Two screens at the same time. As far as I can tell after using the device for a few weeks, that’s all there is to love about Lenovo’s Yoga Book 9i.
For starters, the $1,999.99 9i is a dual-screen clamshell touchscreen laptop that omits the traditional keyboard deck in favor of a second touchscreen in the bottom half. Lenovo has experimented with unconventional laptop designs over the years, from his foldable ThinkPads to his twisted laptops with E Ink displays and virtual keyboards, and it’s always worked out. not. The high price, clunky software, and unconventional design make it a bad buy.
The Yoga Book 9i is not without those compromises. Still, this is Lenovo’s best use of the dual-screen form factor, and it doesn’t feel as experimental as Lenovo’s previous ideas. For many people used to working at a desk, being able to view his two screens at the same time is a very attractive selling point, and the 9i’s unique form factor gives it an edge over other laptops. There are also specific use cases.
Lenovo devised some clever software and hardware tricks to make this work, resulting in a surprisingly usable first cut for a device with two screens and no built-in keyboard. Realized. However, it is still unlikely to replace clamshell laptops.
At first glance, the 9i doesn’t look all that different from Lenovo’s other Yoga models and other 2-in-1 convertible laptops. When closed, it’s nearly as thick as a MacBook Pro, with an extra lip on the top half to make it easier to open and make room for a Windows Hello-compatible webcam.
Both halves may look the same, but the bottom half is thicker and contains the actual computing components. The chassis is a beautiful dark blue aluminum with rounded and polished sides and he only has three ports, all he’s Thunderbolt 4 USB-C. The port selection I missed the most was the 3.5mm headphone jack. I’m not ready to part with my laptop yet.
But when you open it up, the 9i’s differences become apparent. Two 13.3-inch, 2880 x 1800 OLED panels with a 16:10 aspect ratio light up, allowing you to play with two equally sized Windows desktops. It’s as colorful and punchy as an OLED screen, with a peak brightness of 400 nits that’s good enough in most situations except in direct sunlight. Fortunately, the screen colors also match well.
Like previous dual-screen devices such as Microsoft’s Surface Duo phone, the Yoga Book 9i supports a variety of postures. The first is the default clamshell mode, which I try to use like a standard laptop. This is also the worst use of this device.
Tap the bottom screen with eight fingers to bring up the virtual keyboard. Below that is a virtual trackpad that can span the entire width of the screen or be constrained to a common trackpad size. Typing on the virtual keyboard works as you would expect. At about half my normal typing speed, I was able to get it to work with quite a few errors. Lenovo has incorporated some optohaptics into the system, Several Feedback, but not a replacement for physical keyboards. The virtual trackpad also works and supports Windows’ typical multi-finger gestures, but the glass makes it feel sticky and not as smooth to use as a real hardware trackpad.
Swipe down with 8 fingers on the keyboard to move to the bottom half of the screen and display two widgets above it. These widgets are terrible. One was an Outlook calendar widget that refused to work with my Google Calendar account, and another was a chumbox of bad clickbait headlines powered by Microsoft’s News app. Lenovo needs to create more options to provide usability here.
This attitude can also cause software problems. If the mouse cursor is slid too far down, it can get “trapped” in the bottom screen under the keyboard, making it impossible to use the trackpad to check for Windows security prompts. You have to reach out and tap the screen each time. At one point, my entire Slack window got stuck on the bottom screen, covered by my keyboard and trackpad, and I couldn’t find the window.
The Yoga Book 9i comes bundled with a Bluetooth keyboard that can be placed on top of the bottom half of the computer to replace the virtual keyboard. This makes typing much easier. Also, it’s nice that the system automatically recognizes when you put the keyboard on the screen. But it’s not as fun to use on your lap like a typical laptop. Because the keyboard isn’t really attached to the deck, the whole thing feels shaky and jerky when typing or shifting your weight. Plus, you have to contend with the not-so-good virtual trackpad.
The 9i’s most productive position, and my favorite way to use it, is with the Bluetooth keyboard and the folding stand and mouse that came with the computer. The stand, which doubles as a travel case for your keyboard, lets you hold the 9i almost vertically and easily view both screens at the same time.
