Lenovo’s new Yoga 7i and Yoga 9i (Gen 7) premium convertibles excel at entertainment and productivity
The Yoga 7i — in 14- and 16-inch sizes — and the flagship Yoga 9i are back for a seventh generation with a ton of new features for work and for play.
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What you need to know
The convertible Yoga 7i — both 14- and 16-inch sizes — is getting refreshed, Lenovo announced at CES 2022. These premium convertible PCs, regularly included in our collection of thebest Lenovo laptops, are now in their seventh generation.
The smaller Yoga 7i comes at you with up to a 2.8K OLED touch display with 100% DCI-P3 color andDolby Visionfor better viewing in supported content. There’s no rotating soundbar hinge like on the Yoga 9i, but the quad top-firing speakers do come withDolby Atmossupport for more immersive audio.
The 16-inch Yoga 7i — which seems to be taking over for the older 15-inch model — is equipped with a 2560x1600 (QHD+) touch display with 16:10 aspect ratio, including 100% sRGB color, 400 nits brightness, and TÜV low blue light. Dolby Vision is included, as is Dolby Atmos for the laptop’s quad top-firing speakers. Displays are compatible with active pens, though they are an optional add-on. Above the display is an FHD and IR hybrid webcam for clear video conferencing and facial recognition abilities. A webcam shutter adds privacy when not in use.
Both the 14- and 16-inch Yoga 7i models are available withIntel’s new 12th Gen Core P-series mobile CPUsand Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics. However, the larger Yoga 7i also has the option for 12th Gen Intel Core H-series mobile CPUs and Intel’s Arc A discrete GPU for better performance. Models with integrated graphics will run on a 71Wh battery, while those with discrete graphics get a significant bump up to a 100Wh battery. Up to 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM and a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD round things out. These laptops hit the right specs forIntel Evo, now in its third edition.
Moving on to Lenovo’s 14-inch flagship Yoga 9i, it now has rounded edges for its all-aluminum chassis, making it more comfortable to hold onto (especially in tablet mode). Storm Grey and Oatmeal colors are available. The rotating soundbar hinge, one of the laptop’s best features, now has quad Bowers & Wilkins speakers (two woofers, two tweeters) for louder and more robust audio. Dolby Atmos adds to the immersion.
The laptop’s entertainment factor only gets better from there, with up to 3840x2400 (UHD+) OLED touch display with 100% DCI-P3 color, 16:10 aspect ratio, and 400 nits brightness. VESA DisplayHDR 500, Dolby Vision, and TÜV low blue light certification make this a truly enjoyable viewing experience. An active pen is included for inking. Above the display is an FHD and IR webcam hybrid for facial recognition and clear video.
Performance is stellar here thanks to 12th Gen Intel Core P-series CPUs, Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics, andIntel Evothird-edition certification. Up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 1TB of M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD storage round things out nicely for anyone who wants to crush productivity during the day. The touchpad has been blown up with an extra 45% space for pointing, and the edge-to-edge keyboard now includes 1-Click Function keys that add extra shortcuts. You can quickly swap performance modes, enable background blur, swap system color modes, and employ a “Vibe Check” that smartly changes audio modes for easier listening.
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Despite how thin the Yoga 9i is, it holds onto a decent offering of ports. Dual Thunderbolt 4, two USB-A 3.2, and a 3.5mm audio jack are included. Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 round out wireless connectivity.
The Yoga 9i is expected Q2 2022 and should start at about $1.399. The 14-inch Yoga 7i is expected Q2 2022 and should start at about $949, while the 16-inch Yoga 7i is coming Q2 2022 with a starting price of about $899.
Cale Hunt brings to Windows Central more than eight years of experience writing about laptops, PCs, accessories, games, and beyond. If it runs Windows or in some way complements the hardware, there’s a good chance he knows about it, has written about it, or is already busy testing it.
