Lenovo Yoga Book 9i Review

The Lenovo Yoga Book 9i is an innovative and unique dual-screen laptop that actually works and makes sense in certain use cases.

Not surprisingly, the Yoga Book 9i has been making waves since it was introduced at CES 2023 this past January. Microsoft fans immediately compared it to the software giant’s canceled Surface Neo product, which makes sense, though the Yoga delivers much more than Microsoft promised. It also expands the definition of a 2-in-1, convertible, or transforming PC—what Lenovo generally brands with the Yoga brand—dramatically. And that’s because the two displays can be used in a myriad of configurations, or usage modes, each of which answers some need.

Design

The Yoga Book 9i is almost all about the dual-screen design. I mean, look at it. With its two displays and multiple usage mode choices, the Yoga isn’t just unique, it’s off the charts. And so I am focusing on the design of this PC much more than I typically do in other reviews. It’s just front and center, and the most intriguing thing about the Yoga.

Before getting to the many different ways in which you can use this transforming wonder, it’s worth noting that Lenovo’s decades of premium PC excellence have nicely informed the Yoga Book 9i, as has its most recent premium design language. Closed, the Yoga resembles other premium Lenovo PCs, with its elegant Tidal Teal aluminum body, a kind of dark greenish blue that I really like, and curved, polished edges. This illusion, that the Yoga is just a normal laptop, is driven home by the fact that the two sides, the two parts that each house a display, are not identically thick. Instead, the side that houses the webcam is thinner than the other, just as with a typical laptop.

But it’s not a typical laptop. When you open the Yoga Book 9i as you would a traditional, you are greeted by a curious sight: the top half of the opened PC holds a 13.3-inch display and its webcam is housed in Lenovo’s now-familiar “reverse notch” (as I think of it), while the bottom half, which normally holds the keyboard and touchpad, also holds a 13.3-inch display that is identical to the other. It’s a bit weird, enough so that I could feel my brain trying to understand this mistake it was seeing.

As you open the, um, lid (really, the top or left half), the PC wakes up or turns on, and only that top half displays anything: Windows and the PC’s firmware only “see” the top display—which I’ll start calling the primary display—during boot-up and the display of the sign-in screens.

This raises the first issue, unless you’ve already attached, connected, and turned on the bundled keyboard: how do you sign in to Windows (or, if this is your first time using it, complete the first-run experience)? One obvious answer will be familiar to anyone who’s used a PC like a tablet: you use multitouch on the primary display and, where necessary, the touch keyboard or PIN. (I mention an eight-finger gesture below; that does not work on the lock and sign-in screens.)

Once you’ve signed into Windows, the secondary display (the bottom display in clamshell mode) lights up. And what you see here will depend on whether you’ve connected the keyboard and how you’ve connected the keyboard. As I’ll explain below, you can use the keyboard detached from the PC entirely, as it’s a traditional wireless Bluetooth device. Or, you can place the keyboard on the secondary screen and mostly use the PC like a traditional single-screen PC.

So, let’s consider some usage modes, starting with the traditional clamshell form factor, in which the Yoga Book 9i emulates a mainstream laptop. To achieve this, you simply orient the two displays in an “L,” with the primary screen on the top so its webcam is properly positioned. Then, you position the bundled Bluetooth keyboard on the top of the bottom screen, where a laptop’s keyboard would be and where it’s held in place by magnets. When you do so, the part of the bottom display that isn’t covered by the keyboard turns into a software-based touchpad with two buttons.

Despite being the most familiar form factor—and the one most will want to use on airplanes and other cramped places—it’s in many ways the least ideal. The keyboard is elevated above the top of the secondary display by its own thickness, of course, which feels a bit weird, but the screen-based touchpad is more problematic. Tapping often doesn’t register as a click, and I felt friction from the screen as I dragged my fingers across it when I used it to move the mouse cursor or drag-and-drop.

