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日本Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i (14″, Gen 9) Review – a Compact Powerhouse Ruined by Its Display
Lenovo positions the Yoga Pro 7i 14 as a “14.5” studio-grade creator laptop”. That sounds logical since this machine can be found with 28W Meteor Lake-H CPUs and NVIDIA RTX 4000 graphics cards with modest TGPs.
Also, the display department impresses with its three Dolby Vision-certified models. You can choose from two IPS panels—a 1600p 90Hz variant or a 1920p 120Hz touchscreen. Plus, there’s a 120Hz 1800p OLED unit with HDR capabilities—this one might just be our favorite.
But why then do we say that the entire product is ruined by its display? Actually, it’s due to its coating—it’s super reflective, making the screen practically unusable if there’s a light source behind you. We’ll tell you more about this a bit later.
Keep an eye on the specs before buying because the devices with a dGPU have just one M.2 slot while the iGPU-only iterations offer a pair of Gen 4 slots. The memory is soldered but that’s somehow expected for a compact notebook. Still, you get a quality four stereo speaker setup optimized with Dolby Atmos and Wi-Fi 6E + Bluetooth 5.3 for connectivity. The security extras seem on point – fTPM 2.0, IR Web camera, E-shutter, and a self-healing BIOS. Yep, this machine doesn’t have features such as NFC, SIM slot, or fingerprint reader.
The combination of potent hardware fitted into a compact chassis always seems challenging for the cooling and Lenovo has installed a pretty big thermal system under the hood. You can also find a GPU OC function in the Vantage app.
You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/lenovo-yoga-pro-7i-14-gen-9/
Contents
Specs, Drivers, What’s in the box
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i (14", Gen 9) - Specs
- HDD/SSD
- up to 1024GB SSD
- M.2 Slot
- 1x 2242 PCIe NVMe 4.0 x4 or 2x 2280 PCIe NVMe 4.0 x4 or 1x 2280 PCIe NVMe 4.0 x4 + 1x 2242 PCIe NVMe 4.0 x4 See photo
- RAM
- up to 32GB
- OS
- Windows 11 Home, Windows 11 Pro, No OS, Windows 10 Pro
- Battery
- 73Wh
- Body material
- Aluminum
- Dimensions
- 325.5 x 226.49 x 16.6 mm (12.81" x 8.92" x 0.65")
- Weight
- 1.49 kg (3.3 lbs)
- Ports and connectivity
- 1x USB Type-A
- 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), Sleep and Charge
- 1x USB Type-C
- 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort
- 1x USB Type-C
- 4.0, Thunderbolt 4, Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort
- HDMI
- 2.1
- Card reader
- Ethernet LAN
- Wi-Fi
- 802.11ax
- Bluetooth
- 5.3
- Audio jack
- 3.5mm Combo Jack
- Features
- Fingerprint reader
- Web camera
- FHD IR with E-shutter, fixed focus, with ToF sensor
- Backlit keyboard
- optional
- Microphone
- Quad-microphone array
- Speakers
- 4x Stereo Speakers (2x 2W Woofers + 2x 2W Tweeters) optimized with Dolby Atmos, Smart Amplifier (AMP)
- Optical drive
- Security Lock slot
All Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i (14″, Gen 9) configurations
Drivers
All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/yoga-series/yoga-pro-7-14imh9/downloads
What’s in the box?
Inside the package, you’ll find a couple of manuals and a 100W or 130W Type-C adapter. Depending on your region, you can also get optional accessories such as YOGA True Wireless Stereo Earbuds or Yoga Pro Mouse.
Design and construction
The design language of the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i (14″, Gen 9) hasn’t changed much compared to the Slim 7i sibling. This is still the same clean-looking device with rounded edges and a protrusion on the top of the lid for easier opening. Twisting the lid and pushing down hard the main body results in a minimal amount of flex here and there – the all-metal chassis is very solid. It’s offered in Luna grey and Tidal teal colors. The matte surface doesn’t pick up a lot of smudges during usage.