This turns the 9i into a multi-monitor productivity machine. Windows sees this as two separate displays, just like his two monitors on the desktop, which allows for many practical use cases. Keep your browser and active windows on the top display at near eye level, and focus on your chat apps and emails on the bottom screen. Alternatively, you can join a video call on the top screen and browse and take notes on the bottom screen. It’s like having a separate USB-C portable display built into the laptop itself. You can even stretch one window across both screens to view particularly long documents or web pages with less scrolling (although the hinge makes it hard to see some information). However, I never really did this in my day-to-day work.
The 9i can also rotate 90 degrees so you can use two portrait screens side by side. Some might find this useful for comparing two documents at the same time, but I preferred using his 9i’s screen sideways.
The downside to all of this is that it obviously doesn’t work on your lap, and whenever you want to get to work, you carry around a bunch of (thankfully included) accessories and a workstation with a stand, keyboard and mouse. The whole thing is that you have to set it up. If you already bring a portable USB-C monitor, or just use your laptop at the same desk every day, this shouldn’t be too much of an issue. But others will have more trouble getting started with the 9i than virtually any other laptop.
The 9i also comes with a stylus that can be conveniently stored in the folding stand’s fabric loop. The stylus works on either screen, allowing you to make a video call on the top screen while jotting down handwritten notes on the bottom screen, or use the space on the keyboard as a scratch pad to write to-dos or anything else to remember It is convenient for Day.
With two screens stacked on top of each other, you can imagine a variety of use cases. We know that video editors want their editing timeline on the bottom screen and a preview of their footage on top, and gamers want to keep an eye on the screen at all times. Start Discord on the bottom screen while playing on the top screen.
Unfortunately, 9i isn’t powerful enough to deliver these experiences. This is still his sub-3lb thin and light laptop, whose U-series Core i7 chip isn’t designed for more intense workloads. Performance was fine in our daily productivity workflows, which consist of many browser tabs, video calls, Slack conversations, listening to music and watching videos, but the 9i, our standard benchmark for gaming and creative work, performed poorly. There was no problem with The score was rather low. (By the way, that music and video sounded surprisingly good thanks to the soundbar built into the hinge between the two screens.)
Battery life, on the other hand, is better than expected, given that the 9i is always powering two full-size screens. I got 6-7 hours of use between charges, which isn’t too short compared to most thin and light laptops. Also, the best way to use this computer is on a table or desk, so it’s likely not too far from a power outlet anyway.
Finally, it should be noted that Lenovo has loaded this computer with so much bloatware that once you start using it, you’ll be seeing pop-ups like McAfee and Amazon Prime Music trials for days on end. it won’t work. These things suck on any laptop, but they seriously detract from the experience of a $2,000 computer.
The Yoga Book 9i isn’t a portable computer you buy for focused, intense work. To multitask, monitor his Slack conversations while watching YouTube on the top screen, and not compromise on his multi-monitor setup while on the go. If you need more screen, 9i provides it.
9i offers more features at the desk, but compromises elsewhere
But at the same time, it’s hard to recommend it to the typical laptop buyer. The traditional clamshell design has been around for years because it can be used on a table or in your lap and has a reliable input device in either position. The 9i lets you do more when you’re at your desk, but compromises are necessary in less formal settings. Neither virtual nor physical keyboards are practical on the bottom screen, so casual use on the couch isn’t all that comfortable. You’ll also need to bring your own keyboard, mouse, and stand to bring it into places like coffee shops. the computer itself.
Plus, it’s costly. These he costs a lot of money to combine two screens.Get a good laptop plus With an external USB-C display, you can save hundreds of dollars over the Yoga Book 9i and still maintain a two-screen lifestyle. It’s also flexible enough to use when lounging on the sofa.
Still, with the Yoga Book 9i, you can be as productive at your desk as you are at the coffee shop, as long as you don’t forget to bring all the accessories you need to get the job done. For that alone, it might be worth compromising elsewhere.
Photo: Dan Seifert/The Verge
