Why Lenovo’s newest Pro laptop computer completely blew me away

Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16

“The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 is more powerful than you might think, making it one of the best 16-inch laptops around.”

• Competitive pricing
• Excellent creativity efficiency
• Solid 1440p gaming
• Very good mini-LED show
• Attractive high quality construct
• Class-leading audio

• Display distinction is not the very best
• Needs a haptic touchpad

There’s been a glut of 16-inch creator laptops targeted on being a real competitor to the MacBook Pro. Few although, have been capable of actually problem it.

When first seeing the Yoga Pro 9i 16, I assumed it might be good however finally fall quick towards Apple’s strongest laptop computer. But as I examined it, I got here to see simply how a lot energy Lenovo squeezed into this laptop computer, making for what could be probably the most official try at upending the MacBook Pro.

Specs and configurations

It’s troublesome typically to nail down Lenovo’s pricing, as a result of it’s always altering. The identical factor with its configurations. Right now, the Yoga Pro 9i 16 begins at $1,482 for an Intel Core Ultra 7155H chipset, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050, and a 16.0-inch 3.2K IPS show. If you configure it with a Core Ultra 9 185H, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, an RTX 4060, and a 3.2K mini-LED show, it’s $2,105.

That’s a premium worth, but it surely’s comparatively reasonably priced given its design and efficiency. The Yoga Pro 9i 16 has two main opponents at present: the Dell XPS 16 and the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra. Both are moderately transportable 16-inch creator laptops just like the Yoga.

The XPS 16 begins at $1,899 for a Core Ultra 7 155H, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, built-in Intel Arc graphics, and a 16.3-inch Full HD+ IPS show. When configured equally to the Yoga with a Core Ultra 9, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, an RTX 4060, and a 16.3-inch 4K+ OLED show, it prices $3,099. As we examined it, with a Core Ultra 7 155H, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, an RTX 4070, and the OLED show, it prices $3,399.

The Galaxy Book4 Ultra can be dearer, albeit its base mannequin is best configured. It begins at $2,400 for a Core Ultra 7 155H, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, an RTX 4050 GPU, and a 16.0-inch 3K AMOLED show. With a Core Ultra 9, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and an RTX 4070, it prices $3,000.

As we’ll see, the Yoga Pro 9i 16 is quicker than each opponents whereas costing $1,295 lower than the XPS 16 and $895 lower than the Galaxy Book4 Ultra. The Apple MacBook Pro 16 is dearer than every of those machines by a hefty margin.

Design

The Yoga Pro 9i 16 is a big laptop computer, with a 16.0-inch show with moderately small bezels on the perimeters and prime however a bigger backside chin than, say, the Dell XPS 16 with its class-leading bezels. That means it’s a bit deeper though the XPS 16 has a barely bigger 16.3-inch show. The Yoga Pro is a bit thinner, although, and it’s lighter.

The MacBook Pro 16 falls in between in width and depth, but it surely’s considerably thinner at 0.66 inches versus the Yoga’s 0.72 inches, and the MacBook’s barely increased weight offers it a denser really feel. The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra is the thinnest (0.65 inches) and lightest (4.1 kilos).

Overall, that makes the Yoga Pro 9i 16 moderately transportable for a large-screen laptop computer, however not class-leading. Its construct high quality is great due to an all-aluminum design, and there’s zero bending, flexing, or twisting within the show, keyboard deck, or chassis. It’s simply pretty much as good because the XPS 16 and MacBook Pro 16, and given its lower cost, that makes it significantly spectacular.

The light-gray chassis is easy in its design and options rounded edges that make it comfy to make use of and carry round. The reverse notch on prime of the show housing the webcam and quad microphones supplies one thing to seize onto when opening the lid, which you are able to do with one hand due to a hinge that feels good.

Overall, the aesthetic is minimalist however moderately enticing. The XPS 16 has a extra trendy design and the MacBook Pro 16 is arguably extra elegant, however you possible received’t select both over the Yoga Pro primarily based on appears alone.

The keyboard is Lenovo’s ordinary model with sculpted keycaps and loads of key spacing, and the switches are moderately deep and are snappy and exact. I did discover the bottoming motion slightly stiffer than I like, and the MacBook Pro’s Magic Keyboard stays my favourite.

I used to be capable of keep near my most typing pace when scripting this assessment, however I did discover the keyboard slightly fatiguing after some time. The touchpad is massive sufficient, but it surely’s a mechanical model versus the haptic touchpad you’ll discover on the XPS 16 and MacBook Pro 16.

