Lenovo’s Yoga laptops are at the forefront of the Beijing giant’s product lineup, offering PC users a wide range of convertibles with high-quality design and features. While Yoga is its own dedicated brand with many options for different budgets, it has also remained in other layouts such as ThinkPad and ThinkBook. If you are in the market for a new laptop and want something versatile and modern, this guide can help you to decipher the Yoga setup to make sure you get the right PC.
Why buy the Yoga 9i?
The Yoga 9i, now in its seventh generation, is Lenovo’s flagship convertible laptop. It is currently readily available in a 14-inch size, with the 15.6-inch model temporarily unavailable at Lenovo’s store front. Why? It’s unlikely that Lenovo made a permanent move to phase out the larger Yoga 9i, but it may change to a larger 16-inch size with a higher aspect ratio for the display. This has been a current trend at Lenovo lately, with the Yoga 7i recently getting a 16-inch model.
Focusing on the Yoga 9i 14 (Gen 7) for 2022, it is our current choice for best Windows laptop, which comes above the likes of the HP Specter x360 14 and the Dell XPS 13 Plus. In his Yoga 9i 14 (Gen 7) review, Executive Editor Daniel Rubino says “of all the laptops I’ve used recently, […] the Yoga 9i is the best of the bunch (assuming you are not a gamer or need a mobile workstation). ”
The Yoga 9i 14 (Gen 7) is the Yoga laptop to buy if you want the best. The sleek aluminum chassis – now with rounded edges for more comfortable holding, especially in tablet mode – weighs just 3 pounds (1.4kg) for OLED models, with an overall footprint that is closer to a 12-inch laptop. This is due in part to the sleek edge around the touch screen with a higher 16:10 aspect ratio. Lenovo makes good use of the space around the keyboard, especially for this latest generation upgrade, enlarging the touchpad by 45% and stretching out the keys for more type of area.
Ports are not quite enough, but they are nowhere near as spartan as something like the Dell XPS 13 Plus. You get two Thunderbolt 4, USB-C 3.2 (Gen 2), USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2), and a 3.5mm audio jack.
The 360-degree hinge that holds the lid and main body together is still a Bowers & Wilkins soundbar filled with four speakers and Dolby Atmos tuning. It runs on the laptop, giving you muted, loud audio, no matter how you use the PC. This is one of the main attractions of Yoga, making it easy to both confer with colleagues and enjoy some movies like TV.
Lenovo offers three high-end touch displays to match the overall premium design and features. The baseline display has a 1920×1200 (FHD +) resolution with 400 nits brightness, glossy finish, 100% sRGB color, and 60Hz refresh rate. To top it off, there are two OLED displays for those who want the best color and contrast possible. One has a 2880×1800 (2.8K) resolution with 400 nits brightness, 100% DCI-P3 color, maximum 90Hz refresh rate, and VESA DisplayHDR 500. The other has a more traditional UHD + resolution and saves the same specs for a maximum 60Hz refresh rate. . All offer Dolby Vision to make supported content even better.
There is no longer a siled active pen built into the laptop, but Lenovo includes a Precision Pen 2 with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt detection. Above the display, the camera has been upgraded to 1080p for a clearer image. It can be covered with a built-in shutter, and there is a fingerprint reader as well as an IR camera for face recognition via Windows Hello.
The laptop looks, sounds and feels great, but how does it perform? Thanks to Intel’s latest 12th Gen Core P series CPUs, you’re getting a massive leap in power from the last generation. These 28W CPUs beat the latest generation of Intel 45W chips, and even come well ahead of Apple’s M1 chip in the MacBook Pro. Combined with new DDR5 RAM and PCIe 4.0 SSD storage, you get a laptop that can handle heavy workloads. The battery life is also pretty good. With the 2.8K OLED display and a Core i7-1260P CPU, it took almost 9 hours in our tests. Going with a non-OLED display will increase that number.
Bottom line? If you want the best from Lenovo’s Yoga series, the 9i 14 (Gen 7) is the one you should get. You’ll pay more for it compared to some of its siblings, but it’s practically perfect and is without a doubt one of the best Lenovo laptops ever made.
Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 (Gen 7)
Lenovo’s Yoga 9i 14 (Gen 7), refreshed for 2022, is where you want to turn when the best is what you’re looking for.
Why buy the Yoga 7i?
The Yoga 7i lineup is a step down from Yoga 9i in terms of price and some features, but that does not mean that it is not a truly competent convertible in itself. Lenovo currently has the seventh-gen Yoga 7i 16 for sale, as well as the older fifth-gen Yoga 7i 14 and Yoga 7i 15 models. A seventh-gen Yoga 7i 14 has been announced alongside the new 16-inch version, but it is not yet in stores. It is expected to launch at any time.
