Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Review: Impressive Performance, Disappointing Trackpad

Intel appears to be making a resurgence, at least for the time being. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition is a well-designed 15-inch thin-and-light productivity laptop equipped with an AI coprocessor. It enters an increasingly competitive market, offering features typical of similar laptops, such as prolonged battery life, an impressive display, a comfortable keyboard, good-quality speakers, and a few minor shortcomings.

The most notable feature of the Yoga Slim 7i is its internals. It is the first laptop reviewed that incorporates Intel’s new Lunar Lake processor architecture. Intel faces tough competition: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chips have demonstrated that ARM processors can match Intel’s Meteor Lake CPUs in performance while outperforming them in battery life. Laptops using AMD’s Ryzen AI chips have also shown similar performance with stronger graphics capabilities and satisfactory battery life. Therefore, Lunar Lake represents a critical opportunity for Intel to remain competitive in the thin-and-light laptop segment.

Lunar Lake generally succeeds in this mission, although the $1,300 price tag of the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i comes with a few downsides that make it difficult to unconditionally recommend. The laptop boasts a sharp 15.3-inch screen, an Intel Core Ultra 7 256V processor, either 16GB or 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, excellent speakers, an outstanding keyboard, and an average trackpad, alongside considerable branding.

The unique “Aura Edition” designation indicates the inclusion of a Lunar Lake chip, but essentially translates to some AI-focused pre-installed software. It qualifies as a Copilot Plus PC, meaning it possesses a specialized neural processing unit (NPU) capable of performing at least 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS)—the Core Ultra 7 256V can achieve up to 47 TOPS. This positions laptops like the Yoga Slim 7i as direct competitors with a range of Snapdragon-equipped Copilot Plus PCs released this year, as well as devices such as the Asus Zenbook S 16 that come with AMD’s Ryzen AI chips.

Whether users require the NPU for AI tasks or are merely seeking a swift laptop with excellent battery life, Lunar Lake presents notable advancements over Intel’s previous generation Meteor Lake chips in single-core performance and energy efficiency. Crucially, it allows users to retain improved battery life and standby time without transitioning to Windows on ARM systems.

During daily use, the Yoga Slim 7i operates without notable lag or slowdowns, with rare minor stutters occurring only when navigating multiple Chrome tabs across several virtual desktops. The x86 architecture still exhibits vigor.

In single-core benchmark tests, the Lunar Lake Core 7 Ultra 256V in the Yoga Slim 7i marginally outperforms both the Core Ultra 9 185H (Meteor Lake) chip and the Snapdragon X Elite 78-100 in Lenovo’s comparable Yoga Slim 7x by approximately 5 percent. However, it is about 10 percent slower than the faster-clocked Snapdragon X Elite 80-100 found in the 15-inch Surface Laptop 7 or the AMD Ryzen AI 9 370 HX in the Asus Zenbook S 16.

For multicore tasks, the Lunar Lake chip did not fare as well, trailing by 18 to 27 percent in Geekbench and 25 to 38 percent in Cinebench. The deficits in performance can be attributed to the chip having four fewer cores compared to its Snapdragon counterparts and possessing just half the core capacity of the Core Ultra 9 18H, although the performance hit is surprisingly modest given the lower core count.

A significant drawback is the Arc 140V integrated GPU, which in testing performed similarly to Meteor Lake and lagged approximately 20 percent behind the GPU present in the AMD-powered Zenbook. Reviews from Ars Technica and Tom’s Hardware highlighted mixed results across further graphics benchmarks. While Lunar Lake’s GPU surpassed Meteor Lake in certain tests, including a few real games, it fell short in others, suggesting future evaluations might be necessary following Intel driver updates. It is important to note that these laptops are not targeted at gaming enthusiasts.

Taking all aspects into account, Intel emerges positively from this endeavor. Although the Core 7 Ultra 256V lags in speed compared to the more powerful Snapdragon X Elite 80-100 or Ryzen AI 9370HX in benchmark tests, it is competitive enough, notably in single-core performance. It also exceeded the Zenbook’s battery life by three hours in endurance testing and does not suffer from the compatibility issues often associated with ARM-powered devices like the Snapdragon X Elite.

