Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 laptop review: The Apple MacBook Pro 16 alternative

The Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16 G8 is a high-end laptop designed for content creation and multimedia purposes. It competes with 16-inch creator-centric models like the MSI CreatorPro Z16P, Apple MacBook Pro 16, HP Envy 16, or the Asus ProArt StudioBook 16.
Confusingly, the name of this model is different depending on region. In Europe, for example, this model is known as the Yoga Pro 9i 16 whereas it is the Slim Pro 9i 16 in North America. We recommend checking out our review on the Yoga Pro 9i 16 to learn more about the physical features of this laptop.
Our review configuration ships with the uncommon 13th gen Raptor Lake Core i9-13905H CPU and 100 W GeForce RTX 4050 in contrast to the Core i7-13705H and RTX 4060 on our Yoga Pro 9i 16. Both configurations otherwise ship with the same 3.2K (3200 x 2000) mini-LED touchscreen with full DCI-P3 colors.
A 14-inch version of this model is also available called the Slim Pro 9i 14 or Yoga Pro 9i 14.
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Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
88 % v7 (old) | 08 / 2023 | Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 i9-13905H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU | 2.2 kg | 18.2 mm | 16.00" | 3200x2000 | |
88.4 % v7 (old) | 08 / 2023 | Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 i7-13705H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU | 2.2 kg | 18.2 mm | 16.00" | 3200x2000 | |
86.3 % v7 (old) | 05 / 2023 | Asus VivoBook Pro 16 i7-12700H, GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU | 1.9 kg | 20 mm | 16.00" | 2560x1600 | |
87.5 % v7 (old) | 06 / 2023 | Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM R7 7735U, Radeon 680M | 1.2 kg | 13.95 mm | 16.00" | 3840x2400 | |
87.4 % v7 (old) | 08 / 2022 | Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 i7-12700H, GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU | 2.1 kg | 18.99 mm | 16.00" | 3072x1920 | |
86.9 % v7 (old) | 09 / 2022 | HP Envy 16 h0112nr i7-12700H, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU | 2.3 kg | 19.8 mm | 16.00" | 3840x2400 |
Case
SD Card Reader
SD Card Reader | |
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 (PNY EliteX-Pro60 V60 256 GB) | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 (Angelibird AV Pro V60) | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 (PNY EliteX-Pro60 V60 256 GB) | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 (Angelibird AV Pro V60) | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) |
Networking | |
iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM | |
iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM | |
iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 |
Webcam
The 5 MP sensor is of higher quality than the webcams on most other laptops where 2 MP or 1 MP are still commonplace. Both IR and a camera kill switch are included.

Display — 100% DCI-P3, 165 Hz, Mini-LED, Low Blue Light, 3.2K
Mini-LED combines the benefits of cheaper IPS and more expensive OLED. It offers very fast native refresh rates of IPS with the higher maximum brightness of OLED via local dimming for more vibrant colors. The drawback, however, is a noticeable "halo" effect when displaying a very bright object against a very dark background. Our screenshot below, for example, shows a white mouse cursor against an all-black background. The cursor would be crisp with defined edges on an OLED panel, but it instead glows on mini-LED since local dimming is not perfect.
Maximum brightness is limited to about 600 nits when displaying an all-white image. When running this HDR test, however, we're able to measure a higher maximum brightness of 1330 nits which is in line with Lenovo's claim of 1200 nits.
|
Brightness Distribution: 95 %
Center on Battery: 627.4 cd/m²
Contrast: 3302:1 (Black: 0.19 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.84 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.9, calibrated: 4.45
ΔE Greyscale 6.7 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
84.6% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
99.9% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
95.1% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.77
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 LEN160-3.2K, Mini-LED, 3200x2000, 16" | Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 LEN160-3.2K, Mini-LED, 3200x2000, 16" | Asus VivoBook Pro 16 Au Optronics B160QAN02.L, IPS, 2560x1600, 16" | Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM Samsung SDC4168, OLED, 3840x2400, 16" | Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 BOE NE16N41, IPS, 3072x1920, 16" | HP Envy 16 h0112nr Samsung SDC4174, OLED, 3840x2400, 16" | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Display | 5% | 2% | 7% | -13% | 3% | |
Display P3 Coverage | 95.1 | 97 2% | 98.5 4% | 99.7 5% | 70.8 -26% | 99.3 4% |
sRGB Coverage | 99.9 | 99.8 0% | 99.9 0% | 100 0% | 99.5 0% | 100 0% |
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 84.6 | 95.1 12% | 86.1 2% | 97.2 15% | 73.2 -13% | 88 4% |
Response Times | 0% | 50% | 19% | -188% | 23% | |
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 14 ? | 14 ? -0% | 2 ? 86% | 2 ? 86% | 38 ? -171% | 2 ? 86% |
Response Time Black / White * | 9.2 ? | 9.2 ? -0% | 8 ? 13% | 3 ? 67% | 28 ? -204% | 1.9 ? 79% |
PWM Frequency | 5784 ? | 5800 ? 0% | 239 ? -96% | 240.4 ? -96% | ||
Screen | 24% | 5% | 21% | 9% | 17% | |
Brightness middle | 627.4 | 539 -14% | 504 -20% | 369 -41% | 288.9 -54% | 328.8 -48% |
Brightness | 618 | 546 -12% | 465 -25% | 371 -40% | 276 -55% | 332 -46% |
Brightness Distribution | 95 | 96 1% | 87 -8% | 97 2% | 92 -3% | 97 2% |
Black Level * | 0.19 | 0.18 5% | 0.35 -84% | 0.26 -37% | ||
Contrast | 3302 | 2994 -9% | 1440 -56% | 1111 -66% | ||
Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 5.84 | 1.4 76% | 1.83 69% | 2.3 61% | 1.88 68% | 1.53 74% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 10.22 | 2.1 79% | 5.51 46% | 4.37 57% | 4.37 57% | 6.04 41% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 4.45 | 1.34 70% | 2.87 36% | 0.42 91% | ||
Greyscale dE 2000 * | 6.7 | 2.2 67% | 3.02 55% | 1.83 73% | 1.4 79% | 1.3 81% |
Gamma | 2.77 79% | 2.19 100% | 2.39 92% | 2.39 92% | 2.3 96% | 2.18 101% |
CCT | 5795 112% | 6479 100% | 6688 97% | 6392 102% | 6634 98% | 6362 102% |
Total Average (Program / Settings) | 10% /
15% | 19% /
11% | 16% /
17% | -64% /
-24% | 14% /
15% |
* ... smaller is better
Display Response Times
↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
