We are pleased with the outcome because Lenovo essentially rectified every problem we had with the Yoga 9i from the previous year. But it’s also far more difficult to find the device now than it was a year ago. We wish it weren’t currently so tough to purchase this fantastic laptop, which continues getting better.
Lenovo’s high-end consumer laptops are some of the prettiest available. They don’t go through the same MIL-STD 810G durability testing as ThinkPads, and they aren’t matte black (this one is, of all things, a color called “Oatmeal”). With a stunning OLED touch screen, a 12th Generation Intel Core i7 CPU, and luxurious touches everywhere you turn, the 14-inch Yoga 9i Gen 7 is a 2-in-1 convertible. Our new Editors’ Choice winner among premium convertibles, it surpasses the HP Spectre x360 14 thanks to its more modern technology. ..
Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7 review: Design
The Lenovo Yoga 9i is a sleek, child-resistant home security system that would make an ideal addition to any home. It has a soft, rounded, glossy design that won’t hurt any fly, and it features a large Yoga logo with a contemporary, futuristic font.
The 360-degree hinge is a big part of the audio system on the Yoga 9i. It makes it easy to change positions, and there’s very little resistance when you switch between modes. ..
The laptop’s display looks to be taller than a conventional laptop panel. It has a 16:10 aspect ratio, which gives you more screen space than a typical 16:9 monitor. There are almost no bezels, although the top bezel has a little protrusion that accommodates a 1080p IR webcam. The chassis’ Storm Gray design is carried over to the deck. The enormous touchpad, which nearly occupies half of the deck, is one feature that attracted my attention.
The Yoga 9i is the lightest convertible we’ve examined in terms of weightlessness, but it’s also not the heaviest either. We can claim that it passed our one-hand test, since we were able to lift it with only our noodle arm without the aid of our other hand. Its dimensions are 12.5 x 9.06 x 0.6 inches and it weighs 3.1 pounds. It weighs the same as Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360, another 2-in-1 device. The Samsung convertible, on the other hand, has a larger 15.6-inch display and is smaller at 14 x 9 x 0.46 inches."
Keyboard and touchpad
The keyboard has a two-stage white illumination that can be turned on automatically with the help of an ambient light sensor. This is a good keyboard, and despite the minimal key travel (we estimate 1-1.2 mm), the keystrokes are quite accurate and solid. Regular keys type extremely quietly as well, adding to the feeling of high quality. There are still two problems: the bottom row of keys, particularly the space bar, have a tendency to clatter a little, and the extra column on the right side requires some getting used to. ..
The fingerprint scanner on the Lenovo Legion Y530 is not as helpful as it could be. The big clickpad glides smoothly and performs incredibly well, but the loud clicking sound that occurs when you really press it down is the main issue. We advise you to simply tap the pad to activate clicks.
Lenovo’s Precision Pen 2 is a new pen that can be recharged using USB-C. It is a bigger pen than the standard pen and looks similar to a standard pen. The larger pen will undoubtedly be a better choice if you take plenty of notes or write a lot, even though it is less comfortable to transport.
Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7 review: Display
The 14-inch touchscreen OLED display is ideal for watching videos. You’ll have more vertical room while navigating across online sites or viewing documents because of the 16:10 aspect ratio. The OLED screen makes content like the teaser trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder appear spectacular. The contrast between light and dark aspects, such as the vivid orange alien sunset and the thick shadows it cast, greatly impressed us. The sombre Moon Knight also has a great appearance.
Lenovo’s 2-in-1’s maximum brightness is 400 nits. The average brightness, according to our Tom’s Guide brightness test, was 351 nits. Even though it falls a little short of the advertised brightness, it outshines the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360’s 264 nits and surpasses its predecessor’s 334 nits. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio outshines them all, with an average brightness of 487 nits.
This laptop is better than the Galaxy Book Pro 360 and the Surface Laptop Studio. It has a better OLED display, outperforms the Galaxy Book Pro 360 in terms of performance, and supports 4K displays.
Audio
The Yoga 9i is a small laptop with respectable sound quality. It has two front-facing tweeters and two 3W subwoofers on the sides, which gives it good sound for a laptop. ..
This gadget has a very loud volume. Little Boots’ “Stuck on Repeat” blared around our apartment while we tested it. We discovered that we didn’t actually need to turn up the level past 65% to hear the song’s blend of synths, drumming, and sing-along vocals. While present, the bass was somewhat underwhelming. Although you may turn up the level even higher, we discovered that the sound started to become slightly distorted at the very top of the volume selections. ..
