Lenovo has never been afraid to experiment when it comes to laptop design, and the new Yoga Book 9i shows the company is still willing to push boundaries. This 13.3-inch 2-in-1 features not one, but two OLED touchscreen displays — one where you would expect on the lid and another replacing the traditional keyboard deck.
This innovative dual-screen setup aims to enhance productivity by offering more screen real estate in a compact package. But while the Yoga Book 9i brings some useful functionality, it also comes with compromises compared to a traditional laptop. Let’s dive in to see if this futuristic-looking convertible is worth its $2000 price tag.
Unboxing Experience
Right away, the Yoga Book 9i stands out with its bold, rounded chassis in an attractive blue aluminum finish that Lenovo calls ‘Tidal Teal.’ The colour helps it look less like a boring business machine and more like a cutting-edge consumer device.
Flipping open the lid reveals the Yoga Book’s party trick — instead of a keyboard, the bottom half contains a second 13.3-inch OLED touchscreen display. Both 2880 x 1800 resolution panels look amazing with vivid, saturated colours and inky blacks, thanks to OLED technology. They’re some of the best displays you’ll find on a laptop today.
“Lenovo has never been afraid to experiment when it comes to laptop design, and the new Yoga Book 9i shows the company is still willing to push boundaries.”
At just 2.95 lbs, the Yoga Book 9i remains lightweight despite packing two screens. It measures only 0.63 inches thick when closed, and the dual-screen design doesn’t make it much larger overall than a traditional 13-inch laptop. For ports, you get a sparse selection of just three USB-C Thunderbolt 4 connections.
While the hardware looks futuristic on the outside, looking at the inside of the unit, you’ll find more modest specs. A 12th-gen Intel Core i7 powers the convertible, along with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD in our review unit. It’s enough for everyday productivity and web browsing, but don’t expect to do intensive creative work or PC gaming.
Productivity Powerhouse?
So, how does having an extra display instead of a keyboard actually work in practice? Lenovo bundles several accessories with the Yoga Book 9i to help take advantage of its versatile design. You can use the bottom screen as a virtual keyboard and trackpad if you want to use the device like a standard laptop. But typing on lifeless glass is never great, and the virtual keyboard here is no exception.
The layout looks slick, with adjustable haptic feedback, but I managed only around 50 wpm typing — half my usual speed on a physical keyboard. Accuracy takes a noticeable hit as well on the flat surface. It’s usable in a pinch, but expect a slow, frustrating experience. Thankfully, the Yoga Book also includes a Bluetooth keyboard that magnetically snaps onto the bottom display for a more traditional laptop feel. This keyboard is far superior, with responsive low-travel keys allowing for faster, more accurate typing.
However, since the keyboard isn’t physically attached, using the laptop in your lap remains awkward and unstable. It also covers up the bottom screen when attached. Where the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i really shines is when you embrace its dual-screen capabilities. The bundled stand accessory lets you prop up the device in a tent formation to see both displays.
This gives you a hugely expanded workspace that’s perfect for productivity. You can reference Slack, email or Spotify on the bottom screen while working on the top display or extend videos and games across both panels for more immersive entertainment. Creative pros can keep editing tools and timelines on one screen and previews on the other. The possibilities are endless, and it feels far more capable than a single 13-inch display.
“The possibilities are endless, and it feels far more capable than a single 13-inch display.”
Some software quirks do crop up from time to time like the mouse cursor getting stuck on the virtual keyboard. But overall, Lenovo does a solid job with the dual-screen software experience.
Of course, this novel design isn’t ideal for all situations. Using the device on your lap remains clumsy compared to a traditional laptop, and you’ll need to lug around multiple accessories to really unlock its potential. But for maximizing screenspace when portability isn’t your top concern, the Yoga Book 9i delivers excellent versatility that improves productivity.
Display and Audio
The dual OLED touchscreens are the star of the show on the Yoga Book 9i. Both 13.3-inch panels boast 2880 x 1800 resolution, 500 nits of brightness, and 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage.
