Windows laptops are undergo a seismal shift , with Windows on Arm become a encouragement from new Qualcomm chipsets and Intel and AMD accelerating their AI capabilities . But these advances are all aim at laptop cost $ 1,000 and much more .
Not everyone desire to spend that much money , and not everyone is concerned about having the fastest on - equipment AI execution . Lenovo ’s Yoga 7 14 2 - in-1 is draw a bead on at those people , and it volunteer estimable public presentation , solid barrage fire lifespan , and a quality build for a very attractive $ 650 price . But it has one flaw that you ’ll need to keep in nous .
Specs and configurations
As common , Lenovo ’s pricing is both capable to alteration and sometimes confusing . Using the caller ’s configurator , the entry - degree configuration run $ 794 for an AMD Ryzen 5 8540HS chipset , 8 GB of RAM , a 512 GB SSD , and a 14.0 - inch IPS display . The configurator shows a $ 999 price for a Ryzen 7 8840HS , 16 GB of RAM , and a 1 GB SSD .
However , that same high - final stage configuration is just $ 650 at Best Buy . That ’s an extremely attractive Mary Leontyne Price for a laptop with some high - death components , but its video display hold it back from gain a unassailable good word . TheDell Inspiron 14 Plushas standardized specification , with an Intel Meteor Lake chipset , and you could corrupt it today for $ 850 with a much better display . And theAsus Zenbook 14 Q425with an excellent OLED display can sometimes be had for well under $ 800 .
Design
The Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 has an all - aluminum chassis and is built well . It ’s as upstanding as laptops costing a lot more , with no bending , flexing , or distortion . I ’d rate it nearly as well - work up as theHP Spectre x360 14 , which is twice as costly . It ’s easy as good as the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus . As will be a root word in this review , it ’s remarkable how much laptop you could get for so little money today .
The esthetic punches even higher above the Yoga ’s price . The dark hoary chapeau and human body are surprisingly graceful , with rounded build edges that are both spectacular and comfortable to utilise in any of the 2 - in-1 ’s four modes — clamshell , tent , medium , and tablet . There ’s none of the chrome bling that once adorn budget laptops , and it ’s most as commodity - look as the much more expensiveYoga 9i Gen 9 . If you ’re distressed about stockpile around a tatty - looking laptop computer , fear not .
In terms of its portability , the Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 is reasonably small , with thin show bezel , except for the commonly large Kuki-Chin that put up the 360 - degree convertible hinge . It ’s also somewhat sparse , and not abysmally impenetrable for a 14 - inch 2 - in-1 . The Spectre x360 14 2 - in-1 is just slenderly smaller and lighter , but not by much .
Keyboard and touchpad
The keyboard is very right , with Lenovo ’s common sculpted keycaps and plenty of fundamental spacing . The switches are loose and snappy , with just a mo of looseness that I found to be less than precise . This is one area where both the Spectre x360 14 and Yoga 9i Gen 9 were skilful , with a little supernumerary firmness of purpose in their keyboards that made for an overall more easy spirit . But even so , the Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 ’s keyboard is very good .
The mechanical touchpad is a different story . While it ’s great enough , hardly , and handles swiping and wiretap just fine , the buttons are right smart too gimcrack and harsh . The Inspiron 14 Plus ’ mechanical touchpad was much well , and the Spectre x360 14 ’s haptic touchpad was one of the good on a Windows laptop .
The Yoga ’s presentation is touch- and pen - enabled . My review building block did n’t come with a pen , so I could n’t examine it . But I expect that it will work out as well as most Windows 2 - in-1s for digital handwriting and draftsmanship .
Connectivity and webcam
The Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 has very good connectivity , with a mix of reasonably modern ports and legacy joining . As an AMD machine , it ’s miss Thunderbolt 4 , but the USB4 connection should provide some of its potentiality . The Inspiron 14 Plus , on the other helping hand , has a Thunderbolt 4 port wine . Wireless connectivity on the Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 consists of Wi - Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 , which is n’t quite the most up - to - engagement .
The webcam is a quality 1080p version , with support for Microsoft Studio Effects AI features thanks to a Neural Processing Unit ( NPU ) that ’s quicker at 16 Pidlimdi operations per second ( TOPS ) than Intel ’s Meteor Lake chipset with an NPU rated at 10 TOPS . That ’s less than the newer chipsets , like Qualcomm ’s Snapdragon X lineup that execute at 40 TOPS . At this point , there are n’t many on - equipment AI features in Windows 11 that can use the NPU , and it ’s uncertain if or when Microsoft ’s Copilot+ functionality will be usable for any equipment but those with the Copilot+ identification . And even then , as of now , the AI functionality is modified .
