This round mini PC is big on personality – here’s why I recommend it

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The image above is not an Apple Mac Mini or even the Satechi CubeDock. It’s Lenovo’s new compact PC, the Yoga Mini Gen 11, featuring a round form factor and some unique features. It’s definitely one of the smaller PCs I’ve tested, with respectable hardware designed for everyday, mainstream use. 

Its design is interesting: the aluminum exterior helps dissipate heat effectively, allowing the system to maintain high performance for extended periods. Plus, its diminutive size makes it ideal for cramped workspaces, but comes with its own set of challenges, as well. 

Also: This Lenovo Yoga rivaled my MacBook Air in ways I didn’t expect it to

What’s particularly interesting, however, is its set of features I’ve never seen on a mini PC before. Its this combination of hardware and software that helps the 11th-Gen Yoga Mini carve out its own identity in a crowded market — even if it’s not a performance powerhouse.   

Specs and design

I couldn’t get over how compact this PC was during testing. To put its size into perspective, it is the same size as the Soundcore Space One Pro when folded, a pair of headphones lauded for their ability to shrink. It only weighs 1.32 pounds, so it’s easy to move between home and office.

Lenovo also gave it a decent selection of ports. As you can see in the specs table above, the PC has multiple USB-C inputs, including two supporting Thunderbolt 4, one HDMI 2.1 video output, and an Ethernet port for wired internet. That’s enough connectivity to support multiple peripherals without needing a docking station.

The downside to this port array is cable management. Because the Yoga Mini is circular, the ports point in different directions. As a result, connected cables sprawl out, creating a tangle of wires. Your Ethernet and power adapter go off to the right, while your headphone jack and keyboard cable go off to the left.

Also: I found a dual-display USB-C dock with 8 ports – and no bulky AC brick

Around the base is an LED ring. That is Adaptive Lighting, one of the PC’s signature features. It activates in response to certain stimuli. For example, if you receive a notification, it will softly pulse. If you’re playing music, the light will flicker in time with the audio. On top of the PC is a touchpad. Tapping it once toggles Adaptive Lighting, while a double-tap triggers Voice Chat mode. 

The touch panel, as well as the light, can be configured to activate connected apps via the AI Turbo Engine, a customization app with a refreshingly simple interface. Neither of these are ground-breaking features, but they do give the desktop a bit of personality that most competing systems don’t offer. 

Perhaps the most interesting feature is Intel’s Wi-Fi Sensing. Inside the PC is a special sensor that can detect disturbances in nearby Wi-Fi signals caused by people approaching. When it recognizes your presence, it automatically wakes up, illuminates the Adaptive Lighting Ring, and lets you sign in. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work in theory. 

In practice, I found Wi-Fi Sensing inconsistent. Sometimes the Yoga Mini woke the moment I got close, other times it remained asleep until I pressed the power button, and on a few occasions, it woke up in the middle of the night. Granted, my workspace is a bit cluttered. Perhaps all the different devices on it may have messed with the sensor, but regardless of the cause, I couldn’t reasonably rely on it.

Performance

As you can see in the specs table above, my review unit was not exactly a powerhouse. It ran on an Intel Core Ultra 5 325 processor with 16GB of RAM, which won’t break any performance records, but did allow it to excel as a productivity machine. As part of testing, I ran the newly released Geekbench 7 testing program to see how it performed. 

Also: This free Windows 11 tool can rescue your PC when things go wrong – here’s how

During testing, the PC earned a top single score of 2,363 and a top multi-core score of 11,371. These numbers indicate strong everyday performance, responsive multitasking, and fast app launches. My hands-on experience reflected those findings, as most programs installed in mere seconds, and the system woke from sleep almost instantly.

The Yoga Mini had no trouble handling my typical workload, which often includes dozens of Chrome tabs, Spotify running in the background, Microsoft Office apps, and high-resolution YouTube livestreams playing simultaneously. Both the Intel processor and 16GB of RAM worked perfectly in unison to keep everything feeling seamless. I even played Genshin Impact through Google Play Games with minimal slowdown.

Hardware may be solid overall, though it has its limits. The Yoga Mini isn’t built for complex 3D projects or professional video editing. It also trails behind some competing mini PCs, including Lenovo’s own IdeaCentre Mini X, which offers more raw processing power. Still, numbers aren’t everything. For everyday productivity, the 11th-Gen Yoga Mini provides a highly polished experience at an affordable price. 

ZDNET’s buying advice

Normally, my review unit of the Lenovo Yoga Mini Gen 11 retails for $1,000, but at the time of this writing, it’s currently on sale for $750 at Best Buy. I think that’s a fair price for what you’re getting. If your workflow demands more horsepower, Best Buy also offers a version of the Yoga Mini with an Intel Core Ultra X7 processor, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD for $1,490.