Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro X (2022) Review

Value When Reviewed

From $1,760

Greatest Costs Right this moment: Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Professional X (2022)

Most laptops make compromises to get the job finished – notebooks for creatives eschew slim designs for energy, as an illustration, and thinner notebooks lack velocity. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Professional X tries to do all of it, although, with a high-end processor inside a smooth design.

There’s masses to love about this machine, particularly in order for you a slim and light-weight laptop computer with the grunt for inventive work.

As ever, although, high quality doesn’t typically come low cost. If you need the high-end specification we’ve coated right here, you’ll should pay $1,760 or £1,869.

The Lenovo isn’t wanting competitors, both. Should you’d desire a small inventive pocket book from Apple then you possibly can have a look at the MacBook Air or MacBook Professional 14, and Microsoft deploys the Floor Laptop computer 4 if you happen to’d like to stick with Home windows.

Design & Construct

• A smooth, sturdy and handsome chassis
• A strong collection of ports
• Slightly heavier and thicker than opponents

Lenovo’s Yoga machines have seemed good since day dot, and nothing has modified right here. The casing is created from aluminium, and its edges mix refined curves and smooth strains. There are slim bezels, minutely milled speaker grilles and a shining brand on the lid. It’ll maintain its personal in any workplace.

The aluminium chassis additionally lends the Lenovo spectacular power, so we’ve bought no considerations in regards to the Yoga’s sturdiness.

Mike Jennings / Foundry

The left-hand edge has two Thunderbolt 4 ports that assist DisplayPort, USB-C and energy supply alongside a HDMI 2.1 output. The best-hand facet homes a full-size USB port, an audio jack, an influence button and a bodily change to disable the webcam.

The MacBook Air has two Thunderbolt ports however nothing extra, whereas the MacBook Professional has an additional Thunderbolt and an SD card slot however no full-size USB. Microsoft’s machine has sole USB-A and USB-C ports. Huawei’s MateBook X Professional is one other contender, not less than within the UK and out of doors of the US, and it has 4 USB-C connectors however no HDMI and no full-size USB.

It is dependent upon the way you’ll use the laptop computer, however the Lenovo strikes a very good stability: the inclusion of a full-size USB port means fewer adapters and the HDMI port means straightforward show connectivity.

Sadly, creatives will lament the shortage of a card reader, and there’s no wired web – connectivity comes from dual-band Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1. There’s no fingerprint reader, though the 1080p webcam does assist Home windows Howdy.

At 1.45kg and 15.9mm thick, the Yoga is heavier than each rival besides the MacBook Professional 14 and thicker than all its opponents. It’s not a dealbreaker, however the Yoga is a bit bigger than the competitors.

Keyboard & Trackpad 

• A top-notch, satisfying keyboard
• A big and responsive trackpad
• Join a mouse for shallower, faster clicking

The sunken keyboard is one other top-quality Lenovo design. The keys are barely concaved and there’s an honest quantity of distance between every button, which improves consolation and consistency. The buttons are quick and crisp, with a tender base.

Mike Jennings / Foundry

As ordinary, Lenovo has constructed a typing unit that’s pretty much as good as the rest in the marketplace. It’s bought a white backlight, too, however there’s no numberpad – although that’s regular on small laptops.

The touchpad is large, {smooth} and responsive, with full gesture assist. The buttons have a bit an excessive amount of downward motion, however that’s a tiny subject and the full-size USB port makes it straightforward so as to add a correct mouse.

Display & Audio system

• Spectacular sRGB distinction and accuracy
• Not in a position to deal with the Adobe RGB or DCI-P3 gamuts
• a 120Hz refresh fee and good audio system for media capability

The Yoga’s 14.5in show boasts a number of attributes that may profit inventive workloads. Its 16:10 facet ratio delivers extra vertical area than typical 16:9 panels, and the excessive 3,072 x 1,920 decision delivers more room and sharper imagery.

This show even has a 120Hz refresh fee with Nvidia G-Sync. In on a regular basis duties which means you get butter-smooth movement, and it additionally means you get additional velocity if you happen to use the Nvidia GPU to play fast-paced esports titles.

High quality ranges are nice, too. The delta E of 0.71 is flawless and the color temperature of 6,540K is equally spectacular – each shade can be good. The brightness stage of 403 nits is excessive sufficient for indoor and outside use, and the distinction ratio of 1,259:1 is a superb determine for an IPS show.

Mike Jennings

The Yoga’s show has limits, although, they usually hit before different laptop computer screens. Whereas the Lenovo renders an affordable 93.7% of the sRGB gamut, it solely produces 65% and 66.8% of the Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 areas respectively – so this display can’t work in both of these color gamuts.

The MacBook Professional’s show has the same decision to the Yoga, however its 14.2in panel gives higher brightness stage and P3 gamut assist – and the MacBook Air beats the Yoga too. The Floor and Huawei laptops each hit the DCI-P3 gamut with equally excessive resolutions.

