Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 overview: a pleasant OLED laptop computer

Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 overview: a pleasant OLED laptop computer

MSRP $1,700.00

“The Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 does not enhance battery life, however retains its nice show, design, and efficiency.”

Pros

• Fast productiveness efficiency
• Spectacular OLED show
• Solid construct high quality
• Good keyboard and touchpad
• Elegant beauty

Cons

• Battery life is beneath common
• Slightly costly

The Lenovo Yoga 9i has lengthy been one of many go-to decisions for a convertible 2-in-1 laptop computer. The subsequent technology is popping out this 12 months, and I checked it out forward of its launch on April 10.

Now in its eighth technology, the convertible 2-in-1 holds on to what made the Yoga 9i Gen 7 a nice laptop computer whereas updating to Intel’s Thirteenth-gen CPUs.

You’ll discover the identical rounded edges and total elegant design, modern soundbar, and stable development. The battery life and worth are nonetheless its two largest weaknesses, however the Yoga 9i stays a stable possibility in its eighth technology.

Specs and configurations

As of this writing, the Yoga 9i Gen 8 is available in a couple of configurations, all primarily based across the Intel Core i7-1360P CPU and 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM. The worth for my overview unit, with a 14.0-inch 2.8K OLED show and a 512GB SSD, is $1,700. Add $50 to improve to a 1TB SSD, and $100 for a 4K+ OLED panel.

The most worth is, subsequently, $1,850. That locations the Yoga 9i Gen 8 firmly in premium territory, however with fairly priced upgrades. Expect extra configurations when the laptop computer is formally launched in April 2023.

Rounded for each consolation and magnificence

Lenovo has used a brand new design scheme for the final couple of Yoga generations, particularly incorporating chrome rounded edges alongside the chassis backside and smoother angles alongside the show. This affords a contact of magnificence to the aesthetic and creates a extra comfy laptop computer to deal with in all 4 modes: clamshell, tent, media, and, significantly, pill.

The remainder of the chassis is both Oatmeal (which regarded silver to me) or Storm Gray. My overview unit was Oatmeal, and the matching keyboard made for a gorgeous laptop computer. The solely convertible 2-in-1 that matches it in type is the HP Spectre x360 13.5, whereas Dell’s XPS 13 machines are easier in design and don’t stand out fairly as a lot. The Yoga 9i Gen 8 has fairly small show bezels alongside the highest and sides, however as with all convertible 2-in-1s, the underside chin is just a little chunky. That detracts from a contemporary look, however the rotating soundbar provides a splash of high-tech panache. Overall, it’s a beautiful laptop computer.

It’s additionally well-built, with an aluminum unibody CNC chassis and lid that resist all bending, flexing, and twisting. It’s as inflexible because the HP Spectre x360 13.5, the Dell XPS 13 Plus. and the Apple MacBook Air M2. In reality, the latter has some bending within the lid, which means the Yoga 9i Gen 8 arguably feels extra stable than the MacBook. That’s an accomplishment. The hinge is just a little stiff, requiring two fingers to open the lid whereas holding the show firmly in place.  That stiffness does create some confidence in its use in tent mode, which with some 2-in-1s feels just a little unfastened.

The keyboard is the Yoga customary, providing giant, sculpted keycaps and loads of key spacing. It’s virtually edge-to-edge, leaving room on the fitting aspect for some particular operate keys, together with a Smart Power charger and fingerprint reader. The switches are very gentle, but snappy, with a cushty bottoming motion.

I are inclined to choose stiffer keys, however I acclimated to the keyboard shortly sufficient. It’s not fairly as exact because the keyboards on the HP Spectre or Apple’s Magic Keyboard (which stays the very best), but it surely’ll please most individuals. The touchpad is giant and exact, and it was simple to really feel assured within the clicks — I simply want they had been a bit quieter.

Connectivity is usually USB-C, with loads of Thunderbolt 4, however there’s additionally a USB-A port for some legacy help. Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1 give the laptop computer trendy connectivity.

The webcam is 1080p and gives a pointy picture for videoconferencing. It additionally consists of an infrared digicam for Windows 11 Hello, all of which inserts into the now-iconic Lenovo inverted notch on the prime of the lid. A fingerprint reader gives one other approach to log in with no password.

