Trying to decide which audience a laptop is designed for is an area that is becoming more and more grey with each passing year. The same can be said for the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i laptop, but let me explain why. To look at the Yoga Pro 9i, it seems very unassuming. It looks like any silver laptop students or even executives would want to get their hands on. It is sleek and professional, seemingly great for emails, notes, and spreadsheets. It isn’t until you look under the hood of the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i laptop that you start to realize there is a whole lot more packed into this classic-looking package.
Coming out of the box, this 16’ silver chassis looked slick. Lenovo put the Yoga Pro 9i to the MIL-STD 810H military-grade testing their commercial laptops are tested against, which means they are durable while maintaining their style. Clearly, Lenovo was not aiming for a gamer aesthetic here—the Yoga Pro 9i is all class.
Immediately apparent was the charging port, different from USB-C charging models, the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i uses a 170W Slim Tip (3-pin) to charge, and though I love the USB-C methods more, there is a bit of extra power behind this laptop than your standard productivity devices. There are two USB-C ports that can provide power, but I would always recommend sticking with the adapter unless in a pinch.
The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i features a large keyboard completely with a slightly shrunken num pad, which I am ever grateful for. The backlit keyboard feels good to type on, with minimal noise, but it still provides a satisfying clicky feel even while silent. The touchpad is very large, 5 x 150 mm (3.75 x 5.91 inches), which is almost the same width as the keyboard. It also provides a click if you prefer that feedback. The device also can weigh up to 4.41 lbs, so though it isn’t the heaviest device on the market, it isn’t the lightest either.
“The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i laptop has been a welcome addition to my day-to-day life and was the perfect combination of a productivity and entertainment device.”
Our test model featured a 16″ 3.2K (3200×2000) with a brightness of 400 nits, 100% sRGB, and a 165Hz refresh rate. It is certainly nothing to scoff at. Depending on your needs, the Yoga Pro 9i can feature a variety of MiniLED displays, with models ranging from 120Hz refresh rate to 165Hz and 400nits to 1200nits brightness.
Their displays also feature Lenovo PureSight Pro, which is awarded to their highest-quality displays. This ensures that you can expect:
- 3K+ Resolution on 16” System
- 120Hz+ Refresh Rate
- 400 nits+ brightness
- 0.2ms response time
- 100% DCI-P3
- Delta E <1
- TUV Hardware Low Blue Light Certified
The displays all feature Dolby Vision, and the dynamic background that came default on my Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i really showed off everything the display could do. Vibrate images were displayed each time I booted the laptop up, cycling through a few different ones. They were all breathtaking and really emphasized the quality of the display, and my devices was only 400nits, so I can’t imagine how stunning the 1200nits displays are across media, video editing and more. My model also had a touch screen, which was responsive, but on a laptop of this size, I never found the need to use the touch screen, especially since it doesn’t fold back for tablet use.
The audio on the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i laptop was surprisingly complex. Between streaming movies, listening to music and light gaming, the sound quality never let me down. I was impressed with the bass it was able to pull from my music especially with many laptops sounding tinny, focusing on highs only. The Yoga Pro 9i features 6 stereo speakers, 2W x4 (dual side woofers), and 2W x2 (tweeters), optimized with Dolby Atmos. I worried the bottom-firing speakers would make the sound blow out a bit, but even at max volumes—which comfortably filled the room—there was never distortion.
“The audio on the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i laptop was surprisingly complex.”
On board, there are also quad microphones with smart noise cancelling and a 5MP camera. The camera leaves something to be desired in terms of quality, feeling a bit washed out and fuzzy, but it is sufficient for business calls, maybe just not any content creation. On the bottom right of the chassis, you’ll also find a privacy switch to electronically disable the camera by cutting power to it altogether.
Finally, the ports available on the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i are plentiful. On the right side you’ll find an SD card reader and two USB-a 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and on the left, you’ll see two USB-C ports, one is Thunderbolt 4 and the other is USB 3.2 Gen 2. There is also an HDMI 2.1 port and an Audio Combo jack.
Now, what really makes the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i laptop tick? The Yoga Pro 9 comes outfitted with an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, complete with Intel AI Boost integration. My device featured an NVIDIA GeForce RTC 4050 6GB GDDR6 GPU (up to 4070 available), 32GB Soldered LPDDR5x-7467 RAM, and 1TB SSD M.2 storage and can fit up to 2 M.2 SSDs.
“Of course, the Yoga Pro 9i isn’t sporting the beefiest 4090 or RGB lights, but the device was able to handle most of what I could throw at it…”
Its specs transform the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i from a simple productivity device into something more. Whether you’re a creator needing an excellent display or a gamer wanting performance and power, you have exactly what you need at your fingertips. I was able to edit videos for social media stream movies and, TV shows, and games without any issues.
Of course, the Yoga Pro 9i isn’t sporting the beefiest 4090 or RGB lights, but the device was able to handle most of what I could throw at it, including some pretty decent gaming across Magical Delicacy, The Sims 4 and Cities Skylines II. I never had any performance issues when it came to these games, and with up to a 4070 available, the Yoga Pro 9i should be able to take on most gaming needs.
The lowest performance I saw was while playing Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn. Cutscenes sat between 35 and 45 FPS, occasionally jumping up to 55 FPS, and gameplay left me somewhere in the 40-50 FPS range. It may not be great for competitive gaming, but over 40 FPS is great for anything I need.
The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i laptop comes equipped with an 84-Wh battery. While gaming or streaming, I found I only lasted about 1.5 hours unplugged. I would suggest you always stay plugged in while gaming. Once I hit about 9 percent battery, framerates dropped to about 2 FPS, and things were struggling. I then tested how long it took to charge, and from about 15 percent battery, it took about 45 minutes to gain a full charge.
“…with up to a 4070 available, the Yoga Pro 9i should be able to take on most gaming needs.”
The device would also die quickly if you didn’t completely shut down before you put it in your bag. More than once, I forgot to do a full shutdown, and I could hear fans running in my bag and feel things getting warm. I also noticed that not only the laptop but the charger would get extremely hot during use—almost too hot to touch. NZXT Cam software monitored my PC at around 69 degrees Celsius while gaming and charging at the same time.
As for the battery for non-gaming use, it still isn’t ideal. While just scrolling on Facebook (no video players) and answering emails, the battery was drained to 18 percent within two hours. At this point, the battery saver turned on, and within 15 minutes, I was sitting at 5 percent. I can’t recommend this as a device to use on the go, it is mostly a device you will want to keep plugged in, or take with you for short meetings. Lucky for me, I rarely use a laptop unplugged as I have severe battery anxiety.
A similar build from Dell with the G16 sits well over the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i’ss $1699.99 price tag, but that still doesn’t stop the sticker shock. The ASUS TUF Gaming F16 is a dedicated gaming device and sits a little below the Yoga Pro 9i, but you’ll sacrifice the drive space and more to save a few bucks and gain that gamer aesthetic. The F16 also sports an Intel 13th Gen i7 rather than the Core Ultra 9; however, it brings a 4060 to the table, too. It’s hard to compete with Lenovo’s pricing, even when bringing in specs from last year.
The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i laptop has been a welcome addition to my daily life and was the perfect combination of a productivity and entertainment device. With the high-quality display, an array of ports, and power under the hood, I can recommend the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i to creators, professionals, recreational gamers, and more without a doubt, so long as the short battery life isn’t a deal breaker for you.
