The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 suffers from having a poor keyboard

The 7th gen Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon is an ultraportable 13-inch laptop in the same vein as its predecessors. It only weighs a hair more than 980 g (2.16 lb) thanks to the fact that its body is made of carbon fibre and magnesium. The overall quality of the chassis is great despite its lightweight design. And the ultraportable can be stowed easily in any hand luggage. However, Lenovo has reduce the number of ports on the device: There are now only two USB-C ports (one on each side), with only one of them supporting the latest Thunderbolt 4 protocol. The 3.5 mm audio jack has unfortunately also been removed.

The Yoga Slim 7i Carbon doesn't have too many weaknesses, but its keyboard is certainly one of them. In addition to the short key travel of 1 mm, the keyboard just doesn't feel very premium to type on, partly due to how loud the keys are. The feedback also feels quite spongy. There are definitely better keyboards out there, even amongst thin and light laptops.

Questions need to be raised about Lenovo's decision to use this particular display. Although the WQHD panel produces great image quality, the screen is still slightly reflective, which, combined with a peak brightness of less than 400 cd/m², means it is not optimal for use on the go. Furthermore, the panel requires quite a lot of power. A power-efficient, matt Full HD panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio and no touch functionality would certainly have been a better alternative here.

You also really have to ask whether a U-series processor would have been a better choice for the laptop. Sure, the Intel Alder Lake Core i7-1260P provides a lot of performance, but it also needs heaps of power. The CPU can draw up to 46 watts (28 watts under sustained load), which has an impact on the fan noise. Under load, the fan virtually starts running at full speed right away. A U-series chip such as the Core i7-1265U would have offered the same level of performance in everyday use with reasonable power limits, whilst being more efficient.

Although the Yoga Slim 7i Carbon offers acceptable battery life as a whole (6 to 7.5 hours in our Wi-Fi test, depending on screen brightness), its competitors simply outperform it in this department. The laptop also has a tough time lasting an entire work day without needing to recharge. 

For more information regarding the device, including detailed benchmarks and measurements, please read our full review: 

• Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon 13 review (Core i7-1260P, WQHD touchscreen)