Finally, Lenovo included its consumer presence-detection expertise that may inform once you step away, placing the laptop computer to sleep. It’ll then detect once you return, get up, and routinely log in. The function labored nice throughout my testing and is an actual comfort for public settings the place you don’t need your information remaining seen once you go away your laptop computer sitting alone.

A slight uptick in efficiency, however no match for AMD

My overview unit was geared up with the Thirteenth-gen Intel Core i7-1360P, a 28-watt CPU that includes 12 cores (4 Performance and eight Efficient) and 16 threads, with a max Turbo Frequency of 5.0GHz. We’ve reviewed two laptops with that chip, and their benchmark outcomes had been fairly related. That is, they’re sooner than the previous-generation Core i7-1260P with the identical wattage, cores, and threads, however a slower Turbo Frequency. In most of our benchmarks, the Core i7-1360P was forward, significantly in single-core efficiency. It misplaced out in efficiency mode to the Dell XPS 13 Plus with the Core i7-1280P (a sooner model of the 1260P) in our Handbrake take a look at that encodes a 420MB video as H.265, however in any other case, it was a significant enhance in efficiency. Note that the AMD Ryzen 7 7736U within the HP Dragonfly Pro was sooner throughout the board in multi-core exams.

Overall, the Yoga 9i Gen 8 is a fast machine for demanding productiveness customers. Its built-in Intel Iris Xe means it gained’t do properly in inventive purposes that may use a discrete GPU, however for any CPU-intensive duties, it’s fairly speedy. Given the built-in graphics, although, it’s not a gaming laptop computer.

My overview Yoga 9i Gen 8 had a big 75 watt-hour battery and a power-hungry 2.8K OLED show. The 28-watt CPU didn’t assist, leaving me to imagine I’d see first rate, however not excellent battery life.

After working the laptop computer by way of our suite of battery exams, I discovered it to be a barely below-average performer. It ran out at 7.75 hours in our web-browsing take a look at, which isn’t nice, and it couldn’t hit the ten hours within the PCMark 10 Applications take a look at that’s near common. Finally, it ran for a stronger 13.5 hours in our video-looping take a look at.

You’re unlikely to get a full day’s work out of the laptop computer. That’s not stunning given the show and CPU, but it surely’s just a little disappointing nonetheless.

One notable competitor is the HP Dragonfly Pro, which achieved virtually twice as a lot longevity in a few exams due to its lower-resolution IPS show and really environment friendly AMD processor. And, in fact, the Apple MacBook Air M2 was the general chief.

OLED is spectacular, as at all times

This assertion is changing into a damaged report, however OLED shows stay the very best round. Yes, Apple’s mini-LED shows on the most recent MacBook Pros give it a run for its cash, particularly when it comes to being brighter and higher for HDR with the identical type of inky blacks, however in the case of extensive and correct colours, OLED wins out.

That stays true with the two.8K OLED show on the Yoga 9i Gen 8. It’s fairly vivid at 395 nits, and it gives extraordinarily extensive colours at 100% of sRGB and 96% of AdobeRGB. Accuracy is superb at a DeltaE of 0.73 (something lower than 1.0 is professional-grade). Contrast is a deep 27,510:1, and Dolby Vision is supported for wonderful HDR efficiency.

Again, it gained’t get as vivid as Apple’s mini-LED, however should you’re a producer, creator, or media client, you’ll love the show. It additionally runs at 90Hz, and so Windows animations are a bit smoother. You can improve to a 4K+ OLED panel at 60Hz, however at 14 inches, it’s probably not needed.

The distinctive soundbar homes twin tweeters that rotate to supply the very best sound in no matter configuration. Two woofers alongside the aspect are supposed to up the bass. Lenovo succeeded in making a well-rounded audio system, with loads of distortion-free quantity, clear mids and highs, and a contact of bass. It’s sufficient for binging video and listening to music with out resorting to headphones or exterior audio system.

Another nice convertible 2-in-1 possibility

Lenovo retains making nice 2-in-1s, and the Yoga 9i Gen 8 is not any exception. It’s quick, has a stable and beautiful design, and its show is spectacular. It doesn’t have the pace for demanding, GPU-intensive inventive apps, however for everyone else, it’ll churn by way of your workloads with no downside.

It’s costly, although, at present beginning at $1,700. Perhaps future configurations shall be cheaper. But if in case you have the funds and desire a really premium 2-in-1 expertise, then the Yoga 9i Gen 8 is very really helpful.

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