Lenovo’s Yoga 7i Almost Tore Me Away From My MacBook Pro
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Key Takeaways
- Intel’s Core Ultra 5 handles 4K video editing well on-the-go.
- The Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 offers true all-day battery life, even in direct sunlight.
- With a decent keyboard and trackpad, plus a lightweight design, this 16-inch laptop is perfect for on-the-go productivity.
The Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-In-1 16” (2024) laptop doesn’t come with an impressive spec sheet. In fact, it’s pretty mundane with a Core Ultra 5 processor and 16GB of RAM. But, this unassuming laptop nearly stole my heart and made me consider giving up my MacBook Pro.
Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 16-inch (2024)
Lenovo’s Yoga 7i 2-in-1 16-inch laptop features ample I/O with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 2.1 output, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and a microSD slot. The 16-inch 2K touchscreen is responsive and a good size to get productivity tasks done throughout the day. With true all-day battery and the Core Ultra 5 at the helm, this laptop can handle chores from video and photo editing to writing, light gaming, and more with ease.
Pros
- Powerful enough to edit 4K video on-the-go
- True all-day battery
- Decent typing experience
- Lightweight
- Plenty of I/O
Cons
- No Ethernet port
$899.99 at Best Buy$769.99 at Lenovo
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Price and Availability
The Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 16-inch (2024) laptop can be purchased from Best Buy for $899.99 and goes for $769.99 in a similar configuration from Lenovo.
The Core Ultra 5 Delivers Way More Power Than I Expected
When I first got the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-In-1 16-inch (2024) (which I’ll just call the Yoga 7i from here on out in this review, not to be confused with the non-2-in-1 Yoga 7i that Lenovo also offers) I was a little worried that the Core Ultra 5 would be a bit lackluster in performance. For probably a decade or more, my main, and even secondary computers have all been i7/Ryzen 7 or higher. Typically, i9/Ryzen 9. So, stepping “down” to a Core Ultra 5 seemed like I would be left wanting for performance. That wasn’t the case.
One of the first things that I did on the Yoga 7i was work on a YouTube video for my small business. I normally edit on my main desktop, which is an i9-13900K with 32GB of DDR4 RAM and an RTX 3060 graphics card. And, if I’m not at my desktop, I’ll typically either use my 14-inch MacBook Pro with a M1 Max or my 17-inch ROG Strix laptop with a Ryzen 9 and RTX 4090. So, the Yoga 7i with a Core Ultra 5 and 16GB of RAM with no graphics card was a big step down in performance. However, once I was in Premiere Pro, I was editing like I was sitting at my desktop. It was quite surprising.
Export times were longer than my desktop for sure, but the actual experience of editing 4K content from my iPhone 15 Pro was a breeze. The timeline was smooth, trimming was painless, and I was very pleased with the editing experience. From Premiere Pro, I jumped over into Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator to work on some pictures and graphics and had a similarly painless experience. Oh, did I mention that I was doing all of this while on battery power as well? I was at a car dealership getting my van worked on and wanted to use the time to work on some projects, and I was blown away by the performance.
I also did some light gaming with Minecraft on the laptop and was similarly pleased with how it ran. While Minecraftitself doesn’t require a ton of horsepower to run, using shaders and mods can definitely tax a system. When I play Minecraft, I typically run about 175-200 mods plus shaders, and the Yoga 7i handled it like a champ.
All-Day Battery Life, Even at Full Brightness in the Sun
I really put the Yoga 7i to the test when I brought it with me as my only computer to a craft show. My wife and I run a small business where we make household goods, laser engraved items, and more. During the fall we do several craft shows. This year, we’re laser engraving on-site and that requires a computer to run. In the past, I’ve used my 14-inch MacBook Pro to run the laser, but this time I decided to test out the battery life, screen, and performance of the Yoga 7i with the task. It passed with flying colors.
The Yoga 7i was sitting on a table in direct sun for about seven to eight hours, being used almost the entire time. I started the day with 100% battery, ran my engraving software (which is relatively lightweight and doesn’t require a ton of power) and did some web browsing to find fonts and graphics. Since I had the laptop at 100% brightness (at only 300 nits, it’s not super bright, but it’s still usable in the sun) I was fully expecting to have to plug in at midday, or multiple times throughout the day. Typically, on my MacBook I’d have to plug in quite a few times.
The Yoga 7i, however, didn’t require that at all. In fact, I ended the day with about 22% battery remaining after seven to eight hours of near constant usage. Throughout the day, we did have a few slower moments where I would make the laptop sleep for maybe 15 to 20 minutes, but that only happened maybe two to three times. Overall, the laptop’s screen was on, and it was doing something, almost all day.
This is one area where the Yoga 7i completely destroyed my MacBook Pro, and actually made me think heavily about replacing it. My MacBook Pro is quite powerful, but battery life is not its strong suit, even with the M1 Max. When I run it at full brightness (which, granted, is much brighter than the Yoga 7i), I only get a few hours of usage before it’s time to plug in. This is one area where the lower-power Core Ultra 5 and the lower brightness screen come in handy on the Yoga 7i. Without having to drive those items, it can sip at battery and last all day long.
