Lenovo's Yoga Pro 9i 16 has a great mini-LED panel, but is inferior to the smaller 14-inch model

The Yoga Pro 9i is the spearhead among Lenovo's multimedia laptops, and after reviewing the 14-inch version, we now take a look at the 16-inch model. Basically, the same package is used, as the aluminum chassis is combined with the current Raptor Lake processors from Intel as well as the current range of GeForce RTX 4000 laptop GPUs from Nvidia. Here you have a choice between the RTX 4050, RTX 4060 and RTX 4070, whereby the TGP for the 14-inch model is 80 watts and for the 16-inch model 100 watts. Performance is thus better than the smaller Yoga Pro 9i 14, but Lenovo has incomprehensibly dropped Advanced Optimus from the larger model. Furthermore, the HDMI output only supports the old 1.4b standard, which is why 4K signals can only be output at 30 Hz.

The case also makes a weaker impression than the 14-inch model. Fundamentally, the stability and the workmanship of the 16-inch Yoga are very good, but the thin base plate is problematic and emits clearly audible creaking noises when handled. This isn't particularly premium and is unacceptable given the price of EUR 2,400. Inside, Lenovo has decided not to use the additional space for a larger battery, but a second slot for an M.2 2280 SSD. This is of course practical for expanding the storage capacity (although the second slot is not connected via PCIe 4.0), but given the meager battery life, a larger battery would have made more sense for most users.

The biggest factor in the battery runtimes is the optional mini-LED screen, which achieves a peak brightness of just over 500 cd/m² in normal SDR mode and so does not come close to the 14-inch model (~700 cd/m²). Nevertheless, the power consumption is higher due to the larger panel, which is why the battery life is even shorter, especially at high brightness rates. And due to the highly reflective screen, you have no choice but to max out the brightness, especially in bright surroundings. Our Wi-Fi test, for example, runs at full brightness for just over 3.5 hours, which really isn't much. For comparison, the Apple MacBook Pro 16 with a similarly bright mini-LED panel in SDR mode manages more than 7 hours here.

Overall, the big Yoga Pro 9i 16 is inferior to its little sibling, which is absolutely unnecessary in our opinion. The equipment differences are illogical and the additional internal space should have been used for a larger battery to compensate for the worse runtime due to the larger display. 

• Review of the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 (Mini-LED, Core i7-13705H, GeForce RTX 4060)