Lenovo Yoga 7i 14 Gen 7 review: refinements galore

Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 7

MSRP $1,050.00

“The Lenovo Yoga 7i Gen 7 is quick, has respectable battery life, seems to be nice, and is constructed like a tank.”

Execs

• Attractive aesthetic
• Strong construct high quality
• Above-average battery life
• Quick productiveness efficiency
• Colourful show with deep blacks

Cons

• Show not as brilliant as competitors
• Creativity efficiency is missing

Lenovo invented the convertible 2-in-1 type issue. For the uninitiated, that’s the place the show swivels 360 levels from clamshell to pill mode. The Yoga lineup has developed over time, and the redesigned Yoga 7i and the Yoga 9i are a few of the greatest fashions but, now of their seventh technology.

The cheaper of the 2, the Yoga 7i Gen 7, carries over the rounded aesthetic and strong efficiency, making it one of many higher 14-inch laptops you should buy.

Value and configurations

Mark Coppock/Digital Traits

I reviewed a high-end configuration of the Yoga 7i 14 Gen 7, priced at $1,050 for a Core i7-1255U CPU and a 14-inch 16:10 2.2K IPS show.

The Yoga 7i Gen 7 begins at $880 for a 15-watt 10-core/12-thread Core i7-1235U CPU, 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, a 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and a 14-inch 16:10 2.2K (2240 x 1400) IPS show. The present high-end mannequin is $1,110 for a 15-watt 10-core/12-thread Core i7-1255U, 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and a 14-inch 16:10 2.2K IPS show. These costs signify a discount from the retail worth listed at Lenovo.com and are fairly enticing. A 2.8K (2880 x 1800) OLED show will probably be accessible for the Yoga 7i Gen 7 in some unspecified time in the future.

Equally priced laptops embody the Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 7420, the Acer Swift 3 (2022), and the HP Pavilion Plus 14. The latter two laptops equip the sooner Core i7-1260P CPU, and the HP provides a 90Hz OLED show for $1,000.

Design

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A laptop doesn’t want tons of chrome or extravagant colours to face out. Typically the correct angles, strains, and curves could make all of the distinction. Lenovo clearly understands that and utilized these ideas to the redesigned Yoga 7i Gen 7. It acquired the identical rounded chassis edges and sharper show edges because the Yoga 9i Gen 7, with Storm Gray and Stone Blue colours which can be elegantly understated.

Most laptops right this moment attempt to apply minimalist philosophy to their designs, however few maintain a candle to the Yoga 7i Gen 7. One which does is HP’s Spectre x360 13.5, which additionally a extra rounded look and a shade scheme that works to create its personal elegant aesthetic.

Lenovo clearly paid consideration to the match and end of this laptop.

The Yoga 7i Gen 7 is constructed completely of aluminum, and Lenovo paid consideration to the match and end. There’s zero bending, flexing, or twisting within the lid, keyboard deck, or chassis backside, making this a inflexible laptop that rival one of the best round together with the Yoga 9i Gen 7 and the Dell XPS 15. Neither the Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 nor the Acer Swift 3 (2022) have been as solidly constructed. As well as, the hinge allowed opening the lid with one hand, and it stored the show firmly in place in all 4 modes, clamshell, tent, media, and pill.

Due to its 16:10 show with fairly small bezels for a convertible 2-in-1, the Yoga 7i Gen 7 has a small chassis that’s skinny at 0.68 inches and lightweight at 3.1 kilos. The Yoga 9i Gen 7 is barely wider and deeper, nevertheless it’s thinner at 0.6 inches and nearly equally heavy at 3.09 kilos.

The Yoga 7i Gen 7 has the identical reverse notch because the Yoga 9i Gen 7 that homes the webcam and infrared camera. The HP Spectre x360 13.5 has a smaller 3:2 show and is narrower and simply as deep whereas being barely thinner at 0.67 inches and lighter at 3.01 kilos. General, the Yoga 7i Gen 7 isn’t the thinnest or lightest 14-inch 2-in-1, nevertheless it’s a cushty dimension nonetheless.

