Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 Aura Edition Review: Kick-Ass Laptop for Creators

Lenovo has been on a sizzling streak with its line of Yoga two-in-ones. The Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition that I reviewed a couple of months in the past gained a CNET Editors’ Selection award, and the Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 took residence the identical award earlier than that. The Yoga 9i 14 Gen 9 and Yoga 7 16 Gen 9 additionally garnered excessive marks. The Lenovo Yoga Professional 9i 16 Aura Version extends this run of success. 

Not like the opposite Yogas talked about above, the Yoga Professional 9i 16 Aura Version is just not a two-in-one convertible however a standard laptop computer. The Professional 9i represents the highest finish of the Yoga line, whereas the Aura Version represents Lenovo’s dedication to AI options, efficiency tuning and high-end shows. Like many people, I am ambivalent at greatest about AI options being shoehorned into laptops, however the Yoga Professional 9i 16 holds up its finish of the discount on the efficiency and premium show fronts, packing a beautiful OLED powered by a potent CPU and discrete GPU combo. 

The Yoga Professional 9i 16 Aura Version is a superb choose for creators in the hunt for a high-performance laptop computer with a roomy 16-inch display screen that also manages to be skinny and pretty moveable. And it is seemingly you’ll discover it discounted quickly, as a result of Lenovo introduced its successor at CES. The Gen 11 mannequin is predicted to hit this spring, which ought to imply the outgoing Gen 10 mannequin will go on sale to make room for its alternative.

The mannequin Lenovo despatched alongside for testing is considered one of two main items accessible at Lenovo instantly and at Finest Purchase. I obtained the lower-end configuration that prices $1,950 at Lenovo and Best Buy. The first distinction between my check mannequin and the opposite one is the show. My machine has a 2.8K OLED touchscreen, whereas the higher-end different features a 3.2K tandem OLED panel. It additionally upgrades the RTX 5050 in my machine to an RTX 5060, for a $250 worth bounce. 

At Lenovo, you’ll be able to customise the system, deciding on as much as 64GB (mine packs 32GB) RAM, which additionally brings with it an RTX 5070 GPU and the choice so as to add a second 1TB solid-state drive. There is no selection in CPU, nevertheless, regardless of which system you select. It is a Core Extremely 9 285H from Intel’s Arrow Lake collection.

The Gen 11 mannequin anticipated this spring will begin at $1,900 and have Intel’s latest Panther Lake processors inside a redesigned chassis. From the photos, it would not appear like a radical departure, however the touchpad will supply pen assist so you need to use it for each mousing and drawing with the included Yoga Pen Gen 2. 

The Lenovo Yoga Professional 9i 16 Gen 10 Aura Version begins at £1,700 in the UK and AU$2,959 in Australia.

Lenovo Yoga Professional 9i 16 Aura Version efficiency

Our efficiency testing mirrored effectively on the pairing of the high-end Core Extremely 9 CPU and RTX 5050 GPU. The Yoga Professional 9i 16 outshone related opponents like Lenovo’s personal well-equipped gaming laptop computer, the Legion 5i Gen 10, in addition to premium productiveness machines just like the Dell 16 Premium, within the majority of our exams.

As a machine that is positioned primarily for productiveness and content material creation, the Yoga Professional 9i 16 can be a succesful gaming laptop computer. It delivered stellar 1080p efficiency on our gaming benchmarks, and I skilled playable body charges even at its steep 2,880×1,800-pixel native decision. 

Importantly, it additionally stays cool and quiet, even underneath excessive stress. The chassis design helps on this regard. The laptop computer options an unusually excessive rear rubber foot throughout the again of the machine, in addition to two shorter ones close to the entrance, giving it loads of clearance off no matter floor it is perched on. There’s additionally a large vent spanning the again of the underside plate to assist airflow. The few occasions the followers did spin up, they had been comparatively subdued, even throughout prolonged gaming periods.

