You should not should spend greater than $1,000 to get a strong laptop computer, together with a full set of ports and specs that may get you thru a workday with out slowing down. The Lenovo Yoga 7i (16-inch), examined at $849.99, brings all of that plus a thirteenth Gen Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD.
Whereas the Yoga is versatile, permitting to be used as a pill, a laptop computer or different modes in between, there may be one minimize value: the show. It merely cannot contact the dearer entries in our record of the greatest ultrabooks.
However if you would like the specs to get you working and battery life to final you all day, with out breaking the financial institution, this 2-in-1 could also be up your alley.
Design of the Lenovo Yoga 7i
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So far as Lenovo’s laptops go, the Yoga 7i continues a convention of notebooks which might be plain and inoffensive. You get an uninspired-looking aluminum chassis with the Yoga identify branded on the darkish grey lid. It picks up fingerprints fairly simply, however they wipe off with a fabric. Maybe the one different notable function is the digital camera bump, which can also be simple to raise the lid with. The 16-inch model appears notably spartan, at 14.3 x 9.8 x 0.67 inches of grey, with minimal branding.
With the laptop computer open, you possibly can see the minimal bezel across the display, the keyboard deck and the keyboard. It is also whenever you’re extra more likely to discover the laptop computer’s rounded edges, which look good, however cease on the keyboard deck, the place they’re squared off.
The Yoga is a convertible 2-in-1, with a 360-degree hinge that allows you to flip the keyboard past the show to make use of as a pill. You can even flip it into an upside-down formed “v” tent, or place the keyboard the wrong way up and use it as a show. I am of the opinion that 16-inches is a bit unwieldy for a pill, however clearly there’s somebody on the market who likes the concept.
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The left facet of the laptop computer has an HDMI port, the 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a headphone jack, whereas the 2 USB Sort-A ports, a microSD card slot and the facility button are on the appropriate facet of the machine.
The Yoga 7i weighs 4.49 kilos, which is heavier than different U and P-class laptops, which are inclined to run within the 13 or 14-inch vary. Basically, you get extra weight with larger display sizes. The smaller Yoga 9i Gen 8 is 3.09 kilos, the HP Spectre x360 13.5 is 3.01 kilos and the MacBook Air with M2 is 2.7 kilos.
Lenovo Yoga 7i Specs
| CPU | Intel Core i7-1355U |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Xe (built-in) |
| Reminiscence | 16GB LPDDR5-5200 |
| Storage | 512GB PCIe Gen 4 m.2 2242 SSD |
| Show | 16-inch 1920 x 1200, Dolby Imaginative and prescient touchscreen |
| Networking | Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211, Bluetooth 5.1 |
| Ports | 2x Thunderbolt 4 over USB Sort-C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1, MicroSD card slot, HDMI 1.4b, 3.5 mm headphone jack |
| Digicam | 1080p, IR, privateness shutter |
| Battery | 71 WHr |
| Energy Adapter | 65W |
| Working System | Home windows 11 Dwelling |
| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 14.3 x 9.8 x 0.67 inches (362.2 x 250.1 x 16.99 mm) |
| Weight | 4.49 kilos / 2.04 kg |
| Worth (as configured) | $849.99 |
Productiveness Efficiency on the Lenovo Yoga 7i
The Lenovo Yoga 7i is among the many first laptops we’re seeing with Intel’s thirteenth Gen U collection processors. Particularly, that is an Intel Core i7-1355U, which Lenovo has partnered with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB PCIe Gen 4 M.2 SSD.
With an absence of thirteenth Gen U-series opponents, we’re diving deep right here. We’re evaluating it to the M2 chip within the MacBook Air, the Core i7-1360P within the Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 (with the intention to examine U vs P) and a final gen Core i7-1255U within the HP Spectre x360 13.5.
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On Geekbench 5, the Yoga 7i earned a single-core rating of 1,810 and a multi-core rating of 8,663. That confirmed good points in scores over final 12 months’s Spectre (1,667/7,243), although we’re additionally coping with an even bigger chassis right here. The Apple M2 beat it barely in each circumstances, whereas the Yoga 9i had the very best multi-core rating of the group.
The Yoga 7i transferred 25GB of information at a price of 1,380.11 MBps, dropping solely to the Yoga i9 (1,669.29 MBps).
On our Handbrake video transcoding take a look at, it took the Yoga 10 minutes and 30 seconds to transcode a 4K video to 1080p. That was simply 3 seconds forward of final 12 months’s Core i7-1255U within the Spectre, and considerably behind the M2.
To actually stress the Yoga 7i, we put it via 20 runs of Cinebench R23. The Yoga began at a dramatic excessive of 9,927.63, earlier than crashing to 7,987.79 on run two, then staying in that space the remainder of the time. The followers labored time beyond regulation, however as soon as they kicked on, efficiency remained largely regular. The CPU’s efficiency cores ran at a mean of three.12 GHz whereas the effectivity cores averaged 2.28 GHz. The processor ran at a mean temperature of 66.72 levels Celsius.
