I have spent close on 40 years reviewing PC products, from the early Motorola smartphones (bricks), cloned Macs, which Steve Jobs quickly killed off, to a host of notebooks from the likes of Compaq, IBM and Digital which were heavy, expensive and lacked performance compared to today’s offering.
This week I came face to face with one of the most exciting and dynamic notebooks I have ever had the opportunity to review, and if you are like me, you could fall easily in love with Lenovo’s new Multimode offering, that was four years in the making.
The dual OLED screen 13” Lenovo Yoga Book 9i is not just a notebook that delivers performance and unique capabilities, it’s the inclusion of a fold up stand that is so simple, that I am staggered that no one has thought of designing such a clever concept before for notebook users, because it takes portable computing to a whole new level.
The Yoga Book 9i, with the new 13th gen Intel i7 processor, is the Swiss army knife of notebooks that has been designed using premium materials, top end processors and includes not one but two seriously sharp OLED display screens.
Prior to doing this review we did a complete wipe of the device and reset the notebook back to Windows 11 as we wanted to eliminate any third-party software.
The product comes beautifully packed in a custom box, and when you first see this notebook, with its precision-machined, aerospace-grade aluminium you realise it’s a tad different from most other notebook.
It’s not just the Tidal teal colour, or the rounded sidewalls that were expertly crafted through a 10-step precision Computerized Numerical Control (CNC), sandblasting, anodisation, and polishing process to produce a stunning mirror finish that you notice, it’s the dual displays that have been fused onto Corning Gorilla Glass 3 that still allow the content on the screen to stand out.
This fusion design process strengthens the two display screens while delivering resistance to scratches, which comes in handy as these are also touch screens.
Not once, during my several hours reviewing this product did I notice any of the heat build-up that has been noticeable with notebooks from Apple MSI and HP that we have seen this year.
This has been achieved because the Yoga Book 9i adopts a hybrid thermal management solution that marries the cooling effectiveness of conventional active cooling with dual heat-pipe and ultra-thin dual-fan made with 0.15mm fan blades, and silent operation of passive cooling with a wider copper block over the processor.
The reduced sound levels and the lack of heat build-up is clearly noticeable, because the design consists of 5 cool air inlets, located strategically at the back and front of the bottom cover, and 2 sleek exhausts to expel warm air sidewards.
Beneath each OLED panel lies a high thermal conductivity graphene sheet that dissipates heat conducted by the self-lit pixels, extending their lifespan and minimising burn-in risks.
The notebook comes with a 360-degree hinge which allows you to use the Yoga Book 9i in multiple configurations including dual landscape (Book Mode) on a home office table, tent it on a table for a range of creative uses, or carry it around the house in tablet mode.
The superior nature of the design and the introduction of a new level of capability for power users and those who want better functionality justifies the $4K+ sale ticket.
Like a luxury car, you are going to get the best bells and whistles and, above all, functionalities ever seen in a notebook.
I believe that this price is justified as the specs seriously stack up.
For sound lovers the Yoga Book 9i includes an impressive Bowers & Wilkins soundbar that’s neatly built into the centre hinge between the two OLED display screens.
Weighing just 1.34kg and as thin as 15.95mm, this notebook also has a 360-degree hinge featuring the soundbar, which is hard to believe is actually there.
This is a very clever design that allows the device to be twisted and turned into a multitude of settings.
The two symmetrical 13-inch screens seriously deliver improved productivity when the notebook is mounted vertically or horizontally on the new stand.
I am a writer and constantly need to access multiple documents. Now I can mount a document on one screen while writing a story on the other screen.
I can also mount this notebook in portrait mode with a reference document on one screen and my Office 365 document open on the other screen.
For those who present a lot, the removal of a fixed keyboard replaced with a portable attach when needed keyboard allows you to present in ‘Tent’ mode while tracking on the other screen when you are presenting and because the keyboard is portable you can easily input data.
The first time you configure this notebook you realise it’s a tad different. The Yoga Book 9i has two displays with four-sided narrow bezel and a whopping 92% active area ratio in 16:10.
With two displays, you can easily multitask and the PureSight OLED, developed by Samsung, delivers very sharp and clear image reproduction way above what we have seen in premium notebooks before.
Unlike typical LCDs where pixels filter lights emitted from the backlight, the 255ppi high pixel density OLED display at 2880 x 1800 resolution consists of more than 5 million self-lit pixels, ensuring light is emitted only in areas that it should.
Lenovo claims that this enables an ultra-high contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 ensuring content with dark areas remain dark as intended without light leakage.
In comparison, a typical LCD has a contrast ratio of 1,000:1.
What you do notice when working on magazine layouts and videos is that full-screen brightness of up to 400 units, and 600 nits of peak HDR brightness, enables extreme depth of field when, for example, you are watching HDR Content.
It took some getting used to but what I really liked was the magnetic Bluetooth keyboard that snaps into place on the bottom of the 2nd display. In fact, I don’t want to go back to a normal keyboard notebook.
The edge-to-edge keyboard features 18.5mm key pitch for added ergonomics and it can be easily recharged via USB-C Lenovo is claiming 190 hours of continuous use.
As for the digital Pen 3 that sits neatly in a slot on the stand, it supports 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt detection to provide you with the highest level of precision and control when sketching or taking notes.
I like using a pen even for navigation and the quick scribble of notes when sitting in a press conference.
The pen battery lasts 1,000+ hours.
As for battery life, I was half expecting reduced performance because of the introduction of two OLED screens. Lenovo was claiming 15 hours which I though was a bit of a stretch.
But it was not until I asked a question at a Lenovo briefing that I realised that Lenovo was achieving this by using the space behind the second screen for an extended battery that actually delivered 14 hours of heavy-duty performance before I headed to a recharge.
Another plus is the introduction of Lenovo Smart Power software which optimises the Book 9i by letting you manage battery performance.
All you have to do is press Fn + Q on your keyboard to toggle between three modes: Performance, Intelligent Cooling and Battery Saving Mode).
This is made possible through Lenovo Intelligent Thermal System 5.1 which overdrives system performance and extends battery life to up to 20%.
Conclusion
This is the ultimate 10/10 notebook.
The DESIGN is as good as it could possibly get without being gimmicky. Shape, form, and colour stand out, making this a true premium product.
Some brands are claiming premium because of the chipset and processor. Lenovo has gone way beyond this with the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i that I have no doubt is going to become the standout products that other brands are going to lust after.
I even suspect a few Apple lovers could throw in the towel for this product that PERFORMACE wise delivers when managing large files and downloads and when managing heat and battery life.
Then there is the issue of FUNCTIONALITY, and this is where this notebook is in a class of its own and that’s down to brilliant designers and a simple stand that, despite lacking power, takes computing to a whole new level.
I for one want to buy this notebook and so do several people who saw it when I was reviewing it sitting in a coffee shop recently with two screens sitting up vertically.
“What laptop is that?” I was asked several times.
