In supporting the activities of both professional workers and content creators, performance is not the only important factor that can maximize productivity. Maybe many of Gizmo friends already use a dual-screen setup at home. Well, now imagine if that setup was packaged in a thin and light laptop. Yes, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i (2024) is the embodiment of that concept.
This year, Lenovo is bringing a refreshed version of its dual-screen laptop with faster, more power-efficient Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 processors, more memory, and a host of other enhancements that deliver a more satisfying overall experience. Not only for those of you who want to have a high-tech and leading product, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i is also present as a reliable productivity machine.
It cannot be denied that this laptop is indeed in the premium budget segment. However, I can see that this best innovation from Lenovo can be the right choice for a number of people with increasingly high needs. Here is the full Lenovo Yoga Book 9i review.
Design
From the outside, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i design looks like a typical premium thin laptop. The four corners are made blunt, with the sides made shiny. This laptop has a Tidal Teal color, a thickness of less than 16mm, and a weight of only around 13 kilograms. It's relatively thin and light, especially for a laptop with two screens.
I like the YOGA logo on the outside which is printed large but the same color as the body, so it is still relatively faint, not too striking. It's better to open this laptop using two hands, because the bottom side can still be lifted a little. Naturally, the hinges have to be made solid, because this is a 2-in-1 laptop with a 360 degree hinge.
This means you can open the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i laptop up to 180 degrees, even close to 360 degrees to Tablet mode. The mechanism feels very solid and smooth, far from fragile. Likewise, the feel on all sides of the body reflects its premium price tag.
Being a premium class laptop, Lenovo provides 3 years of Premium Care for 24/7 service including home repair calls, as well as 3 years of Accidental Damage Protection. This means that if there is accidental damage to the laptop, it can be fully covered for free, and can even be claimed more than once. Gives a sense of peace of mind while using the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i.
Screen
What makes the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i a futuristic laptop and also supports maximum productivity is none other than the use of two full 133 inch screens in it. Yes, these two screens have identical specifications. Both use the Lenovo PureSight OLED 2 panel.8K with maximum brightness up to 400 nits.
It is still 60Hz, but in my opinion what is more important is the level of accuracy which has reached 100% DCI-P3, and carries DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification and supports Dolby Vision effects. The surface is made glossy so that it can reflect light and leave fingerprints. However, after using it for two weeks, it seems that Lenovo has embedded quite a lot of oleophobic coating, so it doesn't get dirty so easily.
Both Lenovo Yoga Book 9i screens are also protected by Gorilla Glass 3, so they should be safer from light scratches. Stylus support with up to 4096 levels of depth is also present, and the stylus is included in the sales package, using the Wacom AES standard.
High resolution also helps when accessing documents or other things with small text. Uniquely, Lenovo gives users the flexibility to adjust the brightness level of each Lenovo Yoga Book 9i screen.
Ports & Connectivity
On the positive side, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i has a total of three USB-C ports, namely one on the left side and two on the right side. All of them can act as power supplies, and already have the Thunderbolt 4 standard, providing high flexibility. Unfortunately, there is no audio jack, and Lenovo also does not provide a USB dongle in the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i purchase package for connecting to HDMI, USB-A and others.
Then what about the keyboard and touchpad, considering that both sides are screens? Simply tap the bottom side of the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i screen with three fingers to bring up a virtual touchpad, or with eight fingers for a touchpad and full-size keyboard. There are many customization options provided, starting from setting the touchpad size, keyboard color, transparency, to the vibration effect.
It took me a few days to get used to the all-virtual keyboard and touchpad—I think turning on the vibration and sound effects helps improve accuracy, whether it's just a placebo effect or not. You can still rest the bottom surface of your hands on the left and right sides of the touchpad while pointing the cursor and typing normally, because the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i intelligently ““read” the situation to provide an experience similar to using a conventional laptop.
The good news is, Lenovo includes a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse in the sales package. This accessory can be used for those of you who really want to use the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i conventionally—the keyboard can be placed on top of the bottom screen of the device, adjusting the magnets on the body. Of course, you can use them separately, if you really want to make full use of both screens.
Other Features
How to maximize productivity using the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i's two screens? In the sales package, Lenovo provides a special multifunctional sleeve. Apart from storing the keyboard and stylus, it is also a method for placing the laptop so that it can be positioned as if it had two vertical or horizontal monitors, by folding it according to the existing curves.
In addition to the standard laptop mode, Tent mode where two people can run each screen individually, and Tablet mode, there are also two other modes that I think are the most productive on the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i. Namely, using it in two-screen portrait mode side by side, or towering upwards as if having two landscape screens that are top and bottom.
I personally am used to using a monitor that is higher than the laptop screen when working at home, with my main laptop screen being used as a secondary screen. The fact that I can use a similar working style to when I'm at a cafe using the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i is a game-changer. A laptop this compact, with the right (and relatively practical) accessories, can be transformed into a very capable setup.