Ports

Connectivity is strong with two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 help, a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, a full-size HDMI 2.0 port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a microSD card reader. Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 present the quickest wi-fi connectivity at present accessible.

Efficiency

The Core i7-1255U in my review unit is a 15-watt, 10-core (two Efficiency and eight Environment friendly), 12-thread CPU geared toward skinny and lightweight laptops and typical productiveness duties. The commonest various CPU we discover in comparable machines is the 28-watt, 12-core (4 Efficiency and eight Environment friendly), 16-thread Core i7-1260P. The Yoga 7i Gen 7 is the second laptop we’ve reviewed with the Core i7-1255U, and thus far, there’s been a definite efficiency distinction between the 2 CPUs.

The Yoga 7i Gen 7 and Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1, the opposite laptop in our database with the 15-watt CPU, carried out equally besides in Geekbench 5, the place the Lenovo was considerably sooner. I used Lenovo’s thermal administration utility to check in balanced and efficiency modes, and it was reasonably efficient in cranking up the efficiency as wanted.

The Yoga 7i Gen 7 is quick for demanding productiveness duties, though creators will discover it missing.

In our Handbrake check that encodes a 420MB video as H.265, the Yoga 7i Gen 7 was nicely behind the Acer Swift 3 2022 and Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7 with the sooner 28-watt processor, and it was slower in Cinebench R23 as nicely. The identical held within the PCMark 10 Purposes benchmark that’s probably the most correct indicator of productiveness efficiency. Notice that the Asus ZenBook S 13 OLED with the eight-core/16-thread AMD Ryzen 7 6800U was additionally sooner within the extra CPU-intensive benchmarks.

In comparison with Intel’s Eleventh-gen 28-watt CPUs, nevertheless, just like the quad-core, eight-thread Core i7-1185G7, the Core i7-1255U is a marked enchancment. The Yoga 7i Gen 7 is a quick laptop for demanding productiveness duties, though creators will discover it missing. Presumably, the decrease energy profile pays dividends in battery life, making the processor a strong compromise.

Intel’s Iris Xe graphics maintain no actual surprises relating to gaming efficiency. The Yoga 7i Gen 7 is not any totally different, performing nicely given its 15-watt chip however under no circumstances qualifying as a gaming laptop. You’re restricted to working older titles and esports.

Show and audio

Mark Coppock/Digital Traits

Two shows will ultimately be accessible for the Yoga 7i Gen 7. My review unit featured the at present accessible panel, a 14-inch 16:10 2.2K (2240 x 1400) IPS contact show. In some unspecified time in the future, Lenovo will supply a 14-inch 16:10 2.8K (2880 x 1800) OLED show.

Out of the field, the show was brilliant and colourful, with deep blacks. It was nice sufficient as I used to be scripting this review, with sharp textual content that popped on a white background and natural-looking photos and video.

My colorimeter largely agreed with my subjective evaluation. The show was brilliant sufficient at 321 nits, above our 300-nit commonplace for indoor use however lower than many of the shows in our comparability group. Colours have been wider than common at 99% of sRGB and 80% of AdobeRGB, whereas the common for mid-range and premium laptops is round 95% sRGB and 75% AdobeRGB.

As we will see, although, IPS shows have been trending up over the past couple of years. Shade accuracy was good at a DeltaE of 1.89, the place 2.0 or much less is taken into account adequate for artistic work. Once more, the Yoga 7i Gen 7 fell behind a few of the different IPS shows. Lastly, the distinction ratio was wonderful at 1380:1, in comparison with the 1000:1 or higher we wish to see in premium laptops.

Colours aren’t fairly large or correct sufficient for demanding creators, however it is a high-quality show for everybody else. Productiveness staff and media customers, specifically, will love the show.

Two upward-firing tweeters are sited on either side of the keyboard, and two woofers fireplace downward on the entrance backside of the chassis. The Yoga 7i Gen 7 may not have the spectacular soundbar of the Yoga 9i Gen 7, nevertheless it nonetheless produces high quality audio. There was loads of quantity, mids and highs have been clear with out distortion, and there was a contact of bass. You’ll have the ability to do your Netflix binging with out headphones, though, as typical, high quality music will profit from a superb pair of cans.

