By With an Intel Lunar Lake processor, the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is a 14-inch 2-in-1 convertible laptop. It has a gorgeous OLED screen, 32GB of RAM, a 360-degree hinge, a touchscreen, and the long battery life that Intel’s Lunar Lake chipset is renowned for.
This model is a 2-in-1 convertible PC with a 360-degree hinge that made the Yoga brand famous, in contrast to some other Yoga-branded laptops I’ve evaluated in the past year. I reviewed the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10 and this machine simultaneously because they both have the same CPU.
The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 is a consumer substitute for the ThinkPad X1 2-in-1. It has the same internal CPU but a different design and a display option that is more geared toward entertainment. The computer feels and looks elegant, the screen is gorgeous, and the battery lasts a long time.
Specsification
The previous version, Lenovo Yoga 9i (Gen 9,) has been upgraded to the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition. This time, the computer is equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V Lunar Lake CPU. As a result, the battery lasts significantly longer, and it can run Copilot+ PC AI features that Intel’s previous NPU couldn’t handle. Along with a 1 TB SSD and a substantial 32 GB of RAM, it also boasts a more potent integrated GPU that performs surprisingly well for integrated graphics.
- Model: Aura Edition 2-in-1 Lenovo Yoga 9i
- CPU: 258V Intel Core Ultra 7
- 32 GB LPDDR5x RAM is the memory.
- GPU and graphics: Intel Arc 140V
- Intel AI Boost (up to 47 TOPS) as the NPU
- panel: 14-inch OLED panel, 2880 x 1800, featuring HDR and a customizable refresh rate of up to 120 Hz
- 1 TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD for storage
- Camera: 5MP 1440p camera
- Two USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, one USB Type-C (20 Gbps), one USB Type-A (10 Gbps), and one combination audio jack are all connected.
- Networking: Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 7.
- Biometrics: IR camera for facial recognition, fingerprint reader
- Capacity of battery: 75 Watt-hours
- 12.44 x 8.66 x 0.63 inches in size
- 2.91 pounds in weight
- MSRP as tested: $1,749
Design and build quality
The design of the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 is reminiscent of other Lenovo Yoga devices I’ve used in the last year or so. Unlike Lenovo’s ThinkPad line, which chooses a corporate aesthetic with more shades of gray, this Yoga laptop employs “Cosmic Blue.” It’s a sleek experience when paired with the glossy high-resolution OLED screen and rounded edges. However, the blue is rather dark. In reality, it interestingly catches light and appears much closer to black than you may think.
This is a well-proven Yoga design, and Lenovo has already released a machine with a chassis similar to this one. The top and bottom are composed of aluminum, and the build quality is sturdy. For instance, it resembles the Lenovo Yoga 9i (Gen 9) in appearance. The hinge functions properly. Additionally, Lenovo refers to the hinge as a “rotating soundbar.”
No flex that shouldn’t be there, unwanted display movement while typing, or anything else you wouldn’t want to see on a device like this is there. The design simply functions as it should. For a laptop like this, the weight of 2.91 pounds is typical; it’s neither excessively hefty nor remarkably light.
The included software is a bit more complicated than I would like; for instance, McAfee antivirus software appears and asks for a subscription right out of the box. Though it seems excessive for a $1,749 laptop, consumer laptops typically come with more bundled incentives than business computers. However, since you can easily uninstall it, that is completely irrelevant.
Display and speakers
An outstanding 14-inch OLED screen with a touchscreen is featured in the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1. With a resolution of 2880 x 1800 pixels, support for HDR, and the vibrant colors that OLED screens are known for, it is made to dazzle. In contrast to the matte screen of the business-oriented ThinkPad X1 2-in-1, this one is glossy. While the ThinkPad’s anti-glare display is more suited for readability in a range of lighting settings, this machine is primarily concerned with offering the most aesthetically pleasing screen for media consumption. When choosing a laptop, there are always trade-offs.
To be clear, screen glare is normal; it’s just what happens when a laptop’s glossy OLED display is exposed to bright lighting.
The Lenovo Yoga 2-in-1’s display offers a variable refresh rate, which likely helps Lenovo get greater battery life out of this machine. Its top refresh rate is 120 Hz. Even though the display seems like it should be power-hungry, Lenovo has managed to get a lengthy battery life out of this system, which is possibly the most impressive aspect of the display. Although Intel Lunar Lake is required, the laptop’s larger built-in battery and variable refresh rate on the screen are likely what make the difference.
