Meet Lenovo’s Flagship Tiger Lake Laptops, the Yoga and IdeaPad 9i Series

Lenovo Tiger Lake Laptops
(Image credit: Lenovo)

Lenovo announced a pair of new flagship laptops today, the Yoga 9i and IdeaPad Slim 9i ahead of the launch of Intel’s Tiger Lake mobile processors. The laptops, which will launch in October and November, respectively, include new premium designs with options for genuine leather lids. We’ll have to wait until the fall to see if they land on our Best Ultrabooks and Premium Laptops list. 

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Header Cell - Column 0 Lenovo Yoga 9i (14-inch)Lenovo Yoga 9i (15-inch)Lenovo IdeaPad 9i Slim
CPUNext Gen Intel Core processorsUp to 10th Gen Intel Core i9 HK-seriesUp to next-gen Intel Core processors
GPUGraphics based on Intel Xe architectureUp to Nvidia GTX 1650 Ti Max-QGraphics based on Intel Xe architecture
RAMUp to 16GB LPDDR4XUp to 16GB DDR4Up to 16GB LPDDR4X
StorageUp to 1TB PCIe SSDUp to 2TB PCIe SSDUp to 2TB PCIe SSD
Display14-inches, up to 3840 x 2160 touchscreen, IPS, DisplayHDR 40015.6-inches, up to 3840 x 2160 touchscreen, IPS, DisplayHDR 40014-inches, up to 3840 x 2160, IPS DislayHDR touchscreen
Wi-FiIntel Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+)Intel Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+)Intel Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+)
BatteryUp to 18 hoursUp to 13 hoursUp to 20 hours
Starting Price$1,399 (metal), $1,699 (leather)$1,799 $1,599

Lenovo isn’t saying the name “Tiger Lake,” specifically, but we know what the “next-gen Intel Core processors” are, and both the 14-inch Yoga 9i and the IdeaPad 9i will also have Thunderbolt 4 and Intel Xe graphics.

Yoga 9i lineup (Image credit: Lenovo)

Perhaps the biggest difference is that the Yoga 9i lineup is comprised of convertibles, while the IdeaPad Slim 9i is a clamshell laptop. (The latter will be marketed as the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i outside of North America).

The 14-inch Yoga 9i will come in black with an optional leather cover on its aluminum chassis, which Lenovo says will make it more durable. For those who prefer a more traditional option, you can also get it in all-metal, as well as other colors like mica, and on the 15-inch version, slate grey.

IdeaPad Slim 9i (Image credit: Lenovo)

Because the 14-inch will use upcoming Intel “Tiger Lake” processors and the 15-inch will stick with existing 10th Gen HK-series chips, there are some differences in the convertibles’ ports. The smaller system will have two Thunderbolt 4 ports over USB Type-C, while the larger version has a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports.

There are some new tricks. Lenovo is following in Apple’s footsteps on the black leather-covered model, including a haptic touchpad that vibrates to produce a clicking feel, much like the MacBook Air and Pro have been using for a few years. Lenovo is also tricking out that configuration with an ultrasonic fingerprint reader that’s under glass that it says will even work with damp fingers. Additionally, Amazon’s Alexa will come on board.

Lenovo’s rotating sound bar isn’t going anywhere, so we’re looking forward to hearing the Dolby Atmos audio.

IdeaPad Slim 9i (Image credit: Lenovo)

The IdeaPad Slim 9i is also getting the haptic touchpad  and ultrasonic fingerprint reader, as well as Alexa. It will have three Thunderbolt 4 ports, and will also come in “shadow black” with a leather cover. This laptop will have an optional 3D contour glass display that Lenovo says wraps around the display’s edges, but that won’t be an option in North America.

We’re looking forward to testing these – especially the next-gen Intel configurations – later in the fall. 

Andrew E. Freedman

Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and Mastodon @FreedmanAE.mastodon.social.