The Yoga’s display is nice sufficient for mainstream inventive workloads and it’s a crisp, high-quality possibility for on a regular basis use, however different notebooks are higher. The upwards-firing audio system are glorious, with nice quantity and readability. Bass might be higher, however they’re simply adequate for background music.

Specs & Efficiency

• Intel Core i7-12700H
• Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050
• 32GB RAM
• 1TB SSD

There’s no doubting the credentials of Intel’s Core i7-12700H processor: it’s bought six high-performance P-Cores that high out at 4.7GHz, and its environment friendly E-Cores sort out simpler duties at 3.5GHz. There’s 32GB of dual-channel LPDDR5 reminiscence and an impressively fast 1TB SSD, and Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3050 delivers additional graphics grunt because of 2,048 stream processors and 4GB of devoted reminiscence.

There’s no scarcity of computing capability right here. In Geekbench’s single- and multi-core benchmarks the Lenovo scored 1,734 and 12,365, giving the Yoga a bonus over most rivals.

The Apple M2 chip deployed in MacBook fashions scores 1,927 and eight,959 in the identical assessments, so that you get big positive factors in inventive eventualities. The Huawei’s low-power Core i7-1195G7 solely gives half of the multi-core velocity.

There’s tons to love in regards to the Yoga’s CPU efficiency, though it’s not flawless. Topic the silicon to long-term inventive workloads and also you’ll see its clock restricted to 2.4GHz, which is a good distance wanting its theoretical high velocity.

That’s not a catastrophe, although: it retains fan noise modest and exterior temperatures heat fairly than boiling. And even if you happen to solely get the Core i7 chip’s abilities briefly bursts, its nonetheless higher than its opponents. Should you’d like extra energy, the one reply is a bigger pocket book.

Mike Jennings / Foundry

The Nvidia GPU scored 28,247 in 3DMark Night time Raid – miles higher than Intel’s built-in cores. It offers you additional energy in inventive workloads and means you possibly can run esports video games like Overwatch and League of Legends at 1080p.

The 70Wh battery is the Lenovo’s weakest element. In a video playback check the Yoga lasted for 11 hours and 9 minutes, however that lifespan declined to six hours and eight minutes in a harder work check.

Except you’re cautious with how you employ this pocket book, you’ll should plug it in earlier than the tip of the working day. That outcomes are comparable with the Huawei, however the Floor and each Apple machines final for much longer. A thirty-minute cost determine of 41% is cheap, however that’s the one vibrant spot right here.

Value & Availability

The Yoga we’ve reviewed prices $1,760 within the US and £1,869 within the UK. If you need the Apple MacBook Air with an equal specification it’ll price you $2,099 or £2,149. The MacBook Professional 14 is even pricier for an identical spec at $2,599 or £2,499. Apple’s laptops have higher shows and batteries however in most different areas they match the Yoga.

It’s greatest to purchase direct from Lenovo’s US and UK websites, the place you possibly can select fashions and configure their specs.

Huawei’s MateBook X Professional prices £1,799, so it’s marginally cheaper than the Lenovo. And the Microsoft Floor Laptop computer 4 is extra inexpensive, at $1,399 and £1,399.

Mike Jennings / Foundry

Should you’d like a Yoga at a cheaper price, its entry-level mannequin prices $1,595 within the US and £1,229 within the UK. The US mannequin retains its Core i7 processor however halves its reminiscence and storage. The most cost effective UK laptop computer makes use of a weaker Core i5-12500H processor.

Lenovo additionally produces a model known as the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Professional X. It makes use of AMD processors as a substitute, however the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS within the priciest mannequin can’t compete with the Intel chip, and the AMD rig doesn’t have Thunderbolt or HDMI ports. It’s not really useful.

Try our chart of 2023’s greatest laptops if you happen to’d prefer to see all your choices.

Verdict

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Professional X ticks a lot of an important containers when shopping for a laptop computer. Intel’s Core i7-12700H means you get extra computing and artistic energy than any rival – even when the slim design means the chip can’t at all times run at full pelt. The keyboard is reliably glorious, the show is sharp and correct, connectivity is respectable and the laptop computer is sturdy, handsome and comparatively svelte. You even get an Nvidia GPU.

Nevertheless, different laptops are slimmer and lighter, and most opponents have brighter screens with broader colors. Apple’s laptops have higher battery life, too, which justifies their greater costs.

Lenovo’s laptop computer delivers ample energy, although, and that sole issue makes it well worth the value if you happen to want velocity fairly than battery prowess. It’s an ideal moveable, inventive machine.

Specs

• Mannequin examined
• OS: Home windows 11 Dwelling
• Show: 14.5in 3072 x 1920 120Hz IPS
• CPU: Intel Core i7-12700H
• Reminiscence: 32GB onboard
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 4GB
• Storage: 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
• Webcam: 1080p
• Connectivity: 2 x Thunderbolt 4/USB 3.2 Gen 2 Kind-C/energy supply, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x audio
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1
• Battery capability: 70Wh
• Dimensions: 12.9 x 8.7 x 0.62 inches
• Measured weight: 1.45kg