Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon (13IAP7) review: our full review – The laptop

Updated September 13, 2022: Lenovo offered us to test another copy of the Yoga Slim 7i Carbon after our feedback of an incorrect space key on the first model. On a new copy, the problem is completely absent.

However, it’s hard to know whether the flaw we’ve detected, and quite a pain to use, mind you, will be widespread or not on commercial copies. It’s also impossible to tell if it’s a matter of durability: could a new copy also fail over time?

So consider the following. The space key is the only blocking issue on this near-perfect product. On the second copy, the problem is no longer there. Whether you want to take that risk or not is up to you. After all, the risk of failure concerns all devices on the market and withdrawal rights may also exist for that.

Don’t forget one thing in the world of laptops: Lenovo is more innovative than you think. The manufacturer, however, is at the forefront of the fashion for convertibles with its Yoga range. Plus, we always expect a lot from new devices. With the Yoga Slim 7i Carbon, Lenovo is almost perfect… Almost.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon (13IAP7)Technical sheet

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon (13IAP7)Design

The design of the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon is interesting for several reasons. First for the orientation: the way the logo is oriented, it makes you want to be held vertically like some sort of book. And it does: with its amazingly textured magnesium alloy shell, perhaps related to the integrated “Web-Core 2.0 multi-layer carbon fiber” that Lenovo talked about, it has a little premium je-ne-sais-quoi in effect.

That’s on top of its ultra-rounded edges, which, along with a featherweight 995 grams, make you feel like you’re using a tablet more than a laptop. It’s almost surprising that the latter isn’t a mutable format, as everything seems optimized for it. Truly, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon is an interesting computer in many ways.

Keyboard and touchpad

Unfortunately, the romance will end here. At this very specific point: the keyboard. That’s fine on paper, with sizable buttons and a full-size Enter key. The keys have a bit of travel, but that’s not a big deal on such a thin computer.

But here it is… On our first copy, the Space key was unbearable. Almost unusable. This one packs less punch than the others, and just isn’t the same. It works pretty well if you press left, yes. If you press in the middle, you have an 8 in 10 chance that your press will not be recognized. And if you press on the right of the device, you have a 3 in 10 chance your press will be recognized twice. Therefore, double space in your text. The problems were such that I had to abandon the idea of ​​typing this test on the computer itself, as is our tradition, to return to my usual Chromebook.

This is really disappointing, because everything else is good. The touchpad is great and slides under fingers. The format, the width… Anything goes. If only the Space key wasn’t so bad. On the second copy received by Lenovo, the problem was completely absent, but the space bar didn’t really exude quality.

connector

On the left, you’ll find a USB-C Thunderbolt 4 port. On the left, a “simple” USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port compatible with DisplayPort 1.4, a power supply and with 20 Gbit/s bandwidth. You’ll also find a physical button to release the webcam, to protect your privacy.

This is definitely a lightweight configuration, which is in line with the computer concept. Again, it’s more reminiscent of a tablet than a PC, but things stay consistent. What’s more, the Thunderbolt 4 port naturally opens up a lot of possibilities with 40 Gbps bandwidth.

webcam and audio

The webcam, which is also Windows Hello compatible, is back in an interesting location. The cover of the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon has a small protrusion not only to open it easily, but also to house the sensor. What a great idea, even though the webcam itself is only 720p. He doesn’t work miracles.

The same goes for the speakers located under the machine. Not the most optimal placement, but again forgivable. The volume is punchy, with well-defined highs. The media isn’t rearranged, but lacks a bit of body. As for the bass… They weren’t there, of course. It’s not all bad.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon (13IAP7)Screen

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon is equipped with a 13.3-inch 8-bit IPS LCD panel in a definition of 2560 x 1600 pixels with a ratio of 16:10. It is compatible with a refresh rate of 90 Hz, although it is configured by default at 60 Hz. It is also tactile, again a missed opportunity to make it a switchable device.

Based on our investigations and with the DisplayCal software, we see that as promised by the manufacturer, the panel covers 99.9% of the sRGB space. It’s even perfectly calibrated for this. Not so with Adobe RGB, covered at 68.8%, or DCI P3 at 70.7%. The average color temperature is raised to 6400K which is very close to the video standard 6500K, and the contrast ratio is excellent at 1281:1. The average Delta E00 compared to the DCI P3 chamber is 2.35, which is very good.

This is perhaps the maximum brightness, raised to 361 cd / m², which is a bit of a disappointment. Granted, this is enough for the computer to be readable in direct sunlight, but not as comfortable as at a good 500 cd/m². You can also forget about HDR. But overall, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon is excellent for anyone working in the sRGB space, especially the web. It’s not the perfect computer for video editors, but it was never meant to be.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon (13IAP7)Software

Lenovo remains generally discreet in its software fixes. That’s still the case in the Yoga Slim 7i Carbon, which really only has basic McAfee settings as a vice. It is still and always is a adwarewhether we want it or not.

On the other hand, Lenovo Vantage is still one of the best interfaces for managing device settings well. It represents the best central point between the good nerd who really wants to perfect everything, and the neophyte who still has to figure out what he’s doing.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon (13IAP7)Show

In our test configuration, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon features an Intel Core i7-1260P, a 12-core SoC including 4 performance and 8 efficient for 16 threads, which can turbo up to 4.7 GHz. It’s backed by 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and 1TB of PCIe Gen 4 storage.

General benchmarks

In Performance mode, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon behaves exactly as expected with its i7-1260P chip. We found in Cinebench R23 substantially the same results as the LG Gram 17, Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro or the latest Zenbook 14, with 8942 points in multi-core and 1503 points in single core. The same goes for PCMark 10, with a score of 5091 points.

Still with the same result for the Samsung SSD in PCIe Gen 4. It should be noted that among the ultrabooks we tested recently, the Yoga Slim 7i Carbon got the best score despite being thin.

Cooling and noise

And that, he pays a little on the heating side. Even using its normal mode, the computer’s temperature quickly reached 52°C on the bottom of the chassis. If you use the Yoga Slim 7i Carbon mainly on a table or other flat surface, you won’t feel it. The rest of the laptop remains comfortable. But if you use it on your lap… Ouch.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon (13IAP7)Autonomy

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon is equipped with a tiny 50 Wh battery. It can be recharged using any of the computer’s USB-C ports, and any charger that uses the PowerDelivery standard.

Under typical usage, which is also what this computer is meant for, with lots of tabs open, a few videos, and a bit of music… the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon should last between 9 and 10 hours. This is within the framework of the manufacturer’s promises once again, which are not located in the technical sheet.

Nine hours of autonomy does not allow it to be on the podium of the newest ultrabooks, but its performance is still very good. Especially for a laptop as thin and portable as this.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon (13IAP7)Price and availability

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon is already available in France. Our test configuration retails for 1,799 euros, but you can find a PC in the i5 configuration for around 1,300 euros.

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