Lenovo Slim 9i review: glass on top, quality underneath

Lenovo Slim 9i

MSRP $2,070.00

“The Lenovo Slim 9i is quick, extremely well-built, beautiful, and sports activities a spectacular 4K+ OLED show.”

Professionals

• Class-leading productiveness efficiency
• Distinctive construct high quality
• Attractive aesthetic
• Spectacular 4K+ OLED show
• Glorious audio high quality

Cons

• Keyboard is simply too shallow
• Restricted connectivity

I’d forgive you in the event you haven’t heard of the Lenovo Slim 9i. Amongst Lenovo’s many lines and sub-brands of laptops, the identify hardly stands out.

However as reviewed, it may be one of the vital compelling 14-inch clamshell laptops I’ve ever reviewed. That’s because of the beautiful OLED display screen, nice efficiency, and a webcam ok for video conferencing. It may be much less adventurous than final yr’s mannequin, nevertheless it checks each field for what a premium laptop ought to be in 2022.

Specs

Cohesive designs price extra

For me, what units a premium laptop computer aside is the cohesiveness of its design, together with its match and end. Midrange and even finances laptops might be enticing, however in addition they are typically distracted of their designs and don’t exhibit the polish you get from premium machines.

The Apple MacBook Pro 14 is probably one of the best instance of this — its design is easy and blocky, but all of it works collectively to create a pretty aesthetic. And there’s little doubt that once you decide up a MacBook, you may really feel its high quality. The Slim 9i reveals those self same traits, aided by the glass protecting on the lid that (actually) provides one other visible and tactile dimension.

Take into account the Slim 9i’s newly rounded edges. They not solely look nice, however they make the laptop computer extremely snug to carry and deal with. The lid’s angled edge serves as a pleasant distinction when the laptop computer is closed, and the constant coloration scheme all through, with none extraneous bling, creates that cohesive design I discussed above.

Then, attempt to bend the lid and press in on the keyboard deck and also you’ll discover that there’s zero give, creating the feeling of a stable piece of steel and glass. And the hinge permits the lid to be opened easily with one hand whereas holding the show firmly in place. General, it’s an exquisitely premium construct, rivaling the MacBook Professional 14 and the Dell XPS 15, two different extremely well-made laptops.

Premium laptops aren’t at all times the thinnest and lightest, however they shouldn’t be chunky or heavy, both. The Slim 9i is simply 0.59 inches thick and weighs 3.02 kilos, each good numbers. I’m certain the glass protecting provides extra weight, or the laptop computer can be lighter.

Due to skinny bezels throughout the highest and sides, with a barely thicker chin on the backside, the Slim 9i can be properly sized in width and top. General, the laptop computer is compact and barely dense, which just like the MacBook Professional 14 lends an air of high quality.

The Lenovo Slim 9i’s design isn’t excellent, although. To start with, whereas the keyboard has properly sized and sculpted keycaps and loads of key spacing, the switches lack depth. They’re mild and snappy, however I felt like I used to be uncomfortably bottoming out as I typed.

The MacBook’s Magic Keyboard can be shallow however gives sufficient suggestions to be extremely snug and exact. HP’s Spectre and Dell’s XPS lineups additionally supply higher — and deeper — keyboards.

Additionally, the Slim 9i lacks the standard connectivity you get with 14-inch laptops. There are solely three USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 assist to go together with a 3.5mm audio jack. Normally, 14-inch laptops embody USB-A and HDMI ports together with an SD card reader of some kind. These are lacking right here.

Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 present trendy wi-fi connectivity, however the lack of legacy bodily ports is a weak spot.

Shifting again to the optimistic, the Slim 9i’s touchpad is giant and comfy, with exact Home windows 11 multitouch gesture assist and assured but quiet button clicks. And the contact show is welcome.

Premium efficiency

Your $2,070 buys a load of high-end elements, together with a 28-watt 14-core/20-thread Core i7-1280P, 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and a 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD. Given the skinny chassis, the CPU selection is becoming, avoiding the temptation to stuff in a 45-watt CPU. Another producers have given in to that temptation with combined outcomes.

Accordingly, the Slim 9i performs exceptionally nicely. Throughout all our benchmarks, the laptop computer holds its personal in opposition to a number of different 14-inch laptops. That features the smaller Dell XPS 13 Plus with the identical Core i7-1280P CPU, these 14-inch machines with the 28-watt 12-core/14-thread Core i7-1260P, and a few laptops with the 45-watt 14-core/20-thread Core i7-12700H.

