I finally got my hands on Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i, and this 14.5-inch notebook does wonders for its size.
In case you haven’t noticed, AI processors are the trends of newer devices now. They are present in smartphones, cars, and (now) laptops. With claims such as extra boost of brainpower that helps computers to run more efficiently than standard processors, it is no doubt that I just had to try it out to see what the rage is all about.
And I would have to admit; I like it.
Specifications
Here’s a general breakdown of the latest Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i:
- Central Processing Unit (CPU): Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 7 155H 3.0GHz
- Neural Processing Unit (NPU): (Shared memory) 15.8 GB
- Display Resolution: 1920 x 1200
- Graphics Card: Intel(R) Arc(TM) Graphics
- VRAM: 128 MB
- Refresh Rate: 60Hz
- Display Size: 12” x 7.5” or 30cm x 19cm (14.5-inch or 35cm diagonal)
- Audio Device: Speakers (Realtek(R) Audio)
- Memory (RAM): 32GB
- Operating System: Windows 11
- Disk Size (SSD): 1TB
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i comes with an OLED display. Given the price range for it, this laptop is definitely expected to have a good display. We’re talking almost RM5k (which is equivalent to almost USD 1.2k).
But the screen is just beautiful. The screen brightness can go up to 325 nits; enough to lit up in a bright room with no issues with screen glares. Just don’t bring the laptop under direct sunlight on a hot day.
Bring it in a room, though, and you’ll see that the OLED screen this laptop offers is very much perfect for productivity tasks — photo and video editing, graphical works, that sort of stuff.
Ports and Exterior Build
This laptop boasts (only) one USB-A slot, and two USB-C slots (one for charging). USB-C has become a norm for charging most devices, but USB-A hasn’t gone in the abyss just yet.
So, this might be a bit of a problem if you need to use, let’s say, a wired mouse, or a wireless one connected to a USB-A port via a dongle. Because by then you’d have taken up the only USB-A slot available (meaning if you have to transfer files via a thumb drive which mostly uses USB-A ports for example, you would have to remove the dongle for the mouse first).
Oh yes, there’s no SD card slot either.
Unless you rely exclusively on wireless transfer, or wireless devices that connect via Bluetooth, you might want to invest in a USB hub adaptor if you plan on using multiple devices that rely on USB-A. But then, it would probably remove the entire purpose of owning a laptop (portability), no?
Speaking of which, unless you have 65W (or higher) power adaptor before, using regular USB-C phone chargers won’t charge this laptop. But on the flip side, you only need to bring one power adaptor if you travel, because this laptop relies on USB-C charging.
I should also mention that the aux port on the right side is a bit jarring, considering people usually place their mouse on the right side of the laptop. It gets in the way sometimes if you have headphones or speakers connected, but it’s nothing too majorly concerning.
Now, the size. This 14.5-inch laptop is definitely portable enough to be carried in a small bag. It fits in my small gym bag, that’s for sure.
It’s no heavier than a standard history or math textbook you carry to classes, so it wouldn’t be a pain to lug it around in your bag. But since it’s light, it can’t be opened with one hand. Well, technically you can, but the base will be lifted somewhat because it’s light.
The laptop is also capable of 180-degree tilt, so maybe if you’re feeling like sharing your screen with your friends across the table, for example, you can just flip the screen to lay it flat on a surface.
And of course, with the small size of the laptop comes a bit of caveat, which can be a dealbreaker for some: there’s no dedicated numpad. So, typing numbers can be a real pain with the number keys being only on the hotbar (situated below function keys).
Typing Experience
If there’s anything I would praise Lenovo for, it’s definitely the keyboards.
Lenovo has always been excelling perfectly in keyboard design and comfort, and this model is no different. There are plenty of laptops out there, including gaming laptops, but very few sit right with my short and stubby fingers.
The keycaps size, the height, the travel distance between the keys — this laptop keyboard makes typing long articles feel like a breeze. I’ve written a few using this laptop (that are yet to be published).
You tend to notice certain laptop users have a separate keyboard for gaming or working, and that’s probably because they’re more comfortable with the external keyboard and the added distance between themselves and the screen. You don’t need that with this laptop; the keyboard just does itself justice.
But, as I mentioned, the small size of the laptop means there are things they compensate for, like the missing numpad.
The shortcut sits together with the function keys (Fn keys for short) and the spacebar. While some shortcuts are the standard buttons for most laptops (e.g., toggling the backlit keyboard, volume control, switching projector screen, etc.), I can’t help but to wonder the rest of the shortcuts that could’ve otherwise been replaced with far better ones.
Take the F10 button, for example: it’s set to lock the laptop. It’s a Windows laptop; you can pretty much do the same with Windows + L. The F11 button summons the clipboard — Windows + V does just the same. The F9 button opens up settings menu; Windows + I does the exact same thing.
It feels redundant is what I’m trying to say. These Fn keys could’ve been replaced with media controls (e.g., skip track, go back to previous track, play/pause track), or trackpad lock button to prevent misclicks when typing (it happens sometimes when I’m writing).
