Lenovo Slim 9i vs. Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7

Lenovo has one of the widest ranges 14 inch laptops Around. Among the ThinkPad, Yoga, and Slim combos, you can choose from a variety of different price points and features. The Slim 9i is the company’s premium consumer laptop and the Yoga 9i is a 360-degree convertible. 2 in 1.

They are different laptops but share the same DNA. In particular, they have the same new circular design that debuted on the Yoga 9i Gen 7, which is both cool and comfortable. Is the flexibility of 2-in-1 yoga the only thing that works for her? This is what we will see here.

To be fair, Lenovo’s pricing can be confusing and changes often. As of this writing, the Slim 9i starts at a premium price of $1,760 for a Core i7-1280P CPU, 32GB of RAM, 512GB SSD, and a 14-inch UHD+ OLED display. Boost that configuration to 1TB and you’ll pay an additional $380, priced at $2,140.

The Yoga 9i Gen 7 starts at $1,000 for a Core i7-1260P, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 14-inch FHD+ IPS display. The same configuration with OLED costs around $900 more, at $1,880. There are other configurations in between, including 1GB SSD and 2.8K IPS options. The entry level price is average, but after that you will spend a higher amount.

Lenovo introduced a new aesthetic with the Yoga 9i Gen 7, shifting from a traditional design with sharp angles to a circular design accented by sleek chrome. It has a sleek aesthetic and feels comfortable, especially in tablet mode. Speaking of which, the Yoga is a 360-degree convertible that supports four modes: clamshell, tent, media, and tablet. The laptop’s all-aluminum build quality is unmatched among Windows laptops, and its hinge opens with one hand while holding the screen in place in any position.

Slim 9i is a clamshell version that has the same cool, ergonomic design. It is also solidly built with an excellent hinge. But the Slim 9i is not the same as the Yoga 9i. Its lid is covered with frosted glass, which adds density and a super smooth surface that enhances the style. Both are good-looking laptops, but the case has a slight edge.

Both laptops use Lenovo’s reverse notch at the top of the display to house webcams and 1080p infrared cameras, as well as microphones that contribute to superb video conferencing experiences. Passwordless login to Windows 11 Hello via facial recognition is provided through the infrared camera, and Zero Touch Lock and Login and Lenovo login are supported on every device. This feature locks sleeping laptops when users are away and wakes them when users return.

The Yoga 9i Gen 7 has more convenient connectivity than the Slim 9i, with USB-A ports for older devices. Both use the latest wireless standard.

Finally, you will find the same keyboard and touchpad on both mobile devices. It’s a solid offering, with plenty of spacing and large keys, and a light, fast key not as deep as keyboards are better on Dell XPS and HP Spectre fonts. The touchpads are the same size and offer a precise surface and quiet, safe buttons. Both laptops have touchscreens, while the Yoga 9i Slim 7 also supports the Lenovo Active Pen.

The Slim 9i and Yoga 9i Gen 7 are built around 28W 12th Gen Intel processors. -in-1 offers a choice of a 12-core/16-thread Core i5-1240P up to 4.4GHz and Core i7-1260P up to 4.4GHz up to 4.7GHz.

Both laptops scored similar points in Geekbench 5 and Handbrake tests that encode 420MB video in H.265 format. The Slim 9i was significantly faster in the Cinebench R23 benchmark, thanks to more cores and threads and a higher CPU clock. We used Lenovo’s Thermal Management Tool to test the Balanced Performance modes, and both results are in the chart.

They are fast productivity machines that can handle the most demanding workflows. Neither is as fast as it should be for creative tasks, mainly due to the integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics card. Games aren’t a laptop’s strength either.

The Yoga 9i supports more display options than the Slim 9i, which comes with a 14-inch 16:10 UHD+ OLED display. The 2-in-1 also offers FHD+ and 2.8K IPS panels, which promise better battery life.

We tested both wearables with OLED panels, and they delivered nearly identical quality according to our colorimeter. You can’t go wrong with either, thanks to the broad and accurate colours, good brightness and deep contrast that deliver grainy blacks. Whether you’re doing productive work, editing photos and videos (regardless of performance), or consuming high dynamic range (HDR) videos, you’ll find that both wearables deliver amazing experiences.

The Yoga 9i Gen 7 includes the same rotating speakers that Lenovo introduced to the 2-in-1 a few years ago. It packs two woofers and 3-watt tweeters, delivering sound quality no matter what mode it’s in. It’s not as good as expected, with some distortion at higher volume. But it was slightly better than the Slim 9i’s quad-speaker setup.

The Slim 9i is slightly shallower than the Yoga 9i Gen 7, while being slightly thinner and lighter. Both are 14-inch laptops that slip easily into a backpack.

Both of our review devices came with 75Wh batteries, and both were built around power-hungry OLED displays. The Slim 9i lasted around just under three hours in our web browsing battery test, which was surprising considering the nearly identical result in the PCMark 10 apps test. Lower battery life was expected because the extra cores run at a higher hourly rate, but battery life is clamshell It was surprising while browsing the web. Both laptops took around 14.5 hours in our local video test – which is another surprise, considering the Slim 9i’s high-resolution UHD+ display.

The PCMark 10 test is a good indicator of battery life running a typical production workflow, and based on the results here, any laptop can approach a workday’s lifespan. However, for more demanding users, both mobile devices will need their own power adapters on hand.

The Lenovo Slim 9i and Yoga 9i Gen 7 are some of the best 14-inch laptops you can buy. The case is a bit faster but has less battery life, while the 2-in-1 sounds slightly better and is a bit thicker and heavier.

The biggest difference is the price, with the Yoga 9i Gen 7 offering a much lower entry-level price. That’s important, but if you want a high-end clamshell machine, the Slim 9i won’t disappoint either.

Editors’ Recommendations