Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i review: The most luxurious ultrabook

Every once in a while, we come across a laptop that makes us reconsider what luxury looks like. Lenovo’s 14-inch Yoga Slim 9i ($1,834.99 as tested) is the apex of class and style when it comes to Windows laptops, with a sleek glass lid and an ultra-thin profile that even smaller-screen laptops struggle to match. It also has one of the finest displays we’ve ever laid eyes on. That said, this beauty isn’t without its flaws, so be sure to weigh your options among the best ultrabooks carefully before maxing out your credit card.

Design of the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i

If I were to call any laptop a true luxury item, the Yoga Slim 9i would fit the bill. Its glass lid is the real showstopper, featuring a stunning blue finish that shimmers and changes hues when it catches the light. It's absolutely beautiful.

As you open the lid – easily done with one hand – you’ll see the sleek metal chassis. It’s rock solid, with no trace of flex, even when I (inadvisably) tested its strength by picking it up from one corner. The lid isn’t quite as rigid, but it’s still reassuringly stiff. The rounded, reflective chassis edges are yet another luxurious touch.

The design does have its drawbacks. The lid and chassis edges are prone to smudges and fingerprints, so keeping a microfiber cloth handy is a good idea. And while it has passed MIL-STD-810H tests for durability in extreme conditions, you’ll want to handle this with extra care to avoid any unsightly scratches.

The Yoga Slim 9i is one of the most portable 14-inch laptops, at 12.32 x 8.01 x 0.57 inches and weighing 2.76 pounds. Its exceptionally thin display bezels are partly thanks to a special webcam design that is based under the screen. You can see more on that in the webcam section, below.

The Dell XPS 13 (9350) is a bit more compact, thanks to its 13.4-inch display, measuring 11.62 x 7.84 x 0.58 inches and weighing nearly the same at 2.7 pounds. Despite having an even smaller 13-inch display, the HP Omnibook Ultra is actually larger than the Yoga, coming in at 12.41 x 8.96 x 0.65 inches and 3.47 pounds. The Apple MacBook Pro (M4, 14-inch), sits somewhere in between, with dimensions of 12.31 x 8.71 x 0.61 inches and a weight of 3.4 pounds.

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One trade-off for being this slim is the limited selection of physical connections – just two Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C) ports. The Dell XPS 13 (9350) has the same problem. On the bright side, Lenovo positioned one on each edge, giving you some flexibility when plugging in the power adapter. That said, there’s no USB Type-A port, dedicated video output, or even a headphone jack. If you depend on physical connections, you’ll probably need to carry adapters or transition to Bluetooth devices.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i Specifications

Productivity Performance on the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i

We tested the Yoga Slim 9i with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor, 32GB of RAM, Intel Arc Graphics 140V, and a 1TB SSD. The CPU is a “Lunar Lake” chip featuring four performance and four efficient cores.

The laptops we’re using in the comparison charts include the 14-inch Apple MacBook Pro (10-core M4, $1,949 as tested), the Dell XPS 13 (9350) (Core Ultra 7 258V, $1,599 as tested), and the HP Omnibook Ultra (AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, $1,748 as tested). Both the Apple and HP laptops have considerably stronger processors for the price.

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The Yoga Slim 9i was competitive with the XPS in the synthetic Geekbench 6 test, achieving 2,733 points in single-core and 11,038 points in multi-core, compared to the XPS’s 2,660 and 10,486 points, respectively. However, it trailed the HP, which scored 2,847 and 14,838 points. The MacBook bested them all, especially in single-core performance, with an impressive score of 3,807 points in single-core and 15,114 points in multi-core.

In our 25GB file transfer test, the Yoga Slim 9i finished last, copying at an average speed of 1,032.87 MBps. The MacBook performed slightly better at 1,167.29 MBps. The XPS showed a marked improvement with 1,533.86 MBps, while the HP led the pack with an impressive 1,708.23 MBps.

The Yoga Slim 9i continued its average performance in our Handbrake test, which transcodes a 4K video file to 1080p. It completed the task in 6 minutes and 7 seconds, outperforming the XPS, which took 8 minutes and 35 seconds. However, it fell short compared to the MacBook’s 4 minutes and 27 seconds and the HP’s 4 minutes and 18 seconds.

We stress-test ultrabooks with 10 loops of Cinebench 2024. The Yoga 9i scored 582 points on the first run and maintained consistency within five points across subsequent runs, demonstrating stable thermal performance. During the test, the P-cores operated at an average of 3.1 GHz, while the E-cores averaged 3.6 GHz. The average temperature of the processor was 60 degrees Celsius (140 Fahrenheit).

