Laptop reviewLenovo Yoga Slim 6i: Fulfills its purpose without gimmicks
Laptop review
Lenovo Yoga Slim 6i: Fulfills its purpose without gimmicks
“The Yoga Slim 6i omits features like a touchscreen and a rotatable screen, but its size and weight make it convenient for travel, and the battery lasts through a workday away from the office,” writes Itai Smuskowitz, CTech's laptop critic
Top Line
Lenovo’s Yoga 6i isn't a powerhouse for intensive tasks, nor is it optimized for watching series and movies. Its focus is on productivity, provided it isn't tasked with very graphics-intensive activities.
The laptop efficiently and quietly fulfills its purpose without gimmicks. It omits features like a touchscreen and a rotatable screen. Its size and weight make it convenient for travel, and the battery lasts through a workday away from the office. The value offered is highly competitive within its price range.
Details
Some things seem obvious - laptops, especially premium models, come these days with a touchscreen. Lenovo computers have comfortable keyboards, and in the company's Yoga series models, the screen rotates up to 360 degrees, allowing it to be placed in the shape of a tent or attached to the back of the computer.
However, when I opened the Yoga Slim 6i for the first time, I was concerned that I might break the screen. I tried to rotate it beyond 180 degrees, but it took me a moment to realize that this model does not allow such rotation. While it lacks a touchscreen, the keyboard remains very comfortable.
It appears that Lenovo decided to align this Yoga model more closely with its counterparts from other series of the company - relatively light and thin, without extravagant additions or gimmicks, but rather a computer primarily intended for work.
Structure and design: Integration into a work environment
Describing the Yoga Slim 6i as beautiful would be a stretch, but it can certainly be called elegant. It comes in a gray color, presenting a clean design featuring only the Lenovo and Yoga logos. The device has rounded corners and a folder-like appearance.
The name highlights one of its notable attributes: it's a thin and lightweight computer. With a thickness of around 1.5 cm and a weight of approximately 1.3 kg, it might not be the thinnest or lightest, but its dimensions make it easily portable.
The weight hasn't been achieved by compromising the size of the computer, which accommodates a 14-inch screen while leaving ample space for a spacious and comfortable keyboard. The keyboard is backlit and can be configured to adjust its illumination automatically based on ambient lighting conditions. There's also a large and smooth touchpad, free from physical buttons. Pressing the lower right corner serves as the right mouse button, while pressing anywhere else on the pad simulates a left-click.
Hardware: Powerful, with an unimpressive screen
The compact dimensions and lightweight design don't come at the cost of performance either. The tested model boasts a 13th generation Intel i5 processor, 16 gigabytes of memory (soldered to the motherboard, hence non-upgradable), and a 512-gigabyte drive. An alternative model features an i7 processor and a 1-terabyte drive. Each variant comes with an integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics card, bundled with the processor.
What does all this translate to? Even with the "weaker" i5 processor, the computer handles daily tasks for an average user with ease and even manages less demanding games. It's not tailored for gaming, but it can handle games that aren't overly resource-intensive. As previously mentioned, this computer is geared towards work, not play.
In the connectivity department, the Yoga offers two USB-C ports that also support the Thunderbolt standard, a "regular" USB (3.2) port, a jack for wired headphones, and an HDMI port - a decent variety. It lacks an Ethernet port for wired networking, a memory card reader, or a fingerprint scanner. However, the facial recognition camera provides a means of unlocking the computer, and a manual shutter ensures privacy.
The speakers also emphasize that this isn't an entertainment-focused computer. While Lenovo claims they support the Dolby Atmos standard for surround sound, their performance is decent but far from exceptional. The sound is loud but of average quality. Lenovo has demonstrated greater audio capabilities with products like the Yoga Book 9i, albeit in a different category.
The screen falls in line with the other components - good, but not a display of extravagance. It's evident that it's not an OLED screen. The screen's brightness is impressive; at maximum brightness, it remains usable even under direct sunlight. In shaded environments, the brightness aids in maintaining a clear, legible, and comfortable viewing experience.
During regular tasks without particularly demanding applications, the battery lasted for more than 10 hours. The laptop also supports fast charging through a 65-watt charger. It took only 20 minutes to charge from 5% to 30%, and with half an hour of charging, the battery reached 40% - sufficient for about three hours of work. A full charge required around an hour and a half.
