Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14 (Gen 9) review: A simply adequate, affordable 2-in-1 laptop

The Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14 has a lot of good things going for it, from its affordable price of $899 to its bouncy, comfortable keyboard and port variety that makes my heart sing. Plus, it’s a 2-in-1 laptop, so you can use it as a laptop or a tablet.

Is the Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14 one of the best laptops from Lenovo? No. But does it offer next-gen, efficient performance for a relatively low price? Yes — and that’s one of this laptop’s biggest claims to fame. 

Lenovo’s Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14 may not be the most impressive convertible laptop, but it gets the job done — and it’d be a great pick for students who need a laptop and tablet in one device. That said, there were a few cons you’ll need to might consider before giving this 2-in-1 a go.

But enough teasing, let’s dive into the nitty gritty of my hands-on time with the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14.

Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 price and specs

The Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14 starts at $899 via Best Buy — and it’s equipped with the following specs: 

• Intel Core Ultra 5 125U CPU 

• Integrated Intel graphics

• 16GB of RAM

• 512GB of SSD storage

• 14-inch, 1920 x 1200-pixel, 300-nit IPS display with a 60Hz refresh rate

On Lenovo’s website, you can customize the Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14. You can upgrade this configuration with Intel’s more powerful Core Ultra 7 155U CPU for an extra $133 or snag 1TB of SSD storage for just $30.

There will be a few other display options for this laptop, but they’re not available right now. One display upgrade simply swaps out the IPS display for an OLED option and boosts brightness to 400 nits. The top display also features OLED tech and 400 nits max brightness, as well as 2.8K (2880 x 1800-pixel) resolution. 

Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 design

My review unit sports the sleek Storm Grey colorway, but the Yoga 7i is also available in “Tidal Teal,” a deep blue-green colorway. No matter which color scheme you go with, you’ll get an all-aluminum chassis that’s relatively fingerprint-resistant. 

Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

When you close the laptop, you’ll see the Yoga logo on the lid, etched in all caps adorning the bottom-right corner, and a rectangular Lenovo logo in the top right corner. Flip the laptop over, and you’ll find a vent spanning the length of the laptop on the upper half. 

The Yoga 7i has a slight lip at the center of its lid, making it easier to open one-handed — and it’s a lightweight option to carry around at 3.55 pounds.

What I loved most about the Yoga 7i’s design is what I love most about all 2-in-1 laptops: multiple modes to play with. You can use it in a traditional laptop mode, flip the screen all the way back to use it as a tablet, or prop it up with the display facing you in tent mode to stream media or set up a mobile workstation with a wireless keyboard and mouse.

The only negative design element worth noting is the Yoga 7i’s hinge strength. When the laptop was open, and I’d sit down and put it on my lap, the display would sometimes fall backwards, like it was trying to go into tablet mode. 

Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 display

My Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 review unit features a 14-inch, 1920 x 1200-pixel IPS display with a smooth 60Hz refresh rate and a 16:10 aspect ratio that provides a bit more screen real estate than the average 16:9 laptop display.

Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

At only 300 nits max brightness, the display isn’t as vibrant as I’d like it to be, especially when working outside. Many laptops offer 400 nits max brightness, and I find myself working at about 70% brightness to preserve battery life. With the Yoga 7i, I worked with the display at max brightness all the time — and that definitely wasn’t great for its battery life.

I played the Wicked trailer on YouTube to closely inspect the Yoga 7i’s display, and overall, I think this laptop boasts a good display. It didn’t blow me away like 4K or OLED displays would, but Elfaba’s green skin came through well (albeit slightly muted) — and I could clearly see the weathered lines below her eyes in a closeup shot. 

Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 ports

Lenovo’s Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14 offers a stellar selection of ports.

Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

On the right side: 

• USB Type-A port (3.2 Gen 1) 

• A microSD card reader

• Power button

Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

On the left side: 

• HDMI 1.4 port

• Two USB Type-C ports (supporting USB4, Thunderbolt 4)

• Headset jack

My only minor complaint with this laptop’s port selection is the two USB-C ports both living on the left side. For charging convenience, I love to see a USB-C port on both sides.

Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 audio

The Yoga 7i features two 2W stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, which sounds like what every other laptop on the market comes equipped with. However, I think the audio quality on this laptop is a little better than most. 

I loaded up MGK’s “my ex’s best friend (with blackbear)” on Spotify to test the Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14’s speakers, and this pop-punk bop came through perfectly crisp. But it was missing that atmospheric, full-body quality that makes a song sound complete. The kick drum and other bass notes were loud enough to give the song a beat, but weren’t nearly punchy enough.