The Keyboard and Trackpad Are Actually Pretty Good
One thing’s for sure, most Windows laptops don’t have a great trackpad or keyboard experience. At least, not in my book. Most laptops that I test are only “okay” when it comes to the trackpad or keyboard, while Apple holds the spot at the pinnacle in both categories for me.
The Yoga 7i’s trackpad is a bit off-center of the case itself, but is perfectly centered on the main keyboard. The reason for the shift is that there’s a dedicated number pad on the right-hand side of the keyboard, which is really useful if you input a lot of numbers into your computer for spreadsheets and such.
Interfacing with the trackpad was relatively pleasant. Gestures worked most of the time, and right-clicking was good enough, though there were definitely times when I would go to right-click, and it wouldn’t register. But, that’s a common thing with me and Windows laptops.
The keyboard was also pretty decent. I actually found the keyboard to be quite comfortable to type on and wrote several articles from the Yoga 7i instead of my MacBook or desktop, and I was quite pleased with it.
Considering the Size, the Yoga 7i 2-In-1 Is Actually Quite Lightweight
Being a 16-inch laptop, I was somewhat expecting the Yoga 7i to be on the heftier side of things. This likely comes from the fact that all the 15.6 or 16-inch laptops that I’ve owned over the past decade have been MacBook Pros that aren’t known for their lightweight nature.
However, it was a pleasant surprise how lightweight the Yoga 7i is. Given how much power it had, the weight and thickness were a welcome change of pace from what I’ve been used to. Slipping it into my backpack was effortless and when I pulled it out, I was happily greeted by the 16-inch display, which is quite a bit bigger than my MacBook Pro’s 14-inch screen I have now.
It was also nice to have a touchscreen on the Yoga 7i, as sometimes it is easier to reach up and tap an element on the screen instead of having to use a mouse. And, when I did use the touchscreen, it was nice and responsive. The 2K display looked great and worked well every time I used it. However, the 2-in-1 aspect of this laptop is something I didn’t use much, if at all. It’s nice to be able to flip the screen around into a tent mode to watch a movie, or even convert it into a pseudo-tablet for whatever reason you’d convert it into a pseudo-tablet. But, practically, I really just enjoyed the 2-in-1 aspect of it because of the touchscreen.
Lenovo Packed Plenty of Ports Into the Compact Body of the Yoga 7i 2-In-1
While some brands (cough, Apple) went to only a single port style on their laptop for several years, and only recently started adding more back, Lenovo has stayed tried and true in the area of I/O. The Yoga 7i is no exception.
On the lef-thand side of the laptop, you’ll find an HDMI 2.1 output alongside two Thunderbolt 4 ports, one of which is the dedicated charging input, and a 3.5mm combo headphone/microphone jack. On the right-hand side, there are two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports and a microSD card slot alongside the power button.
All the ports here make it relatively easy for me to use this laptop either at home or on-the-go. I have Thunderbolt 3 docks at the house which provide power, Ethernet, display, and more to turn a laptop into a pseudo-desktop, and the Yoga 7i worked perfectly in that regard.
Plus, when on-the-go, I could charge via one Thunderbolt port, and then plug three more peripherals in with the two USB-A and one additional USB-C port. Add to that the native HDMI 2.1 output to plug in an external monitor, and you can all-but ditch #donglelife. The only thing missing is Ethernet, but since the Yoga 7i features Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, I’ll give it a pass.
Should You Buy the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-In-1 16” (2024) Laptop?
With a retail price of $900, I’d put the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-In-1 16” (2024) laptop in the high/mid-range category of computers. It’s not quite high-end, and it’s absolutely not ultra-high-end. But, it’s not mid-range either. However, I would say it’s absolutely worth every penny if you’re looking for a lightweight, semi-powerful laptop with all-day battery life.
Personally, if I was in the market for a new computer right now, the Yoga 7i would be high on my list of computers to purchase. The only reason I’m not heading out to purchase one right now is because my MacBook Pro still works well for everything I need it to do, and I just don’t have a need to spend money on a new laptop.
While I still love my 14-inch MacBook Pro, the Yoga 7i has all-but stolen me away from it. The battery life is superb, the performance is great, and the size to weight ratio is wonderful. I really don’t have anything negative to say about this laptop, which is rare for me.
So, the answer is yes. I think you should buy the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-In-1 16-inch (2024) if you’re in the market for a sub-$1,000 computer that’ll handle just about anything you throw at itn whether office or creative related, as well as some light gaming. Plus, when you consider that big sales events could drop it a few hundred dollars, like Black Friday, it becomes even better value.
Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 16-inch (2024)
Lenovo’s Yoga 7i 2-in-1 16-inch laptop features ample I/O with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 2.1 output, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and a microSD slot. The 16-inch 2K touchscreen is responsive and a good size to get productivity tasks done throughout the day. With true all-day battery and the Core Ultra 5 at the helm, this laptop can handle chores from video and photo editing to writing, light gaming, and more with ease.
$899.99 at Best Buy$769.99 at Lenovo
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