But the weirdest problem is due, most likely, to how Windows works, because the system still sees the secondary display as a display in this mode even though the keyboard physically blocks over half of it. And so if you launch an app that previously opened on that display, it will appear on that display, under the keyboard and the software-based touchpad. Doy.

Tied to that, if you configure the Taskbar to show app icons only on the display on which they appear, as I do, you won’t get any visual indication that an app hidden on the secondary display even launched correctly. I discovered this after trying multiple times to relaunch an app I didn’t think was working, when I finally yanked the keyboard off the display and found it. But doing so removes the software touchpad, leaving touch as the only way to move the app. Which is next to impossible when the device is in this usage mode. Obviously, you could also use the bundled mouse to solve this problem and ignore the software touchpad. That might be for the best regardless.

But another solution to this problem is what I think of as the Yoga Book 9i’s second most familiar usage mode. Here, again, you can emulate a traditional clamshell laptop, but instead of using the hardware keyboard with the software touchpad, you can turn the bottom display into a full-screen virtual keyboard and touchpad. To do so, tap the bottom screen with all eight of your fingers at once, a gesture that is much easier to do than you may believe.

In this mode, you type on the screen as you might on an iPad’s virtual keyboard, with the major exception that this version takes up the entire display and includes a virtual touchpad. This is surprisingly natural, but I tried and failed to write part of this review that way and feel that it’s best left for the occasional pecking, not continuous typing. It’s better than nothing, for sure, and putting the PC in this mode automatically moves any apps that were on the secondary display on the bottom to the primary display, which makes sense: in this mode, only one of the displays is used as a display.

Of course, one doesn’t buy a dual-display PC so that they can hide the second display or turn it into a virtual keyboard and touchpad. These form factors are obviously useful and sometimes even necessary, but what you really want is the two displays. And here, the Yoga Book 9i complies with two fascinating choices, each of which requires you to unfold the bundled folio stand—it does double duty as a case for the PC’s Bluetooth keyboard and smartpen when in transit—and origami it into a triangular shape that can hold the displays upright and optionally secure the keyboard to its base, again using magnets.

I’ve used various origami-style cases with devices like a Kindle Fire HD tablet, and they can sometimes be confusing at first since it’s not clear from the various creases what you’re supposed to fold which way. But the version that comes with the Yoga Book 9i is fairly straightforward, almost intuitive, and even those who struggle with it will get used to it quickly. Oddly, I had a harder time folding it back into its keyboard-holding case shape at first.

In the least useful of the two dual-screen configurations, you place a fully open Yoga Book 9i on the folio case in a horizontal configuration in which each display sits side-by-side in portrait orientation. This is pretty cool, though Windows and its apps aren’t generally designed to work well in portrait mode, and each screen seems super tall and thin because of their 16:10 aspect ratios. You will need the mouse in this mode, of course, and I found myself wishing there was a touchpad on the keyboard. But you can also detach the keyboard from the folio case’s base and sit back a bit, which is freeing.

I found the second dual-screen configuration to be the more interesting and useful. Here, you place the Yoga Book 9i on the folio case in a vertical configuration in which the main display (with the webcam) sits on top of the second display, creating a tall form factor with two landscape-mode displays.

This feels more natural for a few reasons, the most obvious being that Windows and its apps look and feel more normal. But this tall configuration also puts the webcam up high, which is nice because it prevents those regrettable under-chin view angles we all hate so much. And as with the previous configuration, you will need a mouse, of course, and you can also detach the keyboard and sit back a bit.

You can also use the Yoga 9i as a tablet, where you fold the system shut with the displays facing outwards. When you do so, the primary display (the one with the webcam) remains on while the other turns off.  This works as with other 2-in-1s, where it’s thick and heavy as a tablet, but better than nothing if your goal is to write onscreen with the bundled smartpen or interact using multitouch for whatever reason.

