With the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i, Lenovo is blurring the line between professional devices and consumer laptops. Despite the Pro in the name, the device is not part of the manufacturer’s Pro range, although our tests show that the performance will appeal to many professionals. What is most important: yoga or professional?

The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i is a contradiction. After all, the ThinkBook and ThinkPad families are home to professional devices from Lenovo, while the Yoga series is aimed at consumers. However, this Yoga has the “Pro” label in its name, is professionally priced, and offers top-notch hardware in return. We’re curious: Is this yoga suitable for the professional, or should we take the professional aspect with caution?

Positive first impression

Our first impression is very positive. The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i is a beautiful device that feels very sturdy and is well built. Lenovo relies on a metal case and runs MIL-STD810H tests on the device. This is intended to offer a certain guarantee of quality. However, not every MIL test is created equal and we can’t immediately find out if this Lenovo passed the drop test. We didn’t put it to the test.

The case fits the keyboard and touchpad very well. The latter is spacious and responsive. It is in no way inferior to comparable laptops in the Think series. The backlit keyboard is spacious and typing is comfortable, as we have come to expect from Lenovo devices. In the 16-inch case, Lenovo has space for a numeric keyboard, which will appeal to many potential buyers. Above, Lenovo plays with the function keys. The full width is used, so that after F12 you get some extra buttons with which you can, for example, immediately take a screenshot or open the settings.

Specifications

The settings menu displayed is that of Windows 11 Home. As far as the operating system is concerned, Lenovo remains true to the Yoga tradition and does not equip the notebook with the Pro version of Windows 11. Our first impression is the only indication that this Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i is not a thoroughbred professional.

A powerful engine runs inside. Our test model of the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i has the following interior features:

• Intel Core i9-13905H
• Nvidia RTX 4070
• 64GB RAM
• 1TB SSD

(Humble) math prodigy

The CPU has fourteen cores, including six P-cores with multithreading and a maximum clock speed of 5.4 GHz. The E cores reach a top speed of 4.1 GHz and only have one thread per core. In our tests, we find that in practice the CPU never reaches its peak frequency at a frequency higher than 4.4 GHz. On our test bench, the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i lasted for around twenty seconds, after which the clock rate dropped to a stable 3.9 GHz.

This is good, but not excellent. The Core i9’s added value is somewhat undermined by the thermal limitations of the case. Lenovo probably chose this chip precisely because it generates less heat than, for example, the Intel Core i7-13700HX in the MSI Creator Z17 HX Studio. The name suggests that the chip is less powerful (Core i7 vs. Core i9), but that is not correct. The Core i7 has two additional performance cores. The advantage of the Core i9 is the slightly higher clock speed (5.4 GHz vs. 5 GHz), but as mentioned this advantage is canceled out.

The result corresponds to expectations. The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i performs well in our CPU-centric tests, but the MSI notebook is slightly better. The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra has an Intel Core i7-13700H on board and fits well into the list.

This changes when we see the CPU in action when rendering with LuxRender or Handbrake. The MSI remains the more powerful notebook there, but the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra falls completely behind. Presumably the modest amount of RAM (16GB) is a problem for Samsung and the Yoga Pro 9i with its 64GB is unaffected. MSI’s Creator comes with 32GB, and we see that being enough for most workloads.

Graphics acceleration

Under the hood, Lenovo has an Nvidia RTX 4070. This is a pretty powerful GPU that, in combination with Nvidia Studio drivers, is quite suitable for professional work. The other laptops in our comparison for this test always have a few fewer graphical references. The MSI Creator Z17 makes do with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060, the Samsung Galaxy Book has to make do with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050.

When we look at the tasks accelerated by the GPU, we find that the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i is the champion. However, the difference is small: Despite the less powerful GPU, the MSI Creator still comes close. The Samsung notebook lags behind, but overall it doesn’t perform too badly considering the relatively light graphics card inside.

What now for the more creative minds who primarily want to create videos and animations with this device? There, the CPU, GPU and RAM work perfectly together to ensure top performance. Our tests show that the laptop performs excellently in video editing, visualizations and rendering.

We suspect that Lenovo is targeting the creative (semi) professional with the Yoga Pro 9i. We don’t think the Intel Core i9 is the best choice in this case, but even with its wings trimmed, this chip performs quite well. The large RAM and the decent GPU complete the internal picture. We see no indication here that the performance is not sufficient for professional use.

Great screen

The assumption that graphics professionals are at the top of the list of potential buyers is confirmed when we take a closer look at the 16-inch display (3,200 x 2,000 pixels – 165 Hz). That’s just beautiful. Lenovo uses miniLED technology to offer us a color-accurate screen with a wide range and precise adjustment. Only the brightness of 302 cd/m² leaves something to be desired. The glossy display is somewhat difficult to read in bright light.

The customization is excellent. We measured an average DeltaE of 1.4 for sRGB, Adobe RGB and DCI-P3: anything below DeltaE 2 indicates a very accurate display tailored to graphics professionals. The deviations remain very limited. This laptop’s screen is least accurate in the blue spectrum, where we see a deviation of DeltaE 3.9. However, we’re blown away by this accurate and beautiful display, which outperforms some other laptops designed exclusively for graphics professionals.

In bad condition

Strong hardware, great performance and a beautiful screen with high resolution: Unfortunately, there is a downside. The autonomy of the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i is below average. Even for a workstation-like computer, this laptop performs poorly. With very little use, the notebook can last five hours without a power outlet. However, the device has a 75 Wh battery on board, which increases the weight to a significant 2.24 kg.

The MSI Creator Z17 HX also performs poorly, but lasts around an hour longer than the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i. The Samsung notebook performed worse in all performance tests, but there is clearly a trade-off: the autonomy of this device is significantly better. The Yoga is completely hassle-free to use at your home or at your desk, and commuting between them works too, but don’t expect the device to continue to support you on a longer trip.

Luckily, if you need to use a power outlet, you won’t have to wait too long. In less than an hour, this device is already eighty percent full, so you can keep going for a few more hours. This is very fast and alleviates the bad battery a little.

To complete the picture, we still need to discuss the connections. Two USB 3 Type-A ports are always handy, as is HDMI. You can also store a microSD card in the laptop and there is a 3.5mm port for your headphones. Unfortunately, Lenovo only offers a USB Type-C port. It supports Thunderbolt and is therefore very useful, but for a device of this caliber two ports are the minimum in our opinion.

Pro means professional

Although we find some flaws with the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i, they are rare. This device is very well equipped and is very suitable for creative people and graphics professionals. Yoga may not be a professional sub-brand, but the Yoga Pro 9i performs like a pro.

There are some question marks about a rollout in a company. Windows 11 Home may not be the best edition in this context. We see this device as an excellent solution for sole proprietorships or smaller SMEs. In this regard, a photographer, videographer or animator will buy an excellent laptop. This device is also suitable for developers who want to experiment with AI code.

With the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i, Lenovo is blurring the boundaries between its different portfolios. In the name of clarity, we don’t think that’s necessarily a good thing. However, this particular laptop is a winner. ‘Professional’ has all too often become an unnecessary term meaning little more than “more expensive than the other version‘ means, but not in this case. Despite some deficiencies in battery, ports and choice of processor, Lenovo delivers a talented professional with the Yoga Pro 9i.

Tested configuration: Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i – Intel Core i9-13905H, Nvidia RTX 4070, 64 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 16 inch glossy miniLED screen (3,200 x 2,000 pixels), Windows 11 Home – 2,313 euros plus VAT.

Warranty: Lenovo offers a two-year carry-in manufacturer’s warranty as standard.