But, I suppose not many are aware of the Windows shortcut keys, so having the one-click Fn shortcut keys are very much convenient for them.
Fn Lock is turned on automatically by default for an easy one-button press to access these shortcuts. For example, instead of pressing Fn + F1 to mute, you’d only need to press F1 key. If you don’t like it, though, you can turn it off by pressing Fn + Esc to unlock it.
Audio Experience
The audio on this laptop is just insanely good. They definitely didn’t cheap out on the speaker quality.
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i is powered by Dolby Atmos — that alone should give you enough of an insight on how good they can be. You don’t need to put the speakers on high volume for them to sound good; I set the laptop on 30% volume at the time and already they were loud enough to hear everything clearly.
Any higher and I’d probably receive noise complaints from my neighbours.
Rest assured, playing music or games, or watching films are just top-notch with this laptop. The speakers, combined with the crystal-clear OLED screen — I could not ask for any better portable IMAX for an immersive experience.
Gaming Experience
If you’re thinking about playing games that are taxing on resources (AKA triple-A games), it’s best if you drop that thought.
This laptop is productivity-focused — while the NPU does help to make this laptop run efficiently, it’s not meant for gaming. I tried Guilty Gear -STRIVE-, and I tried Rise of the Tomb Raider. Both of these games have noticeable frame drops unless you tune down the resolution and graphics quality.
Obviously this is because this laptop doesn’t have a dedicated GPU to support intensive games. If this laptop does offer one, however, I think running triple-A games would be a breeze.
But hey, at least you can play Stardew Valley and Valorant without any issues. Just enough to set aside some time for gaming after working for hours on end.
Productivity-related Tasks
This is where the Neural Processing Unit (NPU) A.K.A. the Intel(R) AI boost processor shines. As mentioned before, the AI processor (or the NPU) here works in the background to ensure maximum efficiency, so productivity-related tasks should be a breeze for this laptop.
I put a few things to the test, to see how it works. One of the first things I noticed was definitely the battery life. This laptop could last two whole days with a single charge when I was using it for writing articles. It helps that the processor helps with pausing all active processes as soon as I close the lid.
Usually with the laptop I use (the standard gaming laptop), if I put it to sleep at night without charging, I’m going to wake up in the morning with the laptop losing almost half the battery overnight. It’s probably because of the intensive power consumption from the graphics card, but it’s still something I have to trade for power.
So, having an AI processing unit helps a lot in preserving the power I might just need if I’m working remotely and travel often.
The very next thing I tried was using a video-editing software, mainly Adobe Premiere Pro. Editing was a breeze, that’s for sure. There was a tiny project I was working on related to one of my articles before, and I spend days editing a 6-hour clip to cram it into 2 hours.
Though I did mention editing being a breeze, I did experience stutters every now and then, particularly when I try to skip through clips too quickly during editing. This is on ½ playback resolution; a full resolution may prove to be a problem if I try to do anything of such.
But then again, I was putting in effects and texts on the clips, so it is expected for me to experience occasional stutters. But overall, I can do some heavy editing on this laptop — I was worried it would crash the programme every few seconds, considering the length of the clips I had to work with.
Exporting the final project was a surprise, however.
The laptop needed less than an hour to encode and export the project worth about 2 hours and 30 minutes in full HD resolution (1920 x 1080). I was expecting the estimated time would be somewhere between an hour to an hour and a half.
And this is done without leaving the laptop on charge.
Needless to say, I am impressed. I might get myself an AI-powered laptop one day.
Some Other Minor Features
This laptop supports Windows Hello. Though it doesn’t have fingerprint sensors, the laptop does support face identification, so you can use it to sign in instead of relying on passwords or PIN.
Honestly, I didn’t notice this feature initially since I’m used to using PIN to sign in. So, if you want a quick access to your laptop, this is one of the ways to do so.
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i, as any other models from Lenovo, has warranty services and direct customer support from the laptop itself. You can access it via Windows search or just press Fn + Insert (or just Insert if you have Fn Lock enabled).
If you are concerned with accidental damage or theft, or monitor and tune in your laptop performance, this is where you register your device. Of course, it is an annual/monthly subscription, so think of it as an insurance for your laptop if you need it.
Verdict
I love it. If only it’d be a tad more affordable, though; the starting price is already reaching nearly RM5k, and that is with limited ports and non-dedicated graphics card. But it does offer what you would expect from a productivity-oriented laptop — portable, productivity-focused, and efficient.
With absolutely stunning speakers and clear-as-day OLED screen, together with the trending AI processor to boost performance and efficiency, they do make up for what isn’t found on this laptop.
Honestly, if I were given this laptop, I’d definitely use it for my day-to-day work laptop. My current laptop is too heavy to carry (not to mention the bulky power brick in case the laptop runs out of battery). It’s power-efficient, and the AI monitoring helps to adjust the power consumption accordingly so the laptop can last through the day.
Anyway, that’s my two-cent about Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i. Feel free to check out the laptop through Lenovo’s official website here. If you want to check out my other articles, feel free to read them here. As always, I’ll catch you again in the next entry.
