High-end Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 4K 2-in-1: Is the extra price for the new processor and the 4K touchscreen worth it?

We have just reviewed the Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 again, because a version with an even better configuration on paper of the high-end 2-in-1 has found its way to us. Instead of the 1080p touchscreen from our first test unit, a 4K touchscreen is installed now, and instead of an Intel Core i5-1135G7, the manufacturer now uses a nominally more powerful Intel Core i7-1185G7. But does that even make sense in such a slim convertible? And is the extra price worth it?

The situation seems quite clear with the new 4K touchscreen. It offers more pixels, provides higher color-space coverage, it's brighter, and it also achieves better rates than its 1080p counterpart in other respects. Needless to say, a 4K panel consumes a bit more power, but the battery life is actually not much shorter than that of the Full HD Yoga 9i. Consequently, the switch is worthwhile here.

What about the processor? The nominally better model has a theoretical clock speed that is higher by 600 MHz, and it offers a slightly upgraded G7 integrated graphics unit. A single run of Cinebench & Co. also reveals a clear performance increase, so that you benefit from an evident added value when performing short tasks. In the Cinebench continuous loop, however, performance drops by almost 20% after the first four runs. Subsequently, the long-term performance of the Core i7-1185G7 in the 9i 4K is even below the performance of the theoretically weaker Core i5-1135G7. Once again, this proves that a strong processor in an ultra-thin case only makes sense to a limited extent.

However, you still benefit from a graphics performance increase of about 5% to 10% due to there being more EUs and a minimally higher clock rate in the Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7. Together with the better short-term performance, the stronger processor is consequently not a real failure. At Campuspoint, the more powerful model is just 50 Euros (~$61) more expensive than the 1080p version. The upgrade is definitely recommendable for the small extra charge, especially because of the better 4K panel. More details, such as the criticism of the touchpad, can be found in our detailed review of the Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 4K.