Keyboard and touchpad

Mark Coppock/Digital Traits

The Yoga 7i Gen 7 has Lenovo’s typical non-ThinkPad keyboard in its common design and structure. It has giant, sculpted keycaps and wonderful key spacing, with a swap that’s comparatively shallow and has an abrupt bottoming motion. Lenovo appears to have two variations of this keyboard, considered one of which has extra of a snap and higher precision. This wasn’t that keyboard.

Even so, whereas it’s a few steps behind one of the best Home windows keyboards, Dell’s XPS and HP’s Spectre variations, it’s not a nasty keyboard. I discovered it snug sufficient for longer typing periods, and most customers will discover it greater than adequate.

The touchpad was giant and sported a easy, snug floor and dependable help for Home windows 11 multitouch gestures. Its buttons are responsive however somewhat loud. The show is touch-enabled, as typical for a 2-in-1, and was dependable. The show helps Lenovo’s energetic pen, however one wasn’t included with my review unit.

Webcam and safety

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The webcam is a 1080p infrared hybrid, offering wonderful picture high quality in most lighting situations together with facial recognition for Home windows 11 Hey passwordless login.

There’s additionally a fingerprint reader on the palm relaxation. Each strategies for logging in labored shortly and reliably. The webcam contains a bodily slider for added privateness.

Battery life

Mark Coppock/Digital Traits

The Yoga 7i Gen 7 has 71 watt-hours of battery capability, which needs to be lots for a 14-inch laptop with a 15-watt CPU and a high-res IPS show. Many 14-inch laptops I’ve reviewed currently have had considerably smaller batteries, and most suffered from it.

In our battery benchmarks, the Yoga 7i Gen 7 did fairly nicely. It fell somewhat in need of common in our internet searching check that cycles by some demanding web sites, coming in at seven hours. That’s about an hour lower than the eight hours or extra that we wish to see on this check.

In our video check that loops a 1080p trailer, although, it hit almost 14 hours, which is a powerful consequence. Lastly, within the PCMark 10 Purposes check that greatest signifies productiveness battery life, the Yoga 7i Gen 7 did very nicely at 10.75 hours.

Solely the Acer Swift 3 and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 7 did higher amongst our comparability group. The Lenovo benefitted from a low-power Full HD+ show, and the Acer was merely a powerful performer.

Finally, you’ll probably get a full day of battery life out of the Yoga 7i Gen 7 in case you don’t push the CPU too laborious. Which means a typical productiveness workflow, whereas demanding duties and inventive work may need you pulling out the charger earlier than the workday ends.

Our take

Lenovo’s redesign of the Yoga 7i Gen 7 achieved the identical impact as with the costlier Yoga 9i Gen 7. The Yoga 7i Gen 7 is a beautiful laptop with a high quality construct, and its efficiency and battery life are strong.

There’s an excellent higher mannequin on the best way, although, with a better decision OLED show. That is likely to be value ready for if you need a really superior show.

Are there any alternate options?

The Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 is one other 14-inch laptop in the identical worth vary because the Yoga. Its show isn’t almost pretty much as good, and its efficiency and battery life can’t sustain.

In case you don’t want the flexibleness of a 2-in-1, then the HP Pavilion Plus 14 is a strong various. You’ll get a laptop with comparable efficiency, if not somewhat sooner in some purposes, together with a 90Hz OLED show that’s merely spectacular. Battery life isn’t even shut, although.

Lastly, I can’t assist however point out the Apple MacBook Air M2. It’s a bit costlier, nevertheless it offers even higher construct high quality with superior efficiency and vastly higher battery life.

How lengthy will it final?

The Yoga 7i Gen 7 is constructed like a tank and can final for years. Its parts are up-to-date and can run Home windows 11 for simply as lengthy. We at all times lament the industry-standard one-year guarantee.

Do you have to purchase it?

Sure. The Yoga 7i Gen 7 is without doubt one of the greatest 14-inch 2-in-1s you should buy. In order for you the absolute best show, maintain out for the OLED model coming quickly.

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