Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x Review: The Ultimate Ultraportable of 2024

When it comes to ultraportable laptops, Lenovo has always been at the forefront, blending cutting-edge technology with sleek design. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x, brand new for 2024, is no exception. This laptop promises a lot on paper, from its stunning OLED display to its robust performance powered by the Snapdragon X Elite processor. But does it live up to the hype? Let’s dive deep into the details and see what makes the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x a standout in the crowded field of ultraportables.

Design and Build Quality

Premium Aesthetics and Robust Construction

One of the first things you’ll notice about the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x is its premium build. The laptop features an all-metal design that screams luxury from every angle. The Cosmic Blue finish is not only visually striking but also adds a touch of sophistication. However, be prepared to carry a microfiber cloth, as this finish tends to collect fingerprints quite easily.

• Thin and Light: Weighing just a few pounds, the Yoga Slim 7x is exceptionally portable. Its slim profile means you can easily slip it into a bag without adding noticeable weight.
• Solid Build: Despite its lightweight nature, the laptop feels rock solid in hand, a testament to Lenovo’s commitment to quality.

Display

A Visual Delight: 14.5-Inch 3K OLED Display

The display is often the centerpiece of any laptop, and the Yoga Slim 7x does not disappoint. Sporting a 14.5-inch 3K OLED display with a resolution of 2944×1840, it offers a visual experience that’s both immersive and crystal clear.

• OLED Brilliance: The display produces deep blacks and vibrant colors, making it perfect for both media consumption and professional content creation.
• 90Hz Refresh Rate: While it may not be as high as 120Hz, the 90Hz refresh rate strikes a good balance, offering smoother visuals without significantly impacting battery life.
• Aspect Ratio: The 16:10 aspect ratio provides more vertical screen real estate, which is particularly useful for productivity tasks.

Brightness and Color Accuracy

The Yoga Slim 7x excels in terms of brightness and color accuracy:

• HDR Performance: With a peak brightness of 1000 nits for HDR content, the display is capable of delivering stunning visuals, even in brightly lit environments.
• Color Gamut: The display covers a wide color gamut, making it ideal for photo and video editing. It also boasts excellent color accuracy, ensuring that what you see on the screen is true to life.

Performance

Powered by Snapdragon X Elite

Under the hood, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x is powered by the Snapdragon X Elite 78100 processor. This chipset ensures that the laptop is more than capable of handling everyday tasks with ease.

• Everyday Performance: From browsing the web to running Microsoft Office applications, the laptop performs smoothly, without any noticeable lag.
• Thermal Management: The laptop remains cool and quiet, even under heavy load, thanks to its efficient thermal management system. During the time spy stress test, it showed virtually no thermal throttling, maintaining performance even under prolonged use.

RAM and Storage

The Yoga Slim 7x comes with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, which is soldered onto the motherboard. While this means the RAM isn’t user-upgradable, the 16GB provided should be sufficient for most users.

• RAM Performance: The LPDDR5X RAM runs at 8500 megatransfers per second, providing fast and efficient performance.
• Storage: The laptop features a 512GB SSD in the smaller 2242 form factor. The storage is user-upgradable, allowing you to increase capacity if needed.

Battery Life

All-Day Power

Battery life is a crucial aspect of any ultraportable laptop, and the Yoga Slim 7x delivers in this department.

• Longevity: In our video playback test, where we streamed 4K video over Wi-Fi at 40% brightness, the laptop lasted an impressive 15 hours and 53 minutes.
• Real-World Usage: In everyday use, you can expect all-day battery life, making it a reliable companion for both work and play.

Charging and Power Management

The laptop comes with a 70Whr battery, which is on the larger side for a 14.5-inch device. This larger battery, combined with efficient power management, ensures you won’t be reaching for the charger frequently.

Connectivity

Ports and Wireless Connectivity

In terms of connectivity, the Yoga Slim 7x offers a mix of modern and essential ports, but there are a few notable omissions.

• USB Type-C: The laptop includes three USB Type-C 4.0 ports, which support 40Gbps data transfer and Thunderbolt 4.0.
• Privacy Features: A physical kill switch for the webcam adds an extra layer of security.
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth: The device supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth, ensuring fast and reliable wireless connections.

