We recently got our hands on the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i, a slim and light laptop that promises great productivity performance that should make it a good partner for content creators and freelancers in the creative space.
Lenovo’s Yoga laptop lineup features a wide range of devices, but the notebook we’re checking out now is a Pro model. This means it doesn’t pack a U series processor that’s designed first and foremost for optimum battery life while balancing performance. Instead, this laptop features an Intel Core i7-13700H processor — yes, that’s the same processor that’s found in Legion laptops (including the Slim 5 which we reviewed back in September). On top of this, the Yoga Pro 7i has an RTX 4050 laptop GPU, as well as 16GB of RAM.
Based on its specs, the Pro 7i seems more like a gaming laptop, but it’s noticeably smaller and more portable. Plus, it has a premium screen with a high resolution.
It’s no doubt great on paper, but does this new Yoga laptop deliver for real-world use? And is it a good match for users who want to get some content creation done while on the go? Find out here in our Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i review!
Geek-sthetic
To start, let’s take a look at the laptop’s design. The Pro 7i features a sleek and subtle look, with the only branding being the Lenovo logo at the bottom right of the cover, as well as the Yoga logo at the top left.
This makes the laptop’s cover a blank canvas for the user to decorate. For those who want a minimalist laptop, the Yoga should already be satisfactory out-of-the-box. Meanwhile, those who want a pop of style can cover it up with their preferred stickers.
Moving to the front, we have the laptop’s 14.5-inch screen, as well as its noticeably large trackpad and nicely sized keyboard. The screen is raised at the top-middle to give space for an FHD+ webcam. Yes, this laptop has a 1080p resolution webcam, meaning it should make for better-quality video calls/online meetings (at least for the ones whom you are talking to).
The raised middle part of the screen has become a signature of Lenovo now, and thankfully, it’s not a particularly distracting design choice. Plus, having the webcam at the top gives you a much better camera angle compared to other laptops that put the webcam below the screen. This can make for an awkward angle for online meetings.
Even with such a large screen, the Yoga Pro 7i is impressively slim and light. It’s only 1.49kg in weight, meaning it’ll be easy to bring this around with you everywhere you go. That’s even more impressive when you consider that this packs a proper H-series processor and an RTX 4050.
At the sides meanwhile, you’ll see the laptop’s ports, including a USB Type-A, two USB Type-C, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an
HDMI 2.1 port. Having a proper HDMI port is definitely welcome as it makes connecting to an external display easy. Though we do wish that Lenovo included at least one other USB Type-A and an SD card reader for more connectivity options.
The right side of the laptop also features the power button, as well as a shutter for the webcam. It’s an electronic shutter, but it’s still nice to have a dedicated webcam switch for extra privacy. As for the power button, it’s a bit of an unusual placement, so you may want to take note of it when picking the laptop up from its sides.
Binge Watching Factor
This particular variant of the Yoga Pro 7i packs a large 14.5-inch 3K (3072×1920 for a 16:10 aspect ratio) IPS screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and Dolby Vision. Aside from being impressive on paper, the display is excellent in person as it won’t disappoint for binge-watching your favorite movies and shows.
Even with an IPS panel, the Pro 7i’s screen outputs vibrant colors and deep enough blacks that users probably won’t notice the black bars when watching movies/shows. The high resolution also helps if you’re subscribed to streaming platforms with 4K support as you’ll be able to take advantage of the higher resolutions offered.
What’s more, the screen is a PureSight Pro display, meaning it offers impressive color accuracy and a great color gamut. Plus, the display also gets plenty bright. This makes it a great match for binge-watching, not to mention how it helps with content creation.
Aside from being great for watching movies/shows, the screen also has Low Blue Light Certification, meaning users won’t strain their eyes much even when working for hours on this laptop.
Sound Trip
Despite the large screen, the Pro 7i is a slim and light laptop. Because of this, some might think that its onboard speakers aren’t going to be that great. Thankfully, the Yoga Pro 7i has excellent stereo speakers, both in terms of volume and quality.
As small as it is, users will be surprised by just how loud the Yoga Pro 7i’s speakers can get. While we always recommend headphones or external speakers for the best audio experience, this new Lenovo Yoga laptop is an exception as you can enjoy watching shows on even the internal speakers alone. It also helps that the audio quality is pretty good as you’ll hear bass notes clearly, all without the audio getting blown out at higher volumes
Of course, if you want to listen via headphones, the laptop thankfully has a 3.5mm headphone jack. With this, you have the option of listening via wired or wireless headphones.