Opening the lid with one hand is possible. The hinges feel smooth and stable. The machines with the base 2.5K display are lighter (1.49 kilos) compared to the other two versions with 2.8K or 3K screens (1.59 kg). The profile thickness is 16.6 mm.
The bezels around the display are narrow except for the bottom one which is slightly thicker than the other three. The “hump” above the panel houses a 1080p IR Web camera for Windows Hello. This unit is paired with an E-shutter placed on the right side of the notebook.
This device can be opened to nearly 180 degrees.
A look at the base and we can spot a backlit keyboard with large keycaps surrounded by tall speaker grills on both sides. The keys sit pretty high off the deck and that why the travel is long and it’s complemented by clicky feedback. Just like many other 14-inchers, the “Up” and “Down” Arrow keys are smaller than ideal for comfortable use, although we’ve seen even smaller ones on other models.
The glass touchpad is big (80 x 135 mm), smooth, and super accurate. It also registers taps in its top corners. Still, the physical clicks sound a bit noisy.
Flipping the laptop upside down reveals a big ventilation grill, three rubber feet, and a Novo button hole. The hot air is being exhausted through two vents on the rear. They aim at the hinge cover and that’s why not much heat reaches the display when the internals are heavily loaded.
Ports
On the left side, there is an HDMI 2.1 for up to 4K@60Hz external displays, a 10 Gbps USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 2) port, and a 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 port. The right side houses a 5 Gbps USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port with an Always On function, an Audio Combo jack, a Power button, and an E-shutter. Both Type-Cs support DisplayPort 1.4 and PowerDelivery 3.0 functionality.
Display and Sound Quality, Get our Profiles
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i 14 is equipped with an OLED panel, model number LEN145WQ+ (LEN8AC1). It comes with a 120Hz refresh rate and 10-bit color support (10-bit color depth). Its diagonal is 14.5″ (36.8 cm), and the resolution – 2880 х 1800p. Additionally, the screen ratio is 16:10, the pixel density – 234 ppi, and their pitch – 0.11 x 0.11 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 37 cm (this is based on the pixel density and the typical viewing distance at which individual pixels cannot be distinguished by the human eye).
Viewing angles are good. We offer images at different angles to evaluate the quality.
Also, a video with locked focus and exposure.
On a black background, white fill at 8% of the screen area, the maximum measured brightness in HDR On mode is 615 nits (cd/m2) and 412 cd/m2 on a white screen. The maximum measured brightness in SDR mode is 404 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 402 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of just 3%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness under the same conditions is 6470K.
In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. It’s measured for operational brightness levels (approximately 180 nits). Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio of OLED panels is practically infinite, due to their ability to turn off black pixels entirely.
To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy.
Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook.
Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day.
The yellow dotted line shows Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i 14’s color gamut coverage.
Its display covers 100% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976, and 100% of DCI-P3, ensuring a super vibrant and attractive picture.
Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature at 180 cd/m2 luminance (Illuminant white point – D65), sRGB encoding curve.
We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile.
Below you can compare the scores of the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i 14 with the default settings (left, HDR Off), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right), compared to the Display-P3 color space.
The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light (HDR Off).
The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is enhanced with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions.
Health Impact: PWM (Screen flickering)
Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the display is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i 14’s display uses PWM up to 145 nits. Above that, we see pulsations with a limited amplitude. This makes the panel relatively comfortable to use in this aspect.
Health Impact: Blue light emissions
Installing our Health-Guard profile reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.
Health Impact: Screen Reflectance
Glossy-coated displays can be inconvenient in high ambient light conditions due to reflections. We measure the screen reflection level for each laptop when the display is turned off and the measurement angle is set at 60°.
The reflectance of the Lenovo’s screen is 179 GU.
We have tested hundreds of laptops and this is an absolute record-breaker. The screen is next to unusable if there’s a light source behind you.
High Gloss: >70 GU
Medium Gloss: 30 – 70 GU
Low Gloss: <30 GU
Sound
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i 14’s Dolby Atmos speakers produce a sound of very good quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations.
Buy our profiles
Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i 14 configurations with 14.5″ LEN145WQ+ (LEN8AC1) (2880 х 1800) OLED.
*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].
