The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16 (Gen 8) is a top-tier laptop that mostly meets the hype of its impressive specs. With the Slim Pro 9i’s reputation behind it and some new features like a Mini-LED display and a quad microphone system, this device will keep you captivated during work hours and beyond.
With my expectations high since I previously reviewed Lenovo’s Slim Pro 9i 14 (Gen 7), I wanted this upscaled version of the Slim Pro 9i to perform well. Thankfully, besides a few hiccups, Lenovo has continued to pack the Slim Pro 9i line with useful features geared toward people who use their laptops a lot. Of course, despite these fantastic integrations—such as the excellent camera, comfortable typing experience, and 3.3K Mini-LED display—I also encountered some weaknesses.
If you’re okay with sacrificing battery life for performance, so-so speakers for a great mic and camera, and a casual-only gaming experience for a binge-worthy screen, you’ll want to add the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16 Gen 8 to your cart right away. But if battery life and gaming performance outweigh these other features, I advise looking elsewhere.
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16 (2023)
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16 (2023) laptop gives the Slim Pro 9i lineup an upgrade with a 16-inch Mini-LED display, a quad microphone system, and 1TB of storage. The Intel Evo i9 and NVIDIA GPU combine for powerful processing and stunning graphics.
- Operating System
- Windows 11 Home
- CPU
- 13th Generation Intel Core i9-13905H (24MB Cache, up to 5.40GHz, 14 cores)
- GPU
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 (6GB, 100W)
- RAM
- 32GB LPDDR5X 6400MHz (soldered)
- Storage
- 1TB PCIe Gen 4 M.2
- Display (Size, Resolution)
- 16in Mini LED 3.2K display (3200 x 2000)
- Camera
- 5.0MP IR camera with E-shutter, fixed focus, ToF sensor
- Speakers
- 2W x 4 (dual side woofers), 2W x 2 (tweeters), optimized with Dolby Atmos
- Color
- Storm grey
- Ports
- 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (1 with Always On), 1 x Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port (Power Delivery 3.0 and Display Port), 1 x HDMI (up to 4K/30Hz), 1 x 3.5mm Headphone / microphone combo jack, 1 x Power connector, 1 x Full sized SD card reader
- Dimension
- 14.27 x 9.64 x 0.71in (362.44 x 244.82 x 18.16mm)
- Weight
- Starting at 4.94lbs (2.23 kg)
- Brand
- Lenovo
- Model
- 83C0
- Adaptor and Battery
- Integrated Li-Polymer 75Wh battery (with Rapid Charge Pro), 170W slim tip (3-pin) AC adapter
- Connectivity
- Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1
- Box contents
- 1 x Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16 (2023) laptop, 1 x 170W charger, 1 x user manual
- Starting Price
- $2,199.99
Pros
- 3.2K Mini-LED Display provides beautiful color and contrast
- Quad mic array and 5MP camera are top-tier
- X Power Performance keeps the laptop cool
- Comfortable typing and slim design
Cons
- Some performance hiccups when used in Balance Mode
- Speaker system is so-so
- Battery life could be better
- Memory isn’t upgradable
The Sleek Design: Classy and Slim
At first glance, one might consider the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i a bit chunky, especially when the word “slim” is in the name—but at around five pounds, its size is about average for a 16-inch laptop, and when closed it was quite thin.
Featuring Lenovo’s premium anodized aluminum chassis, the Slim Pro 9i comes in a classy dark shade of gray and shows an unassuming Lenovo logo on the top lid. Also on the top lid is a mirrored tab along the top bezel, labeled for the 5MP camera and the quad microphone array. When open, you’ll see the protruding top bezel above the 16-inch display. On the base of the laptop is a large keyboard complete with a number pad, another Lenovo logo, and a trackpad that measures nearly six inches.
The up-firing speakers are located on either side of the keyboard, and you’ll find two more tweeters on the corners of the laptop’s base, while the down-firing speakers are on the bottom corners.
A significant design feature of the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i is the extensive cooling system on the bottom, which ties into the performance section below.
Ports
Without going overboard, the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16 has a decent number of ports to get you by. On the left side is the charging port, a USB-A port, an HDMI port, a USB-C port, and a headphone/microphone jack. The right side has another USB-A port and a full-size SD card reader. You’ll also find the power button on the right side and the webcam privacy slider.
Smooth Response: Keyboard, Touchscreen, and Trackpad
Whatever work (or play) tasks you’ve got on your plate, you can comfortably navigate with the responsive touchscreen, the large trackpad, and the sizable keyboard. Of these three, my favorite aspect was the keyboard, which has a 1.5mm low travel response. The 1.5mm felt great for typing up documents and emails because it was well-balanced and easy to strike without making many mistakes as can happen with looser keys. But if you prefer a full travel keyboard for gaming or otherwise, to adjust your laptop’s typing experience, you can always invest in a separate Bluetooth mechanical keyboard to upgrade your setup.
The touchscreen was as responsive as one would hope, and the touchpad had a smooth-as-butter feel that kept me from feeling the need to use my wireless mouse.
