Summary
Lenovo sent us its latest Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition, and I was excited to spend time with a top-tier Windows convertible laptop that can take on multiple “poses” with its hinge, which contains an innovative rotating speaker that keeps the audio focused on you at all times — immediately better than most other 2-in-1 laptops I’ve tried.
The Yoga 9i hinge allows you to convert it into multiple form factors, making it pretty versatile, though most people would be better served with a regular laptop (that has fewer compromises at a lower price), as this form factor isn’t exactly very useful and is probably going to be gone in the coming years.
Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition 14
- CPU
- Intel Core Ultra 7 355
- GPU
- Integrated The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is a premium Windows 11 laptop that has a rotating soundbar with four speakers. It runs Intel’s Core Ultra 7 355 processor with 32GB LPDDR5x RAM, 1TB of storage, and includes the Yoga Pen Gen 2.
- RAM
- 32 LPDDR5X
- Storage
- 1TB SSD
- Battery
- 70Wh
- Display (Size, Resolution)
- 14”, 2880x1800
- Camera
- 5MP
- Colors
- Cosmic Blue
- Memory
- 1TB SSD
- Rotating speaker is great
- Excellent keyboard
- Yoga Pen is included
- Pricey
- Performance isn’t great
- Why does this category exist?
Lenovo kindly sent us this laptop for review. It has had no say in the content of this review, nor has it seen it before publishing.
The premium 2-in-1 laptop class is thinning
Why does this category still exist?
You might notice that there aren’t many 2-in-1 laptops out there these days. Lenovo’s Yoga 9i 2-in-1 is one of the newest and is considered a premium option in this segment. Starting at 2,379 as configured with 32GB LPDDR5X RAM, an Intel Core Ultra 7 355 processor, and 1TB of storage space, the Yoga 9i certainly looks good on paper despite being pricey.
There’s a reason this category of device is waning: it doesn’t make sense. While in theory, it sounds nice to be able to convert your laptop into a tablet or fold the screen flat, there’s no actual benefit in doing so, and a laptop is not designed to be a tablet (and when you attempt it, you’re left with this weird form factor where one side is a screen while underneath you can feel the (deactivated) keyboard and touchpad).
The exception to this is the writing pose, which slightly tilts the display into a more comfortable writing position. That’s assuming you’re someone who uses the pen function of the device.
The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is a premium 2-in-1
It has five different poses
The key selling point of any 2-in-1 is that you can arrange the device into multiple “poses” since the screen can rotate all the way around. That means you can go into tent mode (which is nice for watching videos with no distractions), you can lay the screen perfectly flat (as a writing surface), you can even awkwardly use the laptop as a tablet by rotating the screen to be opposite the keyboard (which then disables the keyboard and trackpad to avoid mis-presses), and then perhaps the most useful pose: writing mode.
In writing mode, you can use the pen case (which attaches magnetically to the back of the screen) to prop up the display at an angle. Besides the writing mode, I personally find all the poses to be a gimmick and would rather use the laptop in classic laptop mode.
One unique aspect of the Yoga 9i 2-in-1 is that the speaker rotates with the screen, so the audio always fires toward you, unlike other 2-in-1s that might block the speakers in various poses. This makes the Yoga 9i particularly useful in “tent” mode as it fires the audio towards you.
The 14” OLED touchscreen is crisp and bright (but struggles a bit outdoors) and has 2880x1800 resolution with a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz. It runs at 500 nits but can reach up to 1,100 nits at peak HDR brightness.
It has a great selection of ports and a solid backlit keyboard
I found the backlit keyboard exceptional, with a “just right” 1.5mm of key travel, a soft-touch finish on each key, and a nice concave key shape that creates an ergonomic, satisfying typing experience.
The Yoga 9i has a good selection of ports. On the left, you have an HDMI 2.1 port with 4K support up to 120Hz. Next to it, you have a USB-C Thunderbolt 4 port, and then an always-handy 3.5mm headphone jack. I was able to connect the Yoga 9i to my external 4K Thunderbolt monitor with no issues.
On the right side, there’s a USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port, next to another USB-C Thunderbolt 4 port. Then there’s a power/standby button with a white LED.
