Lenovo YogaBook 9i hands-on: An enormous leap for dual-screen laptops | Engadget

We’ve seen a handful of firms try to make dual-screen laptops a factor – from to newer techniques like ASUS’ line of notebooks. But with the YogaBook 9i at CES 2023, is pushing the thought of a real two-screen laptop computer additional than ever earlier than.

From the skin, the YogaBook 9i doesn’t look a lot completely different from a typical laptop computer. But whenever you open it up, you’re greeted by two 13.3-inch 2.8K OLED shows that dominates the within of the system. That means in contrast to ASUS’ rivals, there’s no room for a bodily keyboard – a minimum of not on the physique of the system. However, to help all types of setups and use instances, Lenovo additionally gives a spread of bundled equipment together with a folding kickstand, a removable Bluetooth keyboard and a stylus. And it’s this mix of peripherals that basically elevates the YogaBook 9i into one thing greater than a easy clamshell.

When propped up on the kickstand you possibly can place the laptop computer’s shows in both side-by-side or stacked orientations, which gives tons of vertical display screen actual property or extra conventional twin shows relying in your wants. Then, all you need to do is slap the BT keyboard down on a desk and all of the sudden you have got a tool that’s extra like a transportable all-in-one desktop.

Lenovo additionally has some software program methods to get probably the most out of the assorted show modes. For instance, when the YogaBook 9i’s screens are stacked on prime of every, you possibly can faucet 5 fingers towards the display screen to span a single window throughout each shows in what the corporate calls waterfall mode. Alternatively, whenever you need to transfer home windows from one display screen to a different, you possibly can merely flick your finger to ship an app up or down. And much like what we’ve seen on the , Lenovo has a wide range of grid choices so you possibly can launch into twin, triple or quadruple app layouts to maximise your multitasking.

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In addition to straightforward handwriting and stylus help, you should use the YogaBook’s stylus to seize screenshots after which press a button to mechanically embed it in a brand new OneNote file. This makes the method of recording minutes or saving concepts from brainstorming classes throughout conferences tremendous easy.

And after all, when house is a priority, you possibly can all the time use the YogaBook 9i in clamshell mode, both through the use of an on-screen digital keyboard or just dropping the BT keyboard on prime of the decrease show. I additionally actually respect among the small add-ons Lenovo included to help numerous typing layouts. By pushing the keyboard again in direction of the display screen (each the bodily or digital keyboard by way of an eight-finger swiping movement), you possibly can activate a digital touchpad (albeit a considerably small one). Or when you’ve got an exterior mouse linked, you possibly can pull the keyboard ahead to disclose a row of widgets for stuff like climate, information and extra.

The YogaBook 9i can be used both vertically and horizontally when propped up on its included stand.

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As for specs, the YogaBook 9i is properly geared up with Thirteenth-gen Intel Core i7 CPUs, as much as 16GB of DDR5 RAM, 512GB of storage and three USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4. And regardless of being a comparatively glossy system that measures simply 0.63-inches thick, Lenovo managed to cram a big 80Whr battery inside. That’s vital as a result of these twin OLED shows are fairly power-hungry, with the corporate claiming the laptop computer will final round seven hours in dual-screen mode or nearer to 14 hours when solely utilizing a single show.

In ideal conditions, the YogaBook 9i's keyboard works well. But as soon as your hands start to drift, things can get messy really fast.

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That mentioned, I do have just a few issues. First, among the gesture controls and stylus enter weren’t significantly responsive. The YogaBook even blue-screened a few occasions over the course of about an hour whereas I examined it. But that’s form of to be anticipated when demoing pre-production units. The greater difficulty for me is that whereas I’m optimistic about the way forward for dual-screen laptops, typing on a touchscreen remains to be a problem. I discovered that once I was in a groove, I might kind practically as quick as I can on a standard bodily keyboard. The downside is that when your fingers drift (and they’re going to), typos begin piling up in bunches, and there’s no great way of discovering the house row once more. That means you typically must look all the way down to verify the place of your fingers, which is annoying for contact typists.

Despite its dual screens and slim dimensions, the YogaBook 9i still features three USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4.

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Finally, whereas I like that Lenovo places the YogaBook’s kickstand, BT keyboard and stylus within the field without spending a dime, I actually assume the kickstand ought to be built-in to the system itself, like it’s on convertibles like a . That’s as a result of despite the fact that the kickstand turns right into a folding cowl of types, it feels such as you spend a bit an excessive amount of time conserving monitor of every part and working towards origami when transferring between modes.

But in lots of respects, that is what you get when an organization explores an untested design. And even with these issues, I’m nonetheless extremely excited to check out a closing retail model of the YogaBook 9i when it comes out someday in April for round $2,000.

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