While the Yoga Pro 9i 16’s model had quiet, strong clicks, I nonetheless choose haptic touchpads at these costs for his or her bigger clickable areas and tunable really feel.

It’s additionally value mentioning that the trackpad is off-center due to the inclusion of a numpad to the fitting of the keyboard. The Galaxy Book4 Ultra additionally has this identical kind of keyboard. Most individuals in all probability don’t want a numpad of their day by day lives, making this a little bit of an odd design determination to maintain round.

The Yoga Pro 9i 16 has a variety of connectivity that’s according to the standard bigger laptop computer. There’s a mixture of trendy and legacy ports and a full-size SD card reader, a welcome signal for creators. The XPS 16 has extra Thunderbolt 4 ports however no legacy help, and it has a microSD card reader.

The MacBook Pro 16 has the identical HDMI port and full-size SD card reader however extra Thunderbolt 4 connections. Wireless connectivity is trendy sufficient.

The webcam is a 5MP model that’s increased decision than lots of its opponents, and it supplies a high quality picture. The laptop computer’s Meteor Lake chipset features a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that’s utilized by Microsoft’s Studio Effects software program and never a lot else.

Thermals and energy

The Yoga Pro 9i 16 will be configured with both the 28-watt Core Ultra 7 155H with 16 cores (six Performance, eight Efficient, and two Low Power Efficient) and 22 threads operating at 4.8 GHz or the 45-watt Core Ultra 9 185H with the identical variety of cores and threads operating at as much as 5.1 GHz. I reviewed a mannequin with the latter, together with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 (the RTX 4050 is an possibility). As I found in my benchmarks, specs will be deceiving, and by all accounts, the Yoga Pro 9i 16 is a spectacular performer.

As talked about earlier, the Dell XPS 16 and Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra are two of Lenovo’s most essential opponents right here. The XPS 16 and Galaxy Book4 Ultra we reviewed each had the theoretically sooner RTX 4070 whereas the XPS 16 had the Core Ultra 7 and the Galaxy Book4 Ultra had the Core Ultra 9.

However, Lenovo in-built 130 watts of TDP to divide between the CPU and GPU, whereas the Dell and Samsung are each restricted to only 80 watts. The RTX 4060 and RTX 4070 can take as much as 115 watts, however the XPS 16 and Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra variations obtained simply 60 watts. The Yoga Pro 9i 16 offers its GPU 100 watts, leaving 30 watts for the CPU. That signifies that each the CPU and GPU within the Lenovo get much more energy.

I additionally regarded on the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16, as a result of though it’s a gaming laptop computer (albeit a really skinny one at simply 0.64 inches), it additionally offers its RTX 4070 plenty of energy, and you’d anticipate it to be sooner. Another comparability is the Alienware m16 R2 that has a complete TDP of 175 watts.

Performance

So, what do the numbers seem like? I’m not often blown away by a laptop computer’s efficiency, and when I’m, it’s normally when it performs rather a lot higher than I anticipated or when in comparison with its most important opponents. The Yoga Pro 9i 16 achieved each.

Across all our benchmarks, it’s no less than as quick because the XPS 16 and the Galaxy Book4 Ultra, and most often it’s sooner. That’s in our CPU-intensive benchmarks the place I anticipated it to be sooner than the XPS 16, but additionally in our GPU-specific benchmarks the place I anticipated the Dell and Samsung to profit from their sooner GPUs. The Yoga Pro 9i 16’s was nearly as quick within the Cinebench R24 GPU benchmark, and its Geekbench 6, Handbrake, and Cinebench R24 CPU scores had been increased nearly throughout the board.

Things had been most attention-grabbing when wanting on the real-world Pugetbench Premiere Pro benchmark, which runs in a dwell model of Adobe’s Premiere Pro. That benchmark duties each the CPU and the GPU, and the latter makes a major distinction in how briskly a Windows laptop computer can churn by way of varied demanding processes like video encoding. The Yoga Pro 9i 16 was sooner on this benchmark than each the XPS 16 and the Galaxy Book4 Ultra, and it was even sooner than the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 and Alienware m16 R2. That’s spectacular given every laptop computer’s configuration and worth.

If you’re on the lookout for a 16-inch laptop computer that’s moderately transportable but supplies glorious efficiency, the Yoga Pro 9i 16 is a strong selection. I hope no one appears on the RTX 4060 and decides to decide on an XPS 16 or Galaxy Book4 Ultra as a result of these laptops have an RTX 4070 as an possibility. The Lenovo will probably be sooner, and it’s additionally considerably cheaper. Apple’s MacBook Pro 16 is a a lot sooner laptop computer with its M3 Max 16/40 chipset, but it surely’s additionally extremely pricey.

