Flexibility Meets Power: A Review of the Refreshed Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Laptop

Lenovo’s 2-in-1 Yoga laptops have long been a favorite among content creators and tech enthusiasts alike. The latest refresh, which is set for release in Q2 2023, promises to keep that reputation alive. 

This is the 8th generation of the company’s Yoga brand laptops first introduced as the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga back in 2012. On the surface, it may not look much different from its predecessor released last year, but it boasts some noteworthy upgrades that bring it up to speed with competitors like the Apple Macbook Air and the Samsung Galaxy Book3.

Now featuring a 13th-gen Intel Core processor and a 2880 x 1800 OLED display, the 8th gen Yoga 9i is set to deliver its best performance and most immersive viewing experience yet.

So, without further ado, let’s take a deep dive to see if it lives up to all the hype.

The Design and Feel

Lenovo has done it again. With the latest Yoga 9i, the company builds on the success of last year’s model to create a sleeker, more stylish machine that is the epitome of excellent design. 

While the changes are subtle, on paper, the newest Yoga 9i is said to be a bit thinner, but heavier. Nonetheless, relying on the eye test, this latest model appears to “pop” with an even more refined beauty than previous Yoga designs. 

Case in point, our review unit sports a lovely storm grey exterior paired with chrome detailing giving the laptop an appearance of luxury without being too ostentatious. The curved edges make it a pleasure to handle, and the 360-degree hinge is sturdy while allowing the device to fold back smoothly into tablet mode or be used like a kickstand for taking notes, sketching, or perhaps watching Netflix. 

In our humble opinion, it may be too heavy for some users to consider it as a true alternative for standalone tablets, such as an iPad or Galaxy Tab.However, it’s an excellent choice when you need the sheer computing power and capability of a high-end laptop as well as the creative potential and portability of a tablet.

The Display

The base model 8th generation Lenovo Yoga 9i has received a major upgrade in the form of a 2.8K 2880 x 1800 OLED display rather than a 1920 x 1200 IPS. And for just an extra $100, you can choose to max it out at 4K with the 3840 x 2400 OLED option.

Overall the sharpness and image quality are superb largely thanks to the impressive pixel density of 323 pixels per inch. Everything from documents to games to movies is extremely crisp, clean, and clear of pixelation or distortion. 

More and more displays (including this one) today are ditching the traditional 16:9 aspect ratio in favor of 16:10. Although this change may seem insignificant, the added vertical space provides more room for multitasking and unlocks a more immersive and natural experience when editing or viewing photos and videos as well as helps to reduce the amount of back-and-forth scrolling required when viewing long documents or web pages. 

What’s more, the Yoga 9i features a wide color gamut that covers 99% of DCI-P3, making it a great choice for professional content creators who need to create under pixel-perfect conditions. You’ll also find that the display supports HDR, but the screen has a maximum brightness of roughly 410 nits thus it won’t capture the full advantage of the HDR experience. Also, we should note that while the 2880 x 1800 OLED display offers a 90Hz refresh rate, the 3840 x 2400 option taps out at 60Hz.

All-in-all the latest Lenovo Yoga 9i’s display is a significant upgrade over the previous model and it’s without a doubt one of the highlights of this machine.

Keyboard, Trackpad, and Stylus

Of the numerous laptops we’ve tested recently, the Lenovo Yoga 9i has made a distinct impression by featuring one of the most impressive keyboard and trackpad combinations we’ve come across.

Starting with the keyboard; the ample space, responsive action, and satisfying tactile feeling all make the Yoga 9i a pleasure to work with. This laptop is ideal for long typing sessions, whether you’re a writer, student, or working professional who spends a lot of time in front of a screen. With keys stretching almost the entire width of the device, the layout is generously spacious, allowing for a comfortable and efficient typing experience without feeling too cramped. We’ve found that this helps users to improve accuracy and speed and cut down on wrist fatigue and repetitive strain injuries associated with prolonged typing.

Moving on to the trackpad, to describe it in one word: outstanding. Measuring approximately 5 inches in width and 3 inches in depth, it’s impressively large for a 14-inch Windows laptop. The surface is smooth, reactive, and delievers precision cursor control. There is plenty of room for your fingers to move around to employ one of the many Windows 11 multi-touch gestures. 

The Yoga 9i also comes with a Lenovo Precision Pen Gen 2 stylus. And as you’d expect from a company like Lenovo, the pen supports multiple industry standards including MPP 2.0 which affords 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity as well as features tilt detection, programmable side buttons, and interchangeable tips.

