Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i review: A powerhouse for creators and professionals

Laptops have transformed from functional tools into indispensable companions that drive creativity, productivity, and personal expression. Whether you’re editing high-resolution videos, designing intricate visuals, or managing complex workflows, today’s laptops are expected to enhance how we work and create. They’re not just machines but partners in turning ideas into reality.

A portable powerhouse in a compact frame

The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i impresses with its thoughtful design that blends aesthetics with practicality. It is 1.83 cm thick, weighs approximately 2.05 kg, and perfectly balances portability and power. Despite housing a 16-inch display, its compact form factor makes it highly portable for a laptop in its class.

The aluminium chassis not only lends durability but also provides a premium feel. The Yoga Pro 9i’s sturdy construction ensures no noticeable flex, even under pressure, making it reliable for on-the-go professionals. The comfort-edged design is thoughtful, ensuring the laptop is easy to carry and comfortable to use for extended periods. The reverse-notch housing of the 5MP IR camera adds a distinctive touch while also serving as a convenient grip for opening the lid with one hand.

Connectivity is a highlight, catering to modern and legacy needs alike. The laptop features two USB-C ports, including Thunderbolt 4 support for high-speed data transfer and external display connections, two USB-A ports for peripherals, an HDMI port for external monitors, a 3.5mm audio jack, and an SD card reader. This wide array of ports eliminates the need for adapters, making it a versatile choice for professionals working across various setups. Whether presenting in a conference room or working in a café, the Yoga Pro 9i ensures you stay connected.

The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i’s keyboard is designed to deliver both comfort and precision, catering to long hours of work or creative projects. Its spacious layout ensures smooth navigation, while the sculpted keycaps make typing feel natural and effortless. With a key travel depth of 1.5mm, each press provides a satisfying tactile response, offering the right balance between resistance and ease. The inclusion of a full-sized number pad further enhances productivity, particularly for professionals working with spreadsheets or data-heavy applications. The backlit keyboard is also thoughtfully designed to provide even illumination, making it convenient for working in low-light conditions.

Immersive sound to match the visuals

The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i’s 16-inch PureSight Pro Mini LED display is an engineering marvel that sets a new standard for visual excellence. Boasting a stunning 3.2K resolution (3200 x 2000), the display delivers unparalleled clarity, allowing intricate details to come to life precisely. The grid of over 1,600 dimming zones elevates contrast to an extraordinary level, ensuring every shadow and highlight is displayed with true-to-life HDR quality. For professionals in fields like photo editing and video production, the display’s Delta E <1 calibration guarantees exceptional colour accuracy, offering an accurate representation of your work across Adobe RGB, sRGB, and DCI-P3 colour spaces.

The display’s 165Hz refresh rate takes fluidity to a whole new level, making it ideal for smooth transitions in video editing, rapid scrolling through timelines, or even gaming during downtime. The brilliance of the display is further amplified by its brightness levels, which reach up to 1,200 nits in HDR mode. This ensures vivid visuals even in bright indoor settings or when reviewing work by a large window. While the reflective surface might challenge usability in direct sunlight, its performance indoors remains unparalleled, offering an immersive visual experience that truly captivates.

One of the most striking tests of this display’s capabilities is viewing an 8K version of TRANSFORMERS: The Last Knight. The action-packed scenes, featuring explosive battles and breathtaking CGI, are rendered with impeccable detail on the Yoga Pro 9i’s screen. From the metallic sheen of Optimus Prime’s armour to the intricate textures in the chaotic urban backdrops, the Mini LED technology ensures that every frame is a visual feast. The deep blacks and vibrant colours make explosions leap off the screen. In contrast, the high colour accuracy ensures subtle details—like the reflections in Bumblebee’s polished yellow surface—are displayed as intended by the filmmakers. For movie enthusiasts or creators working on high-resolution video projects, this laptop transforms viewing into an experience that rivals professional-grade monitors.

The audio experience, powered by the Yoga Pro 9i’s six-speaker system with Dolby Atmos, enhances the immersive quality of watching TRANSFORMERS: The Last Knight. The soundscape is rich and layered, with crisp dialogue, booming explosions, and detailed background effects coming through clearly. The deep bass of the subwoofers complements the visual intensity of the film’s action sequences, while the tweeters ensure high-frequency sounds like the clang of metal-on-metal remain sharp and clear. The audio and visuals create a cinematic experience that feels larger than life.

