Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 9 review: Here for a good time — and a long time

The Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 9 is a sleek 2-in-1 laptop/tablet that’s impressive in a few key areas yet seemingly withholds quality in other aspects. Depending on your laptop use, the Yoga 7i Gen 9 could be a terrific fit, but it’s probably not the right choice for everybody, depending on what you think makes a 2-in-1 fun compared to a conventional laptop.

First, Lenovo’s Yoga series offers excellent options for school and work — a few models have even made it onto Laptop’s best 2-in-1 laptops list. However, in past iterations, the Yoga 7i models have tended to fall short of their Yoga 9i laptop counterparts. So, is the lower price for a 2-in-1 worth a few compromises? I spent more than 40 hours over five days using the Yoga 7i Gen 9 for work, web browsing, watching movies, and more, all to find out whether the latest version of the Yoga 7i is worth your money.

Before buying the Yoga 7i Gen 9, consider a few critical pros and cons. Let’s examine the specs for this 2-in-1 and compare it to some alternatives.

Lenovo Yoga 7i (Gen 9) 2-in-1: Specs

Lenovo Yoga 7i (Gen 9) 2-in-1: Price and configurations

The 16-inch Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 starts at $909 for a build featuring the Intel Core Ultra 5 125U CPU, integrated Intel graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage.

A few upgrades are available, including an Intel Core Ultra 7 155U CPU for an additional $133 and a 1TB storage option for an extra $30. Our review unit includes the base configuration. Any configuration can run either Windows 11 Home or Windows 11 Pro.

Lenovo Yoga 7i (Gen 9) 2-in-1: Design

Lenovo kept the design of the Yoga 7i Gen 9 essentially the same as last year’s Gen 8 model. The chassis is sleek and simple with minimal metallic silver accents and a dark steel gray finish that will blend in anywhere, from school to the office.

Inside, you have a full-size keyboard with a number pad, fingerprint reader, spacious touchpad, and dedicated Microsoft Copilot AI key. The keyboard also has top-firing speakers along the top edge.

The Yoga 7i’s chassis measures 14.24 x 9.84 x 0.67 inches and weighs 4.4 lbs. That’s on the heavier side, similar to other 16-inch 2-in-1 laptops, like the HP Spectre x360 16, which weighs 4.3 lbs.

Lenovo Yoga 7i (Gen 9) 2-in-1: Ports

The Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 9 has all the ports you could need. On the left side, you have an HDMI port, two USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4.0 ports (one for charging), and a headphone jack. Two USB Type-A ports and a rare MicroSD card reader are on the right side.

The built-in MicroSD card port makes the Yoga 7i a good candidate for anyone looking for a laptop for photo editing since you won’t need an external MicroSD card reader. Of course, if you need more ports, you can always add one of the top-rated USB Type-C hubs to your setup.

Lenovo Yoga 7i (Gen 9) 2-in-1: Display

The display was one of the main drawbacks of last year’s Yoga 7i, and unfortunately, this year’s model didn’t fare much better in our display tests.

The 16-inch 1920x1200 touch IPS panel on the Yoga 7i covered only 47% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, a lackluster result compared to the premium laptop average of 87%. The 13-inch M3 Macbook Air (77.8%) outscored the Yoga 7i, and the Lenovo Slim 7i (134%) blew it out of the water. The Yoga 7i did slightly better on our brightness tests but still underperformed. It scored a max brightness of 312 nits, over 60 points below the category average of 380 nits.

The display isn’t just underwhelming on paper, either. I also noticed it during my testing. When I watched Ahsoka on Disney Plus, the usual vibrancy of the Star Wars universe looked more washed out on the Yoga 7i. Even little things seemed noticeably different, like the icons on my toolbar, which were visibly brighter and more colorful on my desktop display.

The dull colors on the Yoga 7i’s display don’t ruin its ability to perform everyday tasks. Still, if you plan to use your laptop for photo editing and graphic design, you might be better served with the Lenovo Slim 7i, which scored much better on our display tests.

Lenovo Yoga 7i (Gen 9) 2-in-1: Keyboard and touchpad

I spend a lot of time typing, so a great keyboard is a high priority when testing a laptop. I had high hopes for the Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 9’s keyboard after the Lenovo Slim 7i seriously impressed me. Unfortunately, the Yoga 7i Gen 9 has a couple of quirks that made typing a bit disappointing.

This laptop has a full-size keyboard, which is excellent for those who need a number pad for things like macros and gaming. However, there wasn’t much space between the number pad and the main keys, so I constantly hit the number lock key on accident when I reached for the backspace key. At the same time, the main keys are all a bit more spaced out than on most laptops I’ve tried, which made typing awkward.

On the Monkeytype typing test, I scored 81 WPM with 93% accuracy, below my desktop average of 84 WPM and 94.3% accuracy.

While the keyboard could be better, I liked the Yoga 7i Gen 9’s touchpad. It’s roomy without being so big that it interferes with typing. It has a decent amount of travel when you click, and cursor movement is smooth and snappy. The trackpad was one feature that let us down on last year’s model, so seeing some improvement was a welcome surprise.

Lenovo Yoga 7i (Gen 9) 2-in-1: Audio

Top-firing speakers always elevate the audio experience on laptops, and Lenovo did not disappoint with the Yoga 7i Gen 9’s audio setup. The speakers are located along the top edge of the keyboard deck rather than underneath it. “I Need You” by M83 sounded fantastic, with both highs and lows coming through smooth and clear. The Yoga 7i could blast it loud enough to hear throughout my apartment without hitting 50% volume.