And let me not forget that this PC can also be used with the folio stand, Bluetooth keyboard, and mouse while in the tablet form factor, creating a third laptop-like form factor. I actually like this better than the other two laptop modes, though there’s no touchpad option, so you will need that mouse. It’s certainly better for typing.

This kind of versatility is unique in the portable PC space, and the dual-screen configurations are particularly compelling, even with that large speaker bar covering the hinge in the middle and separating the displays. This is not an issue as the dual-screen configurations we’ve all used have displays that are often much further apart than this. If you travel with a laptop and a USB-C external display, you know what I mean.

But the question here is whether this versatility is enough to overcome some of the weirdnesses of this PC. For me, the answer is, not quite: I would much rather see an integrated touchpad on the keyboard, for example, and I would never use most of the available usage modes. But I feel like Lenovo is on to something here. Where previous dual-screen laptops felt gimmicky and had limited appeal, I bet the Yoga Book 9i will find an audience. And that’s especially true in this hybrid work world where those who might have previously used two displays only when docked at a desk or by traveling with a USB-C display. The Yoga gives you two displays at all times, and it travels well: l literally just flew with it to Mexico in my laptop bag. Having to manage the folio case (with its keyboard and smartpen) and a mouse is a bit of a burden, I guess. But it’s not horrible, and some might get away with leaving those behind when mobile.

Displays

As you would expect, the dual 13.3-inch OLED display panels are the star of the Yoga Book 9i hardware show. They are identical, each offering 2.8K (2880 x 1800) resolution in a 16:10 aspect ratio, Dolby Vision HDR capabilities, and support for multitouch and smartpen, and each outputs 400 nits of brightness.

In short, they seem just about perfect for the PC’s size and versatility, and while each is on the glossy side with bright colors and deep blacks, I found the clarity perfect for productivity work. They also offer wide viewing angles. And the top and bottom bezels are quite chunky, though the side bezels are notably thin.

Internal components

The Yoga Book 9i may look radical on the outside, but inside this dual-screen wonder is the beating heart of a traditional Ultrabook. But there is one unique thing about this PC’s innards: they’re not particularly configurable. And that means that all Yoga Book 9i owners will get the same 13th Gen Intel Core i7-1355U processor with Intel Iris Xe graphics, 16 GB of fast LPDDR5X RAM, and 512 GB of PCIe SSD Gen 4 storage, at least for now.

With the addition of 28-watt P-series processors in the previous generation of Intel Core chipsets and the shift to a new hybrid architecture, I was worried that 15-watt parts like the Core i7-1355U processors in this PC would underperform their predecessors. But if you follow my PC reviews, you know that’s not been my experience, and I found the Yoga Book 9i’s configuration to be just right for the productivity use cases dictated by its form factor and various usage modes.

In the course of using the Yoga, mostly vertically on the folio case, I didn’t experience much in the way of noise or heat, but then I didn’t really push this PC very hard. There’s something about the form factor that favors standard productivity tasks, as opposed to writing code or editing videos. But if you do stress it, you can hear the fans kick in. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Connectivity

The Yoga Book 9i offers modern Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity, but no cellular data options. Everything worked normally and without hiccup.

Ports and expansion

Given its unique and thin form factor and its multiple usage scenarios, it is perhaps not surprising that Lenovo went for a minimalist selection of exclusively modern expansion ports, all of which are available on the thicker secondary display side of things.

There, you will find one Thunderbolt 4/USB4 Type-C port on the left and next to a well-hidden power button. I didn’t need to use that button all that much, actually.

And then there are two Thunderbolt 4/USB4 Type-C ports on the right side, both of which support always-on mobile device charging.

Overall, I have no issues here, but it’s worth noting that some of the Yoga Book’s usage modes can cover up some of the ports, such as when the screens are vertically oriented in the side-by-side usage mode. I guess wireless peripherals are your friend.