Focusing on the latest release, the Yoga 7i 16 (Gen 7) – which seems to have replaced the 15.6-inch version – comes with a similar aluminum convertible design with rounded edges for added comfort in tent, stand and tablet modes. It’s built to a high standard and looks a lot like the Yoga 9i, but it does not have the same soundbar hinge that connects the lid and body. Instead, it has dual 2W tweeters and dual 3W woofers with Dolby Atmos in a more traditional setup just above the keyboard.
Ports are free enough, with dual Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.0, two USB-A 3.2 (Gen 1), 3.5mm audio, and an SD card reader. That’s a better selection than on the Yoga 9i, and it may make more sense if you do not want to connect to a usable Thunderbolt 4 dock.
Lenovo offers an impressive 16-inch touch screen with 16:10 aspect ratio. It has a 2560×1600 (2.5K) resolution, 400 nits brightness, 100% sRGB color, 60Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision, and low blue light. No OLED option here so far, but this is still a killer screen. Unlike the Yoga 9i you do not get the active pen included, but you can pay a little more and the same Lenovo Precision Pen 2. Above the display is an FHD webcam with IR camera and privacy shutter. A fingerprint reader turned off the security features.
Performance is excellent thanks to Intel’s 12th Gen Core P-series CPUs, available in both the new 16- and 14-inch Yoga 7i models. It looks like the larger laptop may have options for Intel’s H-Series CPUs and Arc’s discrete GPUs, but for now, those are P-Series chips and their integrated graphics. The new seventh-gen Yoga 7i models also come with faster LPDDR5 RAM and fast M.2 PCIe 4.0 storage.
If you do not mind the lack of a soundbar hinge and OLED displays, the Yoga 7i is a close second behind the Yoga 9i. The design is not that flashy, but it is still a premium laptop with many high-end features. Seeing prices start lower than the Yoga 9i, this is a great way to go if you are working with less budget.
Lenovo Yoga 7i 16 (Gen 7)
The Yoga 7i (Gen 7), currently available in a 16-inch model with a 14-inch version coming soon, is a cheaper alternative to the Yoga 9i that retains a ton of high-end features.
Why buy the Yoga 6?
The 13.3-inch Lenovo Yoga 6, announced at CES 2022, is the smallest sibling of the main Yoga family. It’s currently also the only way to get a Yoga laptop with AMD hardware inside. You can configure it with an AMD Ryzen 5 5500U or Ryzen 7 5700U, as well as up to a 1TB M.2 PCIe 3.0 SSD and up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM. As expected with AMD devices, you can save even more money here with models starting at $ 860.
This is especially impressive considering the 13.3-inch touch display has a 1920×1200 (FHD +) resolution with 16:10 aspect ratio, 300 nits brightness, 100% sRGB color, low blue light certification, and Dolby Vision. An active pen is not included in the price, but you can grab the Lenovo Precision Pen 2 for a great inking experience.
Dual 2W speakers with Dolby Atmos flank the keyboard, and there’s a sizable Precision touchpad below. Above the display is an FHD webcam with IR sensor and privacy shutter. There is also an integrated fingerprint reader if you prefer not to use face recognition.
There is no Thunderbolt due to the AMD platform, but the laptop comes with two USB-C 3.2 (Gen 1), two USB-A 3.2 (Gen 1), HDMI 2.0, a microSD card reader, and a 3.5mm audio -jack. The Yoga 6 is available with a standard all-metal build, plus there is an optional fabric top for the lid.
If you are looking to come up with the convertible Yoga lineup and love using AMD processors, the Yoga 6 should be your first choice. It also happens to be the most affordable Yoga on the market. It lacks some of the higher-end features of the Yoga 9i and Yoga 7i, but you still get that FHD webcam, top-firing speakers with Dolby Atmos, and a beautiful touch display with Dolby Atmos.
Lenovo Yoga 6 13 (Gen 7)
The 13.3-inch Lenovo Yoga 6 (Gen 7) with AMD hardware is the most affordable option available, and it still comes with many high-end features.
What about Yoga laptops in other Lenovo setups?
Lenovo’s Yoga laptops have also been left in other PC layouts, including ThinkPad and ThinkBook. For example, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (Gen 6) was one of the best laptops I tested last year, and the new seventh-gen model is already here. If you see the Yoga name elsewhere, it generally means that you get a convertible version of whatever laptop the name is attached to. I will go into a much deeper explanation in dedicated articles like this, but for the other Lenovo laptop setups.