The Slim 9i is greater than quick sufficient for very demanding productiveness workflows and may carry out some inventive duties. It suffers within the latter from its built-in Intel Iris Xe graphics, however its efficiency is spectacular for such a skinny laptop computer.

The Lenovo software for tuning the thermals for efficiency was comparatively efficient, and I’ve famous each balanced and efficiency modes right here. The laptop computer throttled a bit, as do all skinny and lightweight laptops with trendy CPUs, nevertheless it managed to keep up aggressive frequencies for probably the most half.

Gaming is one other story. Whereas the Slim 9i did nicely sufficient given its built-in Intel Iris Xe graphics, scoring 1,894 within the 3DMark Time Spy check and hitting a mean of twenty-two frames per second (fps) in Fortnite at 1200p and epic graphics, that’s not precisely spectacular gaming efficiency. You’ll have the ability to run some trendy titles at 1080p in the event you flip down the graphics, however not far more than that.

Strong efficiency is a premium high quality, however so is battery life. The last word premium machines handle to stability each, and the Slim 9i comes shut because of 75 watt-hours of battery capability. It fell behind in our net shopping check and the PCMark 10 Functions battery check, nevertheless it did superb in our video check.

These aren’t unhealthy outcomes for a quick laptop computer with a 4K+ OLED show. Nevertheless, whether or not you get a full day’s battery life will rely totally in your workflow.

Class-leading optics and audio

To date, now we have a laptop computer with a bona fide premium design, legit premium efficiency, and first rate battery life. The ultimate field to test is the Slim 9i’s multimedia high quality, which at this time goes past simply the show and audio.

To start with, given the significance of videoconferencing in at this time’s world of hybrid employees, we additionally want to contemplate its webcam. The Slim 9i sports activities a 1080p model, promising and delivering larger high quality video high quality, and there’s an digital shutter swap to show the webcam off for enhanced privateness.

Due to an infrared digicam, Home windows 11 Hi there passwordless login is supported and works reliably. The IR digicam additionally permits Lenovo’s clever sensing expertise, which incorporates zero contact login and lock that places the Slim 9i to sleep when the consumer leaves the world and wakes it up (and mechanically logs in) when the consumer returns. This function labored reliably as nicely.

These capabilities are good to have, however in the event you’re spending $2,000 on a laptop computer, you’ll anticipate a high-quality show. The Slim 9i delivers that in spades, with a 16:10 4K+ OLED panel that’s shiny with huge and correct colours and the standard OLED inky blacks. It’s a surprising, extremely sharp show and a pleasure to make use of. It doesn’t matter what you want in a show, the Slim 9i delivers

	Brightness (nits)	Distinction	sRGB gamut	AdobeRGB gamut	Accuracy DeltaE (decrease is best)
Lenovo Slim 9i (OLED)	389	27,050:1	100%	95%	0.89
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 (IPS)	411	1660:1	98%	76%	1.96
HP Pavilion Plus 14 (OLED)	398	27,830:1	100%	95%	0.78
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Professional (IPS)	369	1,340:1	100%	80%	1.65
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon (OLED)	397	27,590:1	100%	96%	0.88

Lastly, Lenovo didn’t incorporate the soundbar from the Yoga 9i Gen 7, nevertheless it did construct in 4 audio system, two downward-firing and two upward-firing. Tuned by Bowers & Wilkins, the audio system supplied loads of quantity with clear mids and highs and a contact of bass.

It’s one of many higher speaker setups I’ve reviewed in a 14-inch laptop computer, and also you gained’t usually really feel the necessity for a pair of headphones.

You may get a very good laptop computer for much less, however…

Certain, the Lenovo Slim 9i is pricey. However, it gives a premium construct that’s second to none, with an aesthetic that’s cohesive and lovely, and its efficiency is class-leading. The laptop computer will meet probably the most demanding productiveness consumer’s wants and may function a low-end workstation for creators.

Battery life isn’t one of the best, and the keyboard is simply too shallow, however total, the Slim 9i lives as much as its value. It’s among the many finest 14-inch clamshell laptops you should buy, rivaling Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 and nicely above lower-priced choices just like the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus.

Editors’ Suggestions