Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition Review: Near-Perfect Package With Record-Setting Battery Life

9.2/ 10
SCORE

Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition

Pros

Beautiful OLED display
Compact package with sleek aesthetics
Record-setting battery life
Great audio and webcam

Cons

Mechanical rather than haptic trackpad
No HDMI port or SIM card reader

The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is greater than the sum of its parts. Based on a common Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processor, its component lineup is not all that unusual. But placed inside a sleek and compact enclosure and outfitted with a beautiful 2.8K OLED display, the Yoga 9i is perfectly tailored for remote or office workers — or really anyone who wants a modern laptop that can also rotate into a tablet.

The Yoga 9i offers modestly powerful performance and exceptional battery life. It's the longest-running laptop that CNET has ever tested, edging last year's HP OmniBook X 14 with battery life of nearly 26 hours. And even without a haptic touchpad, it rates higher than the HP Spectre x360 14, our previous favorite premium two-in-one and earned itself an Editors' Choice award in the process. At its regularly discounted price of $1,400, the Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is a wonderful OLED convertible and a great value.

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Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition

Price as reviewed	$1,400
Display size/resolution	14-inch 2880×1800 touch OLED
CPU	Intel Core Ultra 7 258V
Memory	32GB LPDDR5X-8533
Graphics	Intel Arc 140V
Storage	1TB SSD
Ports	2x Thunderbolt 4, USB-C, USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 2, combo audio
Networking	Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
Operating system	Windows 11 Pro
Weight	2.91 lbs (1.32 kg)

The Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is Lenovo's premium Yoga series, one notch above the mainstream Yoga 7 series. The “i” indicates this model has an Intel CPU (no “i” means it's an AMD config), and Aura Edition refers to Lenovo's AI initiative. In partnership with Intel, the company has launched a series of machines built around the latest Intel Core Ultra processors with neural processing units designed to handle local AI processing.

Aura Edition models include a number of smart modes designed to adapt to user behavior. There's Shield Mode to blur the screen if the unit detects someone peeking over your shoulder, Collaboration Mode to optimize camera, microphone, and background effects for video calls, Wellness Mode to encourage you to rest your eyes during marathon sessions, and Attention Mode to mute notifications and restrict access to distracting sites and apps.

There are a handful of preset Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition configurations as well as the option to customize a handful of settings yourself, but the number of options are limited. That said, the pricing model is quite generous, if slightly confusing, at least the way the models are listed on Lenovo's site at the time of this writing.

Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition turned to show deep blue top cover — Matt Elliott/CNET

For instance, my test model with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and 14-inch, 2,880×1,800-pixel OLED is currently available at Lenovo for $1,400, which represents a 22% discount according to Lenovo. Then there is a model with the lower-spec Core Ultra 7 256V processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD and the same display for $1,440, which is higher because it's discounted by only 10%.

Regardless, $1,400 for this package is a fantastic price, particularly when you consider the quality of the display and the generous allotment of RAM and storage. Contrast this with Lenovo's own ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10 Aura Edition, which features a disappointing 1,920×1,200 IPS display, the same processor and RAM but less storage (a 512GB SSD) and is currently listed at $1,874.

The Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition starts at £1,800 in the UK and AU$2,399.00 in Australia.

Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition performance

The Yoga 9i was punchy and snappy in everyday use, and I was especially impressed with the touchscreen, especially in conjunction with the included Lenovo Linear Pen. The pen felt exceptionally responsive when compared to other 2-in-1s and tablets, and makes a strong case for using it as the primary input. The Core Ultra 7 processor at the heart of the machine provides plenty of horsepower to keep up with browsing, word processing or Windows Copilot local AI features, as well as the built-in AI software.

As you can see from our benchmark results, it performed roughly as well as (or in some cases better than) similarly specced two-in-ones. Most impressive was its endurance in our battery life test where it lasted a remarkable 25 hours and 45 minutes. This is a testament to the efficiency of Intel's latest Core Ultra chips but also to this specific design, given that it outlasted the ThinkPad X1 Gen 10 Aura Edition, which packs the same CPU, by more than eight hours.

Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition in tent mode — Matt Elliott/CNET

Rigid and rounded enclosure

As someone who spends a great deal of time reviewing bland black and grey laptops, I was optimistic about the Yoga 9i's Cosmic Blue finish. Unfortunately, the blue ended up being such a dark navy it was nearly indistinguishable from black in most lighting, which was a bit of a letdown.

