There ’s been a glut of 16 - inch Almighty laptops focused on being a true competitor to the MacBook Pro . Few though , have been able to really challenge it .
When first seeing the Yoga Pro 9i 16 , I take up it would be good but ultimately fall short against Apple ’s most herculean laptop computer . But as I tested it , I came to see just how much magnate Lenovo squeezed into this laptop , make for what might be the most licit attempt at upend the MacBook Pro .
Specs and configurations
It ’s difficult sometimes to nail down Lenovo ’s pricing , because it ’s incessantly modify . The same thing with its configurations . Right now , the Yoga Pro 9i 16 start up at $ 1,482 for an Intel Core Ultra 7155H chipset , 16 GB of RAM , a 512 GB SSD , an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 , and a 16.0 - inch 3.2 K IPS display . If you configure it with a Core Ultra 9 185H , 32 GB of RAM , a 1 TB SSD , an RTX 4060 , and a 3.2 K mini - LED display , it ’s $ 2,105 .
That ’s a exchange premium toll , but it ’s comparatively affordable given its plan and performance . The Yoga Pro 9i 16 has two master competitor today : theDell XPS 16and the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra . Both are somewhat portable 16 - inch creator laptops like the Yoga .
The XPS 16 starts at $ 1,899 for a Core Ultra 7 155H , 16 GB of RAM , a 512 GB SSD , integrated Intel Arc graphics , and a 16.3 - in Full HD+ IPS display . When configured similarly to the Yoga with a Core Ultra 9 , 32 GB of RAM , a 1 TB SSD , an RTX 4060 , and a 16.3 - inch 4K+ OLED display , it cost $ 3,099 . As we tested it , with a Core Ultra 7 155H , 32 GB of RAM , a 1 TB SSD , an RTX 4070 , and the OLED display , it costs $ 3,399 .
The Galaxy Book4 Ultra is also more expensive , albeit its base model is well configure . It starts at $ 2,400 for a Core Ultra 7 155H , 16 GB of RAM , a 1 TB SSD , an RTX 4050 GPU , and a 16.0 - column inch 3 K AMOLED display . With a Core Ultra 9 , 32 GB of RAM , a 1 TB SSD , and an RTX 4070 , it cost $ 3,000 .
As we ’ll see , the Yoga Pro 9i 16 is faster than both competitors while be $ 1,295 less than the XPS 16 and $ 895 less than the Galaxy Book4 Ultra . TheApple MacBook Pro 16is more expensive than each of these machines by a muscular margin .
Design
The Yoga Pro 9i 16 is a large laptop , with a 16.0 - column inch presentation with reasonably small bezel on the side and top but a larger bottom mentum than , say , the Dell XPS 16 with its course - lead bezels . That mean it ’s a bit cryptical even though the XPS 16 has a slightly larger 16.3 - column inch display . The Yoga Pro is a bit thinner , though , and it ’s lighter .
The MacBook Pro 16 fall in between in breadth and astuteness , but it ’s significantly thinner at 0.66 inches versus the Yoga ’s 0.72 inch , and the MacBook ’s slimly higher free weight gives it a denser feel . The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra is the thinnest ( 0.65 inches ) and lightest ( 4.1 pounds ) .
Overall , that create the Yoga Pro 9i 16 somewhat portable for a big - screen laptop , but not division - leading . Its build quality is excellent thanks to an all - aluminum conception , and there ’s zero deflexion , flexing , or twisting in the display , keyboard deck , or bod . It ’s well as good as the XPS 16 and MacBook Pro 16 , and apply its lower price , that makes it particularly impressive .
The light-headed - grey-haired flesh is bare in its design and features rounded edge that make it comfortable to habituate and bear around . The reverse notch on top of the display put up the webcam and space mike leave something to catch onto when opening the lid , which you may do with one handwriting thanks to a flexible joint that feels just right .
Overall , the aesthetic is minimalist but passably attractive . The XPS 16 has a more modern design and the MacBook Pro 16 is arguably more graceful , but you likely wo n’t select either over the Yoga Pro found on looks alone .
The keyboard is Lenovo ’s usual version with sculptured keycaps and plenty of key spacing , and the switches are reasonably deep and are snappy and exact . I did discover the penetrate natural process a little stiffer than I like , and the MacBook Pro ’s Magic Keyboard remains my favorite .
I was able to wield closely to my level best typing speed when writing this brushup , but I did encounter the keyboard a little fatiguing after a while . The touchpad is large enough , but it ’s a mechanical version as oppose to the tactual touchpad you ’ll see on the XPS 16 and MacBook Pro 16 .
