Lenovo Yoga 9 14IAP7 Review: As a convertible laptop, it breaks through all the negativity

Not everyone is a fan of convertible laptops and there are several reasons behind the same. Some of the prominent ones include the laptop being expensive, heavy, and the design is mostly boring, among others. And now, Lenovo with its Yoga 9 14IAP7 is trying to break the norm. Does it pass? The company has definitely done its best to break through the negativity mentioned above. Available at a starting price of Rs. 135200, the Lenovo Yoga 9 14IAP7 gets an amazing OLED display, excellent battery life, a beautiful premium design, and more. Talking about the performance, I have been using the laptop for a while now, and here is what I have observed.

Lenovo Yoga 9 14IAP7: Design and Display

The Lenovo Yoga 9 14IAP7 gets a mesmerizing design. At least, this is what I felt while unboxing it! It is a sturdy laptop having all metal (aluminium) design with a shiny rail running through the corners of the base and a matte finish. Notably, the laptop is lightweight (1.4kg) and easy to handle (even as a tablet), you need to be cautious as it is a bit slippery because of the smooth finish. The lid is easy to open and houses an FHD webcam with a privacy shutter. You can also use the webcam for face unlock, which is super quick and accurate.

The Lenovo Yoga 9 14IAP7 gets an impressive 14-inch OLED display with a peak brightness of 400 nits and touchscreen support. The screen offers narrow bezels and is quick and responsive. However, due to the glass, the screen is a bit reflective. For me, the viewing experience was decent and the colour rendering was on point.

Also, as it is a convertible laptop, the hinge is critical to the entire gadget. And, the Yoga 9i's 360-degree convertible hinge perfectly fits its role. It holds the screen in place in every mode you want- may it be a tent, tablet, or normal.

The laptop also supports stylus input and I received a Lenovo E-color Pen in the box. Though I didn't use the pen much, it did make using the touch screen fun and offered a quick response time. However, I did miss a place to attach or store the pen in the laptop like in other convertible laptops, for example, Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (UP5401).

Lenovo Yoga 9 14IAP7: Keyboard

The keyboard of the Lenovo Yoga 9 14IAP7 is clean, and stylish and holds some dedicated keys on the right side, supporting different functionalities like changing modes (night or day), performance button, fingerprint sensor, and more. The keys are well-spaced and offered decent travel while typing. The keyboard is backlit to let you type conveniently in the dark. Talking about the trackpad, it is large and gives a good touch response thus enabling a satisfactory user experience.

Lenovo Yoga 9 14IAP7: Performance

The laptop comes with the 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1280P processor, which did not show any lag during usage. So, when you pay a hefty amount for a laptop, expecting lag-free and satisfactory performance is very basic. The Lenovo Yoga 9 14IAP7's performance is praise-worthy. Right from unlocking the laptop using the biometrics to using the touchscreen or typing on the keyboard, it did every trick competently.

The laptop handled all the work thrown at it with ease. From doing regular official stuff (attending meetings, surfing the internet, opening multiple tabs on Google Chrome, and working on several word docs simultaneously, among others) to even watching movies or listening to songs, at no point in time I felt that the laptop complained. I loved the audio quality too. It was loud and clear. Also, the hinge of the laptop turns into Dolby Atmos soundbar adding to the sound quality. The laptop is equipped with Intel Iris Xe graphics too.

Lenovo Yoga 9 14IAP7: Battery

Integrated with a 75Wh battery, the Lenovo Yoga 9 14IAP7 promises to offer a battery life of up to 13 hours on paper. However, during my usage, the battery did not sustain for 13 hours but did offer around 6 hours of backup on a single charge. Notably, the laptop was constantly connected to Wi-Fi and the battery life also depends on the workload. A 65W USB-C charger also comes along with the laptop in the box to let you charge the laptop quickly. It took around 2 hours to charge the laptop from 18 percent to 100.

Lenovo Yoga 9 14IAP7: Verdict

Coming to the price, at Rs. 135200, the Lenovo Yoga 9 14IAP7 has a lot to offer. Is the performance worth the price you have to pay? According to me, yes. Right from its elegant and premium look to its great OLED display, and audio performance, there is a lot on the platter. However, I feel the laptop could have got a holder for the stylus and a space for the Numpad on the keyboard. However, if you feel the laptop is expensive and want a convertible laptop under Rs. 1 lakh then the Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (UP5401) can be your choice. The Yoga 9i also gets tough competition from the Apple MacBook Air with M2 chip.