Beyond watching, the Yoga Pro 9i proves its mettle in editing 8K content. This laptop’s resolution, accuracy, and processing power make it an ideal choice for video creators inspired by blockbuster films. Cutting through heavy timelines, colour-grading epic battle scenes, and rendering effects-heavy sequences are seamless tasks. The Yoga Pro 9i doesn’t just deliver stunning visuals for consumption—it empowers creators to craft them with the highest fidelity possible.

A multitasking marvel for creators

At the heart of the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i lies a performance powerhouse: an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor (upgraded), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 graphics (upgraded), and a remarkable 64GB of LPDDR5X memory (upgraded). Together, these components ensure the laptop effortlessly handles demanding tasks, from multitasking to running professional-grade creative applications. Lenovo’s X Power technology maximises the combined power output of the CPU and GPU to an impressive 130W, ensuring high performance without overheating. The robust cooling system keeps the device efficient and quiet, even during resource-heavy operations.

Real-world use highlights just how capable the Yoga Pro 9i is for professionals—rendering complex 3D scenes in Blender or applying intricate visual effects in After Effects is seamless, with no delays or stuttering. The NVIDIA RTX 4070 GPU enables ray tracing and AI-accelerated workflows, making light work of detailed animations or simulations. The 1TB SSD further enhances productivity by offering lightning-fast file transfers and ample storage for large projects like 4K and 8K video files or high-resolution image libraries. Creative professionals can rely on this laptop for tasks that demand speed, precision, and power.

The Yoga Pro 9i excels in Adobe Lightroom for photographers and visual artists. Its high-resolution 3.2K display with accurate Delta E <1 colour calibration ensures every detail in your images is visible and true to life. Editing high-resolution photos feels intuitive and fluid, even when applying intensive adjustments like gradient filters or advanced retouching. The NVIDIA GPU works seamlessly with Lightroom to speed up tasks like exporting large batches of edited RAW files or using AI-driven features like content-aware adjustments. Whether working on a simple colour correction or fine-tuning a gallery of images for a professional portfolio, the Yoga Pro 9i ensures every action is smooth and efficient.

Lenovo’s Creator Zone software enhances the creative workflow further by providing tools like text-to-image generation, which is particularly helpful for visual brainstorming and mock-ups. This AI-driven feature learns and adapts to your style, making it a valuable companion for designers and illustrators. The AI Engine+ takes resource allocation to the next level, dynamically adjusting the system’s cooling and power distribution to match the intensity of your tasks. For example, it delivers maximum performance when rendering large video files in Premiere Pro or applying filters in Photoshop while optimising for efficiency during lighter tasks like web browsing or note-taking.

Multitasking is another area where the Yoga Pro 9i stands out. Running multiple creative applications—such as Lightroom, Premiere Pro, and Photoshop—simultaneously is effortless, thanks to the ample memory and powerful processing capabilities. The laptop’s responsiveness allows you to switch between tasks, like editing photos in Lightroom and rendering videos in the background, without noticeable performance dips. Combined with the system’s AI-driven enhancements, this versatility makes the Yoga Pro 9i a top choice for professionals who need a reliable and adaptable device to keep up with their creative ambitions.

Efficiency meets flexibility

The Yoga Pro 9i’s battery life is impressive for a machine with such powerful components and a high-resolution display. It achieved over 12 hours of video playback in tests, making it a reliable companion for long workdays or travel. In real-world usage involving a mix of tasks like web browsing, video conferencing, and photo editing, the laptop delivers around 7-8 hours, which is competitive for its class.

Rapid Charge Express technology ensures that you’re always in power for a while. With just 30 minutes of charging, you can gain enough battery life to carry you through hours of productivity. Additionally, the laptop supports USB-C charging at up to 100W, providing flexibility when moving. While performance is throttled in USB-C mode, it’s a convenient option for topping up the battery during light usage.

Lenovo’s AI Engine+ contributes to battery efficiency by dynamically adjusting power settings based on workload. For instance, reducing the refresh rate to 60Hz during standard tasks can significantly extend battery life. Despite its power-hungry hardware, the Yoga Pro 9i strikes a balance that prioritises usability without compromising performance.

The verdict: Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i

The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i redefines what a high-performance laptop can be. Its cutting-edge hardware, thoughtful software features, and premium build quality make it an ideal choice for creators, professionals, and multitaskers. From its stunning Mini LED display to its AI-enhanced performance and Creator Zone software, this laptop empowers you to achieve more in less time.

While its battery life may not rival ultraportable laptops, features like Rapid Charge Express and USB-C charging make it adaptable to various scenarios. For professionals who prioritise power, performance, and a seamless creative experience, the Yoga Pro 9i offers exceptional value, standing tall among its peers as a truly versatile and reliable device.