Lenovo Yoga 9i Review: The Astonishing Yet High Price

Lenovo Yoga 9i (2024)

4.5

Overall Score

4.5/5

The Good Stuff

• Good battery life
• Fast performance
• Good quality audio
• Stunning display
• Includes stylus

The Bad Stuff

• Expensive
• Limited input ports

Lenovo Yoga 9i Review

Lenovo Yoga 9i (2024)

“The Lenovo Yoga 9i delivers a compelling package of performance, design, and versatility. Its impressive display, powerful processor, and innovative soundbar creates an impressive user experience”

Overview

Lenovo’s Yoga 9i is a standout contender in the premium 2-in-1 laptop market. Equipped with the latest 11th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, it delivers powerful performance to handle demanding tasks. The included stylus enhances creativity and productivity, setting it apart from competitors. While the Yoga 9i boasts impressive features, it’s not without its limitations.

The limited port selection might be a drawback for some users, and the top-tier configurations come with a hefty price tag. Additionally, the Shadow Black model offers superior build quality and design compared to other color options.

Despite these minor drawbacks, the Yoga 9i remains a compelling choice for those seeking a versatile and high-performance laptop. Its stunning display, powerful processor, and convenient 2-in-1 design make it a strong contender in the premium laptop market. 

Design

The Lenovo Yoga 9i is a visually appealing 2-in-1 laptop, with its silver chassis exuding a sleek and modern aesthetic. However, the Shadow Black variant takes things a step further with a premium dark metal finish and an optional leather case. This model also boasts a glass palm rest with integrated fingerprint sensor and haptic touchpad.

While our review unit lacked these premium features, the silver model still offers a stylish design with a chrome “YOGA” logo and a subtle “YOGA 9 SERIES” etching on the lid. The interior complements the sleek exterior with slim bezels on the sides, a larger top bezel for the webcam, and a spacious keyboard below. The soundbar cleverly integrates into the hinge, adding to the device’s overall sophistication.

Display

The Lenovo Yoga 9i boasts a stunning 14-inch display that defies its 1080p resolution. Its exceptional color accuracy and clarity create an immersive viewing experience that initially fooled us into thinking it was a 4K panel. The vibrant colors and sharp details showcased in content like Raya and the Last Dragon are a testament to its quality.

While the Yoga 9i excels in color reproduction, it falls short in terms of brightness compared to competitors like the XPS 13 2-in-1 and MacBook Air. This can result in some glare in brightly lit environments. Despite this minor drawback, the Yoga 9i’s display remains a strong point, offering a visually pleasing experience for both work and entertainment.

Performance

The Lenovo Yoga 9i comes with surprisingly great performance, thanks to its CPU options of either an 11th gen or a 12th gen Intel Core i7 processor, and 16GB of RAM memory. Handling multiple tasks, including several 1080p YouTube tabs, was a breeze.

Benchmark tests further solidified its performance prowess, outperforming competitors like the Spectre x360 14 while falling slightly short of the XPS 13 2-in-1 and MacBook Air.

Video editing tasks were handled efficiently, with the Yoga 9i completing our Handbrake test faster than its rivals. While the SSD speed was impressive, it didn’t quite match the top performer in our tests. 

The Yoga 9i comes equipped with Iris Xe Graphics, which offers decent performance for casual gaming. While not ideal for demanding titles, it can handle less intensive games at playable frame rates.

Benchmark tests like 3DMark Fire Strike showcase the Yoga 9i’s graphics capabilities, outperforming competitors like the Spectre x360 14. Gaming tests, like running Civilization VI, revealed solid performance, though it fell slightly short of the ideal 30 fps mark.

Overall, the Yoga 9i delivers strong performance across the board, making it a capable machine for demanding users. The Yoga 9i’s graphics performance is satisfactory for casual gamers but might not meet the expectations of hardcore enthusiasts.

Battery Life

Lenovo promises up to 10 hours of battery life for the Yoga 9i, and our tests exceeded those expectations. The Yoga 9i comfortably surpassed this estimate, delivering over 11 hours of continuous web browsing at moderate brightness. 

While the Yoga 9i outperforms its rival, the XPS 13 2-in-1, it falls short of the impressive battery life offered by the Spectre x360 14 and the MacBook Air. Nevertheless, the Yoga 9i’s battery performance is commendable and should satisfy most users’ needs.

Other Features

The Yoga 9i’s rotating soundbar is a standout feature, delivering impressive audio quality in any mode. The sound is clear, loud, and immersive, enhancing the overall multimedia experience. While listening to music, the soundbar showcased its capabilities by producing rich and detailed sound.

The separation of instruments was noticeable, creating a captivating listening experience. However, during complex musical pieces with multiple instruments, there was a slight muddiness in the sound, indicating that the speakers might be pushed to their limits.

The Yoga 9i follows the modern trend of slimmer laptops with fewer ports. You’ll find a total of four ports on the device. On the left side, you’ll discover two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a standard USB Type-A port, and a headphone jack.

The power button is conveniently located on the right side. Additionally, a fingerprint sensor is embedded in the keyboard deck for added security.

The Yoga 9i boasts a discreet webcam shutter, a welcome privacy feature often overlooked in laptop designs. However, the lack of IR capabilities means it’s incompatible with Windows Hello facial recognition, a minor inconvenience for those who prioritize security and convenience. 

Image quality from the 720p webcam is a noticeable improvement over its predecessor, the ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 1. While it still produces slightly grainy images, the webcam accurately captures colors and details.

In short, the Yogi 9i comes with some awesome features. The Yoga 9i’s audio performance is impressive and adds significantly to the overall user experience. The webcam is functional but doesn’t set new standards in the industry.

Verdict

The Lenovo Yoga 9i delivers a compelling package of performance, design, and versatility. Its impressive display, powerful processor, and innovative soundbar creates an impressive user experience. While it faces stiff competition from other premium options like the XPS 13 2-in-1 and MacBook Air, the Yoga 9i holds its own with strong performance and a premium build quality.

However, potential buyers should consider the limited port selection and the premium price tag for the Shadow Black model. Ultimately, the Yoga 9i is a fantastic choice for those seeking a high-end 2-in-1 laptop that blends style, performance, and functionality.

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