Entertainment
I review laptops for a living, and these are greatest Lenovo laptops I’ve ever tested
I’ve reviewed good chunk of laptops over past few years, many of which were Lenovo laptops, so I’m a bit of a master, if I say so myself.
I evaluate how comfortable and intuitive a keyboard is for typing, whether the display meets my expectations for brightness and crispness, how hot and noisy the laptop gets under heavy use, whether the speakers and webcam are mediocre (like most laptops), and much more.
That said, you know I mean it when I say these are the greatest Lenovo laptops you can get.
The greatest Lenovo laptops
Because Lenovo generally delivers high-quality laptops, choosing my three favorites wasn’t an easy task. There are so many different laptop lines under Lenovo — ThinkPad, ThinkBook, the Legion and LOQ gaming laptops, Yoga, IdeaPad — and I haven’t had a chance to review all of the lines over the past few months.
But out of all the Lenovo laptops I’ve tested this year, these three laptops stood above the rest.
1. Lenovo Yoga Book 9i is a dual-screen productivity masterpiece
When I first unboxed the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i, I remember thinking, “This is so cool, but I couldn’t see myself buying it as a daily laptop.” And man, I quickly proved myself wrong. I even ended up keeping this laptop for a week longer than I normally do before sending a review unit back.
Credit: Sarah Chaney / Mashable
After just a few weeks with this laptop, I was obsessed. With two stunning 2880 x 1800-pixel OLED panels, a surprisingly satisfying keyboard, and the included wireless mouse, I was more productive than I’ve ever been — it was like bringing my two-monitor desktop setup with me wherever I went.
Credit: Sarah Chaney / Mashable
While this laptop’s dual display greatness is my favorite feature, it wasn’t the only feature that impressed me. The Yoga Book 9i is also equipped with a rotating Bowers & Wilkins soundbar that had me listening to my favorite bassy tracks on repeat. Plus, the webcam takes incredibly detailed shots.
During my time with the Yoga Book 9i, it never got too hot nor noisy, and I didn’t notice any lag while performing my daily work. That said, its Geekbench 6 multi-core score of 8,642 reflects middle-of-the-road performance and is worth noting.
Mashable Light Speed
There was one feature I wasn’t crazy about when reviewing the Yoga Book 9i: its battery life. In our 1080p video test, it only lasted 7 hours and 5 minutes, which is low even for a Windows laptop. That said, it does charge quickly — and if you’re like me, there’s rarely a moment where I’m not next to an outlet, so I’d still highly recommend this laptop despite its short battery life.
You can buy the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i for $1,999 via Greatest Buy.
2. Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 is ideal if you’re on a budget
The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Gen 9 is a newer version of my daily driver laptop (the Yoga 9i Gen 7), and if I needed to replace my existing laptop, this one would be a strong contender.
Credit: Sarah Chaney / Mashable
Before diving into which hardware features I love about the Yoga 9i 2-in-1, let’s talk price, because that’s a huge driving factor behind my recommendation. At full price, this laptop is $1,449 — that’s already a great deal. Right now, you can grab the Yoga 9i 2-in-1 for just $1,099 via Greatest Buy.
To help you understand why paying $1,099 for this laptop is insane, let me tell you what it brings to the table. The Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Gen 9 is decked out with a vivid 2.8K OLED display, a rotating Bowers & Wilkins soundbar that provides full-bodied, delicious audio, a comfortably springy keyboard, and a flexible form factor that lets you flip between tablet, tent, and laptop modes.
This laptop is also equipped with one of Intel’s new Core Ultra 7 155H chips, and it earned an impressive Geekbench 6 multi-core score of 12,345. In practice, the laptop ran a bit hot and noisy under pressure, but nothing too major.
And like its close sibling above, the Yoga Book 9i, the Yoga 9i 2-in-1 doesn’t have the greatest battery life. It only lasted 7 hours and 21 minutes in our 1080p video test, but with double-sided USB Type-C ports and fast charging, it wasn’t that big of a deal for me while testing.
3. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 has mind-blowing battery life
If you’re looking for a Lenovo laptop with exceptional battery life, look no further than Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 9. In our 1080p video test, this laptop lasted 14 hours and 21 minutes, double that of both Yoga laptops mentioned above.
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
That lengthy battery life could be due to the laptop’s Intel Core Ultra 155U CPU or its 1920 x 1200-pixel, low-power IPS display with a matte finish, or a combination of the two. Its display is reminiscent of a Kindle, which feels easy on the eyes during long work days.
I enjoyed the laptop’s springy keyboard, smooth glass touchpad, surprisingly capable speakers hidden below the keyboard, and overall port variety — I love seeing HDMI ports and multiple USB Type-A ports on laptops. The ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 performs well, too, earning a Geekbench 6 multi-core score of 9,420.
The only hangup I have with the ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 is its price. It’s a business-forward laptop, but if you don’t need 1TB of storage, you’re paying a premium for this configuration. The exact configuration I reviewed is $2,419 via B&H,
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