Lenovo claims that the rotating soundbar “allows the device to project audio independent of the device’s orientation,” which is a major issue. The laptop has two woofers on the bottom, while the soundbar has two tweeters that move with the screen. The speaker arrangement has a nice tone. The sound was crisp and detailed when I listened to Steely Dan’s Aja on Spotify, a well-known audiophile test track for speakers. For a more electronic sound with more bass, I switched to Daft Punk’s Get Lucky. The audio sounded exciting and energetic, but it was lacking the kind of bass you’d get with external speakers or a decent pair of headphones.
Connectivity
The Lenovo Yoga 9i has two ports. Chris Hoffman/IDG. Although I’ve seen worse, the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 doesn’t have the most connectors. A USB Type-C port (USB 20Gbps) and a USB Type-A port (USB 10Gbps) are located on the left side. Two Thunderbolt 4 ports (USB 40Gbps) and a combination audio jack are located on the right side. You will need to put the charger into one of the USB Type-C ports to charge this laptop.
Look elsewhere if you’re seeking for a second USB Type-A connector, a microSD card reader, or an HDMI out port. (The business-oriented ThinkPad X1 2-in-1, for instance, features an integrated HDMI out connector.) However, if you’re willing to use a dongle in case you ever need more ports, this isn’t too bad for this kind of small laptop. Simply put, I’m glad Lenovo equipped this computer with a headphone jack! I’ve evaluated the Yoga Slim 9i, a similarly named Lunar Lake-powered Yoga laptop devoid of a headphone port.
This computer also has Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 built in, thanks to Intel’s Lunar Lake. These features must be included by default in all new computers.
Performance
Look elsewhere if you’re seeking a second USB Type-A connector, a microSD card reader, or an HDMI out port. (The business-oriented ThinkPad X1 2-in-1, for instance, features an integrated HDMI out connector.) However, if you’re willing to use a dongle in case you ever need more ports, this isn’t too bad for this kind of small laptop.
Simply put, I’m glad Lenovo equipped this computer with a headphone jack! I’ve evaluated the Yoga Slim 9i, a similarly named Lunar Lake-powered Yoga laptop devoid of a headphone port. This computer also has Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 built in, thanks to Intel’s Lunar Lake. These features must be included by default in all new computers.
The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1’s Intel Core Ultra 7 258V CPU provides fast desktop performance. In addition to having a remarkably long battery life and unexpectedly strong graphics performance for integrated graphics hardware, Lunar Lake performs well in daily office apps.
To get a sense of the overall performance of the system, we first run PCMark 10. With an overall PCMark 10 score of 7,719, the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 appears to be making the most of Lunar Lake’s hardware performance. We prefer to test laptops in their default settings, as a typical PC user would experience them. I assume that the new updates to Windows 11 that cause laptops to immediately switch to a higher-performance state when plugged in helped this machine perform better in the benchmarks.
Battery life
We would anticipate that the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 will have a long battery life because it pairs a powerful 75-watt-hour battery with durable Lunar Lake hardware. And it does—it’s amazing. We repeatedly play a 4K version of Tears of Steel on Windows 11 with airplane mode turned on until the laptop suspends itself in order to test the battery life. For our battery benchmarks, we set the screen to 250 nits of brightness. It’s important to note that the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1’s OLED display has a slight edge because OLED panels require less power to display the black bars surrounding the video. Since local video playback is so effective and real battery life in daily usage will always be less than this, this is the best-case situation for any laptop.
We repeatedly play a 4K version of Tears of Steel on Windows 11 with airplane mode turned on until the laptop suspends itself in order to test the battery life. For our battery benchmarks, we set the screen to 250 nits of brightness. It’s important to note that the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1’s OLED display has a slight edge because OLED panels require less power to display the black bars surrounding the video. Since local video playback is so effective and real battery life in daily usage will always be less than this, this is the best-case situation for any laptop.
Conclusion
The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is a stylish device with a long battery life and a stunning display. The two-for-one experience is fantastic. It’s just as lovely as the pictures show. The drawbacks are clear: the fingerprint reader to the right of the arrow keys might not be to everyone’s taste, the glossy screen might not be the best in some circumstances, and the low multithreaded CPU speed might interfere with some people’s workflows. However, the primary issue is the cost, which at $1,749 is somewhat high for a consumer laptop. Nevertheless, it is a two-in-one, and a good one at that.
For those seeking a stylish, portable, two-in-one laptop with a bright display and a long battery life, this is a fantastic device. This computer is excellent if those are your top requirements and you think the pricing is fair.
