Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 Review

A premium laptop should be equipped enough to cover three key areas: design and portability, capability to handle work, and of course, a great tool for entertainment.

The new Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8, with its starting price of Php89,990, sure is a premium machine. Was it able to deliver on its promise? Let’s find out in our full review.

Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 Specs

Windows 11 Home
14-inch 4K OLED touchscreen, 3840 x 2400 pixel resolution, ~323ppi
60Hz refresh rate
VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certified, 100% DCI-P3, Dolby VIsion
TUV Rheinland EyeSafe and Low Blue Light certification
13th-gen Intel Core i7-1360P CPU, up to 5GHz
16GB LPDDR5 RAM, 5200MHz
Intel Iris Xe graphics
512GB/1TB M.2 PCIe Gen 4 SSD
1080p FHD webcam, IR, Windows Hello, Privacy shutter
2x 3W woofer, 2x 2W tweeter, Dolby Atmos, Bowers & Wilkins
Fingerprint scanner
Dual microphone
Lenovo Precision Pen Gen 2
WiFI 6E, dual-band
Bluetooth 5.1
2x USB-C Thunderbolt 4.0 (DisplayPort 1.4, PD, 40Gbps speeds)
1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (DisplayPort 1.4, PD, data)
1x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2
Headphone/mic combo jack
Dimensions: 318 x 230 x 15.2mm
Weight: 1.4kg
Colors: Storm Grey, Oatmeal
75Wh Li-Po 4-cell battery, 100W USB-C power adapter

Design and Build Quality

Is it the thinnest and lightest 14-inch laptop around? No, especially with the thick rounded edges and corners. It feels relatively heavy, too. Without a doubt, Lenovo clearly sacrificed thinness for functionality on this one.

Being a Yoga 2-in-1 laptop, it comes with a 360-degree hinge, which also doubles as the “soundbar” for the built-in speakers.

The hinge lets you use the machine in four different ways. There’s the standard laptop mode. Stand mode lets you use it like a tablet on a stand with the keyboard facing down; The Tent mode is great for watching shows or presentations. Finally, there’s the full Tablet mode if you want to use the touchscreen like an actual tablet.

With the laptop’s size and weight, switching between different modes can be a bit tough. Also, there’s the constant fear that delicate areas of the laptop, especially the keyboard and trackpad, will get scratched when faced down.

Oh, and there are the shiny stainless steel edges, which could easily suffer from scratches and marks as they hit the surface in tent mode.

Still, we really like the benefits of the flexible hinge. Collaborating with colleagues using the tablet mode is really helpful. The Stand mode is quite handy when we want to use the touchscreen and sit close to the display while relaxing on the sofa.

The 8th Gen Yoga 9i, despite being plasticky, doesn’t feel cheap at all. The shiny metallic accents on the corners, hinge, and logo make it look like the premium laptop that it is.

It’s very durable, too, as Lenovo claims it was able to survive 21 MIL-STD 810H military-grade durability tests. We didn’t dare to test it out, but based on our experience with it, it should handle minor beatings.

The screen-to-body ratio is not the best, but good enough. There’s also a wide protrusion on the top bezel for the webcam and the IR camera for Windows Hello login.

A very inconspicuous slider on the top physically shuts the camera for privacy. In fact, it’s so stealthy that we thought the camera was broken until we found out the shutter was onoff

The keyboard layout and the large trackpad are clean. The “Sound by Bowers & Wilkins” next to the speakers is meant to be a status symbol that adds extra sass to its looks.

Lenovo also threw in a sleek and fancy sleeve case that can fit the laptop, a few documents, and has a special case for the free Lenovo Precision Pen Gen 2. The review unit that we got also have a free USB-C adapter that comes with VGA, HDMI, and USB-A.

Overall, the Lenovo Yoga 9i has premium looks and versatility to back up the price and the branding.

Display and Sound Quality

The Yoga 9i Gen 8 is a laptop made for productivity and, more importantly, for entertainment. It comes in two display options: there’s one with a 2.8K resolution with a fast 90Hz refresh rate, while the one we got here is a sharper 4K resolution but with a slower 60Hz refresh rate.

This screen has all the bells and whistles that are great for content creation and consumption. It has a wide 16:10 aspect ratio that’s great for watching shows, Vesa DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification, Dolby Vision, 100% DCI-P3 coverage, and keeps your eyes safe as it’s been TUV Rheinland certified for being EyeSafe and has low blue light emission.

The display quality is just majestic. It offers vibrant colors and deep contrast that’s great for watching high-quality movies on Netflix, Disney+, and other streaming services.

Plus, the screen colors and sharp 4K resolution is flexible enough to fit your editing needs — photo or video. We also found the wide aspect ratio great for running two apps side-by-side for better multitasking — especially when writing articles, assignments, etc.

The touchscreen also works with the included Lenovo Precision Pen 2, which has 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, has tilt support, and charges via the USB port on top covered by a flap.

It’s not the most advanced stylus around, but it works fine for jotting down notes or casual doodles. It’s also a great tool for micro adjustments and controls on a Windows touchscreen if you’re using the device in tablet mode. You can easily highlight files, click small icons, etc.