Colours look extremely vivid and saturated, with perfect inky blacks thanks to OLED’s superior contrast. Everything from web pages to videos will look fantastic on these panels. The screens make it easy to tell the Yoga Book 9i apart from cheaper laptops.
“If you can live with its limitations, the innovative Lenovo Yoga Book 9i brings a futuristic computing experience worth considering.”
I measured the displays at 475 nits maximum brightness — not quite the advertised 500 nits, but very bright nonetheless. The only downsides are somewhat limited viewing angles compared to IPS screens and the highly reflective glass that’s a fingerprint magnet.
Audio quality punches above the Yoga Book’s weight as well, thanks to a Bowers & Wilkins speaker system integrated into the hinge. The sound gets loud enough to fill a room, with better bass and clearer vocals than most laptops muster.
There’s minimal distortion even at max volume, making the Yoga Book 9i a surprisingly capable multimedia machine. Between the gorgeous OLED screens and impressive speakers, entertainment is a highlight despite modest specs elsewhere.
My only complaint is the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack. You’ll need a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter for wired headphones, which is an annoyance for such an expensive laptop. But overall, both the display and audio are top-notch for the category.
Performance and Battery Life
With a 12th-gen Core i7 and Integrated Intel graphics, the Yoga Book 9i provides enough power for office work, web browsing, video streaming and light creative work. But don’t expect blazing speeds, especially when taxed by the dual screens.
In benchmarks, the convertible lands around the middle of the pack for thin-and-light laptops with similar specs. It scored 5,050 in Geekbench’s multi-core CPU test and 1,168 in 3DMark’s Time Spy graphics test with our Core i7 config. That puts it on par with laptops like the Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360. Performance is noticeably behind premium powerhouses like the 14-inch MacBook Pro or Dell XPS 15.
What does this mean in real-world use? The Yoga Book 9i handles everyday tasks like web browsing, Office apps and light photo editing without issue. But more intensive creative projects like 4K video editing will push the system to its limits.
Gaming is also modest at best. Older and less demanding titles are playable at low settings, but modern AAA games will strain the integrated graphics. The Yoga Book is not built for serious gaming. I tried a range of games from Cyberpunk 2077 to Doom Eternal, and honestly, none of them run at any playable framerate. For strategy game lovers, Civilization VI ran well, as did Crusader Kings III, so there are options, even if they are less graphically intensive ones.
One area where the novel design takes a hit is battery life. With two power-hungry OLED displays to drive, the runtime is shorter than average. Expect around 8 hours of mixed-use between charges. That’s decent, but many competing laptops last 10-12 hours on a charge.
The glossy touchscreens also drain more juice at higher brightness settings. And the bulky 135W power brick adds extra weight compared to svelte USB-C chargers when travelling. Overall, battery life is merely average due to the dual screen tax.
So, in terms of performance, the Yoga Book 9i errs on the side of portability over raw power. It handles everyday tasks well, but intensive gaming and content creation will push the modest specs, and battery life takes a noticeable hit from the dual OLED displays.
Worth Buying?
The Yoga Book 9i brings an innovative dual-screen form factor in a reasonably portable package. For certain workflows, having two touch displays can make a big difference in productivity and creativity. It packs functionality that would normally require a laptop plus a portable monitor into one device.
But there are compromises. The lack of a built-in keyboard hampers lap use, while underpowered performance and merely decent battery life fail to match up to premium rivals. At $2000, it’s also extremely expensive for packing modest specs under the flashy exterior.
So, while the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i isn’t likely to fully replace your laptop, it can be a compelling secondary device for maximizing screen space when portability isn’t your top concern. Power users and creative pros should give it a hard look, while everyday folks are probably better served by a more conventional convertible. If you can live with its limitations, the innovative Lenovo Yoga Book 9i brings a futuristic computing experience worth considering.
