Sunday, January 31, 2021

Lenovo Yoga Duet 7i Review

Lenovo’s Yoga series offers a wide range of premium laptops, and one of them is the Yoga Duet 7i. This 2-in-1 convertible laptop is dubbed as the first-ever Yoga PC with a detachable backlit Bluetooth keyboard and an adjustable kickstand. It’s a stylish notebook with a 10th generation Intel Core i7 processor, up to 16GB of RAM, up to 1TB SSD, and a stylus. Check out our full review below.

Design and Construction

The Lenovo Yoga Duet 7i flaunts a premium metal design in Slate Grey with a matte finish that may repel fingerprints and smudges well. The device also shows off a world-facing 5MP camera on the top-center, a reflective YOGA branding on the top-left side, while the Lenovo logo rests on the opposing lower-right side.

Upfront, you can find the front-facing IR camera, along with an array of sensors to support Windows Hello and the built-in array microphone with support for Cortana.

Found on the screen’s left side are the speaker grille, microSD card slot, 3.5mm audio jack, and two USB 3.2 Type-C Gen 1 ports for power delivery, DisplayPort, and data transfers.

On the other side of the screen are the other speaker grille, power button, volume rocker, and another USB 3.2 Type-C Gen 1. You’ll have to buy a USB-C hub for the other usual ports.

Meanwhile, the single grille for the laptop’s ventilation can be found resting at the screen’s top side.

The Yoga Duet 7i is lightweight at 1.16kg, and it is portable enough to carry around. It is also flexible as it comes with an adjustable kickstand.

The device also has a detachable Bluetooth keyboard with backlit and a buttonless glass surface touchpad. Typing on the keyboard feels comfortable, and it produces minimal typing sounds. Moreover, it also has white backlighting with two modes. However, the buttonless touchpad is responsive, big enough, and doesn’t attract smudges.

Display and Multimedia

The screen boasts a 13-inch WQHD IPS 2K (2160 x 1350) touchscreen display with thin bezels, 100% sRGB color accuracy, 450nits brightness, and wide-angle viewing. The display showcases vivid colors and decent sharpness, offering a more immersive viewing experience, thanks to Dolby Vision.

Besides, the device is flexible and may be placed in any position to match users’ preferences.

The Lenovo Yoga Duet 7i also has dual speakers powered by Dolby Atmos paired with a smart amp, which provides clear and crisp audio even at its maximum volume. This makes it suitable for casual listening, as well as for video streaming.

OS and Apps

As a productivity laptop, the Yoga Duet 7i runs under Windows 10 Home. It is pre-installed with Microsoft Office Home & Student 2019 for productivity tools, McAfee LiveSafe for security, and Lenovo Vantage for device management. It also supports Cortana, even in Sleep mode.

Performance and Benchmarks

The unit we got is equipped with the 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10510U processor, Intel UHD Graphics, 16GB DDR4 RAM, and 1TB PCIe SSD storage. It can handle most tasks well, such as heavy web browsing, basic photo editing, and video streaming. We have tried using it with lots of tabs open while multitasking, yet it can still perform fast and smoothly. However, the device’s temperature may rise and be felt on the back when you are using it on tablet mode.

We ran a series of tests in a room to measure its processing power and GPU performance. You may check the full results below:

• PCMark 10 – 3,546
• 3DMark (Time Spy) – 302 (Graphics), 1,787 (CPU)
• Geekbench 5 – 730 (Single-Core) 1,259 (Multi-Core)
• Cinebench R20 – 819 (CPU)
• CrystalDiskMark (SEQ1MQ8T1) – 2,220.41 MB/s (Seq. Read), 1,732.70 MB/s (Seq. Write)

With the given configuration, the Lenovo Yoga Duet 7i is suitable for productivity tasks. Given the Intel UHD graphics, it’s not suitable for gaming, but it’s useful for supporting applications that would need some assistance from a light GPU.

Connectivity and Other Features

It is equipped with the latest WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, and has ports mentioned earlier when it comes to connectivity. The Yoga Duet 7i is also compatible with the optional Lenovo E-Color Pen and Digital Pen.

The E-Color Pen that comes with the device we’ve got works fine and has good handwriting recognition. Furthermore, the pen has two buttons configurable with the laptop’s pre-installed Lenovo Pen Settings app. Using the pen for sketching, note-taking and doodling could also boost users’ tasks for creative programs like Microsoft Whiteboard, Photoshop, and InDesign.

Battery Life

Powering the device is a 4-cell battery, which Lenovo claims to last up to 10.8 hours. Using it for work with heavy Edge browsing, photo editing, and video streaming, the battery lasts up to 8 to 9 hours of usage under Better Battery mode. However, our video loop test involves playing a 1080p video on loop at 50% brightness and volume under Airplane mode and better battery mode; it has delivered 9 hours and 39 minutes worth of playback.

Conclusion

The Lenovo’s 2-in-1 convertible laptop packs versatile features that could match the professionals’ needs. Despite the absence of the usual I/Os, the laptop can perform smoothly, provide good connectivity features, and boast a decent battery life. Plus, it could also be a reliable companion device for multitasking and productivity, especially with the detachable keyboard, flexible kickstand, and the Lenovo E-Color pen, which artists will love.

The Lenovo Yoga Duet 7i, available in Slate Grey and Orchid, with an Intel Core i7-10510U processor, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD storage, can be purchased through the official Lenovo stores and authorized resellers nationwide for PHP 84,995.

Lenovo Yoga Duet 7i specs:
13-inch WQHD 2K (2160 x 1350) IPS Touch display
100% sRGB, Dolby Vision, 450 nits
Windows 10 Home
Up to Intel Core i7-10510U
16GB 2667MHz DDR4 RAM
1TB NVMe PCIe X4 SSD
WiFi 6
Bluetooth 5.1
LTE/4G (Optional)
Dolby Audio Speakers + Smart Amp
IR Webcam w/ Windows Hello support
Dual-array microphones
Buttonless glass surface touchpad
Detachable Bluetooth Backlit Keyboard
Lenovo Digital Pen, E-Color Pen support
2 x USB Type-C Gen 1 (PD 3.0 + DisplayPort support)
1 x USB Type-C Gen 1
SD Card Reader
3.5mm audio jack
42Whr battery
297.4 x 205.5 x 9.19mm
798.8g (Tablet only), 1.16kg (With Folio Case)
Orchid, Slate Grey