-
Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023)
Pinnacle of convertible PCs
Lenovo’s Yoga 9i for 2023 is one of the best laptops you can buy today, all thanks to its strong 13th-generation Intel Core performance, gorgeous 14-inch display, premium convertible build with rounded edges, and soundbar hinge. If you’d like a more traditional convertible laptop that costs less, this is the way to go.
Pros
- 90Hz OLED display is outstanding
- Strong 13th Gen Intel Core performance
- Superb audio from the soundbar hinge
Cons
- Only Core i7 CPU option
- No pen storage
-
HP Dragonfly Folio G3
Premium pull-forward design
HP’s Dragonfly Folio G3 has a rare design that allows the display to pull forward or fold down completely for easy inking and touch functionality. It’s built extremely well, the display is gorgeous, and it has strong performance from 12th Gen Intel Core CPUs. It might be hard to pass up if you can fit it into your budget.
Pros
- Rare pull-forward convertible design with faux leather cover
- Snappy 12th-generation Intel Core performance
- Up to a 3K2K OLED touch display
Cons
- Very expensive
- Limited port selection
HP’s Dragonfly Folio G3 is an impressive premium business laptop with a pull-forward design that changes the rules for convertible laptops. The Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023) is a more traditional convertible laptop with a lid that rotates around 360 degrees, and it’s undeniably packed with high-end features including a soundbar hinge and strong performance. It’s so good that we chose it as the overall best laptop available to buy today, but HP’s Dragonfly Folio G3 has a lot to offer, too. Let’s take a look at where these laptops excel, where they have some weak points, and, ultimately, how they compare to help you pick the right device.
Pricing, availability, and specs
Configurations for HP’s Dragonfly Folio G3 currently start at about $2,379 if you’re shopping at HP’s official website. That’s for a model with a 12th-generation Intel Core i7-1255U CPU, 16GB of RAM, 512GB M.2 SSD, and a 13.5-inch touch display with 1920×1280 (FHD+) resolution. Prices climb from there as you add hardware and display features, and you can expect to pay more than $3,000 for a high-end model. If you’d like to shop elsewhere, Amazon also has some models for sale.
Lenovo’s Yoga 9i (2023) starts at a more manageable $1,400 price before any of Lenovo’s frequent discounts. This introductory price will land you a 13th-generation Intel Core i7-1360P CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB M.2 SSD, and a 14-inch touch display with 2.8K resolution. Even if you go all the way up to a 1TB SSD and UHD+ OLED display, you’re looking at a roughly $1,850 price tag. That’s significantly less than the Dragonfly Folio G3’s introductory price. The best place to find the latest Yoga 9i is Lenovo’s official website, though we’ve seen some models show up at Best Buy.
-
HP Dragonfly Folio G3 Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023) Storage Up to 512GB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SED, Up to 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Up to 1TB SSD CPU 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1235U, Core i5-1245U vPro, Core i7-1255U, Core i7-1265U vPro Up to 13th-generation Intel Core i7-1360P Memory Up to 32GB LPDDR5-6400MHz Up to 16GB LPDDR5-5200 Battery 53Wh 75Wh Ports Two Thunderbolt 4, 3.5mm audio, Nano SIM (optional) 2 x Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB Type-C, 1 x USB Type-A, 3.5mm headphone jack Camera Front-facing 8MP, 100-degree FOV, human presence detection, shutter Full HD 1080p + IR camera Display (Size, Resolution) 13.5 inches, touch, 3:2 aspect ratio, 1920×1280 (FHD+), 3000×2000 (3K2K) OLED 14-inch, 16:10, up to 4K OLED (3840 x 2400) Weight From 3.09 pounds (1.4kg) Starting at 3.09 pounds (1.4 kg) GPU Intel Iris Xe (integrated) Intel Iris Xe graphics (integrated) Dimension 11.67 x 9.22 x 0.7 inches (296.4mm x 234mm x 17.8mm) 12.52 x 9.06 x 0.6 inches (318 x 230 x 15.25 mm) Speakers Quad B&O speakers, discrete amp 2 x 3W woofers (on the side), 2 x 2W tweeters (on hinge)
HP Dragonfly Folio G3 vs. Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023): Design and features
Lenovo’s Yoga 9i (Gen 8) for 2023 is a 14-inch laptop with a traditional convertible design. That means the lid and display can rotate around a full 360 degrees without detaching, allowing you to swap between notebook, tent, stand, and tablet modes on the fly. This adds a ton of versatility and should benefit anyone who likes to pull out the included pen to jot down notes or sketch some diagrams.
Lenovo made the switch to rounded edges for a bunch of its devices including last year’s Yoga 9i (Gen 7), which makes the aluminum chassis comfortable to hold in any orientation. It’s a big step up from the sharp edges on older Yoga models. In his Lenovo Yoga 9i (2022) review, Editor-in-Chief Rich Woods called it the “prettiest Lenovo laptop in history,” and that carries over to the new 2023 model.
