ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x is at present on sale on Lenovo’s web site for $1,039.
- It combines a formidable OLED show with stable battery life, two issues that traditionally do not go collectively.
- The dearth of sure apps on Home windows on Arm may restrict some customers — notably creators.
Of all the brand new Copilot+ PCs across the $1,000 worth level, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x looks like one of the premium. Its darkish “cosmic blue” colorway and glossy type issue exude a grown-up, succesful aura that feels each right down to enterprise and able to have some enjoyable.
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The stable {hardware} on board helps that impression, with the Snapdragon X Elite processor main the cost, and the good 3K OLED show appearing because the cherry on high.
Lenovo’s Yoga laptops have blown up in recognition this yr for his or her versatile type components that may bend and twist into a number of configurations (as their identify suggests) and excessive diploma of {hardware} customization. My colleague Max Buondonno reviewed the Lenovo Yoga 9i, an outright problem to the standard laptop computer type issue with a twin display setup, and I took a take a look at the Yoga 7i, a 2-in-1 convertible laptop computer at a extra accessible worth level.
The most recent addition to the Yoga household, the aptly-named 14-inch, 2.6-pound Slim 7x, departs from its siblings’ flexibility by giving up the 2-in-1 type issue, however in trade, features spectacular battery life, elevated efficiency, and a beautiful OLED show.
Actually, this may be one of many brightest shows I’ve seen on a laptop computer shortly, able to as much as 1,000 nits of brightness for peak HDR content material. The touchscreen show contains a decision of 2944 x 1840 pixels (or 3K), leading to a beautiful media expertise. Whereas it would not have a full 120Hz refresh price, the 90Hz it could obtain is sufficient for that silky-smooth, crisp picture.
The built-in Qualcomm Adreno GPU places within the work right here, sporting stable efficiency in graphics benchmarking exams in 3DMark, and value with video modifying in DaVinci Resolve, which ran easily throughout my testing. Whereas it finally will not compete with different high-end GPUs in the marketplace proper now, it options stable sufficient efficiency for almost all of circumstances that you will need to put this laptop computer by way of.
Rounding out the media expertise, the Slim 7x gives audio by way of two upward-firing audio system on both facet of the keyboard. In contrast to the show, there’s not quite a bit to say right here, because the audio is evident however lacks depth, which is typical for laptops. In spite of everything, that is what Bluetooth is for. I like to recommend popping in a pair of Nothing Ear (a) earbuds if you wish to hearken to music or watch a film, particularly because the Dolby Atmos Entry app permits for audio customization.
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As talked about in all of our different critiques of Copilot+ PCs, the brand new Snapdragon X Elite processors with ARM structure cannot run all applications, together with trade staples like Adobe Premiere Professional, nor video games, that are nonetheless a hit-or-miss endeavor.
You’ll be able to definitely recreation on the Yoga Slim 7x, however not all titles will work but, and those that do may not be completely optimized. That mentioned, video games that aren’t on the cutting-edge of graphics and {hardware} necessities look pretty much as good as they’ll on a 14-inch laptop computer.
Whereas the show makes media and gaming one of the apparent first areas to discover on this laptop computer, it is also well-suited to get right down to enterprise. From a productiveness standpoint, you have bought every part you may need right here for a stable work laptop computer.
The X1E-78-100 Processor (3.40 GHz) Snapdragon X Elite processor helps snappy, responsive efficiency throughout multitasking, even with demanding functions, whereas the 16GB of soldered reminiscence and 1TB of storage is sufficient to future-proof it.
Copilot+ PCs can nonetheless be thought of nascent, because the full capabilities of AI-fueled functions (namely Microsoft’s Recall) have but to reach (which is a narrative for one more day). For now, the ARM-based processors are quick, run cool, and permit for unbelievable AI efficiency by way of the NPU.
The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x hits benchmarking numbers which are similar to different Copilot+ PCs across the similar worth level, particularly the Asus Vivobook S 15. In Cinebench, I bought a single-core rating of 108, and a multicore rating of 1,004. Conversely, in Geekbench, the Yoga Slim 7x scored 2,412 on the single-core check, and 13,677 on the multicore.
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The Slim 7x additionally has a formidable 70Wh battery, which might simply energy by way of a day of labor after which some with extra demanding workflows. Throughout my testing of operating a 4K livestream on YouTube over Wi-Fi with 50% brightness, I bought over 15 hours earlier than it conked out, placing it up close to the highest of different Copilot+ PCs. When it comes to extra actionable battery life, in my testing with intermittent use of work-related productiveness apps, informal looking, and light-weight media playback, I bought a number of days of use out of it.
If I needed to spotlight a number of the issues I did not love, I’d first have to say the port choice, which will not be everybody’s cup of tea. Lenovo appears to have doubled down on its forward-looking design by giving the Slim 7x three USB-C Thunderbolt ports and nothing else — no HDMI, USB-A, or card slots. It appears a bit of puzzling to not drop simply considered one of these for at the very least a USB-A port.
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The laptop computer’s trackpad can also be not probably the most delicate I’ve examined. Whereas the keyboard appears and feels premium, the trackpad is a bit of too giant and never tremendous responsive. Additionally, the matte casing on the laptop computer attracts fingerprints left and proper, which is definitely not one thing distinctive to this laptop computer, however a little bit of a private pet peeve nonetheless.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x is a stable addition to the Copilot+ PC line, and a laptop computer I would suggest to distant staff, freelancers, and creators in search of a conveyable, 14-inch laptop computer with a beautiful show. Its skinny and light-weight type issue makes it a stable choice for anybody who travels incessantly and may not have dependable entry to an outlet.
Proper now, the Yoga Slim 7x is on sale for $1,039 — a aggressive worth — however in the event you’re in search of a cheaper Copilot+ PC (and are keen to considerably downgrade the show), the HP OmniBook X 14 will run you $949. In case you like this laptop computer’s stats however desire a greater display, try the Asus Vivobook S 15.
Creators may additionally recognize the truth that Lenovo can also be giving two free months of Adobe Creative Cloud with the acquisition of any new Yoga laptop computer.
