Lenovo's Yoga 9i (2025) and Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Pushing Boundaries in Laptop Design and AI Integration

Lenovo's Yoga 9i (2025) is a perfect example of impressive power in a sleek package

When Lenovo released last generation's Yoga 9i, XDA's own Rich Woods had very few qualms with it. It checks all the boxes for a Yoga: gorgeous convertible display, good speakers, and a sleek design. That's all present on this generation's Yoga 9i, but under the hood, Intel's Lunar Lake took this laptop to the next level. If you passed on last year's model to wait for a Lunar Lake sequel, it sure has paid off in spades. Related This laptop is literally bending over backwards trying to make me like it You might not flip for this convertible but it's a decent enough midranger. Posts Lenovo sent us the Yoga 9i (2025) for review. It did not have any input on the contents of this article. Lenovo Yoga 9i (2025) 9 / 10 CPU Intel Core Ultra 258V GPU Intel Arc 140V Display type OLED, 30-120Hz Adaptive RR, Display (Size, Resolution) 14" 2.8K (2880x1800) Lenovo's Yoga flagship sports the beautiful display and great audio it's known for. Combined with the strengths of Lunar Lake, the weaknesses of the Yoga 9i are few and far between. RAM 32GB LPDDR5X Storage 1TB PCIe SSD Gen 4 M.2 Battery 75Whr Ports 3 x USB-C® Thunderbolt 4 (40Gbps, DP, PD), 1x USB-A (10Gbps), Audio combo jack Operating System Windows 11 Home, Windows 11 Pro Webcam 5MP + IR RGB camera, w/ privacy shutter Wi-Fi connectivity WiFi 7 802.11BE Bluetooth Bluetooth® 5.4 Dimensions 15.9mm x 316mm x 220mm / 0.63'' x 12.4'' x 8.66'' Weight 1.32kg / 2.91 lbs Speakers 4 stereo speakers, 2 woofers, 2 tweeters Colors Cosmic blue, Luna grey Pen compatibility Yes (Yoga Pen included) NPU Integrated Intel® AI Boost Pros & Cons Stunning OLED display Much improved battery life Slick design Webcam quality isn't great Little on the expensive side Presence of bloatware $1750 at Best Buy $1700 at Lenovo Expand Collapse Lenovo Yoga 9i (2025) pricing and availability The Lenovo Yogi 9i starts at $1,440 on Lenovo's website at the time of writing, with the higher-priced Intel Core Ultra 258V version with 32 GB of RAM starting at $1,680. Both versions can be kitted with up to a 4K display and 1TB of NVMe storage. I received the Ultra 258V version from Lenovo for testing. Lenovo Yoga 9i (2025) CPU Intel Core Ultra 258V GPU Intel Arc 140V Display type OLED, 30-120Hz Adaptive RR, Display (Size, Resolution) 14" 2.8K (2880x1800) RAM 32GB LPDDR5X Storage 1TB PCIe SSD Gen 4 M.2 Battery 75Whr Ports 3 x USB-C® Thunderbolt 4 (40Gbps, DP, PD), 1x USB-A (10Gbps), Audio combo jack Operating System Windows 11 Home, Windows 11 Pro Webcam 5MP + IR RGB camera, w/ privacy shutter Wi-Fi connectivity WiFi 7 802.11BE Bluetooth Bluetooth® 5.4 Dimensions 15.9mm x 316mm x 220mm / 0.63'' x 12.4'' x 8.66'' Weight 1.32kg / 2.91 lbs Speakers 4 stereo speakers, 2 woofers, 2 tweeters Colors Cosmic blue, Luna grey Pen compatibility Yes (Yoga Pen included) NPU Integrated Intel® AI Boost Expand Collapse Related 5 gimmicky laptop features that you shouldn't care about While you shouldn't hard pass on a laptop because of these features, you shouldn't buy one just because it features one or more of them. Posts The revamped design from last year returns If it ain't broke Close Lenovo has changed nothing about the way the Yoga 9i presents itself compared to last year's Meteor Lake version. The fit and finish is nearly identical, save for a few miniscule changes, and I'm glad. This thing looks good. The dark blue metallic finish that Lenovo calls "cosmic blue" looks great, and it's a color I'm quite familiar with. Right after unboxing this thing, I immediately saw it bore close resemblance to my daily driver, the M2 MacBook Air draped in Apple's "Midnight" colorway. Both look almost black in certain lower light conditions, but when the light hits them, they turn to this deep blue that's absolutely gorgeous. A side effect of this color and finish is that it's a horrible fingerprint magnet -- something I'm all too familiar with. I don't hold it against my Mac, so I'm not going to hold it against the Yoga 9i either. In terms of I/O, the Yoga 9i keeps it simple: 3 USB-C Thunderbolt ports, 1 USB-A port, and an audio combo jack. I appreciate the simplicity, and while I thought I wouldn't need a USB-A, it did come in handy in a couple of specific scenarios I found myself in. I absolutely love the feel of the keyboard. A decent travel distance and zero of that mushy feeling when you bottom out a key. The trackpad is large, which I like, but has a physical click, which I do not like. Haptic would've been really nice to see, especially on a laptop at this price point. The bottom of the chassis is well