The laptop comes with Vantage software that has presets for music, movies, and games. The “dynamic” option to choose the optimal mode is actually a really good alternative, but we advise most people to continue with the default music setting. ..
Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7 review: Graphics
Since the new Alder Lake CPUs continue to use the well-known Iris Xe Graphics G7 with either 80 or 96 execution units, we can keep the GPU part brief. Our Core i7-1260P has the speedier model, which has 96 EUs and a 1.4 GHz maximum core clock. The overall performance remained constant, and the iGPU is still an excellent choice for routine chores like playing back high-resolution videos. Although the performance is consistent under heavy workloads, overall gaming performance is not great. You should concentrate on older or less demanding games since most games will only be played on low or medium settings; however, if you’re looking for high-end gaming experience then you should consider upgrading to a more powerful graphics card like an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 or 1080ti.
Performance
The Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 9i Gen 7 is a great laptop for general computing tasks. However, the fans can become quite noisy when performing more complex tasks.
The Yoga 9i is a great laptop for multitasking and streaming. Its performance was excellent in our benchmark tests and there was no noticeable delay when loading apps. ..
The Yoga 9i is a powerful 2-in-1 laptop that is great for general computing and tablet-focused duties. It averaged about 23 frames per second on Total War: Three Kingdoms even at low settings in 1080p. ..
The Yoga 9i Gen 7 from Lenovo is a great 2-in-1 laptop and tablet that offers a lot of features for video conferencing. With its Full HD camera and rapid backdrop blur option, the Yoga 9i Gen 7 is perfect for customers who are interested in using it as a laptop and tablet. The image clarity is crystal clear even in dim lighting, and the Yoga 9i Gen 7 is excellent when used as a tablet or laptop.
Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7 review: Battery life
Intel’s 12th-generation CPUs are efficient, but they also have a 75 watt-hour battery capacity. This is a lot for a 14-inch laptop, even one with an OLED display. Therefore, when assessing the laptop’s durability and making any judgments on Alder Lake CPUs, we must bear it in mind.
The Yoga 9i 14 Gen 7 is a budget-friendly device that falls short in terms of performance and durability. Its average score of just over nine hours is not enough to make it a viable option for those looking for an effective device. Additionally, its video test results were poor, running for only 12.75 hours.
The Yoga 9i 14 Gen 7 is a good laptop for productivity and gaming. Its battery life is good, and it lasts for an average of two hours in the PCMark 10 Applications battery test and an average of eight hours on the PCMark 10 Gaming battery test.
We found that the battery life wasn’t great on the Yoga 9i 14 Gen 7. Given that 12th-gen efficiency and the large battery in the Yoga 9i 14 Gen 7, we expected a longer battery life despite the high-resolution OLED display. However, as of right now, it doesn’t appear that Alder Lake inherently increases lifetime. Depending on your workload, the Yoga 9i 14 Gen 7 might allow you to complete a full day of work on a charge, but there is no guarantee.
Heat
We played a 15-minute, 1080p video to test the thermal performance of the Yoga 9i, and it’s one cool cucumber. Remember that our comfortable temperature range is 95 degrees Fahrenheit. At 81.5 degrees, the touchpad is still chilly. Center and bottom of the laptop’s keyboard measured 92.5 and 93.5 degrees, respectively. The laptop’s underside, next to the vent, reached a temperature of 101.5 degrees. also you can check our article on Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7 review
Configuration options
Lenovo Yoga 9i: 12th Generation Intel CPU, starting at $1,078
Our evaluation machine has the same hardware as the aforementioned setup, but it also has 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and an OLED panel with a resolution of 2880 x 1800 pixels. The cost is currently unknown because we can’t seem to discover a product listing for this particular item. In order to clarify its MSRP, we contacted Lenovo; once we hear back, we’ll update this area. If you want something more upscale, you can purchase the Yoga 9i with a 4K display for $1,759.
Conclusion
We really like this laptop. It’s really interesting and we’ve never been able to merge our devices before, so it’s great that we can still use our laptops and tablets separately. Each has its own applications and we usually make the most of each one, but if we wanted to ditch a tablet, this would be the perfect choice!
If you own an iPad, it won’t be as good of a replacement as an iPad because iOS is different from Windows. However, if you’re on the fence about buying an iPad and mostly use your computer for media consumption, the Yoga might be a good choice. We might use it to browse the internet or watch a movie because it is portable and lightweight. However, we still choose an iPad or even the Surface Pro for taking notes. ..