While the Yoga Pro 9i 16 ’s version had quiet , solid clicks , I still favor tactual touchpads at these prices for their larger clickable area and tunable finger .
It ’s also worth mentioning that the trackpad is off - snapper because of the inclusion body of a numpad to the right field of the keyboard . The Galaxy Book4 Ultra also has this same type of keyboard . Most people likely do n’t need a numpad in their day-after-day lives , making this a routine of an odd design determination to keep around .
The Yoga Pro 9i 16 has a wide range of a function of connectivity that ’s in line with the common larger laptop computer . There ’s a mix of modern and legacy embrasure and a full - size of it SD card reader , a welcome sign for creators . The XPS 16 has more Thunderbolt 4 embrasure but no legacy supporting , and it has a microSD card reader .
The MacBook Pro 16 has the same HDMI port wine and full - size SD card reader but more Thunderbolt 4 connections . Wireless connectivity is modern enough .
The webcam is a 5MP translation that ’s higher resolution than many of its competitors , and it provides a caliber image . The laptop computer ’s Meteor Lake chipset includes a Neural Processing Unit ( NPU ) that ’s used by Microsoft ’s Studio Effects software and not much else .
Thermals and power
The Yoga Pro 9i 16 can be configure with either the 28 - watt Core Ultra 7 155H with 16 cores ( six Performance , eight Efficient , and two Low Power Efficient ) and 22 threads running at 4.8 GHz or the 45 - watt Core Ultra 9 185H with the same number of cores and togs running at up to 5.1 gigacycle per second . I reviewed a model with the latter , along with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 ( the RTX 4050 is an choice ) . As I discovered in my benchmark , specs can be delude , and by all account , the Yoga Pro 9i 16 is a spectacular performer .
As note originally , the Dell XPS 16 and Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra are two of Lenovo ’s most important contender here . The XPS 16 and Galaxy Book4 Ultra we reexamine both had the theoretically faster RTX 4070 while the XPS 16 had the Core Ultra 7 and the Galaxy Book4 Ultra had the Core Ultra 9 .
However , Lenovo built in 130 Watt of TDP to divide between the CPU and GPU , while the Dell and Samsung are both limited to just 80 watts . The RTX 4060 and RTX 4070 can take up to 115 watts , but the XPS 16 and Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra versions get just 60 watt . The Yoga Pro 9i 16 gives its GPU 100 watts , leaving 30 watts for the CPU . That means that both the CPU and GPU in the Lenovo get a lot more power .
I also calculate at theAsus ROG Zephyrus G16 , because although it ’s a gambling laptop ( albeit a very thin one at just 0.64 inch ) , it also give its RTX 4070 a lot of power , and you would look it to be fast . Another comparison is theAlienware m16 R2that has a entire TDP of 175 Watt .
Performance
So , what do the numbers look like ? I ’m rarely blown off by a laptop computer ’s public presentation , and when I am , it ’s usually when it performs a lot good than I expect or when compare to its main competition . The Yoga Pro 9i 16 accomplished both .
Across all our benchmark , it ’s at least as fast as the XPS 16 and the Galaxy Book4 Ultra , and in most cases it ’s quicker . That ’s in our CPU - intensive benchmarks where I ask it to be fast than the XPS 16 , but also in our GPU - specific benchmarks where I look the Dell and Samsung to benefit from their faster GPUs . The Yoga Pro 9i 16 ’s was almost as fast in the Cinebench R24 GPU bench mark , and its Geekbench 6 , Handbrake , and Cinebench R24 CPU scores were higher almost across the board .
thing were most interesting when looking at the substantial - world Pugetbench Premiere Pro benchmark , which runs in a lively version of Adobe ’s Premiere Pro . That benchmark job both the CPU and the GPU , and the latter name a significant divergence in how tight a Windows laptop can churn through various demanding processes like video encoding . The Yoga Pro 9i 16 was faster in this benchmark than both the XPS 16 and the Galaxy Book4 Ultra , and it was even faster than the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 and Alienware m16 R2 . That ’s impressive given each laptop ’s configuration and price .
If you ’re looking for a 16 - inch laptop computer that ’s reasonably portable yet provides splendid performance , the Yoga Pro 9i 16 is a solid selection . I hope nobody look at the RTX 4060 and decides to take an XPS 16 or Galaxy Book4 Ultra because those laptop have an RTX 4070 as an pick . The Lenovo will be faster , and it ’s also significantly less expensive . Apple ’s MacBook Pro 16 is a much fast laptop computer with its M3 Max 16/40 chipset , but it ’s also incredibly costly .
