Lenovo Slim 7i Review: A Compact, Sturdy Midpriced Laptop With an OLED Screen

Editors’ observe: The Lenovo Slim 7i is now obtainable at Costco for $1,000, which represents vital financial savings from its preliminary $1,240 price from Lenovo after we reviewed it in April. Based mostly on this new decrease pricing, we have now raised its general score from 7.5 to eight.0 and up to date our evaluate.

The Lenovo Slim 7i is a sturdy and compact laptop computer that splits the distinction between mainstream and premium. Its chief attraction is the 14-inch OLED contact show that boasts vivid colours and stellar distinction. Not like the two.8K OLED panels on equally sized laptops such because the HP Spectre x360 14 or Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2, nevertheless, the Slim 7i’s show gives a pedestrian 1,920×1,200-pixel decision. It suffices for the dimensions, however textual content is not fairly as sharp as it’s on a 2.8K OLED show. Inside, the laptop computer options an Intel Core Extremely CPU, an ample 32GB of RAM and built-in Intel Arc graphics.

The Slim 7i’s aluminum enclosure is of premium high quality and handed MIL-STD 810H exams for ruggedness. It feels rock strong and but is skinny and lightweight. It is not fairly the head-turner because the Spectre x360 14 and lacks its superior haptic touchpad, nevertheless it additionally prices lower than the HP. On the flip aspect, its construct high quality and show are superior to these of the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7440 and Acer Swift Go 14, every of which additionally prices $1,000. The Sim 7i is an efficient alternative in case you are in search of a 14-inch OLED laptop computer however cannot stretch to afford the HP Spectre x360 14 and do not want its two-in-one convertibility.

The Lenovo Slim 7i (mannequin 14IMH9) begins at $1,041 for a configuration that options an Intel Core Extremely 5 125H CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB solid-state drive. The lone show possibility is a 14-inch OLED panel with a 1,920×1,200-pixel decision and contact assist. Our check system contains a pair of upgrades to the Core Extremely 7 155H chip and 32GB of RAM and prices $1,240 from Lenovo. 

Our check configuration is now obtainable at Costco for $1,000 the place it is an amazing deal. Seldom do you discover an OLED show together with that a lot reminiscence and solid-state storage wrapped in a sturdy, all-metal chassis at that worth.

The system is labeled because the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Gen 9 within the UK and Australia, regardless of missing a 360-degree hinge that might give it versatile two-in-one capabilities that the Yoga title would counsel. It begins at £939 in the UK and AU$1,639 in Australia.

In labs testing, the Slim 7i’s benchmark outcomes had been in vary of the Acer Swift Go 14, Dell Inspiron 14 Plus and HP Spectre x360 14, every of which options the identical Intel Core Extremely 7 155H processor because the Slim 7i, nevertheless it by no means managed to guide the pack on any check. Its graphics efficiency trailed the opposite Core Extremely laptops solely on the 3DMark Wild Life Excessive Limitless check; on Time Spy and Hearth Strike Extremely it was roughly on par with the opposite laptops utilizing Intel’s built-in Arc GPU. The AMD-based Slim Professional 7 led the best way on the graphics exams as a result of it was the one laptop computer among the many comparability programs to function a discrete RTX 3050 GPU. That mannequin can often be found at Best Buy for lower than $1,000 and is a greater decide for creatives who will use the laptop computer for graphics work.

OLED laptops not often excel within the space of battery life, and the Slim 7i isn’t any exception. It lasted 9 hours and 40 minutes on our on-line streaming battery drain check, which ought to be ample time for many work or college days however nonetheless shorter than the runtime of competing laptops. 

Compact and rugged

The Slim 7i’s general look is slightly company, with a number of boring grey, but additionally skinny and compact like fashionable company programs: lower than 0.6-inch thick and weighing a trim 3.2 kilos, common for its measurement.

