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Nowadays, it’s almost unthinkable to have one device just for one function. Everything and everyone wants to be able to be everything, everywhere, all at once, and that applies to our devices too. From carrying around separate devices for music, calls, and entertainment, we now have one single smartphone that does all that — and now, our laptops and tablets can combine too.
2-in-1 laptops aren’t exactly new technology. Lenovo’s Yoga series is one of the first hybrid laptops that I owned, back when it first came out. It was the unique hinge design that attracted me, and now, the new 14” Lenovo Yoga 9i is still as impressive as ever.
Branded as a “14-inch luxury laptop”, the Lenovo Yoga 9i truly lives up to its name in flexibility and versatility.
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Lenovo Yoga 9i Specs
- Processor: 12th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-1260P Processor
- Graphics: Integrated Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
- Memory: Up to 16 GB Soldered LPDDR5 5200MHz
- Storage: Up to 1 TB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe
- OS: Windows 11
- Display: 14" 4K (3840 x 2400), OLED, Dolby Vision™, Touch, HDR 500, 100% DCI-P3, 400 Nits
- Ports: x1 USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, x2 Thunderbolt 4, x1 USB 3.2 Gen 2, x1 3.5mm Headphone / mic combo jack
- Connectivity:
- Battery: 4 Cell, 75Wh
- Weight: 1.4kg
- Dimensions: 15.2mm x 318mm x 230mm
Build & Design
The Lenovo Yoga 9i is a sturdy machine that can get a little too heavy, especially if you’re lugging it everywhere you go like me. Design-wise, the all-metal laptop case is sleek and classy with a matte surface that feels really good in hand. The Yoga branding is on the top left with nothing else.
If you’re like me, you’ll appreciate the minimalistic design that doesn’t scream its brand to the world. Minimalistic, however, doesn’t mean bland. Unlike the brand’s ThinkPad and IdeaPad line, the Yoga 9i has a sleeker and classier look with rounded edges that, well, takes the edge off the whole “business-y” look. It’s a laptop that matches the look of both work and play.
I wouldn’t recommend the Lenovo Yoga 9i for students, since it’s not the cheapest or lightest laptop around. It got pretty frustrating for me to lug it from the carpark to our office in my arms, so I can imagine how tiring it would be to lug it across campus.
When I first opened up the laptop, though, the screen looked a little off to me. The screen’s aspect ratio isn’t the conventional 16:9, instead sized at 16:10, so it’s a little more squarish but not so much that you’d notice at first glance. That took a little getting used to, but in the end, it wasn’t much of a problem — the brilliant OLED display managed to make me forget about that quite quickly. More on that later.
In terms of ports, the Lenovo Yoga 9i has three USB-C ports, two of which are Thunderbolt 4, a USB-A port and a headphone/microphone combo jack on the right. It’s nice to have ports that allow you to charge the laptop from either side, but the lack of a traditional HDMI port is lamentable. It's not all lost for people like me who prefer working with external displays though, as the USB-C ports all support DisplayPort 1.4. You'll just need a separate adapter for it.
Display, Audio, & Hardware
One of the most impressive features of the laptop is definitely the screen. As previously mentioned, the 14" 4K OLED display features a slightly off-putting 16:10 aspect ratio that’s slightly taller than conventional laptop screens with amazingly vivid and punchy colours.
The VESA Certified DisplayHDR True Black 500 display with Dolby Vision probably makes up a good part of its RM6k price point, but boy, is it worth it. Watching movies on a laptop has never been more immersive or enjoyable, and even though I didn’t get around to trying out storyline-based games on the Yoga 9i, I would expect it to be superb too.
Part of the immersive experience can be attributed to the signature bar speaker/hinge. The placement allows audio to be blasted in the direction of the viewer in all angles (remember, it’s a convertible) so you get a consistent experience no matter how you turn the laptop. The audio quality is also some of the best I’ve experienced yet from a laptop.
A tablet would be pretty useless without touchscreen, so naturally, the Yogo 9i’s display is touch-enabled. The touchscreen is nothing remarkable — it’s smooth and responsive enough on its own.
The laptop also comes with its own full-size stylus pen with a whole bunch of functionalities. The all-black stylus is a thicker, pencil-like stylus that gives a good grip and works perfectly fine for handwriting notes. It's not really that great for drawing, though. Even though pen latency is minimal, the tip of the pen just feels a little too slippery on the screen to have the precise control you'd need for drawing. Of course, my lack of art skills may have also played a part.
That said, I was not impressed with the keyboard. The feel of the keys is just Not Right — way too shallow, too-light actuation rate, and slightly wobbly keys. Sure, the media keys along the right side of the keyboard come in useful, but the typing experience is just Not It.
Performance
The Lenovo Yoga 9i packed a 12th gen Intel Core processor, so it was able to run basic tasks exceptionally well. Word processing and web browsing were buttery smooth, even when I had more than 30 tabs open at a time.
Most of the time, 2-in-1 laptops aren’t cut out for gaming, since the slim chassis meant that they wouldn’t be able to pack much graphical or computational power. Nevertheless, I did try gaming on the Yoga 9i — nothing challenging, just casual open-world games like Sims 4 and Don’t Starve Together.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Yoga 9i did well in both, though it did start to lag a little in Don’t Starve after running the game for a good four hours. I’d say it’s good enough for working professionals who like a little casual gaming after a hard day at work.
Battery
The Lenovo Yoga 9i has quite an impressive battery life, lasting a little under 10 hours for normal work (1+ hour on sleep), and about 7 hours when I threw in a little gaming over the day. It’s definitely enough to power me through the entire workday without plugging it in.
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