As sleek and slight as Snapdragon X gets
Lenovo has expanded the Yoga brand beyond 2-in-1 laptops in recent years, and the latest entry into the family is the ultraportable Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x (starts at $1,199.99). The aptly named « Slim » laptop has a skinny, light design, a durable aluminum build, and a killer OLED display. However, it’s not without quirks due to its Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor, which itself struggled to compete with other Snapdragon models we’ve reviewed but lasted for well more than a workday on a charge. With one of Lenovo’s first-rate keyboards and touchpads onboard in a fantastic chassis, the Slim 7x will find its fans, even if it’s not the leader in its class.Configurations: The Only Way Is Up
Lenovo sells only a few configurable options for the Yoga Slim 7x, with the most significant differences around memory and storage.
Our review unit, the same model sold at Best Buy, is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite (X1E-78-100) processor, 16GB of memory, and a 512GB SSD for storage. It sells for $1,199.99.
If you want to spend a little more money on your laptop for extra multitasking and storage, you can bump the RAM to 32GB ($69) and the SSD to 1TB ($45). You can also swap out the standard Windows 11 Home for the Pro version ($28). The most expensive and well-equipped configuration will run you about $1,340.Design: Slim & Sturdy
We can’t talk about the Yoga Slim 7x without discussing the name. First and foremost, despite bearing the Yoga name, the Slim 7x is not a 2-in-1 laptop. As of 2020, with the introduction of the original Lenovo Yoga Slim and the Lenovo Yoga AIO all-in-one desktop, the Yoga name has expanded beyond convertible 2-in-1 models, adding both traditional clamshell laptops and all-in-one desktops to the family. It isn’t obvious, but that’s life in corporate branding.
Second, when Lenovo calls this model « Slim », it’s not wishful thinking. Measuring just 0.5 inch thick, it’s one of the slimmer ultraportables on the market. It’s also extremely light, weighing just 2.8 pounds. A 14-inch laptop that’s not just ultraportable in weight, this is one of the lightest laptops of its screen size we’ve reviewed. Its durable aluminum chassis is not only sleek, but it’s tested to meet military-grade standards (MIL-STD 810H) and rated to survive the rigors of everyday life.
The 14.5-inch OLED touch-screen display with 3K (2,944-by-1,840-pixel) resolution is equally impressive. With vibrant color and a 90Hz refresh rate, it looks excellent in any scenario, providing smooth motion, snappy responsiveness, and crisp contrast. Whether watching videos or working in spreadsheets, the clarity and high refresh rate make everything clear and fluid.
OLED screens are ideal for HDR content due to the per-pixel illumination they provide, and this one takes that further with up to 1,000 nits of brightness for HDR highlights. And, for those who demand high-quality color, the display also delivers 100% DCI-P3 color coverage. In testing, the Yoga Slim 7x had the best display we’ve seen on any recently released Snapdragon-powered laptops, even compared with OLED-equipped systems like the Microsoft Surface Pro.
The accompanying webcam is situated in the protruding communications bar above the display. Recording at 1080p, the webcam has an electronic shutter but a separate switch for turning the camera on and off instead of a software toggle or a dedicated function key. It also has an IR sensor for Windows Hello facial recognition, letting you sign on securely with just your face.
When using the webcam, the picture quality is usually clear, with decent color reproduction and excellent dynamic range, but sometimes the details are a bit out of focus. The camera also benefits from Windows Studio Effects, a handful of background AI-powered enhancements that tweak and improve the image. It’s hard to know exactly how much these features help or hinder since they run automatically in the background.
The backlit keyboard is surprisingly comfortable for a compact laptop, especially one so conspicuously thin and light. The keys also feature dish-shaped keycaps, and with 1.5mm of travel, the typing feel is quite similar to Lenovo’s celebrated business laptop keyboards, albeit without the red TrackPoint nub in the center.
Instead, the laptop has a 5.3-inch touchpad with a smooth glass surface and a responsive tactile click to each tap. It doesn’t have haptic feedback, but the buttonless glass surface does the trick just fine.
Befitting its name, the laptop’s port selection is also slim.