For gamers , the Yoga Pro 9i 16 continues its surprising carrying into action . Lenovo uses Nvidia ’s Studio drivers , and so its gaming performance is sacrificed a bit in exchange for better and more reliable performance in originative and other apps . Even so , it did well .
To start with , I ran the 3DMark Time Spy mental test and , once again , Lenovo press a lot more out of the RTX 4060 than some of its challenger did their RTX 4070s . Here , even the ROG Zephyrus G16 was n’t as fast . Both of the Yoga ’s display options run at 165Hz , so that virtually ensures a tear - free experience given the GPU .
I also endure a couple of gaming benchmarks , and the Yoga Pro 9i 16 was again a stiff performing artist . When pitted against a few laptop with RTX 4070s , including a twosome of gaming political machine , the Lenovo did astonishingly well .
You might want to dial back to 1080p with modern title to enjoy the high graphics circumstance . But as an occasional gaming laptop , the Yoga Pro 9i is a great choice .
Battery life
The Yoga Pro 9i 16 has an 84 - watt - hour battery , which is on the depleted side for a 16 - in laptop with fast constituent and a high - res , business leader - hungry mini - LED display . I was n’t expecting large battery life-time , and I did n’t get it . But what I ascertain was seemly enough .
It managed around six hours in our web browse test and 9.5 hr in our TV run . Those are below average across all Windows laptop , but they ’re not unsound at all for this class of machine . The XPS 16 has a 99.5 - W - hour barrage , and it lasted for just 5.5 hours in each trial .
While the Yoga Pro 9i 16 does n’t follow anywhere near the MacBook Pro 16 ’s 19 hours of web browsing and 27 hour of video , it still does well compare to its slightly more expensive contention . It wo n’t last much past lunch doing any sort of work , but that ’s to be carry until Intel and Microsoft come up with a more efficient solution that still hit top speeds when require .
Display and audio
Lenovo went with a mini - LED video display for the Yoga Pro 9i 16 , specifically a 16.0 - column inch 16:10 panel at 3.2 K ( 3000 x 2000 ) resolution . That ’s enough sharp , and with a 165Hz refresh rate , Windows 11 is buttery smooth .
Mini - LED is known for acute brightness and mystifying contrast , and they shine ( no pun intended ) in Apple ’s MacBook Pros . When I retrospect the 2023 Yoga Pro 9i 16 , though , I was n’t as impressed . Its mini - LED display was bright and colored , but its contrast was n’t as high . When I switch into HDR mode in Windows display place setting , contrast was higher but colors were much worse . That ’s just how Windows treat HDR content .
I saw the same thing with the 2024 Yoga Pro 9i 16 . It showed wide-eyed and accurate colors and plentitude of brightness . It did well with HDR video recording from sources like Netflix , thanks to Dolby Vision HDR support , but its contrast was downcast than the MacBook Pro ’s mini - lead displays and OLED panels . And contrast was higher when HDR was switched on .
In any event , the Yoga Pro 9i 16 ’s display is very full for productivity users , Divine , and medium consumers . If you desire the best HDR support in cognitive content and gaming , you ’ll need to switch HDR on .
The Yoga Pro 9i 16 has six speaker : two upward - liberation tweeter and four side - can woofers . The system puts out a lot of bulk without distorting , and heights and mids are nice and bright . There ’s also more bass than you ’ll find in most laptop computer . After listening to them side - by - side , I still give the nod to the MacBook Pro 16 ’s six - utterer setup , but the Yoga come in a close second . The Lenovo ’s audio is observably better than the XPS 16 ’s , with more freshwater bass and less distortion at full bulk .
A surprisingly strong entry in the 16-inch sweepstakes
The most famous names in 16 - column inch laptops today are the XPS 16 and the MacBook Pro 16 . Those two machines get most of the press , while the Yoga Pro 9i 16 is more of a dark horse . But I hope that changes , because it ’s a really excellent laptop computer that ’s available for a comparatively attractive terms .
While it ca n’t keep up with the course - lead MacBook Pro ’s performance and efficiency , it ’s faster than competing Windows laptop computer even when they equip a faster GPU . Lenovo pass on the Yoga Pro 9i 16 more power , and it express . Toss in a great display and phone organization to go with a hearty frame , and the Yoga Pro 9i 16 is one of the well 16 - inch laptop computer around .
