The Yoga Slim 7x is the first computer with Copilot+ that Lenovo has launched in Spain, and it has won me over with its power, lightweight format ideal for hybrid.
Lately, artificial intelligence is on everyone’s lips, as I’m sure you’ve already realized, and in the electronics industry this means that it’s time for devices with AI and that this technology is becoming one of the big draws for continuing to sell hardware.
In recent months, all the big technology brands are jumping on the bandwagon, first in mobile phones, but increasingly also in computers, which in the Windows ecosystem are beginning to incorporate Microsoft’s Copilot+.
One of the brands most decisively launching itself into the AI euphoria is Lenovo, the world’s number one brand by sales for several years now, which recently had a market share of over 23% in the second quarter of 2024.
Lenovo has now launched its first computer with Microsoft’s Copilot+ in Spain, the new Yoga Slim 7x 14-inch, the ninth generation of the series, which is already on sale for a starting price of 1,499 euros.
This is probably the most important news to date in Lenovo’s AI strategy, which involves bringing Copilot+ from Microsoft to many more computers in its catalog to make AI available to all its consumers.
Design and connectivity: it’s a compact laptop perfect for hybrid work
The Yoga family is currently the best known of Lenovo’s laptops for personal use, and I think this new Yoga Slim 7x has everything it needs to be a laptop for personal use but at the same time be interesting for hybrid workers who move around a lot.
The new computer is an ultralight, and therefore competes from the Windows ecosystem with the Macbook Air, also incorporating elements present in Apple laptops such as the metallic design and a thin profile, which in this case is 12.9 millimeters, but feels even narrower thanks to the rounded edges.
The Yoga Slim 7x Gen 9 is an extremely light laptop for a 14.5-inch screen, weighing in at just 1.28 kilos, which is very good. Thanks to its aluminum casing and despite its very narrow bezels, it doesn’t feel like a fragile device at all.
I have tried the dark blue version and I must say that I loved how balanced and aesthetic Lenovo has made this laptop. I can only say one thing that I didn’t like: it is a fingerprint magnet, and I found it impossible to keep clean after just a few minutes of use.
On the plus side, the part that makes the webcam stick out a little makes it easier to open when closed, but without actually touching the sensor itself.
Despite how well it serves as a personal computer, I also find its compact format ideal for hybrid working, providing more screen size than usual in this type of laptop.
For example, it has allowed me to take it on business trips in a backpack comfortably and without taking up too much space, leaving enough room to also carry two days’ worth of clothes without having to carry a suitcase.
And one of my favorite features for work has undoubtedly been its keyboard, one of Lenovo’s strengths, which shines especially in this Yoga Slim 7x. These keys are slightly backlit (only in white) to be seen better, and I loved writing thanks to its 1.5-millimeter scissor format and its greaseproof coating that keeps them clean longer, unlike what happens with the chassis.
Its lightweight format means it only has third-generation USC Type-C ports, the fastest ones, of course, which also serve as a charging port, but require the use of an adapter. Lenovo includes one but it is somewhat limited (jack, USB and HDMI) so it would not be unusual for you to need another one.
Screen: its OLED touch panel stands out in quality and size
The new Yoga Slim 7x has a screen that is undoubtedly among the ones I liked the most thanks to its quality and dimensions.
First, in terms of quality, its OLED panel provides an impeccable experience in which not only its 3K resolution stands out, but also the good color reproduction and deep blacks for which OLED material is already well known.
Of its quality, the feature that has really caught my attention is actually the fairly high brightness, 500 nits in normal mode and 1,000 nits for HDR content, which allows for good visibility even when it is intense.
The only but that I can put to the Yoga Slim 7x screen is a refresh rate of 90 hertz that falls a bit short when you play video games because the movement is less fluid than in other cases, although it is not something that seems particularly serious to me because that is not its purpose.
And secondly, at 14.5 inches, it is one of the largest screens you can currently find on an ultralight laptop.
Thanks to its extra size and 16:10 aspect ratio, which allows for more vertical space, the larger screen on this Lenovo laptop allows you to work comfortably in split screen mode with two applications open at the same time, as I have often done when using it for work.
Although many of the devices in the Yoga series are convertible, this Slim 7x cannot be separated from the keyboard or folded 180 degrees, but in return Lenovo has included a touch screen. With it you can work in a more versatile way without relying on the trackpad, although it is not something that I have found particularly useful, to be honest.
In terms of sound, the experience is very good too thanks to its system with four speakers with Dolby Atmos and audio output on the sides of the keyboard, which achieves a very clear sound that is heard perfectly at medium levels and that loses some precision when you go above 85%, although its power is greater than I expected.
