Lenovo's line of Yoga laptops has included a 2-in-1 option for a couple of years now. Now, the company has brought the new H-series Intel Core Ultra processors to the Yoga 7i 2-in-1 variant, along with OLED displays and improved battery life. The new Yoga 7i 2-in-1 can also be called an AI laptop as it comes with a dedicated Copilot dongle.
After using the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 for over a week, here's what I think of the convertible laptop. While I'm not a fan of convertibles, be it laptops or cars, the Yoga 7i could be an option for those looking to get the best of both worlds: a laptop and a tablet.
Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 Price in India
Starting with the price, the Yoga 7i 2-in-1 isn't too expensive, nor is it cheap. It starts at Rs. 1,01,990 for the variant with Intel Core Ultra 5 125H CPU, a 14-inch OLED display with WUXGA resolution and 16GB of RAM. This is the variant we were sent for review.
The laptop has rounded edges that make it comfortable to hold
There is also a variant with Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU, 14-inch WUXGA OLED display and 16GB RAM priced at 1,19,990. Finally, you can get the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H option with a 2.8K OLED display and 32GB RAM for Rs. 1,29,990. All variants come with integrated Intel Arc graphics. The laptop comes in two color options: Tidal Teal and Storm Grey. In the box, the Yoga 7i 2-in-1 also comes with the Lenovo Digital Pen and a 65W charger. We got the Tidal Teal variant.
Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 review: design and display
Let's talk about design. The Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 features an all-aluminum design with curved edges and rounded corners. There are no sharp edges anywhere on the laptop. The design language is also very minimal, with the lid featuring a small Lenovo logo and Yoga branding. Since this is a 2-in-1 laptop, I have to talk about the 360-degree hinge. Lenovo says they've reduced the size of the hinge, making it easier to open the lid with one hand. I found this to be true, but it's also thanks to the inverted notch at the top for the webcam, IR sensor, and microphone. The hinge feels very durable and I don't think it should cause any problems in the long run. You also get a slight boost with the hinge when using the laptop in normal mode and it also helps with better cooling.
You have plenty of connectivity options on the Yoga 7i 2-in-1, but the power button is in an odd place
Moving on to the sides, the laptop has all the necessary ports you will need. The laptop's power button is on the right edge next to the microSD card slot and a USB Type A (USB 3.2) port. The placement of the power button is not ideal, as I found myself pressing the button by mistake and locking the laptop when simply trying to lift it with the right edge. You'll find an HDMI 2.1 port on the left edge, two USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a combo headphone port. The rear houses the exhaust vents.
The bottom of the laptop has two large cooling vents and rubber feet. The panel is removable and made from 50 percent recycled aluminum. The laptop weighs 1.49 kg and is 16.64 mm thick at its thinnest level. It's also qualified to withstand 21 MIL-STD 810H durability tests, but I wouldn't recommend dropping the laptop to find out. I didn't find any bending on the cover or back cover; everything is solidly built.
In tent mode, the speakers are facing away from the user
Opening the lid reveals a large keyboard and trackpad. The laptop has two speakers with grilles placed on either side of the keyboard. You get a 14-inch OLED display with thin bezels on all sides, 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution, 60Hz and a 16:10 aspect ratio. The screen is bright, but offers 400 nits of brightness with 600 nits of peak HDR brightness. It's fine indoors, but can't be used outdoors because of the glossy panel. Blacks are deep and colors are vibrant. It offers great viewing angles and almost no color shift. It's an excellent panel for viewing content, editing photos, and even drawing. When it comes to drawing, the screen supports multi-touch and you also get a Lenovo Digital Pen 2 to use as a stylus. The screen is also Dolby Vision HDR certified and covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color space. There's also a 2.8K PureSight OLED variant with a 120Hz refresh rate.
In tablet mode, touch input is excellent and you can use multi-touch gestures supported by Windows 11, but I mostly used the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 in laptop mode. As a tablet, the Yoga 7i was a bit bulky for my taste, and I didn't enjoy using it while walking around the house. You can use it in tent mode, but then the speakers are facing the wrong direction.
Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 review: keyboard, speakers, touchpad and camera
The Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 has an excellent keyboard, and it's kind of obvious that Lenovo also makes ThinkPad laptops, which are known for their keyboards. Typing on the 2-in-1 was a joy, as the keyboard had enough key travel with good tactile feedback. The keys are also well spaced, so there's no cramped feeling here. The laptop also has a dedicated Copilot key located before the left arrow key. You can change the Copilot chatbot with the click of a button. The keyboard is also backlit with two levels of brightness and an adaptive mode that can automatically dim or brighten the backlight depending on the environment.
The Yoga 7i 2-in-1 offers a good typing experience
Lenovo has given the laptop two speakers. The speakers are placed on either side of the keyboard and therefore work at the top. They are not very noisy, but the quality is good. No cracking, and you also get Dolby Atmos support. However, the placement is a bit flawed as the speakers move towards the back when using the laptop in tablet or tent mode. You will probably need to use headphones if you are in a noisy environment.
Below the keyboard is a large touchpad that supports multi-touch gestures in Windows 11. Clicks are good and the surface is smooth. When you're in tablet mode, the touchpad and keyboard are also automatically disabled.
In tablet mode, the laptop is considerably thick and not easy to hold
Moving on to the webcam, the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 has a Full-HD camera and comes with a privacy shutter. Video quality is good, and you also get support for AI features like Windows Studio effects and smart gestures. The notch that houses the webcam also has an IR blaster with support for face login via Windows Hello.
Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 Review: Specs and Software
Ok, let's talk about the specs. The 2-in-1 laptop is well equipped and comes with Intel Core Ultra 5 125H CPU or Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU. The chipset is paired with integrated Intel Arc graphics. You can configure the laptop with up to 32GB of LPDDR5X-7467 RAM and up to 1TB of NVMe storage. Both are soldered, so no, you can't upgrade RAM or storage.
In terms of connectivity, the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 offers Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
The laptop's 360-degree hinge feels durable
The laptop runs Windows 11 Home out of the box and is bundled with Office Home and Student 2021. There's no special software here, but you do get Copilot support with a dedicated key. It also comes with Lenovo AI Engine+, Windows Studio Effects, Smart Noise Cancellation and some other useful features. You also get Lenovo Vantage software that lets you tune your system to your preferences. There's Super Resolution, Dolby Atmos sound profiles, multiple modes tailored to different activities, three power modes, and features like Flip to Boot that let you turn on the laptop as soon as you open the lid, just like an Apple MacBook.
Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 Review: Performance
In terms of performance, the laptop is excellent for daily use, content consumption and some creative work. During the time I used the Yoga 7i 2-in-1, I never had any major issues. I didn't run any benchmarking tests on the laptop or use any AI-intensive programs. I didn't play any games on the drive either, but rest assured that the laptop can handle games like Valorant as long as you don't run them at full settings.
Get excellent laptop battery life with regular use
Multitasking on the laptop is also great, especially in tablet mode. Thermal management is also good, with the integrated cooling system doing a great job of keeping heat to a minimum. However, there were a couple of times where the laptop would randomly freeze and turn on the fan without running any programs, but that's probably a Windows 11 bug. Overall, the laptop performs very well.
Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 review: Battery life
Battery life on the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 is very good. Lenovo has a 71 Whr battery inside. The laptop consistently delivered a day's worth of use with browsing, multi-tabbing in Chrome, watching YouTube videos, streaming Netflix, and some light photo editing . This was the case in both regular laptop and tablet modes, with tablet mode offering longer battery life.
The laptop comes with a manual privacy shutter for the webcam
The laptop comes with a 65W charger in the box that offers fast charging support. It takes about 1.5 hours to fully charge the laptop, and you get about 80 percent battery life with just a 30-minute charge.
Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 review: Verdict
As I mentioned at the beginning, I'm not a big fan of 2-in-1 laptops, but if you're looking for a powerful laptop that can also be used as a tablet, the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 is a good choice. Even the base variant, priced at Rs. 1,01,990, it is a good choice and you will get excellent performance and long battery life from the laptop. The OLED screen is great for content consumption and creative work, but you can pay more and get the 2.8K OLED panel with 120Hz refresh for an even better experience. The only downsides are the speakers and the inability to upgrade the storage. Overall, though, the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 is an easy 2-in-1 laptop to recommend.