Typing Experience
Typing on the Yoga Pro 7i also feels great. Even though the laptop’s sides are taken up by the stereo speakers, the keyboard still has fairly large keys that are well-spaced, meaning it should feel comfortable to type on for hours on end.
What’s more, the laptop has a large trackpad. With this, you should have no problems with navigating Windows even if you forgot to bring your mouse with you while outside or in the office.
Gaming Prowess
As mentioned, the Yoga Pro 7i is powered by an Intel Core i7-13700H processor that’s paired with an RTX Studio branded 4050 6GB GPU. It also has 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. All of these make it seem like a capable gaming machine.
Even though it’s not a gaming laptop, we tested out a couple of games on it just to see how they’ll run. Impressively, the laptop’s performance was similar to that of a gaming notebook.
Specifically, we tried Dota 2, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and Control on the Yoga Pro 7i. When playing at 1920 x 1200, the laptop was able to run all three with ease. Here are the average FPS numbers that we got:
As you can see, Dota 2 runs at a high framerate at Max settings. Meanwhile, both Spider-Man and Control run at 60FPS+ on the High graphics presets. These results prove that despite the Studio branding, the Yoga Pro 7i delivers good results for gaming.
Of course, that doesn’t mean this can replace a dedicated gaming laptop though. After all, Lenovo’s Ideapad Gaming and Legion laptops are designed more for longer gaming sessions thanks to their larger chassis and fans for better airflow. Plus, the 1% low numbers aren’t as high as Lenovo’s dedicated gaming laptops, meaning there are some instances of choppiness.
Still, the Yoga Pro 7i can run games pretty well, but this laptop is more for content creators who value portability. Its gaming capabilities do make the Pro 7i worthy of consideration for creators who want to play triple-A or esports games to rest and relax.
Everyday Reliability
Given its great gaming performance, it should come as no surprise that the Yoga Pro 7i is also an excellent laptop for daily use. At no point did the laptop slow down even when we opened lots of apps (thanks in part to the 16GB of RAM that it has.
For creative work, this laptop should be great for hobbyists, freelancers, and budding content creators. Of course, it won’t be as powerful as a full-blown content creation rig, but for many creatives, the laptop’s combination of an H-series processor and an RTX 4050 should make for a reliable laptop. So, if you’re into editing videos for YouTube or creating graphics, this laptop should be a good match (within reason of course).
Here are the PCMark 10 benchmark numbers to give you a point of comparison with other notebooks:
As you can see, the results are quite high, much more so than other laptops that have lower-range processors. Its benchmark score is comparable to that of gaming laptops which are often used to create content while on the go.
For other work purposes, the Yoga Pro 7i is also a great daily driver as it should have no issues with running big spreadsheets or detailed PowerPoint presentations.
It’s also a good match for online meetings as the laptop has a 1080p webcam. Plus, there’s a physical shutter on the side for extra privacy.
Finally, the laptop has surprisingly good battery life. After running a 2 and 1/2 hour movie at 50% brightness and volume, the laptop still had around 70% remaining. Battery life is dependent on use, but the Yoga Pro 7i should easily last for hours on a single use, potentially 6+ hours for standard office work or web browsing.
Final Geek Lifestyle Verdict
Thanks to its excellent performance (courtesy of the Intel H series processor and RTX 4050 combo), long battery life, and portable form factor, the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i is a great laptop for budding content creators, freelancers, and students in creative programs. What’s more, even if it’s not a gaming laptop, it is a surprisingly capable partner for gaming if you’re the type to play during your downtime.
This new Lenovo laptop is priced starting at PHP 102,995 in this configuration in PH retailers. Included with each purchase is Lenovo’s Premium Care + Accidental Damage Protection.
At this price, it’s well worth considering for those who want a laptop that doesn’t skimp out on power, all while still being easy to bring anywhere they go. As a bonus, the Premium Care and Damage Protection inclusion is great added value as it gives users peace of mind that they’ll get good support even some time after their purchase. After all, in our experience, Lenovo has among the best after sales service quality in the PH with its Premium Care offering.
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i (14″, Gen 8) Specs:
- Processor: Intel Core i7-13700H
- Installed Memory: 16GB
- Operating System: Windows 11 Home
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 6GB GDDR6
- Storage: 1TB SSD
- Display: 14.5inch 3K (3072×1920) IPS 400nits Anti-glare, 100% DCI-P3, 120Hz
- Ports:
- 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Always On)
- 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (data transfer, Power Delivery 3.0 and DisplayPort 1.4)
- 1x Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 40Gbps (support data transfer, Power Delivery 3.0 and DisplayPort 1.4)
- 1x HDMI 2.1, up to 4K/60Hz
- 1x Headphone / microphone combo jack (3.5mm)