With a second touchscreen in place of a keyboard, but a trick up its sleeve, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i (not to be confused with the Lenovo Yoga 9i, sans Book) is for serious multi-taskers who hate typing on glass.
Before the days of multi-touch touchscreens and active styluses, the keyboard and track point/pad were an essential aspect of any clamshell notebook design. Now that modern notebook touchscreens are just as responsive to your fingertips and a stylus as the screens on tablets, in theory, you could tear the keyboard off a notebook and replace it with a second touchscreen that doubles as a virtual keyboard when you need to type.
In practice, the concept of a notebook with two screens and no keyboard – going back to the original dual-screen Acer Iconia 14 in 2011 – has offered a very mixed user experience. That second screen can certainly come in handy when undertaking some tasks, but typing on an unrelenting slab of glass is simply horrendous if you spend your days bashing out documents.
Asus’ Zenbook Duo range launched in 2019 with a more sensible compromise. Instead of abandoning the physical keyboard, it shrunk it down. Above the keyboard sits a half-sized secondary screen which acts as a fully functional second display.
Now Lenovo has taken the dual-screen notebook to the next level with the Yoga Book 9i. It’s blessed with two full-sized OLED touchscreens, but there’s a physical keyboard in the box for those times when only a real keyboard will do.
Lenovo Yoga Book 9i first impressions
Out of the box, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i has a sleek and stylish design that doesn’t draw attention and would look at home in the boardroom or the classroom. It features an attractive anodised aluminium body with rounded edges and a “Tidal Teal” deep blue finish.
It feels a little thick and heavy for a modern notebook, but that’s because it’s two slabs of glass. The elegant design has “Lenovo” and “Yoga” subtly etched into the lid, in a way that works in both landscape and portrait mode – hinting at what lies within.
Open the lid and you’re presented with not one but two stunning 13.3-inch, 2880×1800 OLED displays. By default, the bottom screen acts as a fully-functioning secondary display, with the ability to drag windows between the two or even spread windows across them both, just like a standard multi-monitor setup.
Thankfully, Lenovo has put a lot of thought into the practicalities of how to switch between modes depending on what you need to get done.
Tapping eight fingers on the bottom screen calls up a full-sized virtual keyboard. If the active window was on the bottom screen, such as Microsoft Word, it automatically moves up to the top screen so you can still see it as you start typing. All of the other windows on the top and bottom screens remain exactly where they were, so as not to disturb your workspace too much.
As on-glass virtual keyboards go, it’s actually not too bad – with a good level of haptic feedback, but it can obviously never match the feel of a real keyboard at your fingertips.
Alternatively, you can tap three fingers to just call up the onscreen touchpad. In this case, the active window stays where it was. When you’re finished with the virtual keyboard or the trackpad, simply tap the X at the top right to hide it again.
Killing the virtual keyboard doesn’t return the active window back to the bottom screen, but thankfully Lenovo has added a tweak that lets you move windows between screens with a simple flick of your finger, rather than needing to drag them. So you can just flick Word from the top back to the bottom and return to whatever you were doing before you temporarily needed the keyboard.Â
Bend over backwards
Of course, a dual-screen notebook offers a lot more flexibility than just mimicking a traditional notebook. The Lenovo Yoga Book 9i is more like a 2-in-1 but actually offers much more.
The Lenovo user centre – called up with the F12 key – lets you switch between a range of configurations including portrait mode where you can hold the notebook like a real book (although it’s a bit heavy) and collaboration “tent” mode which lets you fold it over backwards so you can present to someone sitting across from you. There’s also game mode, using the bottom screen as a touch controller.
This is where the impressive folio stand comes in handy, a sturdy magnetic fabric folding stand which lets you prop up the notebook is a range of different configurations. Keep in mind, there’s a visible hinge between the screens, which contains a soundbar, so when you fold it open flat it doesn’t make a single seamless screen like a fold or flip phone.
Reach for the keyboard
So far so good but, if you regularly type more than a few sentences at a time, you’re probably reluctant to part with a physical keyboard. Never fear, Lenovo includes one in the box.
The Lenovo Yoga Book 9i’s supplied Bluetooth keyboard is custom designed to fit perfectly onto the bottom screen, with magnets holding it in place. It features a power/pairing slider switch on the side, along with a USB-C port which lets you charge it with the notebook’s charger.
You now have a full-sized notebook keyboard at your fingertips. The key travel is a little soft compared to the best notebook keyboards, but it’s a hell of a lot better than bashing away at a slab of glass. So this sort of makes the Yoga Book 9i a convertible notebook, if not in the traditional sense.