The Yoga 9i 2-in-1 is only available in this Cosmic Blue color, which picks up a lot of fingerprints and is difficult to keep clean. It weighs 2.84lbs (1.29kg), which is relatively lightweight compared to others in its class, but much heavier than the super-light Yoga 7 Slim by Lenovo.
In terms of battery, the Yoga 9i has a 70Wh battery and comes with a 65-watt USB-C charger. The battery life under normal usage was fine but not class-leading: I could go about a half day, around 5 hours, before needing a charge. As for charging speed, it took the Yoga 9i about 90 minutes to charge fully from zero.
The speaker rotates in every pose
It’s difficult to capture in photos, but as mentioned, the Yoga 9i has a rotating soundbar (that contains 4 speakers within) which provides loud and clear audio that rotates with the screen. Unlike other 2-in-1s that only feature speakers along the keyboard deck, which can be easily blocked in various poses, the Yoga 9i doesn’t have this issue, and it’s one feature that makes Lenovo’s 2-in-1 stand out.
It comes with the Yoga Pen Gen 2 stylus
Magnetic attachment, fantastic writing, and extra buttons!
The included Yoga Pen Gen 2 comes with a magnetic case that both secures the pen inside the case with magnets and attaches itself to the lid of the laptop, which is a nice touch. The pen itself has a tilt sensor, offers multiple levels of pressure, and overall provides a great pen experience on the Yoga 9i.
Again, if you’re someone who wants to take notes on your device, or you’re an artist, there’s a lot to like about the writing experience on the Yoga 9i. The pen itself has two configurable buttons on the side that are sometimes difficult to feel.
I also like that the Lenovo Pen Settings utility lets you customize the pen’s behavior to your liking, making it easy to make tweaks and so on to get it just how you like.
Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition Benchmarks
|
Laptop |
CPU |
RAM |
GPU |
Geekbench 6 |
Cinebench ‘26 |
Crystal Disk Mark (MB/s) |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Single-Core |
Multi-Core |
Single |
Multi |
Seq. Read |
Seq. Write |
Random 4K Read |
Random 4K Write |
||||
|
Lenovo Yoga 9i (2026) |
Intel Core Ultra 7 355 |
32 |
Integrated |
1,339 |
8,678 |
237 |
1,816 |
3,359 |
3,331 |
341 |
529 |
|
Lenovo Slim 7 (2026) |
Core Ultra 7 355 |
32 |
Integrated |
2,225 |
9,247 |
— |
— |
6,621 |
5,564 |
455 |
412 |
|
Asus Zenbook A14 (2026) |
Snapdragon X2 Elite |
32 |
Adreno X2-90 |
3,568 |
19,229 |
440 |
5,013 |
5,414 |
4,462 |
281 |
546 |
|
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Pro |
Intel Core Ultra X7 358H |
32 |
Arc B390 |
2,751 |
16,165 |
478 |
2,340 |
6,950 |
5,835 |
423 |
342 |
As the benchmarks show, the Yoga 9i doesn’t stack up well against other laptops in its class with similar specs.
Overall, the performance of the laptop in daily use was fine but lacking in comparison to ARM-based laptops I’ve used, like those from Apple or laptops featuring the Snapdragon X2 Elite. I also found the cooling fans to come on pretty often under any heavy processing load, like while running benchmarks or when using many Chrome tabs.
Is the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition worth buying?
If you want a 2-in-1, it should be on your list
When it comes to premium 2-in-1s, your choices are more limited. If a convertible Windows 11-powered laptop is a must for you, the Yoga 9i is a decent pick, and it’s one of your only choices as this category of laptop keeps getting smaller.
But for everyone else, I think you can do better with Windows (where the number of ARM-based laptops is expanding, and for less money), or even consider the mighty MacBook Neo (which blew away my expectations).
Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition 14
- CPU
- Intel Core Ultra 7 355
- GPU
- Integrated The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is a premium Windows 11 laptop that has a rotating soundbar with four speakers. It runs Intel’s Core Ultra 7 355 processor with 32GB LPDDR5x RAM, 1TB of storage, and includes the Yoga Pen Gen 2.
- RAM
- 32 LPDDR5X
- Storage
- 1TB SSD
- Battery
- 70Wh
- Display (Size, Resolution)
- 14”, 2880x1800
- Camera
- 5MP
- Colors
- Cosmic Blue
- Memory
- 1TB SSD