Read more about the profiles HERE.
In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.
Office Work
Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.
Design and Gaming
This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.
Health-Guard
Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.
Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount
Performance: CPU, GPU, Storage
All benchmarks and tests were conducted with the “Best performance” preset applied in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu. Also, the “Performance” preset is selected in the Lenovo Vantage app.
The “GPU Overclocking” function is also turned on.
CPU options
This notebook is offered with Intel Core Ultra 5 125H, Core Ultra 7 155H, or Core Ultra 9 185H.
The laptop that we bought has a 155H chip.
Here, we evaluate the CPU's performance using a real-world 3D rendering task, assessing its ability to handle complex computations and rendering workloads efficiently.
Results are from the Cinebench 2024 Multi-Core test (higher is better)
Single-core performance ensures smooth operation and responsiveness in operating systems, providing a better user experience.
Results are from the Geekbench 6 Single-Core test (higher is better)
Multi-core performance is essential for handling complex and demanding tasks, such as Video editing, CAD, and Scientific simulations.
Results are from the Geekbench 6 Multi-Core test (higher is better)
GPU options
The dGPU options for this Lenovo series are the GeForce RTX 4050 and RTX 4060.
Our machine has a 65W RTX 4050.
The results are from 3DMark Time Spy (Graphics). Higher is better.
The results are from 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited. Higher is better.
Gaming tests
| Metro Exodus | Full HD, Low (Check settings) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Extreme (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average FPS | 173 fps | 66 fps | 22 fps |
| Borderlands 3 | Full HD, V.Low (Check settings) | Full HD, Medium (Check settings) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Badass (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average FPS | 157 fps | 118 fps | 80 fps | 62 fps |
| Far Cry 6 | Full HD, Low (Check settings) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average FPS | 124 fps | 96 fps | 83 fps |
| Gears 5 | Full HD, Low (Check settings) | Full HD, Medium (Check settings) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average FPS | 184 fps | 132 fps | 112 fps | 90 fps |
Despite its modest power limit, the GeForce RTX 4050 performs well in the four tested titles.
Storage performance
Our notebook has a 1TB SAMSUNG PM9C1a (MZAL81T0HDLB-00BL2). This NVMe drive is fast but it also gets hot during benchmarking reaching 81°C. Chin up, the SSD thermals are way lower during normal usage.
[eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT Your Laptop
You can make your laptop Faster. LaptopMedia has tested thousands of models in the last 15 years, and we have yet to see a notebook that couldn't be made more powerful through modifications.
That's why we decided to bundle everything we know about how to achieve this in an Easy-to-Follow, Step-by-Step, and Laboratory-Tested, all in one project.
Read more about it here:
[eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT Your Laptop
🛠️ GPU Modifications: vBIOS, Overclocking, Undervolting
⚙️ Building Fast/Reliable RAID configuration
💻 Hardware upgrade tips for best results
🖼 Display enhancing
💾 OS Optimization for best performance
Temperatures and comfort, Battery Life
Max CPU load
In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.
