My honest consumer feedback on the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 after testing couple of different models
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| Internal components of the Yoga Pro 7 |
It has been almost a month since the beautiful Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 ultrabook and I have alredy tested it in a couple of variations - the 14.5-inch touchscreen version with 3k display and Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and also the more powerful Core Ultra 7 175H.
This Yoga Pro has gained a huge popularity across the Internet and there are literally hundreds of reviews and consumer opinions for bothe the Yoga Pro 7 and the bigger and more powerful Yoga Pro 9. I will be focusing my attention mostly on the smaller Yoga Pro 7 model and all the insights that I got after a couple of weeks of testing.
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i - first impressions
You have probably noticed the "i"at the end of the name, which basically means that is the Intel version of the laptop and not AMD equipped mode, which is also available for the Yogar Pro 7.
My first impressions with the Yoga Pro 7 were good mostly because of the beautiful design and form factor. To be honest, in computer industry and especially laptops, I am always a bit sceptic about products that look too good and attractive. I previously had pretty bad experience with ultrabooks that looked just awesome but couldn't deliver the expected performance but also had build-quality isssues. And here we get directly to my biggest concern about the Yoga Pro 7 - durability and build-quality.
It might be just a feeling or something that comes with years of experience and so many different computers tested but I feel like the Yoga Pro 7 is not one of these laptops that I would be using happily for years without any issues... and I was right. The second laptop that I tested had a production issue with its back aluminum panel which is quirking every time I grab the laptop with one hand. Yes, it is not a major issue, but the laptop is brand new and it is called "Prö". I would expect to experience such problems from laptops much cheaper than the Yoga Pro 7.
Basic performance
Lenovo is targeting content creators with the Yoga Pro series and some vloggers strongly recommend the Yoga Pro 9 as one of the best in class for content creation. I personally agree with many of the positive comments, but not with all.
For content creation I would assume that one would need first - a very powerful and capable hardware and second - a very sturdy machine that would be easy to carry around and stay reliable after different abuse. And even though the Yoga Pro 7 is packed with pretty good hardware, I don't see it as a rugged machine that is going to last for long, especially if it is one of your major tools in the content creation process. Also content creators tend to use a lot of different peripherals and the lack of many ports in the Pro 7 is definitely among its advantages - 2x USB Type-C ports and 1x USB Type-A. The good news is that we have an HDMI port and a 3.5 combo mic and headphone jack.
The Core Ultra 125H and 175H are two mighty processors with very good integrated iGPU - for the 125H it is Arc 7-core, while the 175H gets a slightly better performing Arc 8-core integrated graphics chip. I haven't tested them for gaming since I don't think it would make any sense to get such ultrabook for gaming, but I have tested them with moderately heavy 4k clips edited in Premiere Pro and I have to say that as a content creator I am quite pleased with the performance of the Arc graphics. Definitely an improvement over the outgoing Intel Iris/Iris XE.
The laptop remained cool and quiet most of the time, something very important for me, I get really annoyed when using laptops that get hot, with extremely loud fans and warm keyboard.
The battery
The battery performance is quite acceptable for such small factor and relatively lightweight laptop. I was getting at least around 4 hours of use on both laptops (the 125H and the 175H). Of course, it all depends on what you use the laptop for. Some copywriting, web browsing and YouTube music in the background with display brightness on 60% will get you between 3 and 5 hours of non-stop use.
The display
The 3k touchscreen display in the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 is just beautiful. It is definitely one of the best laptop screens that I have seen. It is a glossy display, so you can expect quite a lot of fingerprints and reflections when used outdoors or in very bright office lightening.
Keyboard
I have made a separate post entirely dedicated on the keyboard performance. Basically it is one of the better keyboards in the segment, but the thing that concerns me again is durability. Probably it would be much more adequate to comment about the keyboard after at least 1-2 years of active use. Or you can just check my previous post: Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 keyboard test.
Other thoughts and impressions
It has been only two weeks since I am using the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 and I feel like I have so much to say. Throughout the years, I have been a huge Dell fan and owned numerous Dell laptops. But I decided to test something new and even though Lenovo is not my favorite computer brand I think that in most areas the Yoga Pro 7 and Pro 9 make sense. They look cool and offer a lot for the money - cheaper than the ThinkPad but more expensive than the ThinkBook.
Still, as a content creator I am not convinced that the Yoga Pro 7 is the right laptop for me... but lets see. I wouldn't be surpried if my next review is with a brand new Dell ultrabook.
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