Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Gen 9 Aura Version Assessment: A Smooth Copilot+ 15” Laptop computer

	Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Gen 9 Aura Version Lenovo’s ultraportable AI PC collaboration with Intel has good efficiency, an attractive show and excellent battery life
	Excellent battery life Wonderful, sharp, and correct show Good on a regular basis workload efficiency Superb thermals and noise ranges Strong graphics for built-in GPU	Multi-threaded CPU efficiency is usually a letdown Upgradeable SSD in a much less widespread kind issue No replaceable wi-fi card Slim exterior connectivity decisions

The period of AI PCs did not arrive simply because Microsoft deemed it so. Synthetic intelligence has turn out to be an rising a part of many customers’ lives, but it surely’s all the time both lived within the cloud or required a giant, power-hungry GPU to course of effectively. Nonetheless, with the arrival of Snapdragon X1 Elite PCs this summer time, and shortly after Intel’s Lunar Lake Core Extremely processor platform, native AI is right here for everybody. In early September, Lenovo introduced its AI PC collaboration with Intel: the Yoga Slim 7i Aura Version, and at the moment it is right here and retail prepared.

We sometimes have loved lots of Lenovo Yoga laptops that we have examined, and that is due largely to their light-weight designs, good efficiency, high quality keyboards, and spectacular shows. Upgrading Intel’s Meteor Lake CPUs the final era had with Intel’s Core Extremely 200v processors with their high-performance NPUs and significantly enhanced compute and graphics processing capabilities looks like a recipe for achievement, so let’s dig in and discover out. Meet the all new Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Gen 9 15-inch Aura Version.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Version Laptop computer Specs

As we have already given away, Lenovo has up to date the brand new Yoga Slim 7i Aura Version the most recent ultraportable-focused CPUs from Intel’s Lunar Lake household, Core Extremely 200V full with its extra highly effective neural processing unit. On this case, we now have a Core Extremely 7 256V with 4 Lion Cove efficiency CPU cores that max out at 4.8 GHz and 4 Skymont low-power environment friendly cores that hit a prime pace of three.7 GHz, and 12 MB of L3 cache. We additionally bid adieu to HyperThreading, one thing we talked about at nice size in our Lunar Lake structure deep dive.

On this era, Intel selected to strap the CPU’s reminiscence on to the CPU package deal. The Core 7 Extremely 256V has 16 GB of LPDDR5x-8533. We’re additionally handled to a significantly enhanced Xe2 graphics engine on board right here, which has been borrowed from Intel’s upcoming Arc Battlemage household. It is not going to magically flip the Yoga 7i Slim right into a gaming powerhouse, but it surely ought to present playable body charges at decrease graphics settings in trendy video games, which might be a giant boon on the go.

The Yoga Slim 7i Aura Version comes outfitted with a 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD with a PCI Specific 4.0 x4 hyperlink for snappy storage. Wi-fi networking is dealt with by an Intel BE201 Wi-Fi 7 module that additionally provides Bluetooth 5.4 to a dual-antenna array configured for 2×2 MIMO. A capacious 70 Watt-hour battery and 65-Watt USB-C charger spherical out this technique’s excessive stage specs.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Version Construct And Ports

The Yoga Slim 7i is available in a smooth Luna Grey enclosure that makes use of 50% recycled aluminum within the prime and backside that’s stamped, sandblasted for texture, after which anodized. Construct high quality could be very secure with none creaking and minimal flex. Thia Yoga feels nice within the hand, and reminds us that it is a premium machine, not a plastic funds pocket book.

The highest fringe of the show homes the included 1080p webcam with just a little “lip” that permits for simply opening the lid. Subjectively (and backed up by the measurements above) the Yoga Slim 7i feels very skinny, and its comparatively mild 3.2 lb weight for its footprint makes it straightforward to toss right into a backpack and tackle the go. 

Opening that lid to gaze on the 15.3″ show clean, and the hinge has simply sufficient resistance to carry the lid up. As for the show itself, it is a 16:10 IPS show with a decision of two,880 x 1,800 120 Hz that helps 100% of the DCI-P3 colour house. Excessive refresh charge, nice colour copy, 500 nits most brightness, and multi-touch assist — what extra may you need? Perhaps the elective 2.8k OLED can entice you, though that OLED possibility provides up contact capabilities. Each choices can are available in both shiny or matte anti-reflective finishes.

