Lenovo’s solution and the Surface Studio. Another smart innovation is the Yoga A940's content creation dial which is included with each computer. This dial plugs into either the right- or left-hand side depending on your preference. It sits at the middle of the display providing a more natural position than Microsoft’s Surface Dial. It has two dials and a push button to toggle the menu or toggle functions. For functions, the artist can use the dial to assign settings and features in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom and more changing brush stroke, tip size, opacity, and flow rate.

Photo by Lenovo

The unique dial aside, the first thing anybody will notice about the A940 is its stunning 27-inch QHD or 4K IPS touch display, which include the ability to tilt it to a 25-degree drafting mode for drawing or sketching. When used for inking in the studio, the Yoga supports the Lenovo Active Pen which can be stored on the innovative mat that sits below the display. Not that it’s tremendously relevant for digital documentation, but the mat also has Qi wireless charging for your smartphone and can be used to store the keyboard and mouse when not in use. Furthermore, Lenovo is also including a generous range of ports, with four USB 3 ports, two USB 2 ports, a single USB 3.1 port, and a 3-in-1 card reader. The whole design of the Yoga A940 is meant to allow hiding of the desktop accessories like the keyboard, mouse, and pen when in drafting mode versus the Surface Studio, where you must push it all to the side. 

Photo by Lenovo

The base of the machine includes the Dolby Atmos Speaker System for rich audio experience. In addition to its built-in front-facing speakers, the Yoga A940 also comes with a second set of speakers under the display to ensure decent sound experience even when in drawing mode. Let us give you some more of the important specifics: The Yoga A940 is powered by up to 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processors, AMD Radeon RX 560 discrete graphics, up to 32GB DDR4 memory and up to 512GB PCIe SSD or up to 2TB SATA HDD storage. Yet another potential bonus is that users can access the innards of the Yoga A940 through the removal of a few screws on top of the base. Once opened, owners can swap out and upgrade the storage and even the RAM to extend their machine’s life down the road. 

Finally, The Lenovo Yoga A940 will start at $2,349.99 (which is more than $1000 cheaper than the starting price of Microsoft’s Surface Studio 2) letting more of us give some serious thoughts to the 27-inch all-in-one digital drawing experience. Combined with Lenovo's flexible worldwide shipping strategy, the Yoga A940 is likely to be a more realistic option if you ever consider ditching your Wacom drawing display. Lenovo’s creative workstation will be available starting April 2019, you can register on their website to read more or get notified when it is released. If you’d like to know more about the initial impressions of the Yoga A940 in real-use scenarios, digitalEPIGRAPHY would like to recommend reading this article.