Premium Comfort – Refreshed
Without sharp corners and edges, the Yoga 9i is very comfortable to use
If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. The 8th Generation Lenovo Yoga 9i is largely similar in design to the previous-generation model, which is a great thing. If you have missed last year’s model, you might want to check out this year’s refresh model, which is fitted with a newer 13th Generation Intel Core i7-1360P processor.
For readers unfamiliar with previous models of Yoga 9i, it is a convertible laptop that can fold the keyboard 360 degrees into tablet mode. One of the unique design elements is the rounded edges which makes computing very comfortable when resting the palms on the laptop or holding it in tablet mode. The Yoga 9i Gen-8 body is precision-machined using aerospace-grade aluminium with rounded, high-gloss sidewalls expertly crafted through a 10-step CNC, sandblasting, anodisation, and polishing process to produce a stunning mirror finish. Overall, the laptop looks astonishingly premium in either colour option, Oatmeal or Storm Grey.
Even though the new Yoga 9i has upgraded its durability to withstand 21 ultra-demanding MIL-STD 810H tests, I certainly do not want to ever drop it. Even though the internal components will survive, I really do not want to see any physical imperfections on this beautifully made laptop.
The 14-inch PureSight OLED display is a delight to use, delivering an ultra-high contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1, covering 100% of DCI-P3 colour space and 125% SRGB colour space with 1 billion colours at 10-bit depth. Like the predecessor, the 10-point multi-touch display supports a Wacom AES 2.0 digital pen digitiser. The quad-speaker setup with 180Hz bass extension powered by Bowers & Wilkins delivers unblocked audio regardless of any folding modes. The audio is so loud and spatial, it is hard to believe it is all coming from the laptop.
The keyboard design is identical to the Gen-8, which is both good and bad. I enjoy the firm key action but the additional column of short-cut function keys at the right disorients my typing position. The touchpad is also generously huge but they get in the way as my resting palm often presses on the pad which accidentally triggers the mouse click.
The Yoga 9i supports multiple biometric logins, from facial recognition login to fingerprint scanner. The Full HD webcam delivers high-quality optics for video conferencing, as well as a time-of-flight sensor and IR camera for reliable facial login and smart presence detection, to automatically light up the display and log in when you return to the laptop, and log out when you leave the seat. It can also pause your media and resume depending on your presence.
The battery life appears to have a slight improvement over the Gen-7, and you can toggle the Smart Power with the 1-click function key to reduce consumption and keep battery life longer if you do not require processor-intensive tasks, like watching a movie or browsing the web. The Yoga 9i can be charged with any USB-C charger, and its included 100W charger can fuel the laptop for 2 hours of usage in just 15 minutes.
Rating: 4.5/5
We say: The Yoga 9i retains the beauty and brains of the previous generation with the latest hardware and improved software to elevate the experience.
From S$2,499
www.lenovo.com/sg
Technical Specifications
Processor 13th Gen Intel Core i7-1360P on Intel Evo platform
Operating System Windows 11 Home or Pro
Graphics Intel Iris Xe
Memory Up to 16GB LPDDR5-5200
Storage PCIe M.2 Gen4 SSD Up to 1TB
Display 14″ UHD+ (3840 x 2400) 60Hz PureSight OLED display with glass, capacitive-type 10-point touch, 4,096 pressure sensitivity for pen input
Audio Bowers & Wilkins rotating Sound Bar with quad speakers, enhanced with Dolby Atmos
Battery 75Whr lithium-ion polymer
Input/Output Ports 2x USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB Type-C, 1x USB Type-A, Audio Combo Jack
WLAN Intel 2×2 Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 ax)
Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.2
Dimensions (W x D x H) 318mm x 230mm x 15.25mm
Weight Starting at 1.4kg