While you decide it up you discover its premium construct. The all-aluminum chassis is inflexible, with hardly any flex that plagues lesser aluminum and plastic shells. It lacks the Spectre x360 14’s attractive, matte-black aesthetic, however the Slim 7i does share some good design components with HP’s pricier two-in-one, together with easy, gently rounded edges and corners. They offer the laptop computer a modern look, and the dearth of sharp corners makes it comfy to hold the laptop computer and likewise to relaxation your palms on its entrance edge when typing and mousing. 

And just like the HP, the Slim 7i has an amazing show hinge that retains the show firmly in place with none wobble but nonetheless glides easily while you regulate the show or shut the laptop computer. The general construct high quality is on par with the pricier HP and a notch or two above what you get with the marginally cheaper Acer Swift Go 14 or Dell Inspiron 14 Plus.

The Slim 7i appears to be like almost an identical to the 14.5-inch, AMD-based Lenovo Slim Pro 7 I reviewed final 12 months. And like the sooner unit, the Slim 7i gives MIL-STD 810H ruggedness for a capability to face up to drops, vibration, shock, mud and excessive temperatures. It makes the system a sensible choice for college students who desire a laptop computer that can face up to the scrapes and dings it will nearly assuredly obtain over 4 years of standard use. And it accommodates pupil budgets on the anticipated $999 Costco price ticket.

One of the best function of the Slim 7i is its 14-inch OLED show; OLED delivers wonderful distinction due to successfully zero-nit blacks and vivid colours. Testing with a SpyderX Elite colorimeter, the show lined 100% of the sRGB and P3 shade areas and 94% of Adobe RGB. I additionally measured a peak brightness of 382 nits, which is simply shy of its 400-nit score however ought to be shiny sufficient for many environments outdoors of direct daylight outdoors. 

As nice as photographs look on the OLED panel, textual content seems barely fuzzy and grey, missing the sharpness you get with a higher-resolution show just like the Spectre x360 14’s 2.8K OLED panel and even the two.2K IPS LCD on the Inspiron 14 Plus. It is not a deal-breaker, but when your job or schoolwork includes a number of studying, you may respect even a bump to a 2.2K show for gazing textual content for lengthy stretches.

With quad audio system, the Slim 7i is greater than only a work laptop computer. The 4 two-watt audio system produce well-rounded audio. Dialogue sounds clear and results sound lifelike when watching reveals and flicks, and I even discovered myself having fun with music playback, though I want it supplied extra bass. 

The keyboard has broadly spaced keys and delivers a snug and quiet typing expertise. It consists of the dedicated Microsoft Copilot key, which opens a panel for Microsoft’s AI assistant, changing the right-Ctrl key on the underside row. Anticipate this to turn into widespread on Home windows laptops.

The excellent news is the touchpad has a glass floor that is smoother than a plastic touchpad. The dangerous information, relying in your preferences, is that it is mechanical and never haptic. I discover the press response has an excessive amount of journey and sounds “clacky.” The remainder of the laptop computer feels so sturdy and inflexible, making the touchpad’s subpar click on response appear all of the extra disappointing.

The 1080p webcam delivers a pointy, pretty grain-free picture however lacks assist for Home windows Studio Results — AI-based automated framing, background blurring and noise discount plus AI-aided noise cancellation for the microphone — discovered on different Core Extremely laptops I’ve reviewed. Whereas the Lenovo Vantage app has noise cancellation options for the microphone, I discovered them to be much less efficient at eradicating or decreasing background noise than the Spectre x360 14 or Acer Swift Go 14.

The Lenovo Slim 7i has the misfortune of arriving on the heels of the HP Spectre x360 14, one in all my favourite laptops from the previous 12 months. And whereas it is true the HP prices a whole bunch extra, HP’s reductions on the time of this writing drop the worth to an affordable $1,360 for a similar configuration as our Slim 7i check system. The HP’s benefits embody a superior design, higher-resolution OLED show, wonderful haptic touchpad and two-in-one versatility. But when your finances would not stretch previous $1,000, then the Slim 7i is a fantastic comfort prize for Costco members.