Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon, hands on: A compact sub-1kg ultraportable

Table of Contents

Like

  • Compact and light-weight
  • Good establish good quality
  • Distinctive glance

Never Like

  • No fingerprint reader
  • Disappointing battery lifestyle

Lenovo’s thirteen.three-inch Yoga Trim 7i Carbon is a compact and light-weight Intel Evo-branded notebook with a mid-variety price tag tag. There are two configurations offered in the United kingdom. My critique unit was a £999.99 (inc. VAT) model that runs on an Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. Those on a tighter spending plan can opt for the £899.99 model with a Core i5-1135G7 CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, even though the £100 uplift does acquire you what appears, on paper, to be a a lot more capable equipment. The Yoga Trim 7i Carbon is not at this time offered in the US. 

The Moon White carbon fibre chassis would not appeal to every person, but it truly is definitely distinct. It can be tricky far too: Lenovo claims the Yoga Trim 7i Carbon is “rigorously subjected to nine army-quality tests”, particularly: altitude, superior temperature, minimal temperature, temperature shock, humidity, sand and dust, vibration, shock and freeze-thaw. This notebook would definitely survive physically in a backpack devoid of a protective sleeve, even though you could possibly want to use a single in buy to preserve the chassis scratch-absolutely free.  

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The Yoga Trim 7i Carbon runs on 11th-generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processors with 8GB or 6GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of SSD storage. The thirteen.three-inch display screen is a QHD (2560 x 1600) IPS panel, and the notebook weighs just under a kilogram.


Visuals: Lenovo

The thirteen.three-inch display screen will make for a tiny footprint of just 296.9mm vast by 208.55mm deep by thirteen.nine-fourteen.9mm. Lenovo claims the excess weight starts at 966g (it weighed in on my kitchen area scales at 978g), and it truly is a thriller why Lenovo has not produced more of this: sub-1kg laptops keep on being a rarity. 

The non-touch display screen sits in what Lenovo phone calls ‘micro-borders’  (what is up coming — ‘nano-borders’?). The 3mm depth that Lenovo rates only applies to the brief edges the higher extended edge border is a very little deeper — I calculated it at 4.5mm on the outer edges mounting to 7mm in the centre to enable area equally for the IR webcam and for an overhang that will come in helpful when lifting the lid. The base bezel is deeper nonetheless at about 9mm. Even now, the display screen does sit neatly in its surround, and Lenovo rates a ninety one% display screen-to-entire body ratio (even though we calculate it to be 82.nine%). 

The 16:10 aspect ratio is welcome, and the display’s QHD (2,560 x 1,600, 227ppi) resolution indicates material appears crisp and crystal clear. Out of doors operating could possibly be a trouble though, as the most display screen brightness is three hundred nits. Unusually, the display screen, which supports one hundred% of the sRGB gamut and seventy two% of NTSC, is matte somewhat than reflective.  

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We have no problems about either the backlit keyboard or the touchpad, but a fingerprint reader would be welcome.


Picture: Sandra Vogel / ZDNet

The Harmon Kardon stereo speakers are on the regular aspect: they can pump out a superior volume, but distortion is audible in the higher reaches. 

The keyboard is a comfortable typing system, even though the keys are not especially bouncy. The touchpad is responsive and a first rate dimensions. 

There are two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, a more USB-C port that can be used for charging, moreover a three.5mm combo audio in/out jack. HDMI and USB-A connections would also have been handy, as would a MicroSD card reader. The IR digicam, which lacks a privacy deal with, supports Windows Hello experience authentication, but there is certainly no fingerprint sensor. 

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Appropriate aspect (prime): USB-C, three.5mm audio in/out, ability. Still left aspect (higher than): 2x USB-C/Thunderbolt 4.


Picture: Sandra Vogel / ZDNet  

Battery lifestyle remaining me somewhat nonplussed with the battery falling to fifty four% from a complete charge right after three several hours of mainstream productivity use. That extrapolates to about 6.5 several hours in complete, which falls way brief of Lenovo’s declare of thirteen-fifteen several hours. 

The good news is, speedy charging with the 65W adapter is supported. This shipped a strengthen from 32% to seventy one% through a forty five-moment charge. Even now, for all its portability, this most likely just isn’t the notebook to pick if you will need all-working day utilization away from a mains ability supply.  

Even though it lacks a fingerprint sensor and provides mediocre battery lifestyle in its Core i7/16GB configuration, Lenovo’s Yoga Trim 7i Carbon is a serviceable, light-weight and distinct-searching thirteen-inch notebook.

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