Lenovo’s conceit for the Yoga Ebook 9i laptop computer—ditch the keyboard and exchange it with a second touchscreen—has been finished earlier than, however by no means very properly. Arguably the most effective instance so far wherever alongside these traces has been the HP Omen X 2S, which featured a miniature show mounted above a bodily keyboard, nevertheless it was a decidedly area of interest concept designed for gaming and priced at practically $3,000 at launch. It by no means gained a lot traction. Now it’s Lenovo’s flip to make a journey down this highway, and it might be probably the most formidable, and profitable variation so far.
With the Yoga Ebook 9i, “second display” means a full display. There’s no keyboard right here in any respect; the decrease half of the laptop computer is a touchscreen an identical to the higher half. Take two 13.3-inch OLED shows and sandwich them along with a hinge in between and also you’ve obtained the concept.
Lenovo has finished a hefty quantity of engineering to make this work, and whereas there are a number of tough edges, for probably the most half, it’s a hit. Naturally, you’re free to make use of the laptop computer as if it have been two Home windows tablets or one large one, placing completely different apps on both display of the system and holding the entire thing prefer it’s considered one of Moses’ huge stone tablets. Need to get artistic? You’ll be able to even set it on a desk in an inverted V formation and let two children watch completely different movies on both aspect (although you’ll be able to solely play one audio observe).
All of this may occasionally sound fanciful and even frivolous, however the Yoga Ebook 9i is surprisingly properly positioned for getting actual work finished—and doubtlessly succeeds on that entrance higher than a regular laptop computer. Open the system up in commonplace laptop computer mode and use eight fingers to swipe upward on the decrease touchscreen to have the digital keyboard and trackpad space seem. Need to forgo the trackpad and transfer the keyboard nearer to your physique? Simply drag it down and the keyboard strikes towards you, leaving room for varied configurable widgets within the few inches of open house which were freed up.
Mastering all the swipes and gestures used to maneuver issues round on the Yoga Ebook 9i—notably shifting a window from one display to a different—takes a little bit of examine and a few trial and error, however with follow, it’s not arduous to get the cling of.
{Photograph}: Lenovo
The Yoga Ebook works effective with its touchscreen keyboard, although I understandably typed a bit slower than I’d have on a mechanical keyboard, regardless of a haptics-based system that gives some degree of suggestions. The professional transfer is to fireplace up the exterior Bluetooth keyboard and mouse—each are included with buy, together with a stylus—and use each screens as shows. The machine may be propped up with the 2 screens aspect by aspect or one atop one other through the use of the included folio stand, a easy gizmo that folds right into a wedge and is held collectively by magnets. It’s all compact sufficient to suit on a regular airline tray desk (sans the mouse), which can categorically make you the one particular person utilizing twin screens in coach.
It might in fact be prudent to surprise about the remainder of the 9i’s specs, and the information is blended. The 2 screens every have 2,880 X 1,800-pixel resolutions and are dazzlingly vivid—a lot in order that I needed to flip the brightness down, as a result of they harm my eyes at full energy. (Brightness may be set for every display independently.) The unit manages to measure simply 18 millimeters thick and weighs in at 2.8 kilos, which is lighter than it feels within the hand.
However below the hood, the specs are pretty fundamental. A Thirteenth-generation Intel Core i7-1355U (1.7 GHz) offers the juice, together with 16 GB of RAM and a 512-GB SSD, plus built-in graphics. Efficiency is slightly middling throughout the board: I discovered it sluggish to finish easy duties like recalculating spreadsheets and grammar-checking lengthy paperwork, although I used to be a minimum of in a position to full my full battery of benchmarks, regardless of repeated warnings that heavier graphics-based checks might not have the ability to run on the system.