The notebook is smart enough to detect when the keyboard is attached, automatically flinging the active window to the top screen, just like when you call up the virtual keyboard.
If you place the physical keyboard on the lower half of the bottom screen, you get a row of configurable widgets at the top – displaying your Outlook calendar details and news feed by default. Slide the physical keyboard up to the top half of the bottom screen and a virtual trackpad automatically appears below.
Alternatively, you can sit the keyboard on the desk in front of the notebook and continue to use it as a dual-screen device – with the folding stand propping up the screens in whatever way suits you best. To round things out, Lenovo even includes an active stylus. It looks like a USB mouse is also included in some countries, but unfortunately not in Australia.
Admittedly, needing to carry around that separate Bluetooth keyboard is a hassle and it can’t live between the screens when you close the lid. Thankfully, the Swiss army knife folding stand can also act as a protective cover for the Bluetooth keyboard when not in use, complete with a loop for storing the stylus.
Of course, you pay the price in weight, with the keyboard, stand and stylus combined adding another 458 gm to your shoulder.
Lenovo Yoga Book 9i specifications
| Display size | 13.3 inch x2 |
| Display resolution | 2880 x 1800 |
| Display technology | OLED touchscreen, HDR 500, 100%DCI-P3, 400 nits, 60 Hz |
| CPU | 13th Generation Intel Core i7-1355U Processor (E-cores up to 3.70 GHz P-cores up to 5.00 GHz) |
| GPU | Integrated Intel Iris Xe |
| RAM | 16 GB LPDDR5X-6400MHz (Soldered) |
| Front camera | 5MP RGB+IR with Dual Array Microphone |
| Onboard storage | 512 GB SSD M.2 2242 PCIe Gen4 TLC |
| Connectors | 3x USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 (USB 4.0, DisplayPort, Power Delivery) |
| Charging | 65W USB-C Wall Mount Slim 90% PCC AC Adapter – ANZ |
| Stylus | Lenovo Digital Pen (Gen 3) |
| Battery | 4 Cell Li-Polymer 80Wh |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E 2×2 AX |
| Bluetooth | 5.2 |
| Operating system | Windows 11 Home 64 |
| Dimensions | 299.1 x 203.9 x 15.95 mm |
| Weight | 1.34 kg |
| Price | $4,439 RRP |
| Warranty | 3 years onsite |
| Official website | Lenovo |
Features
Dual screens aside, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i has plenty to offer – as you’d expect considering the hefty price tag
It packs a 13th gen Intel Core i7 power plant, accompanied by 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of solid-state storage. That should handle whatever you throw at it, yet, when it comes to graphics grunt, you need to make do with integrated graphics and there’s no option to upgrade to a discrete graphics card. If you want a decent gaming machine, something like the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is what you’re looking for.
When it comes to ports, there’s only one Thunderbolt 4 USB-C on the left and two on the right in order to preserve that elegant design. There’s no sign of USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet or a headphone jack, so be prepared to throw a dongle or two in your travel bag.
You’ll also find a recessed power button on the right, accompanied by a tiny switch for disabling the front camera. It’s a 5 MP camera with IR support, so it works with Windows Hello face unlock. Unfortunately, Lenovo couldn’t also add a fingerprint reader to the power button.
Those twin OLED screens offer impressive picture quality, including HDR, and are accompanied by full-bodied sound thanks to four Bowers & Wilkins speakers with Dolby Atmos.
When it comes to battery life, Lenovo promises up to 10.5 hours, but that’s a bit optimistic. Expect closer to eight hours but, of course, it depends a lot on how much you use that second screen. Turn it off and you should sail past the 10-hour mark.
Who is the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i for?
The Lenovo Yoga Book 9i is a stunning device and, if you spend more time touching your notebook’s screen than typing on its keyboard, it might be the productivity king you’ve been waiting for. Two gorgeous OLED panels and the origami-style folding stand make for the most flexible of 2-in-1 designs.
Lenovo has clearly put a lot of thought into making the dual-screen concept as practical as possible. By including a physical keyboard in the box, it flat-out acknowledges that typing on glass doesn’t suit everyone and is not a great experience. While the Bluetooth keyboard probably drives up the price, it in turn delivers a notebook that offers the best of both worlds.
That said, considering the price tag, you’d need to have a use case where the dual-screen configuration offers a significant benefit to your workflow. You could pick up a decent notebook and a decent tablet for less, but the Yoga Book 9i could be your 2-in-1 to rule them all.