The top-firing speakers are incredibly convenient for watching movies and TV shows since they create a personal surround sound effect. I watched an episode of Ahsoka on Disney Plus on the Yoga 7i, and everything from droid dialogue to blaster fire came through the top-firing speakers loud and clear.

Lenovo Yoga 7i (Gen 9) 2-in-1: Gaming and graphics

While the Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 9 can reasonably handle everyday productivity tasks, one area where it struggled in our testing was gaming and graphics performance. On the 3DMark Fire Strike graphics test, the Yoga 7i Gen 9 scored 4,969, which is noticeably lower than the premium laptop average of 6,745 and almost 4,000 points below the Lenovo Slim 7i’s score of 8,455.

The Yoga 7i Gen 9 ran Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm in 1080p at just 20 frames per second, less than half the premium laptop average of 42 fps. That’s also far below the Lenovo Slim 7i and 13-inch M3 Macbook Air, which clocked in at 41 fps. The Acer Swift Go 14, which we reviewed at a price similar to the Yoga 7i, scored a whopping 54 fps.

If gaming or other graphics-intensive tasks are your top priority, the Yoga 7i Gen 9 is not a good choice, considering it also scored poorly on our display tests.

Lenovo Yoga 7i (Gen 9) 2-in-1: Performance

I used the Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 9 during my testing for typical everyday tasks, such as web browsing, word processing, and watching videos on YouTube and Disney Plus. It kept up well and never felt sluggish, even when I had ten or more browser tabs open.

It also performed reasonably well in our tests. The Yoga 7i copied a 25GB file in 19 minutes at a rate of 1,368 Mbps. That’s a bit slower than the Lenovo Slim 7i’s time of 17 minutes at 1,534 Mbps but faster than a premium laptop average of 25 minutes at 1,181 Mbps.

That result is pretty good, but the Yoga 7i could have performed better in a few of our other tests. On Geekbench 6.1, the Yoga 7i scored 9,415, nearly 500 points below our premium laptop average of 9,910. That’s also well below the Lenovo Slim 7i (12,111) and the 13-inch M3 Macbook Air (12,087).

Lenovo Yoga 7i (Gen 9) 2-in-1: Battery life

Battery life was one area where the Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 9 did not disappoint. It lasted 11 hours and 24 minutes in our battery tests, over an hour more than the premium laptop average of 10 hours and 7 minutes. It also outscored the Lenovo Slim 7i, which lasted 10 hours and 3 minutes, although the 13-inch M3 Macbook Air had a far longer battery life with a whopping 15 hours and 13 minutes.

For me, the Yoga 7i lasted most of the day while performing tasks like web browsing and video playback. I could usually go an entire workday before needing to charge it, and when I did have to charge it, the battery was usually back to full within an hour or two.

Lenovo Yoga 7i (Gen 9) 2-in-1: Webcam

If a cinema-quality webcam is a must-have, the Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 9 is not for you. The built-in webcam is 1080p Full HD, but my test videos were grainy even in good lighting. The webcam captures a fairly wide angle, though.

Even if you don’t mind sub-par webcam video quality, the Yoga 7i Gen 9's built-in mic is disappointing. In my test videos, my voice sounded like I was on speaker in a phone call or talking from a room with an echo. It’s not ideal for people who frequently use their laptop for video or voice calls.

If you plan to use the Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 9 for anything that requires a camera or mic, you’ll probably want to choose one of our best webcams to clip onto your laptop instead.

Lenovo Yoga 7i (Gen 9) 2-in-1: Heat

The Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 9 handled heat well in our testing and never felt uncomfortably warm during daily use. The touchpad averaged 79 degrees, which is on par with our premium laptop average of 78.4 degrees.

The underside of the Yoga 7i Gen 9 reached 86 degrees during our tests, well below the category average of 94.5 degrees. The hottest temperature recorded during our heat tests was 96.3 degrees in the center of the underside, just above the vents.

Lenovo Yoga 7i (Gen 9) 2-in-1: Software and warranty

You get Windows 11 Home by default with the Yoga 7i Gen 9, although there is an option to upgrade to Windows 11 Pro for an additional $51.

Regardless of which version of Windows 11 you choose, the Yoga 7i Gen 9 comes with some preloaded Microsoft and Lenovo apps, including Microsoft Edge and Lenovo Vantage. The latter lets you view your device’s warranty information, troubleshoot technical issues, and customize system settings. The Yoga 7i includes free trials of other apps and services, such as Xbox Game Pass and Dropbox cloud storage.

The Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 9 includes a one-year limited warranty. If you want to upgrade or extend your service, you can purchase coverage from Lenovo Premium Care Plus. Lenovo placed third overall in our 2023 tech support showdown, so you can expect great customer service — even if you don’t buy a premium warranty.

Bottom line

The Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 9 succeeds in some areas but falls flat in others. It’s a capable 2-in-1 with a battery that can last a full day, loud top-firing speakers, and a roomy touchpad. However, a dull display and mixed results on our performance tests make the Yoga 7i a hit-or-miss depending on individual users’ preferences and needs.

The Yoga 7i can handle basic daily tasks like word processing and web browsing fine. However, if you are looking for a laptop for graphic design, photo editing, or any graphics-intensive task, you will be better off with the similarly priced Lenovo Slim 7i or Acer Swift Go 14. Visit our guide to the best laptops for even more alternatives to consider.