Possible “The downside for some people is that this laptop will attract attention when you are in a cafe. But yeah, it's the same as using a large-screen gaming laptop, or those who are also used to using a laptop with an additional portable monitor, or setting up a laptop + tablet next to it. Lenovo Yoga Book 9i offers more options in a more minimal profile, of course.
In my opinion, the scenario of two portrait screens side by side on the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i can be used when you want to access long documents, while watching videos from vertical video platforms, or accessing manga comics and the like. Even if Gizmo friends want to access documents continuously with both screens, they can do so by tapping the bottom screen using five fingers.
At the top of the screen, there is a 5MP webcam with a number of sensors that function to recognize faces in any lighting conditions via Windows Hello. Interestingly, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i supports the Lenovo Presence Detection feature, so that when the laptop is on standby, it automatically turns on when a face approaches. No need to touch any buttons, can automatically login (or sleep when the user leaves the laptop for a certain period).
Apart from the superior screen, the audio quality of the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i is also worth a thumbs up. Like the previous Yoga series, the hinge part of the screen is home to two Bowers and Wilkins speakers, and there are two other speakers located on the underside of the body. Not only is it loud, but it's also quite detailed, which is great for the form factor it's in.
Performance
Compared to the previous generation, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i 2024 edition comes with the latest processor from Intel, namely the Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 processors 155U series with 12 CPU cores, consisting of 2 P-Cores for high performance, 8 E-Cores, and 2 LPE-Cores which are the most energy efficient. Paired with 14 Threads, the CPU on the processor supports clock speeds up to 48GHz in Turbo mode.
It doesn't stop there, the RAM capacity is also quite large at 32GB, dual-channel LPDDR5x type, but it is soldered, meaning it cannot be upgraded. The storage itself is 1TB, using the M SSD type.2 PCIe 4.0 NVME, with additional slots up to 1TB M type.2. The processor carried by the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i does prioritize efficiency, it feels more fitting to be embedded in a thin and light device that also carries two full screens like the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i.
When used for multitasking running more than four applications at once using split screen mode, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i is able to handle it very smoothly. Light photo and video editing needs can still be carried out, including occasional gaming, as long as you don't expect the best graphic visuals. The sound of the cooling system is also relatively quiet, never disturbing when the room is quiet.
Another thing I like about the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i is that its exhaust vents are designed to be quite flexible, with multiple exhaust directions from different sides. That way, the heat can be distributed to more angles—making this laptop safer to, say, place on a surface like a bed, reducing the possibility of clogs.
An important point that can also be obtained from using the latest generation of processors is the presence of a special NPU to carry out AI processing from a number of applications, so that it does not burden CPU or GPU performance. Processing will be smoother, while being more power efficient, thus having a positive impact on the battery life of the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i.
Battery
In its dimensions which are quite compact and have two full screen sizes, I am quite amazed at how Lenovo can embed a fairly large battery capacity in it. Yes, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i battery has a capacity of 80 WHr, which is very large for an ultra-portable laptop. And of course it has a very positive impact on the usage scenario.
At first I was pessimistic considering that this laptop runs two full-sized screens, at quite high resolution too. But in fact, for daily usage scenarios, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i can reach an average of 7-9 hours. The screen brightness level and performance mode have quite a significant impact, at least they can be adjusted to suit your needs.
The use of the latest generation processor seems to have a positive effect on battery life, so Lenovo Yoga Book 9i users don't need to worry about their battery running out more quickly when activating both screens to unlock maximum potential. Charging is supported by the included USB-C charger adapter with 65W output, and can be replaced with a compatible smartphone GaN charger.
Thanks to the battery capacity which is quite large, the charging process for the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i does feel a little long. By activating Rapid Charge mode, charging for 30 minutes can add power by around 35%. While to reach 100% it takes a little over two hours. The cool thing is, besides being able to use a smartphone charger, you can also use any USB-C port on either side of the device.
Also read: Lenovo Yoga 6 (13ABR8) Review: The Most Stylish 2-in-1 Laptop, Best in Its Segment
Conclusion
An innovation that seems futuristic, but in reality is able to increase productivity significantly, without sacrificing essential features. This is the impression that arises after using the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i as a mainstay in daily work. Not only that, it is also suitable for on-the-go multimedia consumption.
The presence of two full screens provides maximum potential with far more use cases than a conventional laptop, or even just a laptop and an additional monitor. Everything is presented in a compact form, can be carried anywhere more easily, with a battery life that is also relatively long-lasting and compatible with using a smartphone charger.
Of course, this is not a laptop that is suitable for the middle-aged. If Gizmo friends are looking for a one-of-a-kind laptop that can give a very different impression while supporting productivity, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i (2024) could be the most appropriate choice.
Lenovo Yoga Book 9i (2024) Specifications
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