Lenovo Yoga Slim i7 Carbon: a beautiful ultraportable that assumes its concept

Today we discover the Lenovo Slim 7i Carbon, an elegant ultraportable that is all about mobility, even if it means making a few concessions. Is this the future best friend of great adventurers? Here are some answers.

Even before having correctly observed the machine, there is already an element that strikes immediately, as soon as the box is opened: this Slim 7i Carbon is small (29.6 cm x 20.8 cm) and above all exceptionally light. , with barely 870 grams on the scale ! Suffice to say that it will be able to be very discreet in a backpack or a satchel. It can also be comfortably installed in any cramped workspace, such as on an airplane. A 10/10 in terms of mobility, without the slightest ambiguity!

Offering a thin laptop is obviously a good point, but this approach necessarily involves making some sacrifices. Given the exceptional lightness of this 7i Slim Carbon, we therefore opened the hood with a little apprehension; but we have to admit that Lenovo did well on this model.

There is a fairly marked flexion of the plate and to a lesser extent of the screen, even without forcing. But overall, despite this slight lack of rigidity, the finish of this featherweight rather inspires confidencewhich is anything but acquired on such a slender model.

The magnesium alloy and carbon fiber chassis definitely has its little effect. In the end, we can hardly expect more on this criterion if we take into account the philosophy of the machine, and Lenovo has managed to find a very interesting balance between weight and finish.

Screen

As soon as the power is turned on, the second major strong point of this model is immediately obvious: it is equipped with a great screen for its category. Judge for yourself: it is a slab 13.3-inch 2.5k (2,560 x 1,600) IPS in 16:10 aspect ratio and clocked at 90Hz. The colorimetric performance is quite decent with 100% support for the sRGB gamut and very satisfactory contrast.

It also has a very effective anti-reflective coating that makes it comfortable to use, even in less than ideal lighting conditions. This also has the advantage of compensating for its only relative defect, namely a fairly average maximum brightness. And icing on the cake, this surface is also tactile !

A menu that is both tempting and very balanced. Unless you absolutely want an OLED, HDR or 4K panel (the interest of which is quite debatable on a 13” model), you really have to be very fussy to find something to complain about.

Keyboard

On the other hand, we were slightly disappointed when we went down one floor to take an interest in the keyboard; as much to say it right away, it definitely does not deserve the same praise as the screen. It starts with the travel of the keys which is extremely short, even if this point remains eminently subjective. A point that we could completely forgive him if the stabilization of the keys was not heterogeneous, in addition to the somewhat messy tactile feedback.

Points not necessarily prohibitive, but you will understand, this keyboard will not leave us with an indelible memory. Shame ! At least the trackpad is nearly flawless, although some users might find it a bit skimpy.

Audio and webcam

Let’s take this opportunity to dismiss the second disappointing point: the speakers. We cannot legitimately expect mountains and wonders from the audio system of a laptop, since the leeway in terms of the positioning of the drivers is by definition limited – and this is all the more true when we are talking about a machine so fine. But even remaining lucid on this point, it is obvious that audio was not one of Lenovo’s priorities for this Carbon.

The overall rendering is messy as desired, and if the voices are still intelligible in videoconferencing, this Yoga Slim 7i Carbon will have hard to do justice to your favorite songs or the beautiful soundtracks of certain movies and video games.

The webcam isn’t sensational either, with its 720p sensor being a bit behind some competitors’ 1080p models. It can still be useful in video conferencing, and above all, it allows you to use Windows Hello (see below). Not much to report on this side.

Performance

Our test model, namely the 1799€ version, was equipped with a Intel Core i7 1260P supported by 16 GB LPDDR5 RAM; a good compromise for a device of this caliber. The machine reacts instantly thanks to its PCIe SSD 4 stamped Samsung (1 TB on our model), as one might expect. Overall, the machine does its job admirably well and immediately stands at attention as soon as it is requested – an impression further reinforced by the integration of the Windows Hello facial recognition system that needs no introduction. This Yoga will be ready to work even before you are fully settled.

Once underway, it manages to offer quite decent performance on all office automation, entertainment or light productivity tasks. The excellent quality of the screen allows you to enjoy your films or series in very good conditions and to carry out some light photo or video work without worry (even if this last point would certainly have to be qualified on the least expensive version, equipped of an i5-1240P).

In terms of video games, you obviously have to moderate your expectations. No need to hope to enjoy very demanding AAA titles like Elden Ring on this machine. Same observation on Tekken 7, yet aging and rather well optimized; it is simply not the philosophy of this Yoga.

On the other hand, it is perfectly capable of cashing in on certain more modest games. For example, we were able to spend some time on titles like Hades, Hearthstone or rocket League in completely correct conditions and with a frame rate steady.

Ventilation

Be careful, however, not to overload the mule; unsurprisingly given its format, this Yoga has a little trouble dissipating heat when you put it under pressure. Performance does not suffer particularly (the chip is restrained anyway, ultra-thin format obliges), but as far as your appendages are concerned, that’s another story.

The central part of the keyboard tends to heat up strongly when you ask the Yoga to provide prolonged efforts. Same observation for the underside of the machine, which can become uncomfortable for the thighs. Note also that under these conditions, the ventilation tends to emit a small high-pitched squeak which is not the most pleasant, even if it will not be audible enough to disturb your office neighbor.

But it is difficult to be too critical on these points insofar as it is a sacrifice to which the integrator has probably consented in his soul and conscience ; this Yoga is in any case not intended to withstand heavy workloads over extended periods of time, and under normal conditions of use, the temperature remains quite tolerable.

Connectivity and autonomy

Connectivity is unfortunately quite limited on this model; you have to settle for one USB Type-C socket on each side, including one Thunderbolt 4 compatible. A possible (micro) SD card reader is also missing. Again, this is a direct consequence of the ultra-thin format of the machine, but having only two sockets and not just one in USB-A format is still just as painful in certain situations. At least Lenovo had the good taste to include a dongle with the bare minimum.

Autonomy is correct without being exceptional. In the context of average office multimedia use, we were able to last a little over 7 hours on a full charge. A slightly lower score than expected on an EVO-certified machine, but which still allows it to be used in a professional context without keeping your eyes glued to the battery percentage.

You can buy the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon directly from the site of Lenovo.