Audio and video

Once you get past the two displays, the Yoga Book 9i’s most unique visual element is one that will be familiar to those who purchased previous Yogas, like the Yoga 9i 14 I reviewed last year: it features a rotating speaker bar that covers up the large and solid hinge between the two displays. The idea here is a good one, in that its four Bowers & Wilkins speakers—two 2-watt tweeters and two 1-watt woofers—should deliver decent sound matter which usage mode you configure.

But in real-world usage, it depends. When the speaker bar is oriented horizontally, as it is in tablet, clamshell, and vertically stacked dual-display modes, it offers crisp, clear, and distortion-free stereo sound with a nice Dolby Atmos atmospheric boost and good-enough peak volume for actions movies. Music, likewise, sounds terrific, with excellent stereo separation.

If you use the PC with the two displays side-by-side in portrait mode, with the speaker bar acting as a vertical border between the two, you get the same crisp audio quality, but it’s squished into a narrower sound stage that sounds constrained. It’s OK for music and other audio, I guess, but no one would ever want to watch a movie like this, nor would the experience be any good regardless.

It’s also worth highlighting that there is no headphone/microphone jack. This has become acceptable with smartphones, but I suspect many PC users will expect this port.

The hybrid work functionality is interesting. Lenovo delivers just a single webcam in the Yoga Book 9i, despite its multiple surfaces, but it’s a high-quality 5 MP unit with simple brightness, contrast, and auto exposure controls in Lenovo Vantage instead of a full suite of AI-backed capabilities that over-complicates so many PCs these days. (Even Windows 11’s Settings app offers more camera controls.) But you can download a Smart Appearance application from Lenovo Vantage if you’d like even more control.

There’s also a noise-canceling microphone array on tap that’s adequate for work meetings, though the quality must vary a bit between the available usage modes. (I didn’t completely test this, sorry, as I no longer have regular work meetings and didn’t want to subject others to this experimentation.)

This combination has some good attributes and some bad. The camera quality is terrific, even in low light conditions, and it offers Windows Hello facial recognition capabilities. But there’s no camera shutter at all, not on the keyboard, and not even a manual slider. There is, at least, a microphone toggle key in the keyboard’s function key row.

Keyboard, mouse, and pen

Though Lenovo makes some of the best mobile keyboards in the market, there was little it could do to overcome the limitations of the small Bluetooth keyboard that comes with the Yoga Book 9i. It is full-sized, at least, with medium key throws and comfortable, scalloped keys. But there’s no backlighting, no wrist rest, and no integrated touchpad, and heavy touch-typists will want to look elsewhere, for a different PC most likely, but perhaps just for a different wireless keyboard.

Since there’s no touchpad, Lenovo bundles a cheap silver Bluetooth mouse with the Yoga Book 9i, about all I can say is that it’s better than nothing. It has two main buttons and a scroll wheel, and it can be configured to work with two different devices via a hardware switch on its bottom. A small button in its middle apparently configures its tracking resolution between three values, but I didn’t find a use for that.

The bundled two-button smartpen is full-sized and curiously more similar to the smartpens that HP bundles with its 2-in-1s and not at all like the tiny styluses that Lenovo often supplies and so it offers a much more natural experience for note-takers and artists.

The nicest thing about this setup, perhaps the only nice thing, is that the keyboard and smartpen can be transported while wrapped up inside and on the origami case while that’s folded up. It’s a nice little package, though the mouse is on it’s on.

Security

There’s not much going on in the security department: the Yoga Book 9i offers Windows Hello facial recognition capabilities, but not fingerprint recognition. There’s no privacy shutter for the webcam, but a feature called Zero touch login senses you approaching the PC and wakes it up so you can sign in even more seamlessly. A related feature called Zero touch lock does the reverse when you get up and walk away.

Sustainability

I wasn’t able to obtain any sustainability data for the Yoga Book 9i, sorry.