It was the same story with “Unprocessed” by Real (featuring Polyphia’s Tim Henson & Clay Gober) — a song I play on every set of speakers or headphones I’m testing. The sound quality was better than my Galaxy S21 Ultra, but worse than my Lenovo Yoga 9i’s rotating Bowers & Wilkins soundbar.

Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 keyboard and trackpad

While I made slightly more errors on the Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14 compared to my daily laptop, the Yoga 9i, I was able to type faster on it.

And making increased errors in the beginning was just a learning curve thing. As I type this now, my fingers are effortlessly gliding across the Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14’s keyboard. 

This island-style keyboard is well-spaced and enjoyably springy, with slightly more key travel than your average laptop keyboard. It’s also backlit, with three different options to switch between: low, high, and auto, in which the laptop automatically adjusts the backlight based on your environment.

Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable

The Yoga 7i comes equipped with a Copilot key, which you can press to quickly bring up your built-in Copilot assistant. The free version boasts limited features, and you can pull up the Copilot menu just as fast with the Windows key + C keyboard shortcut, but it’s worth noting that this ‘AI PC’ has a Copilot key.

I wasn’t as much of a fan of the Yoga 7i’s trackpad. It’s a large 2.95 x 4.72-inch buttonless glass trackpad, and while I loved how big it was, I couldn’t get on board with how loud the clicks were. Both left- and right-clicking feel great, but sound too harsh, especially if you plan to use your laptop in a college lecture or a quiet library. 

Plus, there were multiple times that the trackpad had a mind of its own. It wouldn’t accurately respond to my finger movements — or it would be laggy in responding.

Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 benchmarks and performance

I’m a tab hoarder, and the Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14 was able to handle my crazy daily research antics flawlessly with its Intel Core Ultra 5 125U processor. 

As I write this in Google Docs, here’s what I have open: 40 RAM-hungry Google Chrome tabs, one tab in Firefox, the Clock app, Spotify actively playing music, and Task Manager to monitor performance.

In between songs, I can hardly hear any fan noise. And yet, the laptop isn’t getting hot at all. Even when I touch the chassis above the keyboard, where most laptops get really hot, it’s barely warm.

In Task Manager, I can see that Firefox, Chrome, and Spotify are all in efficiency mode to limit resources, identified with a green leaf icon under the Status column. Despite being in efficiency mode, I’m not noticing any lag while typing in Google Docs or loading new pages.

In addition to hands-on performance testing, we also ran Geekbench 6 (which tests processor performance) on the Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14. It delivered a decent multi-core score of 9,196, which is a good score for anyone looking for a laptop that can smoothly handle basic tasks, like web browsing, streaming, or cloud gaming.

If you need a more powerful performer, the Lenovo Slim 7 with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H earned a 12,267 Geekbench 6 score.

Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 battery life

The Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14 lasted 9 hours and 17 minutes on a single charge while looping a 1080p video at 50% brightness. 

While the Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14’s runtime falls short of the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air’s impressive runtime of 10 hours and 58 minutes, it’s still a decent result, especially for a Windows laptop. 

Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 webcam

Lenovo’s Yoga 7i features a 1080p IR & RGB hybrid webcam with a slidable privacy shutter centered on the top bezel.

As a laptop reviewer, it’s rare to find laptops with stellar webcam quality. Decent quality is what I’ll typically find on average, but this laptop’s webcam quality is worse than average. 

Credit: Sarah Chaney / Mashable

Through the Yoga 7i’s webcam, I’m completely washed out. I’m a pale person, but my bright pink blush and flushed complexion don’t really get picked up by this webcam. 

The colors picked up are inaccurate as well. My emerald green cardigan is coming through as more of a dark forest green.

Is the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14 (Gen 9) worth it?

With its bouncy, comfortable keyboard, fantastic port selection, and semi-powerful, highly efficient processor, the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14 is a good mid-range convertible laptop. 

That said, it’s not my favorite 2-in-1 laptop from Lenovo, largely due to its muted, 300-nit display and finicky trackpad. Priced at just $899, it’s hard to be mad at any of this laptop’s faults, but in such a competitive laptop market, I have to be.

Whether or not the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14 is worth it comes down to what you’re looking for in a laptop. If you want a convertible laptop that can double as a tablet, handle basic tasks with ease, last a decent while on a single charge, and you don’t mind a dim display or occasionally glitchy trackpad, the Yoga 7i 14 is a great deal at $899. If it’s on sale, it’s a fantastic deal.

If the Yoga 7i’s negatives sound like dealbreakers to you, and you think you’d be fine with a non-convertible laptop, Apple’s MacBook Air M2 starts at $999, give or take, only $100 more than this laptop.