Lenovo’s Yogi Book 9i makes a case for dual-screen laptops, and it doesn’t suck
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Lenovo takes the dual-screen concept to the next level with the Yoga Book 9i, one of the first laptops with two full-size OLED touchscreens.
Technology companies have tried to make dual screen laptops in the past. Unfortunately, they don’t go anywhere like the Microsoft Surface Neoor are scaled down. However, this new Lenovo laptop does things a little differently.
At least Lenovo calls it a laptop. It is more of a tablet where the hinge serves as a partition. The screens themselves don’t bend, so you don’t have to worry about an annoying crease in the middle. Looking at the announcement images (opens in new tab), the Yoga Book 9i is quite versatile as both screens can be used for one image or working on two separate apps at the same time. You could possibly give a presentation about it while you “watch the chat [and] continue slides from the second screen.”
While there’s no direct-attached keyboard, the Yoga Book 9i comes with a “detachable Bluetooth keyboard.” Lenovo also says it will support the Smart Pen, but it’s not known if the stylus will be part of the launch package.
What to expect
According to the specs, the Yoga Book 9i’s OLED displays are 13.3-inches wide, each with a resolution of 2.8K (2880×1800 pixels) at 60Hz. Both boast “100 percent DCI-P3 color accuracy and Dolby Vision HDR” that should deliver vibrant, detailed images.
For audio, the dual-screen laptop comes with “Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio” and a soundbar with Bowers & Wilkins speakers for an immersive experience.
Everything is powered by a 13th Gen Intel Core i7-U15 CPU and an Iris Xe GPU, so don’t expect the 9i to deliver great performance for gaming. It’s more for work and school. You’ll watch about 10 hours with both screens on a low brightness setting, so you might want to leave the charger at home. Other notable features include support for Wi-Fi 6E, a maximum storage capacity of 1 TB and an LPDDR5X 16G RAM.
Be prepared to pay a hefty price for the Yoga Book 9i. It will launch in June 2023 in Tidal Teal with a starting price of $2,099.99 in the US.
Striking laptops
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The other Lenovo CES release that caught our eye is the Smart Paper, a 10.3-inch E-ink tablet that positions itself as a digital notebook. According to Lenovo, you use the Smart Paper Pen to take notes or create illustrations with a high degree of precision. Users would also be able to choose from nine different pen settings…plus 74 notepad templates”. Plus, the pen doesn’t need to be charged, so you don’t have to worry about running out of stylus.
It seems that Lenovo is setting up the Smart Paper to rival the Kindle Writer, which is great as an e-book reader, but has rather mediocre writing features. The Smart Paper will launch in late 2023 with a starting price of $399.99.
Lenovo has announced a bunch of new laptops that we can’t cover here. Be sure to check out our TechRadar continuous CES 2023 coverage and what we think will be the best laptops at the event.