Portability

Despite its dual-screen design and detached keyboard, mouse, smartpen, and origami case, the Yoga Book 9i is quite portable, with its light 3.15-pound weight (body only), small 13.3-inch dimensions, and the tidiness of the case holding the keyboard and the pen for travel. But I was curious to see how the Yoga Book 9i fared with real-world battery life given its two bright and battery-draining OLED display panels. Would the battery’s large 80-watt-hour capacity make a difference?

It probably helped, but in the end, the OLED panels won this battle, with the Yoga Book delivering an average of just under 5 hours of battery life in my real-world usage. That’s not great, obviously, but it’s not that far off from the 7.3 hours Lenovo promises. And I don’t see many people using this PC while fully disconnected anyway. Instead, it’s like a docked laptop with a second display setup that you can take with you and use in different places.

Fortunately, the bundled 65-watt charger, a small wall-mounted unit, can fast-charge the PC via any of its USB-C ports.

Software

The Lenovo ships with Windows 11 Pro and Lenovo sprinkles in a few utilities and some distressing nagware. There are four Lenovo-branded utilities, three Intel utilities, a superfluous note-taking app called Smart Note, Dolby Access, and a utility called Yoga Book 9i User Center that helps users get up and running with this new unique device. And let’s not forget McAfee LiveSafe.

But Lenovo also engages in a series of upsells, typically via its Vantage system configuration app, which pops up an annoying litany of notifications trying to get you to spend more. It will try to sell you warranty upgrades plus added services like Lenovo Smart Performance ($29.99 per year) and Lenovo Smart Lock ($49.99) and convince you to download software from partners like Amazon, fuboTV, Dropbox, and WhatsApp. There was a pop-up ad for Adobe, for crying out loud. Come on, Lenovo.

But there is a more positive and necessary Lenovo software contribution here, and while it can be a bit busy, I get the need: as you move windows around on the two displays, Lenovo pops up in-place tips that explain what you can do from a placement and layout perspective, along with an in-place Snap pop-up similar to the one you see when you mouse over a window’s Restore/Maximize button. This is useful given the difficulty of app management on this PC’s unique dual-screen configurations. But I never found a way to turn it off.

Pricing and configurations

The Lenovo Yoga Book 9i costs $1999, assuming you can find it: at the time of this writing, it is unavailable on Lenovo.com. It comes in exactly one configuration—Intel Core i7-1355U, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB of storage, and two 28K 13.3-inch displays—and in one color, Tidal Teal.

Recommendations and conclusions

The Lenovo Yoga Book 9i falls into an interesting category in that anyone who see this PC will know whether they want it immediately. It is quite usable in its dual-screen usage modes, and that’s particularly true of the stacked vertical display layout. But it is curious how the Yoga’s versatility is offset by the awkwardness of using it like a traditional laptop, where no combination of its Bluetooth keyboard and virtual touchpad (or the bundled mouse) works as well as the real thing.

Put simply, it depends on what you need. If you do a lot of typing, as I do, you are better off with a more traditional Ultrabook or laptop. But if you need dual displays and only type infrequently, or you need a smartpen for art or note-taking, the Yoga Book 9i deserves a look.

I love that Lenovo keeps experimenting with PC form factors, but this is the first dual-screen portable PC to make the transition from an experiment to a viable product. It’s the best dual-screen laptop I’ve ever used, for sure.

At-a-glance

Pros

• Unique and versatile dual-display design with multiple usage modes
• Typical Lenovo premium portable PC build quality
• High-quality OLED displays
• Killer origami folio case doubles as a stand and travel helper
• Three Thunderbolt 3/USB4 Type-C ports
• Crisp, clear, distortion-free audio from rotating soundbar
• Excellent 5 MP webcam
• Bundled Bluetooth keyboard, mouse, and smartpen

Cons

• None of the traditional clamshell usage modes are ideal
• Keyboard lacks backlighting, a wrist rest, and a touchpad
• Using the keyboard on the secondary display doesn’t disable the display, hiding some apps
• No headphone/microphone jack
• Lackluster battery life
• Too many nagging pop-up notifications for added cost services