Overall, the stylus, keyboard, and trackpad on the Lenovo Yoga 9i are a winning combination, making this laptop a great choice for productivity and creative work.

Ports, Peripherals, and Accessories

As for ports and connectivity, the Lenovo Yoga 9i is very much future-forward, relying mostly on a set of Thunderbolt 4 and USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports for high-speed data transfer and power delivery. There’s also a single USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port and a 3.5mm combo audio jack because those are handy too.

Of course, as convenient as USB-C is, it doesn’t connect to everything so you’ll still need to buy a few adapters or a hub to connect to other peripheral devices like HDMI or SD.

In terms of wireless connectivity, Lenovo delivers the latest Wi-Fi standard, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.1. 

The webcam and speaker setup are stellar. The 1080p camera captures high-quality, sharp, well-defined videos and images where the colors are vibrant and pleasing to the eye. The footage is clear and easy to perceive, providing an enjoyable video conferencing experience for the audience. We had no issues with the Bowers & Wilkins speaker system either. This setup can get pretty loud considering the size, but even better, the audio quality is clear and accurate no matter if we play an audiobook, bassy EDM records, or classical tunes from Mozart or Debussy.

Performance, Battery Life, and Specs

The Lenovo Yoga 9i delivers performance that is consistent with other premium 14-inch Windows laptops. Our early review unit came with an Intel Core i7-1360P, which is the only CPU available for the 8th generation model. 

It also comes with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB PCI Gen4 SSD, however, you can also configure your machine with a 1TB PCI Gen4 SSD if you’d prefer. As foor graphics performance, the all new Yoga ship with Intel’s Iris Xe chips.

During our standard PCMark10 benchmark testing, the Yoga had no problems keeping up with machines like the Asus Zenbook Pro 14 Duo, Samsung Galaxy Book3, or Microsoft’s Surface 5 when it came to pushing the CPU to its limits.

Our GPU tests, on the other hand, didn’t fair as well. When playing resource-demanding titles like Forza Horizon 5 or Cyberpunk 2077, we noticed the Yoga 9i consistently dropped frames when graphic options were set to the highest resolution. However, this issue went away when we selected lower-quality settings.

In contrast, Asus’ Zenbook Pro 14 Duo, delivers ultra-immersive, high-frame rate gameplay. The scenery and surroundings in Cyberpunk’s Night City, for example, offer some of the most awe-inspiring views you’ll find from any title today. The Zenbook captures the metropolis perfectly, while the Yoga 9i struggles to compete in this department.

In fairness, however, we’re literally comparing the Iris Xe to an Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti, so this disparity in graphics quality shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. 

As for battery life, we performed the fairly standard “play a 4K movie on repeat until it dies” test. Three separate times we fully charged the 75-watt battery and repeatedly looped the 4K Blu-ray version of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction in Windows Media Player unit the machine died. In all three tests, the laptop stayed alive for well over 10 hours, which means you’ll probably have no issue getting a full day’s work done on a single charge. 

CPU: Intel Core  i7-1360P 

Memory: 16GB LPDDR5

Graphics/GPU: Intel Iris Xe 

Display: 2880×1880 OLED 16:10 90Hz

Storage: 512GB or 1TB max PCIe Gen4 SSD

Webcam: 1080 with IR 

Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C 3.2 with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and Power Delivery, 1x USB-C 3.2 with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and Power Delivery, 1x 3.5mm audio 

Networking: WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1

Biometrics: Windows Hello Facial Recognition, Fingerprint Reader

Battery capacity: 75 watt-hours

Dimensions: 12.5 inches x 9 inches x 0.6 inches

Weight: 3 pounds

Price and Availability

Lenovo is currently taking orders for the 8th gen Yoga 9i via the company’s official website. At the time of this writing, they’re finalizing the wider rollout which is when the Yoga 9i is expected to be sold at all major retailers across the US, including Walmart, BestBuy, and Amazon at some point during Q2 2023. 

The base model Yoga 9i has a starting price of $1700. If the latest Yoga 9i is of interest but you’d like to save some money, you can use our link to find a great deal on last year’s version which is currently for sale on Amazon. 

The Final Verdict

Lenovo’s Yoga 9i is an exceptional laptop that stands out in terms of its overall performance, stunning visuals, and top-notch performance. The laptop’s class-leading, 14-inch display is simply breathtaking and is sure to captivate whether you’re watching your favorite shows and movies, or casually gaming.

All things considered, the 8th gen Lenovo Yoga 9i gets two thumbs up from us and is the perfect laptop for creative professionals, casual gamers, writers or anyone who needs a powerful and versatile machine for work and play.