Otherwise, the exterior design of the chassis is pleasing, if understated. I like the rounded edges and handy but not too obtrusive camera notch (which doubles as a handle for opening the lid, and is easily done with one hand). I also appreciate the all-aluminum build, which is quite rigid and allows for virtually no flex at all.

Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition keyboard and speaker bar — Matt Elliott/CNET

The speaker design is another positive part of the Yoga 9i's strong build. Tucked into a mini soundbar that's built directly into the hinge are a pair of 2-watt tweeters and two 2-watt woofers. Not only do I like the visual design of the soundbar, but the resulting sound quality is impressively high for such a slender notebook.

It is a slim little package, too, at just 0.65 inches thick and weighing a slight 2.91 pounds. It's small, easy to handle, and those aforementioned rounded edges make it a pleasure to carry, and practically unnoticeable in a backpack.

Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition has a 2.8K OLED display — Matt Elliott/CNET

The star of the show is undoubtedly the 2.8K OLED touchscreen panel. It features vivid, bright colors, bleached whites and deep blacks, and the 120Hz refresh rate delivers liquid smooth motion. For me, the 2.8K resolution is just about the sweet spot for sharpness in a 14-inch laptop. Some higher-end models in the Yoga 9i feature a 4K OLED, but I don't think it's worth the extra money or the hit to battery life.

While you won't likely be doing a lot of high-end gaming on a machine that lacks a discrete GPU, it's a gorgeous screen to watch films or stream videos on, and the Core Ultra 7 and Arc 140V integrated graphics are capable enough to handle some modern games on lower settings, or easily run older or less demanding titles.

The touchpad is a bit of a letdown. It was expansive enough to accommodate my swipes, but it's mechanical, meaning it requires physical clicks in specific areas to trigger mouse inputs rather than a haptic alternative that simulates clicks with vibration and can be clicked anywhere. The basic touchpad is a strong argument for primarily using the excellent touchscreen and included pen.

Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition keyboard and touchpad — Matt Elliott/CNET

The keyboard is slightly better, though not exceptional. While it has decent key travel and is spacious, taking up the full width of the deck, the keys are a bit rubbery. There's no numpad, but I appreciated the column of function keys on the far right of the deck that adds one-touch options like mute and performance mode, as well as a customizable key. There's also a fingerprint sensor positioned smartly just below that function row.

The webcam is another standout feature, further evidence of the Yoga 9i's welcome attention to detail. It's a 5-megapixel camera alongside a dual microphone, and it includes a privacy shutter. The webcam provided sharp images and decent color accuracy, with minimal bloom or blurring around even very bright light sources. The uptick in quality when capturing live video with Collaboration Mode enabled was noticeable, if not mindblowing.

Port selection is a bit underwhelming. While there are two Thunderbolt 4 slots, as well an additional USB-C and one USB-A, the Yoga 9i lacks an HDMI port and also doesn't include a SIM card reader. I've gotten used to newer laptops largely omitting a SIM card slot, for better or worse, but the lack of an HDMI opening is really disappointing for those who occasionally like to hook their notebook up to a TV or external display.

Is the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition a good laptop?

The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is a well-crafted, well-specced two-in-one that's remarkably well-priced. It's an attractive machine and, while the 2.8K OLED panel and AI features may grab headlines (and deservedly so, at least in the display's case), they're backed by a number of smart and useful features and accessories that elevate it from a great value to a truly exceptional laptop.

Its record-setting battery life will let you leave the charger at home for days at a time and makes up for the fact that this premium two-in-one lacks a premium haptic touchpad. For anyone in the market for a two-in-one ultraportable to become their everyday driver, the Yoga 9i is an easy recommendation.

The review process for laptops, desktops, tablets and other computerlike devices consists of two parts: performance testing under controlled conditions in the CNET Labs and extensive hands-on use by our expert reviewers. This includes evaluating a device's aesthetics, ergonomics and features. A final review verdict is a combination of both objective and subjective judgments.

The list of benchmarking software we use changes over time as the devices we test evolve. The most important core tests we're currently running on every compatible computer include Primate Labs Geekbench 6, Cinebench R23, PCMark 10 and 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra.

A more detailed description of each benchmark and how we use it can be found on our How We Test Computers page.

Geekbench 6 CPU (multi-core)

HP OmniBook X Flip 14 12,747Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i 14 Gen 10 11,029HP OmniBook X Flip 16 10,919Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 10,554Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition 10,458Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10 Aura Edition 10,169Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition 9,844