Display on the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i

The Yoga Slim 9i’s OLED touch display is its hallmark feature. With a 3840 x 2400 resolution (16:10 aspect ratio), it shows remarkable detail, making individual pixels indistinguishable to the human eye. Its picture quality is simply spectacular and the best I’ve seen on a laptop. Colors were incredibly vibrant in Despicable Me 2, and I was glued to BBC’s Planet Earth III for hours. The brightness is also very good; I didn’t use the laptop at maximum brightness most of the time.

The wide color space will appear to creators; the Lenovo Vantage app lets you switch between sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3 color spaces. Additionally, the refresh rate can be toggled between 60 Hz and 120 Hz using the Fn + R keyboard shortcut.

The display does have a couple of drawbacks, the most noticeable being its reflective surface, which can produce distracting glare from ambient light. While this wasn’t a major issue for me, I did find myself using higher screen brightness than I would have preferred to counteract the reflections.

Another issue, which I initially didn’t notice, is that the top corners of the display are rounded, like some of Microsoft's Surface devices, resulting in a small portion of the pixels being cut off. For example, the Close (X) button in application windows appears slightly trimmed at the top right. Although this doesn’t impact the laptop's overall usability, it seems to be a trade-off for achieving such a slim top display bezel.

The Yoga's brightness and color performance were on par with the OLED-equipped XPS 13, delivering 146.5% DCI-P3 color coverage and an average peak brightness of 356 nits — impressive for an OLED display. In comparison, the non-OLED models fell far behind in color reproduction. Among them, the MacBook Pro's mini-LED screen was the most vibrant, achieving 80.2% DCI-P3 coverage. While the Mac also led in brightness at 556.6 nits, it’s not directly comparable to the OLED displays.

Webcam on the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i

The Yoga Slim 9i introduces what Lenovo calls the CUD (Camera Under Display). When enabled, you’ll notice a circular black mark appear at the top of the screen – that’s the webcam. It’s essentially like a notch on a smartphone. This is ingenious in the sense the webcam is invisible except when it’s on; no bezel on top of the screen is needed to accommodate it.

That said, I found the webcam quality disappointing, particularly for a laptop this expensive. It displays significant grain and color distortion even under good lighting conditions. Despite a 1080p video resolution, it lacks sharpness, too. The camera also boasts a 32-megapixel photo resolution, but this felt more like a marketing gimmick; the photos showed little improvement over the video quality, and the extra resolution doesn’t do anything to help that.

One upside with the webcam is that it does have a physical kill switch on the laptop’s right edge. However, it lacks an infrared sensor, leaving the fingerprint reader as the sole biometric option.

Keyboard and Touchpad on the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i

Although many ultraportable laptops often have shallow keyboards, the Yoga Slim 9i surprises with a healthy 1.5 mm key travel. The keys provide satisfying tactile feedback for long typing sessions. I quickly got used to it, managing 112 words per minute with perfect accuracy on my first try in the MonkeyType online typing test and 119 wpm the second time, which is my maximum speed on any laptop. I also appreciate the keys’ soft-touch coating and the two-level white backlighting that makes working in the dark no problem.

The main keyboard is laid out as expected and includes a Function Lock feature (Fn + Esc) to prioritize the F1 through F12 keys. The star key beside F12 is a customizable shortcut key, configurable through the Lenovo Vantage app. One downside, however, is the mismatched sizes of the arrow keys, which I find makes me prone to typos.

Only the right column of the keyboard is nonstandard, but in a good way. Arrayed from the top are shortcuts for performance mode (performance, balanced, or quiet), Dolby Atmos equalizer settings (e.g., movie, music, etc.), the display’s blue light filter, and one to launch the Lenovo Vantage app (described later in this review). There’s also a fingerprint reader at the bottom. The fingerprint reader isn’t the power button, which is located on the right edge.

The Yoga’s touchpad is also excellent. While it looks slightly small at 4.1 inches x 2.7 inches, it maximizes the available vertical space. My fingers glided across its surface, and the physical clicks provide direct tactile feedback without making too much noise.

Audio on the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i

The Yoga’s speakers sound full-bodied and are plenty loud for personal listening. The bass notes and vocals in Aurosonic’s “Moving Mountains” were engaging, and I noted the crisp sound effects and satisfying bass depth while watching Blade Runner: 2049.

The Dolby Atmos settings in the Dolby Access app aid the sound quality. Music mode is good for everything, adding extra detail, while Movie mode noticeably expands the soundstage.

As I noted, the Yoga lacks a headphone jack, so you’ll need a Bluetooth or USB Type-C device for alternative sound output, such as the best PC speakers.