The webcam includes an infrared camera for Windows 11 Hello facial recognition . It work quickly and reliably , and is contained in Lenovo ’s reverse notch that make water it easier to spread out the lid .
Performance
The Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 I reviewed uses AMD ’s Ryzen 7 8840HS , an 8 - core/16 - train of thought chipset hunt at 28 watts . That vie with the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H , also a 28 - James Watt chipset , but with 16 essence ( six Performance , eight Efficient , and two Low Power Efficient ) and 22 threads . Both are aimed at involve productivity users , and both practice incorporate graphics that are n’t fast enough to power creative tasks or gambling .
In our bench mark rooms , the Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 was jolly quick , more so than the depressed - power Intel U - series chipsets , but a step behind the Core Ultra 7 laptops I ’ve reviewed . The differences are n’t major , though , making the Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 enough fast for call for productiveness users .
Battery life
Lenovo packed 71 watt - hour of battery into the Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 , which is a unspoilt amount for a 14 - column inch laptop computer with an IPS exhibit . AMD chipsets tend to be fairly efficient , and so I was expect good enough battery life .
That ’s what I got . The Yoga score 10.5 hours in our web - browsing mental test , 12.25 hours in our video recording - looping test , and 12.75 hours in the Procyon Office Productivity assault and battery bench mark . The latter is revelatory of real - living performance run reasonable productiveness job , and the Yoga did jolly well . We just started using this test and so we do n’t have many laptops to liken with . The web - browse carrying out is better than most Intel Meteor Lake results and competitory with the U - series , while the video - looping test is just OK .
You ’re improbable to get a full day of work even doing light productiveness tasks , but that ’s what I ’ve arrive to expect from most Windows laptops . The Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 is n’t a bad performer here . The coming Windows on Arm Copilot+ laptops , though , promise to be longer - lasting , but those will also be considerably more expensive and we have n’t yet sustain that promise .
Display and audio
So far , everything ’s been fairly impressive . The build quality , performance , and barrage fire life have exceeded what I would have expect just a few years ago from a $ 699 laptop computer . But one area has always disappoint at the lower end : display quality . I was hoping for better here .
Unfortunately , I could tell this was n’t a premium exhibit when I first powered it on . The display was a morsel lifeless , and that was n’t just a factor of my reviewing so many laptop with OLED panels . Even compared to contemporaneous IPS displays , the Yoga ’s 14.0 - column inch 16:10 Full HD+ ( 1920 x 1200 ) display was n’t telling . In picky , coloring material were muted and things were n’t as undimmed . Some laptop computer for under $ 1,000 have sharper panels .
When I used my tintometer to test the video display , I was surprised that the contrast was reasonably high at 1,210:1 . There was a prison term when we lay out our criterion for good displays at 1,000:1 , but that ’s no longer a valid bench mark . I have n’t try a show in years that did n’t blow through that service line . Brightness come in at 333 nits , which again is higher than our premature standard , 300 nits . We ’ll call for to revisit both of those prosody , because even less display do best .
But the Yoga ’s color were just bad . They were n’t all-inclusive at 63 % of sRGB , 48 % of AdobeRGB , and 47 % of DCI - P3 . They also were n’t accurate at a Delta - atomic number 99 of 3.17 . The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus is more expensive , but its IPS panel had 100 % of sRGB , 79 % of AdobeRGB , and 79 % of DCI - P3 with excellent accuracy at a DeltaE of 0.8 . And that ’s the “ unfit ” IPS instrument panel I ’ve reviewed in the last distich of years . The Asus Zenbook 14 Q425 ’s OLED display has tremendous colors and inky black , making it a better choice if you’re able to find it for the same low Leontyne Price .
It ’s easy to argue that Lenovo had to curve street corner somewhere to be able-bodied to sell the Yoga at just $ 699 . And maybe some other laptops in the same range will have similar show . But it ’s still a major via media .
Audio is fine , with two upward - discharge and two downward - firing speaker . There ’s mess of volume and mids and highs are clear , but there ’s not a lot of bass . The audio is OK for YouTube videos and such , but a pair of earphone is likely a good thing for music and other content .
So close to being a great value
I liked the Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 quite a bit throughout most of this review . Its operation and battery life are o.k. for anyone with less money to drop , and in fact , the Yoga is fast and longer - hold up than many laptops that cost a lot more . It ’s also well - built and has a very good keyboard .
The one weakness , misfortunate presentation gloss , might not count to most productivity substance abuser . The display is n’t risky , on the dot — it ’s just not as good as some others . But overall , the Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 is comparatively well-to-do to recommend at $ 699 . I just would n’t spend any more .