For the best entertainment experience, Lenovo paired it with a beefy speaker setup. It uses a rotating Bowers & Wilkins soundbar system with two 2W tweeters in the hinge and two 3W woofers near the palm rest.

This audio setup, paired with the Stand or Tent hinge mode, makes for a great viewing experience. The stereo separation is really audible for an immersive experience, while the powerful woofers provide enough oomph for a punchy sound.

Keyboard, trackpad, I/O, Webcam

The keyboard is quite interesting. It’s comfortably soft but does provide firm feedback to let you know that it registered every press. The backlight is really useful when typing in the dark, albeit, the contrast is quite bad against the pale-colored caps. In fact, some of the keys are quite hard to see in bright rooms.

Hotkeys are on the left, below the Delete button. There’s a toggle between different performance modes, a button that automatically blurs the background on the webcam, an audio profile switcher, a display color mode switcher, and a fingerprint scanner.

Lenovo also included an Ambient light sensor next to the webcam to help automatically turn off or on the keyboard backlight when need be.

Below the keyboard is a large glass touchpad that’s 5.3 inches wide and 3.1 inches tall. It feels smooth and responsive, even with the multitouch gestures. The bottom part is clicky and tactile.

For ports, we have the single USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 and the two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 (DisplayPort 1.4, PD, 40Gbps data) on the left.

On the right, we have the power button, another USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port, and the headphone-mic combo.

As you’ve noticed, Lenovo separated the power button from the fingerprint scanner, unlike what other laptops do. This actually made sense so you can easily power the device in laptop mode.

Finally, we have the FHD 1080 webcam with IR for facial recognition. It has a physical privacy shutter for privacy.

If you’re using it for selfies, don’t bother, as they look very pixelated. However, it sure is sharp enough for video calls during work meetings, online school, and more. The microphone array was also able to pick up our voice clearly, no worries there.

The built-in background blur is also really useful for impromptu video calls or if you have a messy background.

Hardware and Performance

The Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 is powered by a 13th-gen Intel Core i7-1360P processor. The E-cores can reach up to 3.7GHz while the P-cores can go up to 5GHz. It is paired with 16GB LPDDR5 RAM at 5200MHz and 1TB of M.2 SSD 2280 PCIe Gen4 TLC SSD.

Unfortunately, it only comes with integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics. It’s still pretty capable, but would’ve loved to see a dedicated GPU on this.

Still, if you’re using it for entertainment, school, or work, the new Yoga 9i Gen 8 can really deliver. We were able to run multiple Google Chrome tabs open as we were writing articles, editing photos, with playing Spotify in the background without a hitch. Performance is still impressive even with Adobe’s Photoshop and Premiere Pro running.

Video editing is also possible, even with an external SSD thanks to the ultra-fast Thunderbolt 4 port.

We weren’t expecting to be able to play games with it, but we did. We were able to play GTA Online at 1080p with Mid graphics settings at stable 30fps — not the smoothest, but playable.

DOTA 2 runs at around 30fps under the highest graphics settings, and about 82fps using the lowest settings. Clearly, the Yoga 9i is made to be a work-first-gaming-second machine.

Software and User Interface

The Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 ships with the latest Windows 11 Home 64 with pre-installed Amazon Alexa and a trial for McAfee LiveSafe and Microsoft Office 365.

In case you didn’t know, Windows 11 is one of the best operating systems Microsoft ever came up with. No questions there.

Another interesting addition to the Yoga 9i Gen 8 special is the Lenovo Vantage app, which shows system information, system health, hardware status, and more.

We also like the dedicated hotkeys that let us easily switch between performance mode, display modes, audio profiles, and the camera blur — no need to dig into the settings.

We also appreciate the shortcut buttons for volume control, screen brightness, calculator, and more. Although, we would love to see music controls in here.

Battery Life

The Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 has a decent 4-cell Li-Po 75Wh battery. It has decent battery life, but we wish it was longer.

You can do a full 8-hour office work on this thing, as long as it’s only Word documents and emails. But for creatives like us that use multiple Google Chrome tabs at once, produce graphics, and with music playing in the background, we only got around 4 hours of juice before it reached 20%.

Bear in mind that this is the 4K version, so if you want a longer battery life, it is better to go with the 2.8K version.

Fortunately, charging time is fast thanks to the 100W charger. It comes with chunky but light-power brick that plugs through the USB-C port.

Verdict

Just like its predecessors, the new Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 continues to be one of the best options if you want a laptop that offers flexibility, performance for work and multitasking, and entertainment.

It boasts a high-end CPU for creative and office work, a vibrant touchscreen and beefy speakers for binge-watching, and a flexible 180-degree hinge, so you can comfortably use it in any orientation you want.

If we were to nitpick, we just wish that the battery life was longer and the profile is slightly thinner and lighter.

Still, for the price, the Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 is one of the best productivity and entertainment laptops in the market.

Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 price and availability

The Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 has a starting price of Php89,990 for the 2.8K display, 512GB SSD model. The unit that we have, which has a 4K screen and 1TB of storage, is listed on Lenovo’s website for Php98,700.

Pros

Flexible hinge
Vibrant, sharp touchscreen
Beefy soundbar speakers
Capable performance for work, entertainment

Cons

Could be thinner, lighter
Longer battery life would be nice