Equipped with Lunar Lake, the Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition balances competitive performance with impressive battery longevity. The laptop is capable of enduring typical daily usage on a single charge and loses minimal charge overnight without being plugged in. Under heavy workload conditions, and with the screen brightness maximized while sleep functions were disabled and Energy Saver not engaged until the battery was at 10 percent, the device’s battery ran out after nine hours. Under normal operation with varying refresh rates of 60 to 120Hz rather than the default 60Hz, the laptop lasted nearly 11 hours.

Regarding the Yoga Slim 7i’s screen, the 15.3-inch, 2880 x 1800 IPS panel lacks the vibrancy of OLED displays in terms of color and black levels but still offers an enjoyable viewing experience, except under direct comparison with OLED. Rated at 500 nits of brightness, testing confirmed a peak of 512 nits. The Snapdragon-powered Yoga Slim 7x features a 14-inch OLED panel with a slightly higher resolution of 2944 x 1840 but is limited to a 90Hz refresh rate.

While the Yoga Slim 7i offers a commendable screen, its keyboard, speakers, and connectivity options stand out—attributes expected in a larger 15-inch laptop. The keys provide surprisingly deep travel and a satisfying tactile response. Its sturdy metallic frame is slim yet robust, and the edges do not inconvenience the wrists during typing. The quad-speaker system delivers a rich sound, making it suitable for music, podcasts, or calls. As a productivity-centric device, it includes a comprehensive array of ports with Thunderbolt 4 ports on each side, along with a USB-A port, HDMI output, and a combination audio jack.

Nonetheless, some drawbacks are apparent, particularly the trackpad, which is unusually short and wide compared to others such as those on Microsoft’s Surface 7. Unlike the Surface 7’s haptic feedback trackpad, the Yoga Slim’s variant is cumbersome to click in its upper section and is overly sensitive to unintended taps, necessitating disabling various touch and multi-finger gestures in Windows settings.

The Slim 7i’s 1080p webcam offers a merely adequate performance, with auto-exposure resulting in overexposed images, notably when backlit. Furthermore, the webcam’s power-cut switch, while appreciated for providing hardware-level security, is inconveniently positioned on the right edge of the laptop, often toggling off accidentally when removing the device from a bag.

A more significant concern is the incessant notifications generated by Lenovo’s pre-installed Vantage software, which promotes unnecessary services. While users can disable alerts and uninstall the application, the presence of such bloatware is regrettable. Some features, like the “Shield mode” in the Vantage app, which leverages the webcam to detect and respond to potential visual eavesdroppers, are also not well-executed.

Although the Yoga Slim 7i’s shortcomings are not insurmountable, they are less acceptable given its price. At $1,300, there are competing options in the market, such as the 15-inch MacBook Air, which recently received a complimentary RAM upgrade and, while not Windows-compatible, offers superior build quality, an excellent trackpad, and notably long-lasting battery life. For those requiring a Windows system, choices like the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 provide comparable specs, a superior trackpad, and extended battery life, albeit at a higher cost and with minor software compatibility concerns. Similarly, the Zenbook S 16, featuring an OLED panel and quality trackpad, presents enhanced GPU performance, though its display has lower brightness and the battery’s longevity is reduced compared to the Yoga.

Ultimately, the Yoga Slim 7i exemplifies the potential of Lunar Lake technology, delivering admirable performance and battery efficiency, particularly when contrasted with alternatives like the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra, which is heavier and features a screen limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. While the Yoga Slim 7i is satisfactory as a laptop, it also reflects Intel’s evolving capabilities with Lunar Lake, and signals an exciting period ahead for those seeking lightweight Windows laptops as new Strix Point and Lunar Lake models from other manufacturers become available. Lunar Lake may serve as a transitional phase for x86 architecture during an overall shift towards ARM-based systems, yet it suggests Intel is adapting its strategies effectively.

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