Upgradeability of the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i

Upgrade prospects for the Yoga Slim 9i are, well, slim. The only replaceable parts are the battery and the SSD, which uses the compact M.2 2230 format, restricting compatible drives. Upgrading the memory is not possible since it is integrated into the Core Ultra 7 “Lunar Lake” processor. The Wi-Fi 7 wireless card is also soldered and not replaceable, though it shouldn’t need replacement anytime soon.

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Removing the bottom panel of the Yoga Slim 9i is no simple task. In addition to four visible T5 screws, there are two hidden Philips-head screws concealed beneath the rear rubber foot. I used a plastic trim tool to carefully pry the foot loose. Lenovo used some adhesive to hold it down, but it seems unnecessary as the foot has hooks that go into the chassis. Once reattached, it felt just as stable. However, for those unfamiliar with this design, overlooking these hidden screws could lead to damage when attempting to remove the bottom panel.

When reassembling the laptop, that foot fits back in with hooks. I'm not sure it would survive a bunch of openings, but once or twice should be OK.

Battery Life on the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i

Our battery life test involves simulated web browsing, streaming video over Wi-Fi, and running OpenGL tests, all with the screen brightness set to 150 nits. The Yoga Slim 9i trailed the group, lasting 11 hours and 3 minutes. The only device with a shorter runtime was the OLED-equipped XPS 13, at 8 hours and 40 minutes, but the normal LCD version lasted 17 hours and 29 minutes. Meanwhile, the Omnibook Ultra (with an IPS screen) lasted 12 hours and 52 minutes, while the MacBook Pro (with a mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR screen) led with 18 hours and 31 minutes. While the Yoga’s battery life is far from unusable, it wouldn't be our top pick for maximum endurance off the plug.

Heat on the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i

We measure laptop surface temperatures during our Cinebench 2024 stress test. The Yoga’s touchpad registered 69 degrees F, the center of the keyboard (between the G and H keys) was 86 degrees, and the maximum temperature on the underside was 82 degrees. The laptop felt only lukewarm. Additionally, the fans operated quietly and remained unobtrusive, even in my nearly silent testing room.

Software and Warranty on the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i

The familiar Lenovo Vantage app is the most important pre-installed software on the Yoga Slim 9i. Its user-friendly interface offers many useful features, such as a battery conservation mode, an overnight charging feature that adapts your habits to fully charge the battery before you need it, and a blue light filter for the display. Additionally, the app provides Dolby Atmos audio customization, system diagnostics, a security advisor, a network utility to identify secure wireless networks, system updates, and access to customer support.

A McAfee antivirus license is included, though we removed it for testing. There is also the mentioned Dolby Access app for setting Atmos equalizer settings.

Lenovo backs the Yoga Slim 9i with a one-year warranty.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i Configurations

Lenovo offers the Yoga Slim 9i in two configurations: one features a Core Ultra 7 256V processor paired with 16GB of RAM, while the other includes a Core Ultra 7 258V processor and 32GB of RAM. The two processors are identical apart from the embedded memory capacity. Both models come equipped with a 1TB SSD.

At $1,834.99, Lenovo’s Yoga Slim 9i is undeniably expensive, but it’s not unreasonable compared to similar premium laptops. For instance, the Dell XPS 9350, featuring an OLED screen, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD, is listed at $1,999.99 on Dell.com as of this writing. The Apple MacBook Pro offers a comparable price point at $1,799.99, equipped with an M4 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. On the other hand, the HP Omnibook Ultra is a more budget-friendly option, priced at $1,499.99 at Best Buy, with an OLED display, 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD.

Bottom Line

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i is a dazzler, blending luxurious design with a spectacular OLED display. It stands out as one of the most stylish and portable 14-inch laptops on the market. Beyond aesthetic allure, it also features a comfortable keyboard, responsive touchpad, and solid audio performance.

That said, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i has its share of limitations. Its connectivity options are minimal, offering only two USB-C ports with no additional features – not even a headphone jack. The under-display webcam, while an impressive technological achievement, delivers disappointing video quality.

Moreover, though its battery life can cover a workday, competitors like the non-OLED Dell XPS 13 (9350) and the Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M4) offer even longer durations away from the plug, a trade-off for the Yoga’s gorgeous OLED display. Last, while its performance is more than sufficient for everyday tasks, the Core Ultra 7 “Lunar Lake” processor falls short when compared to more robust options like the AMD Ryzen AI-powered HP Omnibook Ultra or the M4-equipped MacBook Pro.

In the realm of premium ultrabooks, the Omnibook Ultra and the MacBook Pro remain stronger all-around choices at a comparable price, albeit with added weight and (in the case of the MacBook) the absence of an OLED display. But for those prioritizing elegance, display quality, and portability above all else, the Yoga Slim 9i is an enticing option.