For players, the Yoga Pro 9i 16 continues its stunning efficiency. Lenovo makes use of Nvidia’s Studio drivers, and so its gaming efficiency is sacrificed a bit in change for higher and extra dependable efficiency in inventive and different apps. Even so, it did effectively.

To start with, I ran the 3DMark Time Spy check and, as soon as once more, Lenovo squeezed much more out of the RTX 4060 than a few of its opponents did their RTX 4070s. Here, even the ROG Zephyrus G16 wasn’t as quick. Both of the Yoga’s show choices run at 165Hz, in order that nearly ensures a tear-free expertise given the GPU.

I additionally ran a few gaming benchmarks, and the Yoga Pro 9i 16 was once more a robust performer. When pitted towards just a few laptops with RTX 4070s, together with a few gaming machines, the Lenovo did surprisingly effectively.

You would possibly wish to dial again to 1080p with trendy titles to benefit from the highest graphics settings. But as an occasional gaming laptop computer, the Yoga Pro 9i is a superb selection.

Battery life

The Yoga Pro 9i 16 has an 84-watt-hour battery, which is on the low aspect for a 16-inch laptop computer with quick parts and a high-res, power-hungry mini-LED show. I wasn’t anticipating nice battery life, and I didn’t get it. But what I noticed was first rate sufficient.

It managed round six hours in our net shopping check and 9.5 hours in our video check. Those are under common throughout all Windows laptops, however they’re not unhealthy in any respect for this class of machine. The XPS 16 has a 99.5-watt-hour battery, and it lasted for simply 5.5 hours in every check.

While the Yoga Pro 9i 16 doesn’t come anyplace close to the MacBook Pro 16’s 19 hours of net shopping and 27 hours of video, it nonetheless does effectively in comparison with its barely dearer competitors. It received’t final a lot previous lunch doing any sort of work, however that’s to be anticipated till Intel and Microsoft provide you with a extra environment friendly answer that also hits prime speeds when wanted.

Display and audio

Lenovo went with a mini-LED show for the Yoga Pro 9i 16, particularly a 16.0-inch 16:10 panel at 3.2K (3000 x 2000) decision. That’s a lot sharp, and with a 165Hz refresh charge, Windows 11 is buttery easy.

Mini-LED is understood for intense brightness and deep distinction, they usually shine (no pun supposed) in Apple’s MacBook Pros. When I reviewed the 2023 Yoga Pro 9i 16, although, I wasn’t as impressed. Its mini-LED show was shiny and colourful, however its distinction wasn’t as excessive. When I switched into HDR mode in Windows show settings, distinction was increased however colours had been a lot worse. That’s simply how Windows handles HDR content material.

I noticed the identical factor with the 2024 Yoga Pro 9i 16. It confirmed extensive and correct colours and loads of brightness. It did effectively with HDR video from sources like Netflix, due to Dolby Vision HDR help, however its distinction was decrease than the MacBook Pro’s mini-LED shows and OLED panels. And distinction was increased when HDR was switched on.

In any occasion, the Yoga Pro 9i 16’s show is superb for productiveness customers, creators, and media shoppers. If you need the very best HDR help in content material and gaming, you’ll wish to change HDR on.

The Yoga Pro 9i 16 has six audio system: two upward-firing tweeters and 4 side-firing woofers. The system places out plenty of quantity with out distorting, and highs and mids are good and shiny. There’s additionally extra bass than you’ll discover in most laptops. After listening to them side-by-side, I nonetheless give the nod to the MacBook Pro 16’s six-speaker setup, however the Yoga is available in a detailed second. The Lenovo’s audio is noticeably higher than the XPS 16’s, with extra bass and fewer distortion at full quantity.

A surprisingly robust entry within the 16-inch sweepstakes

The most notable names in 16-inch laptops at present are the XPS 16 and the MacBook Pro 16. Those two machines get a lot of the press, whereas the Yoga Pro 9i 16 is extra of a darkish horse. But I hope that modifications, as a result of it’s a very glorious laptop computer that’s out there for a comparatively enticing worth.

While it may well’t sustain with the class-leading MacBook Pro’s efficiency and effectivity, it’s sooner than competing Windows laptops even once they equip a sooner GPU. Lenovo gave the Yoga Pro 9i 16 extra energy, and it exhibits. Toss in an awesome show and sound system to go along with a strong construct, and the Yoga Pro 9i 16 is likely one of the finest 16-inch laptops round.

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