The Yoga 9i measures just 0.6 inches thin but holds onto dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, USB-A 3.2 (Gen 2), USB-C 3.2 (Gen 2), and a 3.5mm audio jack. If you need more connectivity options, adding one of the best Thunderbolt docks is always an option.
The HP Dragonfly Folio G3 takes the convertible design and makes some significant changes. Instead of the display rotating around 360 degrees, it pulls forward to sit just between the touchpad and keyboard. Pull forward again, and you get an even deeper angle that covers the touchpad; pressing the laptop flat has it go into full tablet mode. You won’t get a tablet that’s as thin as a typical one here due to the Dragonfly Folio G3’s folding mechanism, but it’s still fairly lightweight at just 3.09 pounds (1.4kg).
The “Folio” name comes from a partial wrap that extends to cover the laptop’s lid and hinges. It’s made of a soft faux leather and includes a magnesium base along the back edge to make for easy carrying. It gives the laptop a more professional look while also providing some extra durability for the otherwise aluminum body. The base chassis is thin to the point where I don’t think HP could have fit much more than USB-C ports, especially with the fan exhaust being installed on either edge.
Indeed, you get two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a 3.5mm audio jack to work with. If you’re a power user or serious multitasker who loves having a bunch of accessories and displays connecting, grabbing one of the best docks for the Dragonfly Folio G3 will undoubtedly boost your workflow.
The Yoga 9i (Gen 8)’s keyboard is stylish and clean, with ample key travel and spacing that makes typing all day a breeze. Along the right side is a column of shortcut keys for things like power profile and audio. The fingerprint reader lives here too for those who prefer it over the IR camera. The touchpad is huge and feels quite firm when clicked. Overall you shouldn’t have any issues crushing your daily workload with this setup.
HP’s keyboard and touchpad combination is also quite good. The black keys are offset nicely by the white font and backlight, key travel is fairly deep, and the huge touchpad really doesn’t get much better. The clicks are firm, it’s smooth to touch, and it tracks flawlessly. Both laptops have navigation keys (like PgUp, PgDn, Home, and End) tied into other keys to be accessed with the Fn shortcut. This isn’t a dealbreaker, but those who like to get around their documents using shortcuts might find it a tad annoying.
Lenovo’s laptop comes with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1 to handle wireless connectivity. The Dragonfly Folio G3 offers the same thing (albeit with Bluetooth 5.3), but adds the option of 4G LTE and 5G connectivity with a Nano SIM slot on the side. If you’d like to stay connected in more places — even outside of Wi-Fi range — the Dragonfly Folio G3 is the way to go.
HP Dragonfly Folio G3 vs. Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023): Audio and camera
Dragonfly Folio G3’s camera
One of the Yoga 9i’s best features is included in the convertible design; the lid hinge doubles as a rotating soundbar with dual 2W tweeters built in. It’s joined by two more 3W woofers built into the side of the laptop, altogether offering up unmuffled audio no matter how you’re using it. It even has Dolby Atmos on board to boost audio quality and allow for some spatial sound. The Yoga 9i is an excellent choice for anybody who loves watching TV or movies on their laptop, and this audio setup plays a huge role.
Audio from HP’s laptop is also outstanding thanks to having two rear speakers up between the keyboard and display and two front speakers located along the front edge of the PC. There’s a discrete amp in there somewhere as well, which adds to the available bass. It gets loud, it remains clear, and while it doesn’t have the same cool factor as the Yoga 9i’s soundbar hinge, you won’t be disappointed when watching TV, listening to music, or receiving a call. HP includes some software that automatically tunes audio depending on how you’re using the laptop, which results in an unmuffled listening experience in all modes.
The Dragonfly Folio G3 comes with a front-facing 8MP camera with an RGB and IR hybrid setup. This allows for logins via Windows Hello as well as a clear picture with an extra wide 100-degree field of view. The standard picture quality is excellent, but HP has added on a ton of software enhancements like auto framing, background adjustment, filters, and proper backlighting to make you look as good as possible while conferencing. It includes human presence detection, which can log you in or out automatically as it senses you approaching or departing. It’ll also dim the display if it sees you look away for more than a couple of seconds.
Not to be outdone, the Yoga 9i (2023) comes at you with a 1080p camera with RGB and IR hybrid. It, too, has a clear picture with a bunch of AI improvements, including human presence detection, background blur, auto framing, filters, and eye contact. One thing to note is that the Yoga laptop has a physical privacy shutter, whereas the Dragonfly Folio has a button to cut the camera feed instead of a physical slider.
HP Dragonfly Folio G3 vs. Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023): Display
HP offers four different displays for its Dragonfly Folio G3, all with a 3:2 aspect ratio, low blue light, touch functionality, and inking support to go along with the pull-forward convertible design. The most affordable screen has a 1920×1280 (FHD+) resolution with a glossy finish and 400 nits brightness. This display is also available with an anti-glare finish for a bit more money.