ventilated, which is something I appreciated. The porosity that's present for the fans isn't extreme, but it's enough to make a meaningful difference in cooling performance. During my testing, the Intel Core Ultra 258V, even while plugged in and charging, didn't hit above 85 degrees Celsius, all while the fans remained at a tolerable tone and volume. Related I miss these 5 obsolete features that I wish were on my current laptop Modern slimline laptops are faster than ever, but lack these practical features. Posts 5 The Yoga 9i looks the part Best display I've seen on a laptop Just like last year's iteration, the display on this thing is absolutely stunning. The adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz makes work feel great without sacrificing too much on battery life, and the OLED construction means all the media I consumed on it could've only been bested in contrast and fidelity by my TV at home. The display is probably what I'm going to miss the most when I switch back to my daily driver. The Yoga 9i has great audio chops as well, with the integrated hinge-soundbar combo. When configured in tent mode, the speakers do blast straight up, which isn't a huge issue, but it's something I noticed. Both spoken word and music sound great through it, but there's still a pronounced lack of bass as you'd expect on a set of laptop speakers. Still, though, the Yoga 9i is punching well above its weight here. Related 3 reasons the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i crushes the Dell XPS 14 Dell's XPS 14 is an excellent machine, but Lenovo's all-new Yoga Slim 9i brings a few key upgrades to the table worth keeping in mind. Posts 3 A great leap in performance Lunar Lake lifting heavy Having been spoiled by Apple Silicon for quite some time, I always go into Windows laptop reviews with no expectations; I set them up how I would my personal machine, and use them as such. The suite of benchmarks also gives me a decent picture of performance, but the proof really is in the pudding when it comes to judging performance. Lenovo Yoga 9i (2025) Core Ultra 7 258V HP EliteBook Ultra G1i Core Ultra 7 268V Yoga 7i 2-in-1 Core Ultra 7 256V HP EliteBook X G1a Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 Geekbench 6 (single / multi) 2,701 / 10,739 2,709 / 10,742 2,641 / 10,685 2,750 / 14,075 Cinebench 2024 (single / multi) 117 / 490 119 / 479 116 / 577 109 / 1,033 3DMark (Time Spy / Wild Life Extreme / Night Raid) 4,551 / 5,270 / 34,066 4,196 / 7,371 / 30,687 3,320 / 4,513 / 27,613 3,916 / 7,043 / 32,294 CrossMark (Overall) 1761 1,815 1,804 1,735 PCMark 10 (AC best perf / battery / battery balanced) N/A 6,730 / 6,287 / 5,457 6,764 / 6,637 / 6,527 7,542 / 6,828 / 5,473 These benchmarks were done on Lenovo's higher performance setting, which can be toggled with a key on the keyboard. I really dislike that Lenovo has taken power and performance settings out of the normal Windows settings menus and put them into their "Lenovo Vantage" app. The 3 modes that you can swap between aren't explained anywhere within the app, and when I went to select the "High Performance" power plan within Windows, it was totally gone, and only "Balanced" was present. That, along with the presence of apps like "Lenovo Subscription Marketplace", just left a bad taste in my mouth. Let me change the settings I want to, Lenovo! In terms of how it felt in daily workflow, I couldn't find anything that the Core Ultra 7 285V couldn't handle well. My normal suite of Photoshop, Lightroom, and some light Premiere Pro ran just as I'd expected, and even when running some light games, the Yoga 9i takes it in complete stride. Rocket League ran at well in excess of 120 FPS with high settings, which is a win for the Arc 140V in my book. The graphics processing is pretty impressive compared to that of the Apple Silicon M4. Battery life was nothing short of solid, lasting well beyond my normal workday, even at full brightness. It still doesn't hold a candle to what my MacBook Air is capable of, but that's a bit of an unfair comparison. Even with that high bar, the Yoga 9i was able to be more than serviceable for 2 workdays without a charger. Should you buy the Lenovo Yoga 9i (2025)? You should buy the Lenovo Yoga 9i (2025) if: You need an ultrabook A nice display is important to you You want to play casual games You should NOT buy the Lenovo Yoga 9i (2025) if: A haptic touchpad is a must You're hunting for the best value You really hate fingerprints All in all, the 2025 iteration of the Yoga 9i is a well-executed one. It's the same, sleek design with even better performance than before. While the price is a bit high for what's under the hood, Lunar Lake gave this thing the refresh it deserved, and the result is one of the best laptops on the market. Lenovo Yoga 9i (2025) CPU Intel Core Ultra 258V GPU Intel Arc 140V RAM 32GB LPDDR5X Display type OLED, 30-120Hz Adaptive RR, $1750 at Best Buy $1800 at Lenovo Expand Collapse

