Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition Gen 11 Review: OLED, Battery Life and $2,350 Price

Which Yoga is this?​

Lenovo's Yoga 9i naming is confusing, so it's worth pinning down first. The reviewed machine is the Gen 11 model. Lenovo's previous Gen 10 used a Core Ultra 7 258V, and that is the chip in the earlier reviews from Tom's Hardware and Laptop Mag.

The two generations differ in ways that matter:

• Processor: Gen 11 uses the Core Ultra 7 355. Lenovo advertises it rather than any more powerful Core Ultra X7 or X9 alternative.
• Display: Notebookcheck says Gen 11 appears to keep the same 14-inch, 2.8K, 120 Hz VRR, 1,100-nit OLED as its predecessor.
• Battery: Notebookcheck notes that Lenovo cut battery capacity from 75 Wh to 70 Wh. That matches the 70Wh in the review's spec table, and it explains why older Gen 10 reviews list 75Wh.
• Size: The trade-off was a lighter chassis, from 1.32 kg to 1.29 kg, and a thinner one, from 15.9 mm to 15.29 mm.

Anyone comparing reviews should check the generation before comparing numbers. Gen 10 battery and performance results don't transfer to this machine.

The reviewed configuration​

Windows Central describes the Gen 11 as a Copilot Plus PC.

One omission matters to anyone who wants biometrics. Notebookcheck reports this year's model lacks a fingerprint reader and a haptic trackpad. Sign-in here relies on the IR camera.

What the reviewer liked​

Build and input. Campanale describes an all-metal chassis with polished bottom-case edges. He wasn't sold on those edges at first but warmed to them, while expecting they could scuff over time. He calls the keyboard good enough that he wrote full articles on it. He also says the trackpad is large and doesn't tilt the way cheaper ones do.

Display and hinge. He calls the OLED "truly stunning," with a 1,100-nit peak HDR brightness that worked indoors and outdoors. That figure is Lenovo's spec, not his measurement. He usually dislikes 2-in-1s but praised the hinge, which houses the speakers. He was also impressed by how well the screen resists fingerprints. The Yoga Pen and its case are included, and the case isn't pre-attached.

Everyday work. He ran ChatGPT's Codex for development and automation, Obsidian for writing, and heavy web use. He reports no slowdowns and no audible fans during ordinary use. These are impressions, not lab benchmarks.

Gaming on integrated graphics​

The reviewer's numbers are modest but interesting. They come from one person's testing, with no driver version, power mode or XeSS preset given.

• Forza Horizon 5: 64 FPS in the benchmark at 1920×1200 on the Low preset.
• Forza Horizon 6: 37 FPS, which he calls playable but much less smooth.
• No Man's Sky: roughly 10–30 FPS without upscaling, then about 40–80 FPS with Intel XeSS at standard settings.

Fans did audibly spin up under gaming load. The review also lists "can't run more demanding games" as a con. Treat this as a bonus feature, not a reason to buy.

Battery: the standby story​

Campanale expects a full workday under normal use, with gaming or photo and video editing at full brightness cutting that sharply. His headline anecdote is standby. He left home on Monday, September 21, with a full charge and returned on Saturday, September 26, with over 70% left. He used the laptop only lightly during that time, including travel to the Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii.

That is encouraging but not a controlled test. Lighter use isn't a runtime figure, and it says nothing about six days of active work.

Another outlet tested the same generation with a fixed method. LaptopMedia reported more than 15.5 hours of offline video playback in its battery test. The two results measure different things, but both point the same way: the 70Wh cut doesn't appear to have hurt endurance much.

The price question​

This is where the review gets less tidy. The review lists a starting price of $2,350 at Best Buy and $2,380 at Lenovo. It calls the laptop pricey while arguing it's one of the better options between $2,000 and $2,500.

Other reporting suggests the price has moved. Notebookcheck reported the US price as $2,099.99, well above the Gen 10 model's street price. That figure is from earlier reporting, so I can't say what any retailer charges today. Prices, stock and configurations change, and storage and Windows edition vary by SKU. Check the live listing before buying.

Analysis: who should buy it​

The case for it:

• A premium aluminum build, a high-quality OLED and a well-regarded keyboard.
• Thin and light at about 1.29 kg, with a Copilot+ designation.
• Standby behavior that the reviewer says beats older Windows laptops.

The case against:

• Soldered RAM, so the 32GB you buy is the 32GB you keep.
• Integrated graphics only, which caps gaming and heavy creative work.
• No fingerprint reader and no card reader.
• A price that, by the reviewer's own account, isn't for everyone.

His claim that this is "the best of the bunch" is a judgment, not the result of head-to-head testing. The review doesn't compare the Yoga against specific rivals with matched tests. It's reasonable to read it as a strong endorsement from one hands-on reviewer, supported by Lenovo's specs and other outlets' findings on the display and battery. It isn't a final verdict on every competing 14-inch OLED convertible.

Bottom line​

The reviewed Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition 14 looks like a polished, well-built Windows convertible. Its big wins are the OLED, the keyboard and trackpad, and strong battery behavior. Its costs are a hefty price, soldered memory and integrated graphics. If you want a premium 2-in-1 for work and writing, with the occasional game, it deserves a look. If you want a gaming machine or a fingerprint reader, look elsewhere.