Then, there’s an HP Sure View option for those who need extra security while working in public. Press a button and the screen will severely limit the viewing angle so that only you can see what’s being displayed. This screen comes with a 1920×1280 resolution, glossy finish, and up to 1,000 nits brightness. Finally, the most expensive screen has an OLED panel, 3000×2000 (3K2K) resolution, 400 nits brightness, and a glossy finish. This is the way to go if you’d like to get the best picture possible with deeper darks and lighter whites, but it will cost you the most money.
Lenovo pulled back a bit when it comes to 14-inch display options for the Yoga 9i (2023); there are only two, but they’re both OLED. First up is a 2880×1800 (2.8K) resolution with 400 nits brightness, 16:10 aspect ratio, 100% DCI-P3 color reproduction, 90Hz refresh rate, VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500, Dolby Vision, and Eyesafe certification. There’s also a 3840×2400 (UHD+) model with the same specs save for a refresh rate that tops out at 60Hz instead of 90Hz. In our Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023) review, Woods called the 2.8K OLED screen “gorgeous, as you’d expect.”
Both laptops come with an active pen for inking. Lenovo’s Precision Pen 2 offers 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt detection for a natural feel while writing or sketching. The downside here is that, aside from a pen loop on the case, there’s no way to tether the pen to the laptop. Whereas older Folio models had a slim pen with a dedicated holding slot, the Folio G3 has made the change to a full-size pen that attaches magnetically to the side of the chassis. A small post is pulled out of the pen with a magnet in the laptop, securing it in place and saving it from being sheared off when it’s slipped into a bag.
One extra feature that HP has included here is the ability to use the Dragonfly Folio G3 as a tablet for sketching on another monitor via indirect inking. Just connect to a display with USB-C and have everything you draw or write show up on the external screen.
HP Dragonfly Folio G3 vs. Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023): Performance, battery, and security
The Dragonfly Folio G3 is available with 12th-generation Intel Core U-series CPUs with a 15W base TDP. Core i5-1235U and Core i7-1255U (with their vPro variants) are available, and you can get up to 32GB of LPDDR5-6400MHz RAM and up to a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. There are also 256GB and 512GB self-encrypting drives available for those who want some extra data protection. The SSD can be upgraded after purchase, though RAM is soldered; be sure to get as much memory as you think you’ll need for the laptop’s life.
The Yoga 9i (Gen 8) for 2023 has more powerful 13th-generation Intel Core P-series CPUs with a 28W base TDP. It looks as though currently Lenovo is only offering a Core i7-1360P CPU, with up to 16GB of soldered RAM and up to a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD that can be upgraded. Both laptops employ integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics, and both laptops are certified for Intel Evo. This guarantees a standard of performance, battery life, and connectivity.
Battery life really depends on which CPU and display you opt for. Going with OLED or a higher refresh rate will shave off an hour or two from the battery’s potential, as will a faster processor. The Dragonfly Folio G3 has a smaller 53Wh battery (compared to the Yoga 9i’s 75Wh battery), but its U-series CPUs won’t suck up as much power. In my HP Dragonfly Folio G3 review, I was able to test battery life with an FHD+ screen; it made it for about seven hours before needing a charge, but you could push it longer by lowering brightness and performance. As for the Yoga 9i (2023), we were able to get about six hours of life from a charge even when using the full 90Hz refresh rate on the 2.8K OLED display.
Lenovo’s Yoga lineup isn’t really geared toward the business sector, but it still comes with an integrated TPM 2.0 chip, fingerprint reader, IR camera, privacy shutter, and BIOS security. HP’s Dragonfly Folio G3, in contrast, is built for business and comes with a more robust set of features. You get a year of HP’s Wolf Pro Security (including an antivirus, threat isolation, and more), IR camera, embedded TPM 2.0 chip, and a whole host of HP security measures to keep your data as safe as possible.
Choosing the right laptop for you
Considering how great the Yoga 9i is, HP’s pricing will likely turn most people toward the Lenovo laptop. You still get a ton of high-end features and ample performance to tackle just about any task, and it looks great doing it. You’ll miss out on the pull-forward design in lieu of a more traditional convertible build, but the Yoga 9i is still very versatile and attractive. Be sure to check out our collections of the best HP laptops and the best Lenovo laptops for more great picks from these PC giants.
Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023)
Right choice for more people
The Lenovo Yoga 9i keeps getting better, and the 2023 model is now more powerful than ever thanks to 13th Gen Intel Core CPUs. The combination of display, design, speakers, performance, and battery life make it the right choice for most people.
The HP Dragonfly Folio G3 is an expensive business laptop with a rare pull-forward form factor that’s a joy to use. It’s no doubt a great pick for those who need all the extra security features and for those who love the professional look, but it’s likely not the right pick for people who just want a premium laptop for watching movies and handling a more general workflow.
HP Dragonfly Folio G3
Premium business convertible
HP’s Dragonfly Folio G3 should appeal to professionals with deep pockets. Its pull-forward design is easy to use and gives you a ton of versatility, the display options are gorgeous, and the faux leather finish is a rare sight. It does, however, cost a lot more than the Yoga 9i.