Average P-core frequency; Average E-core frequency; Average LP E-core frequency; CPU temp.; Package Power
| Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (28W Base Power) | 0:02 – 0:10 sec | 0:15 – 0:30 sec | 10:00 – 15:00 min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i 14 | 3.12 GHz @ 2.64 GHz @ 1.80 GHz @ 71°C @ 70W | 3.09 GHz @ 2.61 GHz @ 1.80 GHz @ 83°C @ 70W | 2.81 GHz @ 2.44 GHz @ 1.70 GHz @ 83°C @ 58W |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P16v Gen 2 | 2.90 GHz @ 2.74 GHz @ 2.46 GHz @ 101°C @ 89W | 2.67 GHz @ 2.77 GHz @ 2.46 GHz @ 100°C @ 83W | 2.52 GHz @ 2.65 GHz @ 1.85 GHz @ 101°C @ 60W |
| Dell Precision 14 3490 | 3.07 GHz @ 2.45 GHz @ 1.68 GHz @ 71°C @ 64W | 3.04 GHz @ 2.46 GHz @ 1.70 GHz @ 83°C @ 64W | 1.89 GHz @ 1.56 GHz @ 1.14 GHz @ 75°C @ 33W |
| MSI Prestige 14 AI Studio C1U | 2.74 GHz @ 2.16 GHz @ 1.58 GHz @ 67°C @ 60W | 2.74 GHz @ 2.16 GHz @ 1.57 GHz @ 73°C @ 60W | 1.78 GHz @ 1.11 GHz @ 1.02 GHz @ 66°C @ 30W |
| Dell Precision 15 3590 | 2.84 GHz @ 2.33 GHz @ 1.63 GHz @ 66°C @ 63W | 2.82 GHz @ 2.32 GHz @ 1.60 GHz @ 79°C @ 64W | 2.15 GHz @ 1.66 GHz @ 1.27 GHz @ 75°C @ 42W |
| Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 (14″, Gen 9) | 2.85 GHz @ 2.31 GHz @ 1.68 GHz @ 70°C @ 53W | 2.73 GHz @ 2.25 GHz @ 1.62 GHz @ 90°C @ 53W | 1.14 GHz @ 0.99 GHz @ 0.93 GHz @ 63°C @ 22W |
| MSI Summit E13 AI Evo A1M | 2.24 GHz @ 1.80 GHz @ 1.32 GHz @ 73°C @ 40W | 2.15 GHz @ 1.79 GHz @ 1.29 GHz @ 83°C @ 40W | 1.74 GHz @ 1.00 GHz @ 1.00 GHz @ 77°C @ 28W |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i (14″, Gen 9) | 2.41 GHz @ 2.07 GHz @ 1.40 GHz @ 70°C @ 47W | 2.34 GHz @ 2.02 GHz @ 1.40 GHz @ 83°C @ 47W | 2.00 GHz @ 1.59 GHz @ 1.10 GHz @ 78°C @ 35W |
| Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7640 | 3.50 GHz @ 2.70 GHz @ 1.90 GHz @ 80°C @ 80W | 2.82 GHz @ 2.65 GHz @ 2.42 GHz @ 99°C @ 77W | 2.74 GHz @ 2.28 GHz @ 1.69 GHz @ 90°C @ 55W |
| Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7440 | 3.22 GHz @ 2.62 GHz @ 1.74 GHz @ 89°C @ 80W | 2.64 GHz @ 2.61 GHz @ 2.49 GHz @ 100°C @ 73W | 2.50 GHz @ 1.99 GHz @ 1.40 GHz @ 83°C @ 45W |
| HP OMEN Transcend 14 (14-fb0000) | 3.38 GHz @ 2.65 GHz @ 2.29 GHz @ 65°C @ 85W | 3.22 GHz @ 2.67 GHz @ 2.43 GHz @ 73°C @ 80W | 2.87 GHz @ 2.45 GHz @ 1.68 GHz @ 76°C @ 61W |
| Dell XPS 16 9640 | 3.58 GHz @ 2.72 GHz @ 2.27 GHz @ 86°C @ 97W | 3.39 GHz @ 2.73 GHz @ 1.92 GHz @ 90°C @ 80W | 3.02 GHz @ 2.37 GHz @ 1.70 GHz @ 84°C @ 60W |
| Dell XPS 14 9440 | 3.01 GHz @ 2.55 GHz @ 1.81 GHz @ 88°C @ 64W | 1.96 GHz @ 2.53 GHz @ 2.22 GHz @ 96°C @ 58W | 2.17 GHz @ 1.88 GHz @ 1.33 GHz @ 83°C @ 38W |
| Dell XPS 13 9340 | 2.26 GHz @ 2.43 GHz @ 2.19 GHz @ 100°C @ 59W | 1.21 GHz @ 1.34 GHz @ 2.48 GHz @ 96°C @ 38W | 1.52 GHz @ 1.25 GHz @ 1.67 GHz @ 96°C @ 32W |
| HP Spectre x360 16 (16-aa0000) | 3.02 GHz @ 2.41 GHz @ 1.70 GHz @ 72°C @ 64W | 2.93 GHz @ 2.41 GHz @ 1.93 GHz @ 85°C @ 64W | 2.39 GHz @ 1.98 GHz @ 1.40 GHz @ 80°C @ 45W |
| Lenovo Yoga 9i (14, Gen 9) | 2.95 GHz @ 2.46 GHz @ 1.63 GHz @ 61°C @ 68W | 2.59 GHz @ 2.23 GHz @ 1.47 GHz @ 83°C @ 52W | 2.31 GHz @ 1.98 GHz @ 1.32 GHz @ 75°C @ 37W |
| ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405) | 2.91 GHz @ 2.40 GHz @ 1.60 GHz @ 86°C @ 64W | 2.20 GHz @ 2.00 GHz @ 1.69 GHz @ 102°C @ 60W | 1.12 GHz @ 1.52 GHz @ 0.84 GHz @ 78°C @ 28W |
Here, the Core Ultra 7 155H can maintain ~ 3.10 GHz / 2.60 GHz P and E-core clock and short and medium loads and ~2.80 GHz – 2.40 GHz in longer stress which is a great result, especially for a 14-incher.