Show on the Lenovo Yoga 7i
The 16-inch show on the Yoga 7i is on the dim facet. I did not have an excessive amount of of an issue, however I maxed out the brightness more often than not. The colours are nothing to jot down house about.
Once I watched the trailer for Blue Beetle, the colours of Palmera Metropolis have been wonderful, however not as stunning as on different screens. An early shot of the skyline has glowing purples, reds and blues in opposition to an evening sky, however none of it actually popped. When the hero hovers over the water after falling out of the sky, the entire colours sort of blended collectively. It is clear, however nothing stood out.
Merely put, the Yoga 7i’s display is a disappointment in comparison with some opponents. At 267 nits of brightness at greatest, you will need to preserve it absolutely illuminated on a regular basis. It covers simply 65% of the sRGB shade gamut and 45.8% of the broader DCI-P3 shade gamut.
That is a fairly steep drop from its opponents, that are admittedly a bit pricier. The MacBook Air measures 489 nits of brightness and covers 107% of the sRGB gamut and 75.9% DCI-P3. Should you bump as much as the Yoga 9i Gen 8, you may get a extra vivid OLED show, although the MacBook Air’s display remains to be brighter.
Keyboard and Touchpad on the Lenovo Yoga 7i
Lenovo’s scallop-shaped keys will probably be acquainted to anybody who has used one of many firm’s business-focused ThinkPads or different shopper laptops earlier than. It would not really feel like Lenovo’s greatest keyboard, however its serviceable.
Particularly, I want the keys had a bit extra bounce or suggestions. That did not preserve me from typing rapidly, although. I hit 112 phrases per minute on the monkeytype take a look at with 97% accuracy. However I did often backside out, which is not the most snug feeling.
The keyboard includes a quantity pad, however these keys are a bit smaller than the letters. Nonetheless, those that use Excel on a regular basis will admire it, and it makes respectable use of area on the keyboard. Beneath the keys is a fingerprint reader which, just like the IR digital camera, works to log you in with Home windows Whats up.
I’ve a couple of minor quibbles with Lenovo’s structure. I might strongly want that Lenovo transfer to half-size left and proper arrow keys for an “inverted T” structure, which makes every of the keys simpler to seek out. Moreover, whereas I applaud the addition of media keys, I want they have been nearer to the quantity keys. That may make extra logical sense than their placement above the quantity pad.
The touchpad is left aligned underneath the spacebar. It feels plasticky and my fingers often dragged, however generally, I had no points with Home windows 11 gestures and navigating packages.
For individuals who want to make use of a stylus on the touchscreen, the Yoga 7i works with Lenovo’s Precision Pen 2. (opens in new tab) One did not come within the field with our evaluation unit, which suggests you will must funds an additional $60 for it.
Audio on the Lenovo Yoga 7i
The Yoga 7i has a pair of 2W, top-facing audio system in a grille above the keyboard. They sound OK, however they do not maintain a candle to the soundbars on the higher-end Yoga 9i.
Linkin Park’s “Preventing Myself,” off of the twentieth-anniversary version of Meteora, crammed my residence with sound, however wasn’t balanced. There was a heavy concentrate on the vocals — each sung and wrapped — with much less emphasis on the tune’s heavy guitar riffs and speedy drums.
Going to the Dolby Entry app to play with the equalizer settings helped a bit. A change to the Balanced settings evened issues out a bit. I discovered my desire underneath “Detailed,” which nonetheless positioned the vocals above all, however completely clarified the guitars. Both manner, I did not get a lot in the best way of bass. The automated “dynamic” mode, which adjustments the EQ based mostly on what you are listening to, did OK, however positioned much more emphasis on the devices.
Upgradeability on the Lenovo Yoga 7i
To open the Yoga 7i, you will must take away seven Torx T5 screws from the underside of the chassis. (The 4 screws within the entrance are shorter than those within the again, so do not combine them up!) From there, you will want to make use of a software to pry the bottom off by loosening the latches.
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When you’re in, it is going to seem like there’s not a lot to be executed. There’s a variety of room for the battery and cooling. That is as a result of something you possibly can simply substitute (moreover the battery) is underneath a black mylar strip, which you will must take away to get to the Wi-Fi card and SSD. The storage drive is a shorter M.2 2242 SSD, which is extra frequent than it was, however nonetheless not as ubiquitous as longer 2280 SSDs.
Get your Yoga 7i configured with as a lot RAM as you want, as a result of it is soldered to the board.
Battery Life on the Lenovo Yoga 7i
This 16-inch convertible ought to final you a workday on a cost. It ran for 12 hours and three minutes on our battery take a look at, which browses the net, streams video, and runs OpenGL benchmarks within the browser with the show set to 150 nits and whereas related to Wi-Fi.
