This might be one of the sexiest laptops Lenovo has ever announced.
Ahead of today’s unveiling of the Slim 9i, I had the opportunity to check it out in-person at a pre-briefing, and it’s absolutely striking. Lenovo uses an aluminum and glass construction with a glossy finish around the entire machine. The result is a laptop that more resembles a fine piece of jewelry than something like a MacBook or ThinkPad.
Durability will obviously be an issue. While Lenovo told me the laptop was still durable enough for everyday use, I wasn’t able to figure out exactly how strong that glass is. One representative told me the 3D glass it’s using can compare to Gorilla Glass, but I suppose only in the sense that both materials are technically glass. It’s also not very light at 3.02 pounds, and I got the impression that you’ll instantly notice it in your backpack because of it.
The new Slim 9i, succeeding Lenovo’s older IdeaPad Slim 9i, is otherwise familiar to anyone who’s seen one of Lenovo’s laptops before. There’s a reverse notch at the top that stores the webcam and optional Windows Hello sensors, while the port selection remains a bit plain with three Thunderbolt 4 ports and a headphone jack. It’s shipping in a single Oatmeal finish that’s certainly classy to look at, but might not be for everyone.
What will certainly appeal to every buyer is the included 14-inch OLED display, which is the only display type the Slim 9i comes with. You can get it in either 2880×1080 or 3840×2400 flavors, and each sports 400 nits of brightness, touch input, Dolby Vision, and 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut. However, if you want a fast refresh rate, you’ll need to opt for the 1080p option which gets you 90Hz.
Under the hood, Lenovo is including Intel’s 12th-generation P-series processors, up to an i7-1280P. It’s paired with up to 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM, 1TB of PCIe Gen 4 SSD storage, and Intel Iris Xe graphics. The webcam has been upgraded to 1080p, and there’s a convenient kill switch on the right side of the laptop that disconnects all power to the camera for privacy. This replaces the ThinkShutter from previous Lenovo laptops.
Battery life is expected to last all day, with Lenovo telling me users can expect 12.5 hours on a full charge. The 75Whr cell gets the company’s Rapid Charge Boost technology which can give you two hours of usage in 15 minutes. Rounding things off, the laptop ships with Bluetooth 5.1, Wi-Fi 6E, Bowers & Wilkins speakers, and Windows 11.
Lenovo says the new Slim 9i will start at $1,799 and go on sale this June. I should have a review unit in the coming weeks so stay tuned.
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