The built-in webcam maxes out at a 16:9 1080p for each pictures and video. Subjectively, the standard is stable for what has rapidly turn out to be a midrange spec in a world the place the competitors has 5 MP sensors and Apple strapped a 12 MP digital camera to the most recent M4 household of MacBooks Professional. Nonetheless, this digital camera is greater than ample for video chats and continuous Zoom conferences. Whereas there is not any bodily shutter, there’s a digital shutter that turns off the digital camera on the facet of the pocket book. The system’s twin microphone array cancels noise successfully and callers may hear us clearly.

4 stereo audio system are cut up between two high-frequency tweeters and mid-range drivers, and this array carries Dolby Atmos certification. That stated, these are nonetheless laptop computer audio system and lack definition and quantity within the low frequency vary, so do not anticipate them to rumble your seat. They’re ample for these video calls, however they’re additionally ample for informal video games and a few YouTube video. For anything, we discovered that we would positively want some first rate headphones, and there is a mixture jack to accommodate these, fortunately.

The keyboards in most high-end Lenovo laptops are sometimes fairly good laptop computer keyboards, and the Yoga Slim 7i Aura Version’s is not any exception. There’s sufficient journey to really feel tactile and a satisfying bump on the best way down. We wrote the entire evaluate on the Yoga, and as you understand I get type of wordy, in order that’s lots of testing behind it. The trackpad is comparatively giant, and has an built-in button. It additionally helps all of the gestures and multi-taps that one would anticipate from a contemporary Home windows pocket book as effectively. 

Exterior enlargement is comparatively mild within the Yoga Slim 7i, and that is compounded by the truth that one among simply two USB-C ports must be utilized by the charger. These two ports do assist Thunderbolt 4, together with PCI-Specific, USB 4.0, USB-C Energy Supply, and DisplayPort 1.4. There’s additionally an HDMI port that helps 4K at 60 Hz, a single USB-A connector for five Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 1, and that aforementioned headphone jack. In a 15″ pocket book with the footprint of the Yoga, we’d have hoped for a card reader slot of some kind too.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Version Software program

The Yoga Slim 7i Aura Version got here to us working Home windows 11 Residence with replace 24H2 out of the field, which is required for Home windows 11’s Copilot+ options. Earlier than we run any checks, we make sure that Home windows is absolutely updated and that the drivers that may be up to date (together with graphics drivers with Intel’s ARC driver package deal), in order that efficiency is as bug-free and well-optimized as attainable. 

Lenovo’s software program config is fairly sparse past that, which we respect in a laptop computer on this worth vary. The Lenovo Vantage utility gives fast entry to assist and system firmware updates. As a part of the Aura Version software program loadout, Vantage contains an on-device AI skilled on documentation that may assist reply widespread questions.

Vantage may also aid you get began with Good Share, which is an app for each iOS and Android gadgets to maneuver media between PC and cellphone, mirror the cellphone display screen, and handle notifications. This competes with quite a lot of different mirroring and sharing applied sciences, reminiscent of Microsoft’s Your Cellphone app, Samsung’s personal display screen mirroring instruments, and third-party purposes like Vysor. 

Vantage can also be is residence to Lenovo’s Good Modes. There are a selection of various efficiency modes, however along with that, Vantage makes use of on-device AI to allow quite a lot of use instances. For example, the Defend mode engages the webcam and different sensors so as to detect peeping toms that is likely to be trying over your shoulder on the native Starbucks. Consideration mode will disable notifications, flip down the amount, and even put the brakes on web sites it deems can distract you for lengthy durations of time to be able to concentrate on what must be executed. Collaboration mode makes use of laptop imaginative and prescient to arrange digital camera auto-framing and video backgrounds whenever you’re in video conferences.

These settings might be turned on within the Vantage utility and likewise be sure to hotkeys to allow them to be turned on and off with out switching gears. With out the Intel Core Extremely 7 256V’s onboard NPU, these choices both will not be attainable, or could require extra energy if they’ve to interact the built-in GPU. The NPU can be utilized for different issues as effectively, reminiscent of Lenovo’s Good Care subscription service that may mechanically detect when purposes are misbehaving and carry out behavior-based malware scans. 

Lenovo’s AI can optionally watch what you are doing on the machine and mechanically choose what it feels is one of the best mode for a given job, although we all the time take a look at on the default energy settings. By the way, Highest Efficiency did not actually acquire us a lot in the best way of efficiency in any benchmark apart from a brief burst up entrance. We’ll speak about cooling afterward, but it surely looks like we hit a thermal or energy wall fairly rapidly and efficiency comes again to regular.

Nonetheless, as you will see on the subsequent web page, Steadiness mode remains to be fairly good. So let’s get to the efficiency benchmarks, lets?