Real-life gaming
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 | GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 2 min) | GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 30 min) |
|---|---|---|
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i 14 | 1868 MHz @ 67°C @ 55W | 1951 MHz @ 68°C @ 60W |
| ASUS TUF Gaming F17 (FX707, 2023) | 2595 MHz @ 74°C @ 95W | 2595 MHz @ 74°C @ 95W |
| Acer Nitro 16 (AN16-72) | 2655 MHz @ 67°C @ 92W | 2655 MHz @ 67°C @ 92W |
| Lenovo LOQ 15i (Gen 9) | 2580 MHz @ 70°C @ 87W | 2580 MHz @ 71°C @ 86W |
| HP Omen 16 (16-wd0000) | 2565 MHz @ 72°C @ 92W | 2565 MHz @ 70°C @ 91W |
| HP Victus 16 (16-s0000) | 2565 MHz @ 68°C @ 92W | 2550 MHz @ 69°C @ 92W |
| Acer Swift Edge (SFX16-61G) | 2550 MHz @ 78°C @ 95W | 2548 MHz @ 81°C @ 96W |
| ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 GA402 (2023) Turbo mode | 2565 MHz @ 77°C @ 101W | 2565 MHz @ 82°C @ 104W |
| ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 GA402 (2023) Performance mode | 2364 MHz @ 78°C @ 86W | 2325 MHz @ 83°C @ 86W |
| Acer Nitro 16 (AN16-51) | 2520 MHz @ 67°C @ 92W | 2520 MHz @ 67°C @ 91W |
| MSI Thin GF63 (12V) | 1735 MHz @ 69°C @ 45W | 1729 MHz @ 70°C @ 45W |
All looks good on the GPU front – 1951 Mhz and a 60W TGP after 30 minutes of gaming. That’s enough for high FPS values and decently bumped visuals.
Comfort during full load
The Lenovo Vantage app offers tons of customization options alongside three performance presets. During heavy CPU and GPU loads, the two fans produce an average amount of noise which is good considering the powerful hardware and compact dimensions of this laptop. Still, the fans have that distinctive turbine-like noise that is notable when the rotation speed is increasing or decreasing. This could bother sensitive users.
During long gaming sessions, the hotspot on the keyboard and the zones around the back exhausts reach 47°C which is okay and doesn’t feel hot to the touch. The section above the board is slightly more warm hitting 48°C.
The “Adaptive power mode” offers less noise and lower clocks which are actually still decent enough for snappy performance.
You can expect around 60W when the “Performance” preset is applied and ~45W with the “Auto” mode.
Gaming “Performance”
Gaming “Auto”Battery
Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows Best Power Efficiency setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 180 nits and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. The 73Wh battery lasts around 10 hours and a half of video playback. To achieve that, you have to apply the “Best Power Efficiency” preset in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu and set the “Adaptive power mode” in the Lenovo Vantage app.
The “Panel Self Refresh” option is turned on in the Intel Graphics Command Center.