Missing Elements

While the laptop covers many bases, it does lack some traditional ports:

• No USB-A: The absence of a USB-A port means you’ll need adapters for older peripherals.
• No HDMI: Lack of an HDMI port could be a drawback for users who frequently connect to external displays.
• No Headphone Jack: The omission of a headphone jack might be inconvenient for those who prefer wired audio devices.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Typing Experience and Navigation

The Yoga Slim 7x features Lenovo’s signature U-shaped keys, providing a comfortable and efficient typing experience.

• Key Travel and Feedback: The keys offer good tactility and travel, making long typing sessions a breeze.
• Backlighting: The multi-stage backlight is useful for working in low-light environments, such as on an airplane or in a dimly lit room.

Touchpad

The glass touchpad is responsive and supports all Windows Precision drivers, ensuring smooth navigation and gesture control.

• Size and Responsiveness: The touchpad is generously sized and works well for all typical touchpad functions.
• No Haptic Feedback: Unlike some higher-end models, the touchpad lacks haptic feedback, but this is a minor omission considering the laptop’s price point.

Audio and Camera

Audio Quality

The Yoga Slim 7x is equipped with four Dolby Atmos speakers, providing an immersive audio experience.

• Sound Quality: The speakers deliver clear and loud audio, making it suitable for media consumption and video calls.
• Spatial Audio: Dolby Atmos support enhances the spatial audio experience, adding depth to the sound.

Camera

The laptop features a 1080p IR camera, which supports Windows Hello for quick and secure facial recognition login.

• Privacy Shutter: The physical kill switch for the camera ensures your privacy when the camera is not in use.
• Image Quality: The camera provides clear and detailed video, suitable for video conferencing and content creation.

Graphics and Gaming

Integrated Adreno Graphics

While the Yoga Slim 7x is not designed for high-end gaming, its integrated Adreno GPU can handle basic graphics tasks.

• Casual Gaming: The laptop can run casual games and older titles, but don’t expect to play the latest AAA games at high settings.
• Content Creation: The GPU is adequate for tasks like photo editing and light video editing. DaVinci Resolve Studio 19 (beta) for Windows on ARM worked reasonably well for 4K video editing.

Software and User Experience

Windows on ARM

The Yoga Slim 7x runs Windows on ARM, which offers a mix of benefits and challenges.

• Native ARM Apps: Apps like Microsoft Office and Edge perform exceptionally well, providing a smooth user experience.
• App Compatibility: Some x86 apps may have compatibility issues, but this is expected to improve as more software is optimized for ARM.

AI Features

The laptop includes several AI-driven features designed to enhance the user experience, although some may be missing at launch.

• Voice Recognition: Advanced voice recognition capabilities make it easier to interact with the laptop hands-free.
• Smart Charging: AI-driven smart charging extends the battery lifespan by optimizing charging patterns.

Verdict

The Ultimate Ultraportable of 2024

After spending significant time with the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x, it’s clear that Lenovo has crafted a remarkable ultraportable laptop that excels in many areas.

• Pros:
  • Gorgeous OLED Display: The 14.5-inch 3K OLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate is stunning, offering vibrant colors and deep blacks.
  • Excellent Battery Life: With up to 15 hours and 53 minutes of battery life, it’s perfect for all-day use.
  • Premium Build: The all-metal construction and Cosmic Blue finish exude quality and elegance.
  • Great Performance: Powered by the Snapdragon X Elite 78100, it handles everyday tasks with ease.
  • Superior Audio: Four Dolby Atmos speakers deliver impressive sound quality.
• Cons:
  • Limited Ports: The absence of USB-A, HDMI, and a headphone jack might be inconvenient for some users.
  • Gaming Limitations: The integrated Adreno GPU is not suited for high-end gaming.
  • App Compatibility: Some x86 apps may face compatibility issues on Windows on ARM.

Overall, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x offers an exceptional combination of performance, portability, and visual appeal, making it a top choice for anyone in the market for an ultraportable laptop in 2024. Whether you’re a professional on the go, a