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition Review: A Premium All-Rounder with a Few Rough Edges

The laptop comes offers decent performance in this price segment The Lenovo Yoga series has long stood out as the premium ultra-portable laptops in the market. The company has been consistently launching laptops under its Yoga branding with a special focus on sleek design and lightweight build. And the new Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition continues this tradition. The latest laptop from Lenovo comes loaded with some interesting features, including the latest Intel Core Ultra processors, a 2.8K IPS touchscreen, a long battery life, and more. That said, is it enough to make it stand out from the crowd? I have been using the laptop for a while now, and here's everything you need to know. Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition surely reflects the brand's design ethos. The laptop comes with rounded corners that give a premium look and feel. It is made using a mix of raw and recycled aluminium, which surely adds some sturdiness. Moreover, the company has also added a special coating that prevents smudges all over the laptop, which is a good thing. I got the Luna Grey colour option for review, and it sure feels lightweight despite offering a 15.3-inch screen. It is also reasonably slim with no noticeable flex anywhere. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition comes with an aluminum chassis, which looks sturdy. The hinge could have been better, in my opinion. Firstly, you cannot open it with one hand (an instant turn-off considering the price). Secondly, the hinge feels incredibly stiff, which doesn't make it fluid when you open it. And surprisingly, despite featuring a touchscreen, it is not a 2-in-1. The hinge only rotates back 180 degrees to lie flat on a surface. Also, I feel the weight distribution could have been slightly better, which is noticeable when you place it on your lap. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition features a wide range of connectivity ports. As far as IO ports are concerned, the brand has done a pretty good job in providing almost all the necessary ports. You get a 3.5mm audio jack, one USB Type-C port, and an HDMI port on the left side, while the right side features one USB Type-A port, one USB Type-C port, a power on/off button, and a physical camera kill switch. The ports are plenty for a thin and light laptop. Lenovo has given two display options for this laptop: a non-touch OLED screen and an IPS touchscreen. I got the touchscreen model for the review, which comes with a 15.3-inch 2.8K display with a resolution of 1800 x 2880 pixels. The display also features a 100 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut, 500 nits of brightness, a 16:10 aspect ratio, and a 120Hz screen refresh rate. The laptop comes with a 15.3-inch 2.8K touchscreen display with 120Hz screen refresh rate. Starting with the strong points, the display is sharp and offers crisp visuals. The colours are well-balanced, and you will not see any oversaturation at any point. The large screen size also makes it an ideal choice for streaming movies, TV shows, or even playing casual games. The 120Hz refresh rate also makes the whole animation buttery smooth. That said, an IPS display can only do so much. I would have loved the combination of an OLED and a touchscreen. Ultimately, no matter how good an IPS panel can become, it still falls short compared to an OLED display. This is primarily because you get better saturation, colours, contrast, deep inky blacks, and more, which is not possible with an IPS display. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition comes with a backlit keyboard. The laptop comes with soft keys that make it a smooth experience when you are typing. The keys are well-spaced and offer 1.5mm key travel, which is pretty standard in this price segment. However, what I liked the most was the oil-resistant coating, which prevents it from smudges and grease. Other brands do take note. The backlit keyboard offers a soft-touch keys, which makes it a delightful experience to type on this laptop. That said, the touchpad is not the laptop's strongest point. First of all, it does feel short and wide, which is a weird combination, to be honest. I do feel a bit restricted while using the touchpad because of this configuration. In terms of security, you get an IR-based camera for Windows Hello support, which works fine, even when the lights are dim. The FHD+ camera is passable, if not great. I was not impressed with the quality of the webcam, to be honest. However, I do like the fact that the company has given a physical shutter button to kill the camera feed. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition comes with a four set of speakers that delivers a some great performance. Coming to the speakers, it surely works well. The sound is loud and clear, with no noticeable distortion at high volumes. The speakers exhibit a good command of the bass, while the mids and highs also feel solid. It is rare to find good speakers in such a compact form factor in a laptop. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition runs on the Windows 11 operating system. Since it is a CoPilot+ PC, you get all the usual AI features that a typical CoPilot laptop offers. However, what makes it different is the company's own set of AI features that it has heavily advertised. There are multiple smart modes, which you can access by going to the Lenovo Vantage application or by simply pressing the F9 key. These modes are designed to enhance your workflow in different scenarios. So, there is an Attention Mode, Power Mode, Wellness Mode, Shield Mode, and Collaboration Mode. In Attention mode, you can easily minimise distraction by blocking social media applications for a set amount of time. The Power Mode lets you optimise the performance of the laptop, while Wellness Mode helps you provide digital well-being and encourages you to take breaks. The Shield Mode enables you to enhance privacy and data security, and it automatically blurs the screen when someone looks over your shoulders. Lastly, we have the Collaboration Mode, which basically enhances video conferencing. All these modes are fun to play with, though you have to choose them manually, which kind of defeats the purpose. It would be more interesting if all these modes got activated automatically to suit my work schedule, which would have been a different case altogether. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition is loaded with the latest Intel Core Ultra 2 processor. The review unit came with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V that offers a clock speed up to 4.8GHz. It also comes with a new Intel Arc 140V iGPU, which handles most graphics-related tasks with ease. This, coupled with 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 1TB of PCIe M.2 SSD storage, makes it a powerful, thin, and light laptop in this price segment. I have compiled the synthetic benchmark scores below. Coming to the performance, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition glides effortlessly through all the tasks that you throw at it. I used this laptop for my daily work schedule and was impressed with the performance it offered. With medium to heavy usage, which includes opening multiple Chrome tabs and windows, writing articles, and playing music in the background, the laptop delivered a stable performance throughout the review period. The laptop offers a good day-to-day performance with no noticeble thermal issues. Moreover, you can also enjoy some casual gaming on this laptop, although it is not intended for serious gaming. The thermal management was good enough for me, and I never noticed the laptop getting too hot to handle. The fan speeds were passable with sustained load. Interestingly, if you want to get the maximum output, then switching to Performance mode helps you get the full usage of TDP for a stable performance. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition comes equipped with a 70Wh battery, and the brand ships a 65W USB-C charger with the laptop. The battery performance of the Lenovo laptop is on par with that of the rest of the competition. The laptop efficiently delivers around 12 hours of battery life with conservative to normal usage. With normal to heavy usage, I comfortably got around 7 to 9 hours of battery backup. Moreover, the laptop took almost 2 hours to charge fully. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition sure brings some interesting features to the table. The design does not stand out, but it still looks premium and elegant. The IPS touchscreen display works well in most cases, but if you are someone who wants those contrasty colours and inky deep blacks, then going with the non-touch OLED version would make more sense. The performance is on par with the rest of the Intel Lunar Lake laptops available in the market. The AI features look good but still need some polishing. On the other hand, the stiff hinge could be a turn-off for some. Moreover, the touchpad on this laptop was disappointing. That said, if you are looking for a reliable, thin and light machine that can handle most of the tasks and offer a soft-key keyboard with great audio, then you can surely consider this one.