I have been able to have video calls with this computer with good quality, both in terms of image thanks to its 1080p camera and functions such as automatic framing when you are not in the center, but also in terms of sound thanks to its four-microphone system.
Performance: lots of power but Qualcomm still lacks in graphics
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x is Lenovo’s first computer with a new Qualcomm processor model, Snapdragon X Elite, which shows great promise and marks its performance, which is surprisingly good in terms of CPU but still has a long way to go in terms of graphics.
Snapdragon X Elite is Qualcomm’s big bet to become a major player in the world of powerful computer processors, after several models that until now focused on especially ultralight, more basic models or Chromebooks.
In terms of performance, static tests show that Qualcomm has finally entered the high-end computer market, as it stands up to comparison with other comparable models from Apple or Huawei, especially in the multi-variant, but don’t expect it to be the most powerful of the moment, not by a long shot.
I can confirm, from this week of testing in which I have worked with it constantly and put it to the test, that the performance of the Yoga Slim 7x is very good for an ultralight and opens powerful applications with ease and in a short time. It also handles multitasking quite well, when you have the screen split into several apps running at the same time.
You will be able to use powerful applications such as video editing, which work well thanks to its 16 or 32 GB LPDDR5X RAM, but bear in mind that the device gets quite hot because, although this makes it very quiet, it has no fans.
However, in terms of performance, the big area for improvement is the power not only of the CPU but also of the graphics, an aspect in which I believe Qualcomm’s Adreno GPUs still have a lot of room for improvement.
And this is especially noticeable in video games. Despite their good performance when executing processes, ARM chips are not usually the best in video games and this is precisely what happens with this Yoga Slim 7x with Snapdragon X Elite, a chip that is not designed for these tasks.
In games of Grounded, which is not one of the most demanding titles either, I have noticed jerks and even moments when textures and scenarios had serious problems loading. So if gaming is very important to you, it is not the ideal option.
Its 70 Wh battery has a decent autonomy for a 14.5-inch screen, but I must admit that it was not enough for a full 8-hour working day and my habit of always having dozens of tabs open while I work.
Software: Copilot+ has the potential to change the way you use your PC
In terms of software, you’ll allow me not to focus on Windows 11, an operating system about which you are by now well aware of its benefits and its flaws, and instead focus on the big news: the AI of Copilot+.
Copilot+ is always displayed through a shortcut on the Windows 11 application dock, and when you open it you simply find a chat to converse with the AI of Microsoft and OpenAI, to which you can ask for prompts like the ones you would write to ChaGPT.
Microsoft’s AI and its integration with Qualcomm theoretically allows the AI’s responses to be faster, and I’ve noticed this especially in the text, where the responses start to appear instantly, although the images generated by Dall-E the AI still take about 10 seconds from the time you ask for them.
They are also still not perfect if you ask for something very specific and not just inspiration: paradoxically, Copilot+ itself is incapable of portraying itself without images of planes and pilots, despite the fact that I specifically asked for that.
For the moment, the experience with the AI is fluid but I think you can tell that it is only available on Windows computers with ARM, that is, only on computers with the latest Qualcomm chip, because I have the feeling that in terms of user experience, Copilot+’s AI still has a long way to go before it is really useful for a mass audience. As of today, it looks too much like the raw OpenAI products.
Copilot+ sleeps in your app icon tray most of the time, waiting for you to ask it a question. In general, the Windows 11 experience remains very similar, which is good because Copilot+ is not a second Clippy that constantly bothers you, but there are few points at which the PC offers you something that really makes your day-to-day life easier.
The fact that today the Copilot+ experience on Lenovo’s first computer in Spain with this feature is a little more basic does not mean that it will always be like this, as the 45 TOPS ensure that it will support new functions that arrive in the future, which will surely be reactivated when Copilot+ reaches x86 chips in early 2025.
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x is a very good option
The 2024 version of the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x is a laptop that is anything but boring, and if you’re someone who wants to try the latest, recommending this first Copilot+ computer that Lenovo is launching in Spain is really easy, although I recommend patience until the AI is completely ready.
As for the rest, it is a fairly powerful computer for personal use or even as a computer for a hybrid worker, in which the Snapdragon X Elite surprises with a really fluid performance, but at the same time it could still improve a lot at the graphic level due to its integrated Adreno graphics.
At 1,499 euros, perhaps it is currently priced a little high for what it offers, but in return its compact and elegant design and its high-quality 14.5-inch OLED screen mean that it has no shortage of hardware arguments for less enthusiastic AI users.
