The Lenovo Yoga 7i wasn’t just one of the best, ultraportable business laptops we’d ever reviewed, it remains one of the best laptops we’ve ever used. Now, here’s the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i with an Nvidia GPU. Could the sky be the limit?
Specs
| Screen | 14.5-inch, matte, 120Hz, 3,072 x 1,920, IPS display |
| Processor | 3.7-5.0GHz Intel Core i7-13700H CPU |
| Memory | 16GB LPDDR5-5200 RAM |
| Graphics | 6GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU |
| Hard drive | 1TB |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth 5.1 1 x Thunderbolt 4 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 1 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 3.5mm audio jack HDMI 2.1 |
| Speakers | 4 x 2-Watt |
| Microphone(s) | Quad array |
| Extra Security | Windows Hello (webcam) Webcam E-shutter TPM 2.0 |
| Webcam | Full HD |
| Battery | 73Wh |
| Dimensions | 326 x 226 x 16mm |
| Weight | 1.51KG |
| SKU | 82Y7CTO1WWAU3 |
Features, Ergonomics and Design
The Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i is reminiscent of the recent HP Elite Dragonfly G4 that we recently reviewed, which is no bad thing. The dark “Storm Grey” aluminium chassis isn’t far off HP’s “Slate Grey” and it feels just as high quality and luxurious. The whole chassis is smooth and solid and few wouldn’t want to use one for work… or play as it turns out.
Opening it up reveals the 14-inch, matte, UHD, 3,072 x 1,920 IPS screen. It has a bright, 400-nit rating and can display 100 per cent of the difficult DCI-P3 colour gamut which will please creators. It also has a dynamic 60-120Hz display to help keep motion smooth or save power when necessary. The integrated Nvidia GPU opens the door to gaming. It means the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i has the potential to be something of a unicorn laptop: one that’s ultraportable, good for work and good for gaming. But does it succeed?
The screen displays a crisp and clear Windows Desktop with vibrant colours. Multimedia matches the colour performance and we were impressed by the smooth transitions in both colour and monochromatic gradients. Contrast is generally good although some details can get lost in particularly dark scenes. However, the matte screen means that there are no reflections to get in the way when watching such content.
When set to 120Hz, motion becomes noticeably smoother than on a standard 60Hz display. However, the pixel response time isn’t the fastest which might impact upon any intentions you have to use the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i as a mobile FPS machine. It’s still a very impressive, all-round display, though.
The lozenge shaped keys are low-travel and, though we worried they may be a little stiff at first (as they look similar to Lenovo’s stiffer convertible keyboards), we found the weighting to be very comfortable and accurate for all typing-related computational tasks. Our only gripe is that the up-and-down arrow keys are squished.
The large trackpad is smooth and accurate and its buttons don’t require much pressure to actuate (they’ve not got the quietest click, mind).
Above the screen is a Full HD webcam which is Windows Hello compatible and can be deactivated with an E-shutter switch on the right-hand side of the chassis. It captures impressively clear video which doesn’t get too grainy in low light. Meanwhile, the impressive quad-mic array helps ensure that audio capture is clear and background-noise free. It’s very good for web-conferencing.
Lenovo has crammed four, 2-Watt speakers into the small chassis – somehow – and these generate seriously impressive audio with punchy bass and good fidelity from top to bottom. We’re reaching a point where we’re now actually expecting speakers in thin-and-light chassis to sound better than big, expensive gaming machines now. Weird.
All in all the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i both looks and feels great to use.
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i Review: Photo Flourish
The pictures in our Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i review feature Lego Hermione from Harry Potter.
Performance
Inside the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i is a 3.7 – 5.0GHz Intel Core i7-13700H processor which utilises six Performance cores, eight Efficiency cores and 20 threads. It’s flanked by 16GB of fast, low-power LPDDR5-5200 memory and a speedy 1TB NVMe hard drive.
In the general-computing PCMark 10 benchmark it scored a decent 7,452 which is a good result for any laptop, let alone an ultraportable.
In the Cinebench processor-based rendering tests, the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i scored 2,538 in the quick R15 test and 14,081 in the longer R23 test. These are above average in the whole wide world of laptops and demonstrate an impressive processing prowess.
The Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i’s 3D performance comes via an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU with 6GB of GDDR6 RAM.
In the difficult 3DMark ray-tracing tests, it scored 1,686 in Speed Way (average 16.7fps) and 3,943 (average 18.3fps) in Port Royal. While these aren’t totally playable framerates, you should be able to play some eye-candy-rich games with reduced detail and resolution settings. That’s very impressive for a laptop of this stature.
In the 3DMark Time Spy and Fire Strike Extreme tests, which mimic AAA-gaming titles, the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i scored 7,192 (average 41fps) and 7,992 (average 36.3fps) respectively. These scores (again) illustrate that it fair to call it a gaming laptop but that you may have to drop details and resolution settings to get playable framerates in some games.
In the lesser, 3DMark Night Raid benchmark, the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i scored 38,388 which is an average framerate of 277.3fps. So, it will easily handle casual and competitive games. Just remember that, while the screen is quick, it’s not super-suited to fast-and-frantic FPS shooters.
We were particularly impressed by the cooling system of the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i. While it could frequently remain totally silent with the odd interjection from a very mild fan whoosh, even when under load, the fan didn’t ramp up beyond a robust, unobtrusive low whoosh. That said, under a sustained heavy load, the base could get uncomfortably warm. At least it cooled down quickly, though.
Connectivity
Inside there’s Wi-Fi 6E and a Bluetooth module which Lenovo says is at least version 5.1. It all represents a useful connectivity complement.
Portability and Battery Life
At 1.51KG and 16mm thick the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i is a bona fide ultraportable that’s easy to carry around. The aluminium chassis is very solid and so is the hinge (which can fold down flat). It should easily survive life on the road.
Just note that the powerful components necessitate a slightly larger power supply: the PSU and cables add an additional 438g to the mix.
Fortunately, you won’t need to carry those around all the time as the 73Wh battery ran our PCMark 10 Modern Office test for an impressive 12 hours and 58 minutes. That’s approaching two days out of the office.
Price and Availability
There are numerous variants of the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i and our high-end spec has an RRP of $3,278 which isn’t cheap, but still represents very good value.
However, with Lenovo starting its Black Friday sales early, you can already pick one up for just $2,028 which makes it the second, best-value laptop on the market. You can even reduce the specs and choose lesser models and save even more money.
7 Alternatives to the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i
1. Lenovo Yoga 7i – The lesser Lenovo might not have the 3D power, but it’s got a touchscreen and is even cheaper.
2. HP Elite Dragonfly G4 – It’s much more expensive but it comes with built in 4G and business-class security features.
3. Asus Vivobook Pro 16X – A 16-inch alternative that’s also good for creators and gamers. It’s a bit more expensive though. We’ve not published our review just yet but, after testing, it made it into our Top 10 Best Laptop list.
4. MSI Prestige 14 – Another popular unicorn laptop that’s capable of impressing people in the office while facilitating gaming on the side. Prices and specs vary significantly.
5. Acer Swift Go 14 – It doesn’t have the 3D prowess but it’s a great value ultraportable laptop that’s not without power. It’s currently on sale .
6. Gigabyte Aero 14 OLED – Another potential ultraportable gaming laptop. It’s got a few power issues but it’s lightweight and powerful.
7. Razer Blade 14 – It’s much more expensive but it’s also a genuine, ultraportable gaming laptop.
Conclusion: Should you buy the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i?
In many instances, the answer will be yes. This is almost a perfect laptop that will do anything you want a portable computer to do – whether that’s office work, design work or gaming. It’s good value at its RRP but in Lenovo’s (seemingly perpetual sales) make it an absolute steal – we’ll be updating all of our monthly Group Tests with this, shortly. It’s an excellent buy.
Pros
Great build quality
Superb value
Portable and powerful
Cons
None
Results
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i Scores
- 2D Performance
- 3D Performance
- Features, Ergonomics & Design
- Stability
- Portability
- Value
Summary
The Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i is almost a unicorn laptop thanks to its excellent, business-friendly features and ergonomics, its Creator-friendly performance and screen, its lightweight chassis, build quality and long battery life plus its potential for playing games. Did we mention that it’s one of the very best value laptops on the market too? Amazing.