Brightness: 180 nits; Display Mode: SDR
Time to Full Discharge: Higher is Better
Disassembly, Upgrade options, and Maintenance
To open this compact device, you have to undo six Phillips-head screws. Pop the bottom panel behind the hinge cover close to the top two corners. Work your way around the sides and the front with a thin plastic tool, the rear should be last.
On the inside of the metal bottom plate, we can spot preinstalled thermal pads for the SSD and one of the big SMD power inductors on the motherboard.
This machine has a 73Wh battery. To take it out, unplug the connector from the mainboard and undo the 3 Phillips-head screws that fix the unit to the base. The battery is additionally secured to the chassis with a small double-sided adhesive pad on the right side. You’ll need to apply some force to lift the unit off. The capacity is enough for around 10 hours and a half of video playback.
Sadly, the memory is soldered but on the bright side, it works in dual-channel mode. You get 16GB or 32GB of LPDDR5x-7467MHz RAM. Our laptop has discrete graphics and that’s why it relies on a single M.2 slot compatible with 2242 Gen 4 NVMe drives. The machines with IPS displays boast two 2280 slots and the iterations with OLED panels are equipped with one 2242 and one 2280 slot.
The Wi-Fi card is on the left below the cooling.
The thermal system looks good for such a small laptop. It has two large fans, a pair of very long heat pipes shared between the CPU and the GPU, two heat sinks, and two sizable heat spreaders.
Verdict
The Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i (14″, Gen 9) is an almost perfect compact laptop for content creation or other color-sensitive work. The dual-fan cooling solution is doing its job well during heavy loads where the optional Intel Core Ultra 7 155H can sustain 2.80 GHz / 2.40 GHz P and E-core frequencies in longer stress. The GeForce RTX 4050 has zero problems maintaining a 60W TGP while it’s utilized for gaming or other graphics-heavy job. In this scenario, the noise is average and the keyboard doesn’t feel hot to the touch. Speaking of which, the board is comfortable for typing and the big touchpad is very smooth.
The port selection is modern but it’s also a bit limited since you lose one of the Type-C ports when the charger is plugged in. If you need a dGPU, you’ll end up with a laptop with just one M.2 slot – the iGPU-only siblings got two of these.
The Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i 14 also amazes us with its solid metal chassis, long battery life, bright OLED display, and great overall performance.
The optional OLED display (LEN145WQ+ (LEN8AC1)) impresses with a 120Hz refresh rate, 404 nits of max brightness in SDR mode, and full DCI-P3 coverage. The color accuracy reaches an average dE score of 1.5 with the aid of our “Design and Gaming” profile which is a good improvement compared to the mediocre 2.8 out-of-the-box result.
We would have awarded the Yoga 7i our Editor’s Choice medal if not for the display coating, which is so reflective that it becomes uncomfortable to work after just 10 minutes with office lights on. With a reflectance of 179 GU, this is the most reflective screen we’ve ever tested. Feeling paranoid? Well, you’ll always know if there’s someone behind you.
You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/lenovo-yoga-pro-7i-14-gen-9/
Pros
- Solid aluminum build
- Great overall performance for a 14-incher
- The fans aren’t too noisy under full CPU loads in “Performance” mode
- 404 nits of max brightness in SDR mode (LEN8AC1)
- Comfortable viewing angles + 16:10 aspect ratio (LEN8AC1)
- 100% sRGB and DCI-P3 coverage + accurate colors with our “Design and Gaming” profile (LEN8AC1)
- Infinite contrast ratio (LEN8AC1)
- Good audio quality
- IR Web camera with an E-shutter shutter
- Modern port selection with two Type-C ports
- The CPU can sustain high P-core and E-core clocks in long loads (~2.80 GHz / 2.40 GHz)
- Comfortable backlit keyboard + big and smooth touchpad
- Up to 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM
- The bottom panel is easy to open
- The iGPU-only laptops have 2x M.2 slots
- Pretty snappy NVMe (1TB SAMSUNG PM9C1a)
Cons
- Only two USB ports are available when the AC adapter is plugged in
- The dGPU iterations have just one 2242 Gen 4 slot
- Lacks a fingerprint reader, NFC, and SIM slot
- Super reflective screen surface
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