Lenovo Yoga 9i 14″ Shadow Black Review

The team at Intel Australia recently sent me the new Lenovo Yoga 9i 14″ Shadow Black, which is part of their Project EVO. Available with Intel 11th Generation Core i5-1135G7 or i7-1185G7 processors, 8 or 16GB and up to 1TB SSD.

Let’s see if this stylish 2 in 1 is twice as good or all style & no substances?

First Impression

As I take the Lenovo Yoga 9i out the boxed, I was wowed. I am met by a mixture of aluminium, glass & leather in a stunning and sleek black laptop.

For something so thin, the laptop felt solid in hand, as someone that has never used a 2 in 1. I didn’t know what to expect, but this was impressive & I could wait to try it out.

What is Intel Project Evo?

If you are in the market for a new Laptop, you will be seeing, Intel Project Evo or Evo a lot. So, what is Project Evo?

In its simplest form, it is the minimum requirement the laptop needs to achieve to be certified by Intel and have access to their Intel 11th Gen Intel Core processor.

Which is actually a great thing for people looking to buy. It takes the guesswork and comparing one laptop to the other. As you know for a fact, you will have these features no matter the brand & that all Project Evo platform laptop does the same thing at a similar speed.

To achieve Intel Evo certification, laptop producers need to reach a variety of performance benchmarks including the following:

• Intel 11thGen Intel Core processor featuring Iris® Xe graphics
• WiFi 6
• Thunderbolt 4
• instant wake
• fast charging
• 9 hours of real-world battery life (minimum)

Build Quality

The aluminum Chassis gives the Lenovo Yoga 9i an incredibly study feel & with almost no flex in the case or keyboard. It’s sleek design elements are something that needs to be believed. From the hinge-mounted speaker, to the sleekly housed stylus built into the back and the new “elastomer” tip of the stylus. This 2 in 1 laptop has been designed for form, function & style.

One thing I do have to say is the stylus is super thin. It reminds me of those skinny pens you’d get in those mini purse-size diaries. Which is fine, but I found my chubby hands would get a little sore when using them for long periods of time.

I’m also not sure how I feel about the new elastomer tip of the stylus. I was able to sign documents for work or write notes and it felt like I was writing on paper, yet it doesn’t have the glide or flow of my drawing tablet. It’s weird, as I’m torn. I like that it has better control & that it won’t get away on you when trying to only make a small movement, but I also miss the glide of my other stylus.

So, the size of the stylus, I’m a no, unless only using it for small periods or signing documents on your computer, then I’m a maybe. The feel of the new elastomer tip I’m on the fence about. But the 15-minute charging time for 40 minutes of use is a great feature…. Especially when you forget to put the stylus back in the housing & want to use it.

As mentioned previously, the custom tweeters are house within the hinge, along with two downward-facing woofers on the bottom. So, whether you are in clamshell, tablet, or tent layout the tweeter is always facing outwards. Giving the Lenovo Yoga 9i 14″ Shadow Black the best sounding speakers of any laptop I have ever used. Add this to the Dolby Atmos Speaker System software, which while dynamic mode that detects your content and adjusts the audio accordingly. It is so crisp & loud. I actually spent several nights just watching movies while reviewing this laptop.

Visual

Along with the preloaded Dolby Atmos Speaker System software, the Lenovo Yoga 9i also comes preinstalled with Dolby Vision software which allows you to switch between different picture modes of Light, Dark, and Vivid. Which helps offset some of the glare on this very glossy screen 16:9 screen.

Other than the slight glare on the screen, the 14inch UHD IPS touchscreen display takes up 90% of the top panel. While the bezels are quite slim, with the top bezel housing the webcam….. a 720p webcam. Which is a pet peeve of mine.  As you put the world’s best and most powerful intel processor in it & you skimp on the webcam.

Overall, the clarity and precision of the screen did a great job with all the tasks I would ever want my laptop to do, and I very rarely use it in direct sunlight, so I don’t mind the overly glossy screen

Ports

The port placement on the Lenovo Yoga 9i are all placed on the left-hand side of the laptop with the sleeky inset power button on the right.

There aren’t many ports, & I would have liked to see a second USB 3.2 port. As I always plug a mouse into my laptop, I can’t use it & plug in a USB stick for work. So, during my time using it I found that I would always have a USB hub plugged in.

1. Power Button
2. combo audio/mic jack
3. 2 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 / Thunderbolt 4
4. USB 3.2 Gen 2

Performance

The Lenovo Yoga 9i is Intel Evo certified & uses the 11^th Gen Intel Core i7-1185G7 paired with Intel Iris Xe graphics will handle everything you need it to do & will even allow you to play some game. As I had no problem annoying people while poorly playing Paladins & playing music in the background, yet don’t expect to get 60fps

Whether I had 20 chrome tabs open while rendering a video or playing games while streaming a podcast. The 11^th Gen Intel Core i7-1185G7 & Lenovo Yoga 9i didn’t skip a beat. Powered through as if I was writing a word document.

Then when I’m finished work, take it to my room, fold it in half & watch Netflix before bed. Which I used to do on my desktop & then my iPad for & the sound quality is so much better!

Conclusion

The Lenovo Yoga 9i Shadow Black isn’t without fault, but that being said, I would highly recommend getting one. The style and sophistication of the Lenovo Yoga 9i 14″ Shadow Black version had me wanting to show it off.

And though I was worried It may be all style no substance, having that Project Evo certification eases that worry. That is the exciting and important part of Intel’s Project Evo, you can rest assured that what is inside the laptop is going to hit that high benchmark from intel. Then you just have to pick a laptop you like in the price range, you would like.

If you are to get the Lenovo Yogi 9i, you may want to look into getting a new stylus if I plan on using it for drawing or using the stylus for long periods of time & I would also invest in a USB hub especially if like me you can’t use a trackpad.

You can get the Yoga 9i 14″ Mica for $2,199 or this Yoga 9i 14″ Shadow Black here on the Lenovo website & if you sign up to Shopback, you’ll actually receive a 6% cashback off (Approximately $131 on the Mica & $185 on the Shadow blackback)