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Flexible ultrabooks have a niche audience. Despite the obvious allure and functionality of the form factor, it’s not as common a choice for consumers as brands would like them to be. However, Lenovo has been dedicatedly building its flex legacy for more than a decade now and I’ve been travelling with its latest Lenovo Yoga 7i (2023) to know if it’s more than just a pretty face.
Display
Designed to look simple and non-fussy, the Lenovo Yoga 7i sports an elegant Tidal Teal colour with the branding etched on the top lid, diagonally opposite to each other. It features a lovely 14-inch OLED touchscreen display. While I used the laptop mostly for work - writing, editing, responding to mails - the occasional multimedia consumption on this was great.
Thanks to the OLED display, the deep blacks on my Interstellar rewatch were an absolute treat. The only distraction was catching the occasional reflection in the darker parts of a given scene. With the DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification, the significantly deeper black levels really show on the screen which is also equipped with Dolby Vision for better contrast and colours. The 60Hz refresh rate makes it ideal for scrolling and multimedia consumption but if you’re looking for a display prime for gaming, this isn’t the best option in the market.
Flex mode
The touchscreen is slick and responsive. While I didn’t use it much while writing, I ended up using it a fair bit while reading books and articles as well as browsing the web. It was also especially useful while browsing through some content & video ideas on Instagram along with a colleague. Whenever I needed a break from work, it was easy to flip the screen back and catch up on some good ol’ Graham Norton.
The virtual keyboard is expansive and is user-friendly enough to type in some keywords or make quick edits in an article, but anything that requires more typing would have me switch to proper laptop mode. There’s a full-size physical keyboard which is lovely to have in my profession. While the key size and travel were satisfactory, it is one of the “noisier” keyboards I’ve used of late. If you find yourself working beyond bedtime while a family member is getting some shuteye next to you, the noise is likely going to interrupt their slumber.
There are two levels of backlight brightness, and this can be toggled by using the spacebar and the function key. The touchpad is also sizeable and no demarcations for the click buttons, making for seamless scrolling.
Tech Specs
The unit I reviewed is powered by Intel Core i7-1360P along with integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics. The Lenovo Yoga 7i (2023) breezes through most everyday tasks, as well as the occasional photo and video editing. On the model I reviewed, there’s 16 GB RAM and 1 TB storage space.
The power button isn’t integrated into the keyboard and has a dedicated button on the right bezel of the laptop. This sits next to a microSD card reader and a USB 3.2 port. On the left bezel are two Thunderbolt ports along with an HDMI port and a 3.5 mm jack.
Battery life
The latest Lenovo Yoga 7i has an integrated 71Wh battery which easily kept me company for up to 7-8 hours. This was with most tasks centered around writing, editing, and reading. With watching movies or TV shows, or days with work meetings or online briefings the device would keep me company for about 6-7 hours, before I had to plug it in.
The device’s estimate of remaining battery life isn’t exactly the most accurate as there were times it indicated it’d go on for another two hours or so but ran out of charge in about 45 minutes. The laptop ships with a 65W USB-C charger, which takes about 1.5 hours to charge fully.
There’s face recognition built-in but no fingerprint sensor on the device. The face recognition has been a bit of a hit-or-miss - not kicking in a couple of times - and prompting me to use the password instead.
Verdict
The Lenovo Yoga 7i (14IRL8) impresses with its elegant design, vibrant OLED touchscreen display, and powerful specs. It is a great companion for medium-duty tasks, providing a comfortable full-size keyboard, though its noisier typing might be a concern for shared spaces. The device’s Intel Core i7 processor and ample RAM make it efficient for multitasking, while the battery life of 7-9 hours ensures worry-free portability too.
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