mini-LED is not for everyone→186k Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 Intel-185H-4060-127%-84Wh
mini-LED is not for everyone→199k Lenovo Yoga Pro 9 Intel-185H-4070-127%-84Wh
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Preview
As I am writing this review and going over the prices of many variants, I am at a loss to justify this laptop at it's price. The IPS display, the more mainstream one is a glossy panel, glossy panels are very irritating and with 400 nits it might seem it's very bright but the glossy thing is a big deal, so there is no choice but to go for the mini-LED Panel which as I have said comes with it's own issues. Now, there are some people who aren't sensitive to PWM and are fine going with mini-LED, so it might make a good sense for them, right? RIGHT?
No, look at the price tag for mini-LEDs. 2 lakhs. It's close to 2 lakh. 2 lakh for such a device no matter what it's pros are isn't justified. However I will still complete this report, but I have already moved this laptop to the not 100% recommended section already in the thin and light section of the laptops.
Why did I even bother with this laptop? Because this laptop was praised a lot and I kept seeing the thermals and performance metrics of this laptop in the top of the chart again and again while making this Thinkpad P series video.
If you're going for this laptop due to its portability, it's not portable, keep looking into some other options like even from Thinkpad too.
If you're going for this laptop due to its performance, go to the offline store and compare it with side by side to Legion 7i. Video soon.
If you're going for this laptop due to thin but still well built, look into Thinkpads.
Caution:.
Mini-LEDs have a lot of things to look out for which are listed here: Mini-LED Issues
RAM is soldered so get more than 16GB RAM.
64GB RAM only comes with glare mini-LED so be sure to go through Mini-LED Issues if you're thinking of getting 64GB RAM.
There are two mini-LED variants, one with matt non glare coating, the other without it.
Pro:
Good Sustained performance throughout.
Two SSD Slots.
mini-LED performs just like IPS in SDR mode so there is no reason to get the IPS variant.
Neutral:
SD Cards hang outside the case.
Wifi 6 good, wifi 7 not here.
Keyboard, webcam, touchpad are fine.
? Last year model had 95% AdobeRGB but now it's only 85%, this might be due to the matte panel.
DPC Latency is low.
Average pre-installed SSD.
Fans are silent in normal or low load but are very loud in normal or performance mode.
Best speakers compared to many laptops but can't use in high peroframnce mode due to high fan noise.
Cons:
Thin base plate makes creaking noises. Unacceptable at this price point.
The middle part of the model feels weak when pressed down.
The laptop is still 2kgs, might as well consider a gaming laptop.
All display outputs are connected to the iGPU so reduction in performance.
RAM IS SOLDERED.
Visible halos in HDR mode with mini-LED.
HDR on windows is still problematic and since HDR is where the mini-LED shines, it's a big issue.
Lenovo advertises Adobe RGB but doesn't give it's profile so you're stuck with DCI-P3. (Download the profile from Reference 1)
PWM Flickering on all percentages except 100.
CPU isn't a big leap from last year model.
Battery performance isn't good compared to the plugged in mode.
THE LAPTOP COMES WITH A 170W GAMING FREAKING BIG A$$ CHARGER. WTF! The cherry on top is that it's not enough LOL.
8 hours wifi web surfing battery life might sound great now but with the new CPUs to launch from AMD this will soon be a thing of the past.
I don't love Apple, their products or their practices but it absolutely grinds me gear when every other company tries to be Apple without actually being it. I hate to say this but at this price point, do look into Macbooks too.
Extra Notes not related to this laptop:
Why does Lenovo keep shipping laptops with a lower power capacity charger is beyond my understanding, but the major problem is:
Why doesn't Lenovo provide a thin and light Ga-Ni charger instead of these bulky chargers especially with their thin and light machines. It defeats the whole purpose of thin and light machines.
AMD still looks like the way to go when it comes to thin and light machines, terrible battery performance, high temps and high power usage on Intel Core Ultra are still terrible.
People keep telling me about Intel EVO certification and even in these laptops with every possible way to get the most juice out of them, it's still not enough, how will cheaper laptops perform.
I don't love Apple, their products or their practices but it absolutely grinds me gear when every other company tries to be Apple without actually being it. I hate to say this but at this price point, do look into Macbooks too.
How can reviewers gloss over such issues is beyond me. Why do everyone of them has to be a diplomat and not have the balls to take a stance on laptops is beyond my understanding.