Lenovo has redesigned its powerful Yoga Pro 9i 16 multimedia notebook and improved a few things with the ninth generation, but our detailed review also revealed new issues that are completely unnecessary. But a short overview first: the Yoga offers a new Meteor Lake processor with high power limits, which does not provide any performance increase over the old Raptor Lake models, but it does offer better efficiency in some situations. The RTX 4060 Laptop and RTX 4070 Laptop GPUs, which run at 100 watts, are also still available, making the Yoga Pro one of the fastest multimedia laptops overall. The RAM is still soldered and either 32 or 64 GB is available.
On the outside, there are no changes to last year’s G8 model apart from the new Copilot button, but the internal structure has changed. Lenovo has created more space for a larger battery, but there are still two slots for M.2 2280 SSDs. However, the battery life still depends heavily on screen brightness and the mini LED panel has a lot of leeway here. In normal SDR mode it is just under 700 cd/m² and together with the matte surface (the reflective touchscreen is available as an option), the picture quality is still very good. However, the control here is somewhat unusual because in SDR mode the lighting works like conventional backlighting, so the black level is not 0. This is only the case in HDR mode, when the mini-LED lighting with various dimming zones is actually used, which results in a rich black, but also halo effects. In HDR mode, the maximum brightness is more than 1200 cd/m², which naturally drains the battery very quickly. Unfortunately, Lenovo no longer provides color profiles for sRGB or AdobeRGB in this year’s model, which is completely incomprehensible.
Of course, all this power needs to be cooled and the two stronger energy profiles are clearly audible, so headphones are advised when gaming. Although there is a battery-saving mode that limits the maximum fan volume to around 30 dB(A), performance is massively throttled here and demanding apps or games are then hardly possible. On the other hand, the mode is certainly suitable for simple tasks. The second major problem, however, is the power supply unit, which is simply too weak at 170 watts. If both components are subject to prolonged load in performance mode, the power supply unit is unable to cover the energy requirements and so the system has to constantly tap into the battery. This is also the case when gaming and we cannot understand why the Yoga Pro does not come with a more powerful power supply (at least 200 watts, while 230 watts would be ideal).
Overall, the Yoga is once again a very good multimedia notebook with an interesting price tag. With the Core Ultra 7 and the RTX 4060 Laptop, Lenovo charges around $1900. Our test device with its Core Ultra 9 and the RTX 4070 Laptop costs around EUR 2700 (not available in the US at present). Lenovo charges a very fair EUR 130 (approx. $140) for the upgrade from 32 to 64 GB RAM, but then you also have to choose the Core Ultra 9, which in turn has a surcharge of EUR 100 (approx. $107). All further information on the new Yoga Pro 9i 16 G9 can be found in our detailed review.
I grew up with modern consumer electronics and my first computer was a Commodore C64, which encouraged my interest in building my own systems. I started working as a review editor for Notebookcheck during my dual studies at Siemens. Currently, I am mainly responsible for dealing with business laptops and mobile workstations. It’s a great experience to be able to review the latest devices and technologies and then compare them with each other.
Translator: Jacob Fisher – Translator – 915 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2022
Growing up in regional Australia, I first became acquainted with computers in my early teens after a broken leg from a football (soccer) match temporarily condemned me to a predominately indoor lifestyle. Soon afterwards I was building my own systems. Now I live in Germany, having moved here in 2014, where I study philosophy and anthropology. I am particularly fascinated by how computer technology has fundamentally and dramatically reshaped human culture, and how it continues to do so.