Display and Graphics: The Vibrant Mini-LED
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Mini-LED isn’t OLED—but the benefits of a Mini-LED screen are a higher contrast ratio and increased brightness (most commonly, Mini-LED is seen in TVs). And boy, did I notice the upgraded brightness and blacker blacks. If you are big on color and contrast, a Mini-LED laptop isn’t a bad way to go, even if OLED is still considered superior.
Speaking of brightness, the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16-inch Gen 8’s screen reaches a whopping 1200 nits, so if you often work in bright environments, you’ll have zero trouble seeing your screen. If you keep the screen around 80 to 100% brightness, expect a drop-off in battery life, though.
Streaming YouTube videos was a pleasure, and watching Bravo’s “Below Deck: Down Under” and the Vasilis Katsoupis flick “Inside” on Peacock was engrossing enough in 3.2K that I couldn’t care less if the display was OLED or not (though I still champion OLED). In fact, the Slim Pro 9i may have officially made me a Mini-LED believer.
Performance: Great, minus a few Issues
For the most part, the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16-inch laptop kept me working (and goofing off) in great spirits. I did notice some slower processing than I expected while multitasking in “Balanced” mode, and this significantly affected my perception of this device’s overall performance since working in Balanced mode is the best way to conserve battery life without totally sacrificing processing speeds. After using “Balanced” mode for a couple of days, I switched to “Performance” mode and experienced processing nirvana. From my experience, you can expect a little drag in “Performance” mode but an occasional one in “Balanced” mode when doing heavy computational lifting.
Speedy, straight-to-the-point, processing happened in Performance mode, and running applications simultaneously was no longer an issue. Even when I had video games downloading in the background, Spotify playing music, and 25 tabs open while editing some photos in Photoshop, I didn’t have to pause my workflow. Everything flowed, and there was zero latency.
Another notable feature of the Slim Pro 9i is the “X Power Performance” rating from Lenovo, which maximizes performance on a thin device and contributes to the cooling system. While using the Slim Pro 9i, I rarely noticed a too-high heat level, and even while plugged in and gaming, the device felt noticeably cooler than other laptops I’ve used.
Gaming With the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16 (2023) Laptop
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Gaming with the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i laptop can be lovely if you’re a casual to moderate gamer. Games with heavier resource requirements, however, may not do as well. I had a pleasant time playing everything from “Disney Dreamlight Valley” to “Bramble: The Mountain King” and “Life Is Strange: True Colors,” but when I tried playing Xbox Game Studios’ “Grounded” I noticed latency that made it nearly impossible to play. I had to adjust the settings in-game to make it playable.
Immersive Sounds and Sights: Webcam, Speakers, and Mic
If you work from home or frequently attend Zoom meetings, you’ll love the Slim Pro 9i’s webcam. Housed in the bevel at the top of the lid, the Slim Pro 9i’s webcam captures a clear picture in both bright and dim lighting. Of course, in total darkness, you’ll want to bring in more light, but the impressive capture of my features in one of the dimmest spots of my place surprised me.
The speaker system, although there are six speakers in total, was less impressive. It worked fine to stream some music or videos, but it didn’t quite hit a satisfying loudness level to make them anything to write home about.
The quad microphone system captured the human voice well and had a stand-out noise-cancelation feature that put the focus on my voice. In particularly loud environments, though, you’ll still hear background noise and some expected muddiness to your sound.
Microphone Test of the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16 Gen 8 Laptop in a Quiet Environment
Microphone Test of the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16 Gen 8 Laptop in a Noisy Environment
Battery Life and Charging
Although the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i has an Intel Evo i9 CPU, battery life still drained quickly with moderate to heavy laptop usage. For instances like streaming, I could start with a 90% charge and watch about two to three hours of streaming before plugging in, but this was with the brightness hovering at around 80%. Keeping your screen brightness lower is one way to improve battery life on Windows.
On average, when in use, the laptop’s battery drained about 0.48% per minute, which equates to 28.8 percent per hour. A full charge lasted between three and four hours. During gaming, there was a higher drain rate of 0.72% per minute or 43% per hour.
Charging was relatively speedy with the Rapid Charge Pro feature. I did see the laptop gain 30 to 40% in 30 minutes. On average, the charge time was 0.81% charge per minute or about a 40% gain in one hour.
Should You Buy the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16 Gen 8 Laptop?
If you’re in the market for a laptop that’s heavy on processing and remote working tools like noise-canceling mics and an excellent webcam, the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16 Gen 8 packs a worthwhile punch. The incredible display is another major selling point for someone who wants a laptop that will serve them well after working hours, but the Slim Pro 9i isn’t a competitive gaming laptop and only shines while gaming casually.
Those who prefer a laptop that is more suited to gaming might try the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 Gen 8.
You can buy the Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16 Gen 8 laptop starting at $2,199 today.
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16 (2023)
The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16 (2023) laptop gives the Slim Pro 9i lineup an upgrade with a 16-inch Mini-LED display, a quad microphone system, and 1TB of storage. The Intel Evo i9 and NVIDIA GPU combine for powerful processing and stunning graphics.