I managed to spend some time playing around with the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i laptop, one of the numerous Yoga models that were launched and on display during the brand’s Innovate 24 event here in Bangkok. They say first impressions matter when it comes to meeting someone or something new and boy, this machine wasn’t quite what I was expecting.
First of all, the Yoga Pro 9i feels hefty, by comparison to other laptops that I’ve handled in the same class. In that same breath, it’s also heavier than I expected, and this is supposed to be part of Lenovo’s thin and light category of products.
With that in mind, and circling back to the “heft”, picking it up and cradling it is not a task you can do with one hand. I mean, technically you can but that means that you need to put in the extra effort to do so.
The good news is that, thanks to the new Jewel Comfort Edge design, picking up and holding the Yoga 9i doesn’t feel uncomfortable, thanks to the smooth and rounded edges. It’s nothing new, sure, but it’s a much and greatly appreciated design that is functional, as it is stylish.
Moving on, the Yoga Pro 9i is an AI PC and yes, as per Microsoft’s prerequisites, the onboard Intel Meteor Lake CPU means that this laptop is eligible for having the dedicated Copilot button as part of the keyboard. If you’re not sure why this is the case, I say this without any judgement: you are actually part of the minority that isn’t aware how far-stretching AI is in the PC industry. In this case, Microsoft’s Copilot is part of its Generative AI initiative and pressing the button brings up the dedicated search bar which, by the way, you can now see at far right side of your Windows taskbar. Assuming of course, your version of Windows 11 is up to date.
On another note, the hardware underneath the hood of the Yoga Pro 9i isn’t anything to sneeze at either. The fully decked out model would house a Core Ultra 9 185H CPU, up to 32GB DDR5 RAM, an 84Whr battery, and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060.
As for the 16-inch Puresight Pro display, it’s still early impressions for me but colours appear to be slightly more saturated and punchy, but bright, nonetheless. As mentioned in my earlier launch report, the Yoga Pro 9i has speakers that are tuned by Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) but again, my initial impressions of this audio boon aren’t impressive. Specifically, the lows sound muddy on a flat surface, and that in turn proceeds to drown out and muddy the other pitches as well.
Still on the display, it barely flexes, and the tensile strength of its hinge is high too, meaning that some effort is required to lift it open. The good news about that is that you can do the one-finger hinge lift.
The Yoga Pro 9i is already being listed on the Lenovo Malaysia site, at RM9,309, and only comes in one configuration. Again, this is an early impression of the laptop, so you’re going to have to wait until we get a unit from the brand, in order to do a full review.
