Detailed Review of Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i in 2023

Detailed Review of Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i in 2023. Slim 9i (Gen 7) isn’t a 2-in-1 computer, unlike the majority of Lenovo’s Yoga laptops. Nonetheless, it is a high-end machine with an eye-catching appearance that works just as well as it appears.

Review of Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i (Gen 7):

This laptop is equally useful for work and play, especially if you work in the creative profession. It has a stunning display, a strong Intel processor, and some outstanding speakers. But is it really worth the high cost?

Build and design:

• Oatmeal finish
• Weighs 1.37kg
• No USB-A or HDMI ports

Its 14-inch laptop’s luxury appearance and feel, which rival some of the best in the industry, are its best features.

The color Lenovo refers to as “Oatmeal” has a unique but quite attractive finish. The keyboard and chassis are all a bright champagne color, while the exterior shell is composed of glossy white glass with a very basic Lenovo logo on the side. The Yoga Slim 9i stands out in a sea of plain black and silver computers, even if there are no other color options.

Because Lenovo’s premium laptops are only 14.9mm thick, it will fit comfortably inside a duffel or backpack. Although it isn’t the lightest on the market at 1.37kg, it doesn’t feel heavy in the hand. The 9i, although not a convertible, has a wide 180-degree radius and feels both flexible and robust, living up to its Yoga moniker.

There are three USB-C ports, three physical privacy shutters for the webcam, and Thunderbolt 4 support for quick data transfer on all of them. A side-mounted power button is also present, however, HDMI or USB-A connectors are absent.

Read more: The Review of Microsoft Surface Laptop: A Comprehensive Guide

Although Lenovo offers an adaptor in the box, it only has one HDMI port, one USB-A port, and an outdated VGA port.

The Trackpad, keyboard, and webcam:

• Lots of keyboard shortcuts are available
• Key travel feels quite shallow
• Odd stutter from the trackpad

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i’s keys have a large, curved form with a responsive fireback. The key travel is shallow, which could be problematic if you type quickly. They are, however, quite silent. There are three brightness settings for the keyboard’s backlight: always-on, automated, and off.

This gadget has a lot of shortcut buttons, like the spacebar, which also functions as a backlight key, and the F keys, which can be used to change the sound and brightness, expand the displays, enable airplane mode, and more. Although there are a lot of shortcuts to get used to, I generally thought they were useful improvements.

The trackpad occupies a substantial amount of room. The laptop occasionally stuttered when I turned it on, but these instances were few and far between.

The webcam is situated in the center of the screen, above the display, within a bezel that extends only a little bit from the top. It has twin microphones to enhance video conversations, a 1080p resolution, an infrared sensor for Windows Hello face unlock, and other features. For your peace of mind, the keyboard also has a privacy shutter button.

Face recognition seemed to operate fairly well to me. If you’re wearing spectacles, it may have problems recognizing you; therefore, I suggest enhancing recognition with a second scan through Settings. Nevertheless, there is no fingerprint reader present.

Screen & speakers:

• 2.8K touchscreen OLED display
• Display picks up marks
• Impressive audio

The 2.8K (28801800) OLED display on the Yoga Slim 9i has a 16:10 aspect ratio. This produces a screen that is crystal clear and brilliant, with colors that stand out and shine even when the brightness is dialed down.

This device has excellent viewing angles, however, if you use it near a window or in direct sunlight outside, it may shine a little.

The Yoga Slim 9i’s screen measured at 100% sRGB, 95% AdobeRGB, 100% DCI-P3, and 392 nits of maximum brightness when tested with a Spyder Elite. Its outstanding AdobeRGB score for an OLED panel shows that not only does this product appear good, but it is also a good alternative for designers and makers.

The 9i can refresh at a maximum of 90Hz. If you want to change this, you must access the display settings because the laptop automatically defaults to 60Hz. For those who want smoother scrolling or a little casual gaming, this will be a great feature, although it will slightly reduce battery life.

The display is compatible with touchscreens. While I thought this was quick

The Yoga Slim 9i’s audio hardware is excellent. The laptop has four speakers that enable Dolby Atmos and Bowers & Wilkins audio. Overall, this produces vibrant, boisterous sounds with strong bass levels. It’s fun to use for Netflix viewing, gaming, and music listening.

