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 value level, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x appears like one of the crucial 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.
The stable {hardware} on board helps that impression, with the Snapdragon X Elite processor main the cost, and the good 3K OLED show performing because the cherry on prime.
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 normal laptop computer type issue with a twin display screen setup, and I took a take a look at the Yoga 7i, a 2-in-1 convertible laptop computer at a extra accessible value level.
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The newest 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, positive factors spectacular battery life, elevated efficiency, and a beautiful OLED show.
Actually, this is likely to 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 incorporates a decision of 2944 x 1840 pixels (or 3K), leading to a beautiful media expertise. Whereas it does not have a full 120Hz refresh price, the 90Hz it could possibly 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 checks in 3DMark, and value with video modifying in DaVinci Resolve, which ran easily throughout my testing. Whereas it in the end will not compete with different high-end GPUs available on the market proper now, it options stable sufficient efficiency for almost all of instances that you will wish to put this laptop computer by means of.
Rounding out the media expertise, the Slim 7x gives audio by means of two upward-firing audio system on both facet of the keyboard. Not like the show, there’s not loads to say right here, because the audio is evident however lacks depth, which is typical for laptops. In any case, that is what Bluetooth is for. I like to recommend popping in a pair of Nothing Ear (a) earbuds if you wish to take heed to music or watch a film, particularly for the reason that Dolby Atmos Entry app permits for audio customization.
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As talked about in all of our different opinions 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 possibly can actually recreation on the Yoga Slim 7x, however not all titles will work but, and those that do won’t be completely optimized. That stated, video games that aren’t on the cutting-edge of graphics and {hardware} necessities look nearly as good as they will on a 14-inch laptop computer.
Whereas the show makes media and gaming one of the crucial 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’ve got acquired all the pieces you might 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-about nascent, for the reason that 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 implausible AI efficiency by way of the NPU.
The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x hits benchmarking numbers which are akin to different Copilot+ PCs across the similar value level, specifically the Asus Vivobook S 15. In Cinebench, I acquired 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 take a look at, and 13,677 on the multicore.
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The Slim 7x additionally has a formidable 70Wh battery, which might simply energy by means of a day of labor after which some with extra demanding workflows. Throughout my testing of working a 4K livestream on YouTube over Wi-Fi with 50% brightness, I acquired over 15 hours earlier than it conked out, placing it up close to the highest of different Copilot+ PCs. By way of extra actionable battery life, in my testing with intermittent use of work-related productiveness apps, informal searching, and light-weight media playback, I acquired a number of days of use out of it.
If I needed to spotlight a few of the issues I did not love, I might 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 puzzling to not drop simply considered one of these for not less than a USB-A port.
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The laptop computer’s trackpad can be not essentially the most delicate I’ve examined. Whereas the keyboard appears to be like and feels premium, the trackpad is a bit too giant and never tremendous responsive. Additionally, the matte casing on the laptop computer attracts fingerprints left and proper, which is actually 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 employees, freelancers, and creators on the lookout for a transportable, 14-inch laptop computer with a beautiful show. Its skinny and light-weight type issue makes it a stable possibility for anybody who travels continuously and won’t have dependable entry to an outlet.
Proper now, the Yoga Slim 7x is on sale for $1,039 — a aggressive value — however should you’re on the lookout for a cheaper Copilot+ PC (and are keen to considerably downgrade the show), the HP OmniBook X 14 will run you $949. If you happen to like this laptop computer’s stats however desire a larger display screen, try the Asus Vivobook S 15.
Creators may also respect the truth that Lenovo can be giving two free months of Adobe Creative Cloud with the acquisition of any new Yoga laptop computer.