The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition, one of the first laptops featuring Intel’s new Lunar Lake chip architecture, promises a balanced and efficient performance. This review delves into its design, features, performance, and battery life to determine if it lives up to the hype.
Design and Build Quality
The Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition boasts a sleek and understated design, typical of recent Lenovo laptops. Its slim 0.55-inch profile and compact footprint make it highly portable. The aluminum chassis with a matte finish contributes to its premium feel. Rounded edges along the corners, front, and sides enhance comfort during handling.
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i design
Despite its thinness, the laptop feels remarkably sturdy. The chassis exhibits minimal flex, and the display lid resists warping. The well-tuned hinge allows for easy one-handed opening. While the “Yoga” name traditionally suggests a 2-in-1 design, this model’s hinge only rotates 180 degrees. This limits its versatility compared to traditional 2-in-1s.
Keyboard and Trackpad
The keyboard is a standout feature, offering satisfying key travel and a crisp, tactile rebound. The spacious layout, with larger keys and ample spacing, contributes to a comfortable typing experience. The absence of a number pad allows for larger keys, a welcome feature for a 15.3-inch laptop.
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i keyboard
The touchpad, while smooth and responsive, is relatively small for a laptop of this size. This can feel cramped, especially when scrolling through long documents or web pages.
Display and Audio
The Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition features a sharp 2880 x 1800 IPS display with a 120Hz refresh rate and variable refresh rate support. While the display offers good clarity and vibrant colors, it falls short of the deep blacks and wider color gamut offered by OLED displays found in some other Lenovo laptops. The IPS glow is noticeable in dimly lit environments.
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition hero
The upward-firing speakers are exceptional, delivering crisp audio with impressive bass. The bass is strong enough to create a noticeable vibration on the keyboard and touchpad.
Webcam, Microphone, and Biometrics
The 1080p webcam delivers clear and colorful video suitable for video conferencing. An electronic privacy shutter adds a layer of security. The microphone performs well for casual calls but lacks the fidelity for professional audio recording. Windows Hello facial recognition provides quick and reliable biometric login.
Connectivity
The Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition offers two Thunderbolt 4 ports, each supporting USB-C 4, DisplayPort, and Power Delivery. However, it only has one USB-A port, which might be limiting for users with multiple legacy devices. HDMI and a 3.5mm combo audio jack are also included. Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 ensure fast and reliable wireless connectivity.
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition ports
Performance
Powered by the Intel Core Ultra 7 256V processor, the Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition delivers respectable performance. Benchmarks show competitive results in PCMark 10 and Handbrake, but it lags behind in multi-threaded tests like Cinebench. The Intel Arc 140V integrated graphics perform well for a thin and light laptop, allowing for acceptable gaming performance at lower settings.
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i PCMark results
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Cinebench results
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Handbrake results
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i 3DMark results
Battery Life
The Yoga Slim 7i achieved over 16 hours of battery life in our video playback test. This impressive result suggests it can easily handle a full workday on a single charge.
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i battery life results
Conclusion
The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition is a well-rounded laptop offering a compelling blend of portability, performance, and battery life. While the display and touchpad could be better, its strengths lie in its sleek design, excellent keyboard, impressive speakers, and long battery life. It’s a solid choice for users seeking a versatile laptop for productivity and entertainment.