Design is extra sturdy than dazzling

Regardless of the Aura Version branding, the Yoga Professional 9i 16 lacks an aura. It is not precisely a masterclass in dazzling aesthetics. It is a bog-standard, grey laptop computer: inoffensive however unimpressive. Whereas I admire touches just like the rounded edges alongside almost each floor, and the webcam bump-out alongside the highest that doubles as a deal with for straightforward opening, nothing concerning the exterior is especially attention-grabbing.

That is to not say that it is significantly unattractive. It is smooth sufficient, and the presentation leans extra towards magnificence than workmanlike, a pattern that continues contained in the machine. 

The touchpad is glass, a beautiful contact that offers it a significantly better really feel than if it had been a plastic floor. And the touchpad is big. It is so massive, the truth is, that it pushes the keyboard barely too excessive up the machine, which means that my palms and wrists find yourself resting on the touchpad in a barely awkward means a lot of the time. I am a sucker for a glass touchpad, although, and this one is responsive and generously sized with efficient palm rejection. The show gives contact assist, which is a pleasant, if largely pointless, function since, not like most different Yogas, this one cannot rotate into pill mode.

The keyboard itself has barely recessed keycaps, first rate journey and is pretty snappy, imparting a premium chiclet really feel that I admire in a laptop computer keyboard. The keys are backlit as effectively, with adjustable brightness that ranges from a refined glow to a distracting glare. The general typing expertise is usually snug and nice, apart from the wrist placement problem attributable to that ocean of a touchpad dwelling on the backside of the deck.

Given the spectacular internals, the Yoga Professional 9i 16 is a reasonably slim machine at 0.75 inches thick, but it surely’s hefty, weighing in at 4.52 kilos. It will not disappear right into a bag the best way an ultraportable can, however a couple of additional ounces are a small worth to pay for this degree of efficiency and the spacious 16-inch display screen.

The famous person of the entire bundle is the 16-inch, 2.8K OLED show. It demonstrated excellent coloration vary in our sRGB check at 100%, and a powerful 94% within the (bigger gamut) Adobe RGB check. It is brilliant, with a (non-HDR) brightness of 489 nits, vivid whites and excellent blacks. It is onerous to think about that the slight decision bump within the tandem OLED within the higher-priced unit would supply way more sharpness and constancy than the two.8K possibility, which seems like a near-perfect candy spot for a panel this measurement. And on the 500 nits of peak brightness, I am not too motivated for the additional brightness the tandem OLED may present.

The one actual letdown was the audio system. With six complete audio system (4 woofers and two tweeters), I used to be anticipating a strong sound stage, not less than by laptop computer requirements. One thing concerning the chassis design and speaker integration provides the sound a sure hole high quality, in addition to a touch of tinniness. It is definitely not a deal-breaker, verging even on a nitpick, however I feel for films or prolonged listening periods, I might need a pair of high quality headphones. And for such a factor, there is a 3.5mm audio jack included within the beneficiant port choice.

Talking of ports, Lenovo did not skimp, with a pair of Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports alongside two USB-A connections plus an HDMI port, full-size SD card reader, aforementioned audio jack and Lenovo’s proprietary charging port.

The 5-megapixel webcam is sharp and displays nearly no artifacting or blur in my exams. It labored flawlessly with Home windows Hiya facial recognition, and Lenovo has helpfully included a bodily kill swap for it on one facet of the machine.

CNET shopping for recommendation for the Lenovo Yoga Professional 9i Aura Version

At its worth of $1,950, the Yoga Professional 9i Aura Version is a wonderful worth. It is thoughtfully designed to serve creators and productiveness customers, whereas concurrently offering sufficient horsepower for avid gamers, all together with a beautiful OLED. Getting this degree of efficiency in a reasonably compact bundle that can be in a position to function in close to silence for lower than $2,000 makes it a terrific purchase. And even with the Gen 11 mannequin coming quickly, this Gen 10 machine is worthy of an Editors’ Selection award.