That was overwhelmed solely by the MacBook Air, at a powerful 14:06. The 7i beat the smaller Yoga and Spectre, each of which every surpassed 10 hours.
Warmth on the Lenovo Yoga 7i
To see how heat the Yoga 7i runs, we took pores and skin temperatures whereas operating our Cinebench R23 stress take a look at.
On the heart of the keyboard, between the G and H keys, the laptop computer reached 40.5 levels Celsius (104.9 levels Fahrenheit), which is barely toasty. The quantity pad stayed cooler, as did the touchpad. On the underside of the laptop computer, the most well liked level reached 46.6 C (115.88 F).
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Webcam on the Lenovo Yoga 7i
Lenovo’s 1080p webcam is housed in a bump above the display. It contains infrared sensors to allow you to register with Home windows Whats up facial recognition.
The webcam is serviceable, with sufficient element to point out hairs and wrinkles. It may be a bit darkish in difficult mild, however generally, I might be very happy to make use of this webcam in a gathering.
However Lenovo has additionally added a ton of software program servicing the webcam. Lenovo Sensible Look is a multi-purpose digital camera app that smoothes pores and skin, adjustments backgrounds, enables you to faux eye contact, and even “beautify” your face. That final half contains making your face rounder or thinner, making your eyes larger or smaller, or softening your pores and skin. I discovered that the attention contact customization was sort of haunting, however that auto face framing labored nicely sufficient. Background blur typically minimize off components of my ears or the highest of my head.
I do not love the filter facet of those sorts of apps. My head is larger than I might like, and altering the brow dimension truthfully made me really feel like I look higher than I do in actual life. I’ll say that it is cool that Lenovo was ready to do that with out making the background blur or bulge. I am unsure if that is good for folks or not. These filters may make you assured in a video name, however being informed you possibly can look completely different than you’re by your laptop computer can completely be a blow to your shallowness.
Software program and Guarantee on the Lenovo Yoga 7i
Webcam tips apart, Lenovo has a good quantity of software program preinstalled on the Yoga 7i when it comes out of the field.
Exterior of the Dolby audio software program, which is helpful, there is a free trial of McAfee. In any other case, a lot of the different software program is from Lenovo itself. The important thing app is Vantage, with easy accessibility to system info, guarantee standing and a few {hardware} info, although there are additionally a bunch of adverts. There are additionally separate apps for Lenovo Hotkeys, which particulars quite a few keyboard shortcuts however would not allow you to customise them; Lenovo Pen Settings, which is helpful in case you have a stylus; Lenovo Voice, which helps you to subject restricted voice instructions (and requires a price for transcription); and Lenovo Welcome. There’s additionally Lenovo Sensible Look, the digital camera app that we detailed within the webcam part above.
Lenovo’s premium Yoga line needs to be above having bookmarks positioned within the browser, however right here we’re. There are bookmarks to McAfee’s web site, in addition to Lenovo and Lenovo assist.
Moreover, there are hyperlinks within the Begin menu to the Microsoft retailer for apps like TikTok and Spotify, which you discover in mainly each Home windows 11 pocket book.
Lenovo sells the Yoga with a 1-year guarantee.
Lenovo Yoga 7i Configurations
We examined the Lenovo Yoga 7i with an Intel Core i7-1355U, 16GB of LPDDR5-5200 RAM, and a 512GB PCIe Gen 4 m.2 2252 SSD. This model is offered at $849.99 at Greatest Purchase (opens in new tab).
On Lenovo’s web site, the corporate is promoting the laptop computer with each U and P-series processors. The bottom mannequin, with a Core i5-1335U, 8GB of RAM, 512GB of storage and the identical 1920 x 1200 show is $752.25. The highest-end mannequin, with a Core i7-1360P, 16GB of RAM, 1TB of storage and a higher-resolution 2560 x 1600 show prices $1,134.99.
Backside Line
The Lenovo Yoga 7i delivers a variety of display actual property and loads of ports for underneath $1,000. Getting 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage and a Core i7 is loads cheap on the $850 value our evaluation unit got here with.
We appreciated the combination of Thunderbolt and USB-A ports, together with a microSD card slot. That will make this a strong laptop computer for burgeoning creators (particularly if Lenovo releases a model with discrete graphics sooner or later).
However the show is dim and the colours aren’t superb, which is a disgrace, as 2-in-1s actually put an emphasis on how the display appears to be like in numerous modes. For a greater display, you might need to contemplate popping as much as the OLED-equipped Yoga 9i. Should you do not want a 2-in-1 (and may take care of a smaller display), the MacBook Air can also be a good selection. Both manner, although, you will be paying much more for a greater show.
So in the event you’re on a funds and desire a large, versatile machine, the Yoga 7i is for you, however opponents supply a bit extra in terms of brilliant and vivid colours.
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