Lenovo Yoga C940-15 display is brighter than every HP Spectre laptop thus far

With the exception of some high-end flagship laptops like the Dell XPS 15, Apple MacBook Pro, or Huawei MateBook X Pro, most laptop displays tend to top out at around 300 nits. The glossy touchscreens on convertible laptops, however, ought to be brighter since users would be more likely to use the system outdoors where there is stronger ambient lighting to overcome. Lenovo has apparently recognized this need as its high-end Yoga C940 series is advertised with an above-average backlight brightness of 500 nits.

The direct competitor to the 15.6-inch Yoga C940 convertible is the HP Spectre x360 15 and so a Spectre model is also expected to have a brighter-than-average display. Unfortunately, this not the case as every Spectre laptop we've tested thus far has a display brightness of only 300 to 350 nits. One model in particular, the atypical Spectre Folio, comes close to 400 nits. If you intend to use your 15.6-inch convertible laptop outdoors often, then the Lenovo convertible will be the objectively brighter option compared to the HP equivalent.

To HP's credit, the company offers laptops with 1000-nit display options to be over two times brighter than most other systems. The problem is that only certain flagship business laptops from HP can be configured with the super-bright display while the consumer-centric Spectre series continues to be stuck on "regular" 300-nit panels. The Spectre x360 15 OLED configuration may be brighter, but we've yet to test this particular SKU ourselves.