---|---|---|
9.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 2.2 ms rise | |
↘ 7 ms fall | ||
The screen shows fast response rates in our tests and should be suited for gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 22 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.9 ms). | ||
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
14 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 7.4 ms rise | |
↘ 6.6 ms fall | ||
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 24 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (32.7 ms). |
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
Screen flickering / PWM detected | 5784 Hz | ≤ 100 % brightness setting | |
The display backlight flickers at 5784 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 100 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 5784 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8627 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. |
Performance — 13th Gen Raptor Lake-H
Testing Conditions
We set our unit to Performance mode via Windows and Extreme Performance mode via Lenovo Vantage prior to running the benchmarks below. Annoyingly, Lenovo redesigns its Vantage UI rather frequently and so all the settings are under different submenus when compared to the same software on other Lenovo laptops.
Processor
The Core i9-13905H may be faster than the Core i7-13705H on paper, but the advantages are minor at best. Multi-thread performance is almost identical between them while single-thread performance is only 5 to 10 percent faster with our Core i9.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
Performance Rating | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Average Intel Core i9-13905H | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM |
AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
Average Intel Core i9-13905H (17642 - 19900, n=3) | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM |
AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Average Intel Core i9-13905H (89198 - 94350, n=3) | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr |
AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Average Intel Core i9-13905H (3945 - 4296, n=3) | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM |
AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Average Intel Core i9-13905H (94506 - 117697, n=3) | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM |
AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM | |
Average Intel Core i9-13905H (10478 - 11328, n=3) | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr |
AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
Average Intel Core i9-13905H (43922 - 48884, n=3) | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr |
AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Average Intel Core i9-13905H (80275 - 86469, n=3) | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM |
AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Average Intel Core i9-13905H (1154 - 1234, n=3) | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM |
AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
Average Intel Core i9-13905H (9483 - 10804, n=3) | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM |
AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
Average Intel Core i9-13905H (51720 - 60161, n=3) | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 |
System Performance
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
PCMark 10 / Score | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM |
PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM |
PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 |
PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM |
CrossMark / Overall | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM |
CrossMark / Productivity | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM |
CrossMark / Creativity | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM |
CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM |
PCMark 10 Score | 7674 points | |
Help |
AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
Average Intel Core i9-13905H (76905 - 88014, n=3) | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 |
AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Average Intel Core i9-13905H (68837 - 79123, n=3) | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 |
AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Average Intel Core i9-13905H (89545 - 103259, n=3) | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 |
AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Average Intel Core i9-13905H (101.4 - 134.8, n=3) | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
Drive Performance Rating - Percent | |
Acer Swift Edge SFE16-42-R1GM | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
HP Envy 16 h0112nr | |
Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
Dell Inspiron 16 Plus 7620 |
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
The mobile GeForce RTX 4050 is a significant upgrade over last year's disappointing mobile RTX 3050 series. Raw graphics performance is about 50 to 60 percent faster than the RTX 3050 Ti to be on par with the mobile RTX 3060.
Upgrading to the RTX 4060 configuration is expected to boost performance by about 20 percent.
Running on Balanced mode instead of Performance mode impacts performance slightly as shown by our Fire Strike results in the table below.
Power Profile | Fire Strike Physics Score | Graphics Score | Combined Score |
Battery | 30199 (-4%) | 12900 (-39%) | 5642 (-43%) |
Balanced | 28925 (-8%) | 20047 (-6%) | 7581 (-24%) |
Performance | 31606 | 21212 | 9969 |
3DMark 11 Performance | 28168 points | |
3DMark Fire Strike Score | 19946 points | |
3DMark Time Spy Score | 8853 points | |
Help |
* ... smaller is better
Gaming Performance
Though not technically a gaming machine, the system is more than capable of playing the latest titles even at the native QHD+ resolution. Newer and more demanding titles like Returnal can run on maximum settings, but DLSS is recommended for more tolerable frame rates.
G-Sync is unfortunately not supported on the internal display.
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark | |
1280x720 Lite Quality | |
MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Gaming X Trio 8G | |
Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16ARX8 | |
Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16ARH7H RTX 3070 Ti | |
Lenovo Slim Pro 9i 16IRP8 | |
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 16-IRP G8 | |
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU ( |