Specs & performance:

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i is equipped with a 12th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. This is the most recent model available at the time of writing. On the Lenovo website, you can build unique combinations, and in other areas, like the US, the laptop has larger Memory and storage possibilities.

The Core i7-1280P is the exact chip utilized in this model. This chip, which is a member of the Alder Lake-P series, provides performance and efficiency in a thin and light laptop. Moreover, it has integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics; however, a discrete GPU is not a possibility.

Performance on a daily basis is reliable, swift, and responsive. I’ve used this device for a variety of simultaneous tasks, including photo editing, video calls, and light gaming, and it handled them all without a hitch.

You can see from our benchmarking tests that the Yoga Slim 9i keeps up with other laptops of a comparable price from manufacturers like Huawei and LG.

Battery & charging:

• Not the best battery life
• 65W charging via USB-C
• Fast speeds help juice the laptop quickly

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i completed our battery test using a continuous video loop in 8 hours and 37 minutes. However, the battery life in the actual world doesn’t always correspond to these levels. With the greatest performance turned on, utilizing several applications, and playing music all day, I was able to last for about four hours.

There are, of course, steps you may take to preserve the battery. You can select battery-saving or adaptive performance modes in place of extreme performance using Lenovo’s proprietary Vantage program. For long-term battery protection, you can also enable conservation mode in the quick settings bar.

Any of the three USB-C ports on the laptop can be utilized with its 65W charger. Lenovo has a rapid charging capability that, according to the firm, may provide the device up to two hours of use in just 15 minutes (this must be enabled in Lenovo Vantage).

With this turned on, it took me 30 minutes to charge the laptop from flat to 39%, which isn’t nearly as quick as what we’ve seen from competitors’ products.

Software & features:

• Windows 11 Home
• Some software bloat

With Windows 11 Home preinstalled on the Yoga 9i, you get access to all of Microsoft’s software as well as several other well-known apps like WhatsApp, Disney+, and Xbox out of the box.

This laptop includes a free 30-day McAfee LiveSafe trial as well as a month of Microsoft 365, which gives users complete access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other programs.

There are certain Lenovo apps that come pre-installed, including Lenovo Vantage for device information, Lenovo Hotkeys for locating keyboard shortcuts, and Lenovo Voice for voice control of your Laptop.

Lenovo isn’t exactly the biggest offender when it comes to bloatware, but for some people, these apps may irritate them, especially if notifications appear when you least expect them (don’t make the same mistake as this writer and forget to switch them off to avoid unpleasant pings during a Zoom conversation).

You may read more about the warranty on the Lenovo website. Lenovo offers a one-year PremiumCare guarantee with every purchase.

Price & availability:

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i costs £1,499 in the UK, but you can upgrade to extra configurations like a 4K screen and more storage for a fee. As of this writing, Lenovo is offering a few Black Friday deals.

The starting price of this laptop for US customers is $2,070 because they can only purchase it with a 4K screen and twice as much RAM. The design and CPU, however, are unchanged.

This price is substantially in line with what is being offered by competitors for performance and design. The primary flaw is the battery life, so if that’s a worry, you should consider the Huawei MateBook 14s or, if you’re willing to give up the Windows experience, the Apple MacBook Air (M1). Both are older models, so there ought to be some helpful savings.

The top laptops overall, according to Tech Advisor, are also available for reading.

Verdict:

With its strong speakers and vibrant, high-quality screen, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i has a lovely, distinctive look and matches it with competitive performance that is suitable for both work and play.

Some individuals might find the poor battery life and lack of physical connections for connecting many devices at once annoying. Moreover, fingerprint stains are easily picked up on the touchscreen.

Still, if you’re seeking to invest in your next laptop, this is a terrific all-around product from Lenovo that you should take into account.

Read more: The detailed review of the Vivo X60 pro

Specs:

• Windows 11 Home
• 14in 2880×1880 OLED touchscreen, Up to 90Hz
• Intel Core i7-1280P processor
• Intel Iris Xe Graphics
• 16GB RAM
• 512GB SSD storage
• 1080p webcam
• 3x USB-C ports (adaptor included for HDMI/USB-A)
• Headphone jack
• Webcam privacy shutter button
• Wi-Fi 6E
• Bluetooth 5.2
• Quad speakers
• Dual microphones
• 75Wh battery
• 65W charger
• 14.9x315x214.4mm
• 1.37kg