The Zoom/Slim 9i is the flagship.
Sharon Harding
On Thursday, Lenovo unveiled a line of laptops with various options and designs. The Slim laptops, formerly known as the IdeaPad Slim, are a new line of clamshell designs expected to compete in June with thin and light bodies, high-end components, high-resolution OLED displays, and some unique textures.
Creator Flip
Enlarge / Slim 7 Pro X and Slim 7i Pro X have 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports, USB-A, headphone jack and HDMI 2.0.
Sharon Harding
The standouts are the 14.5-inch Slim 7i Pro X and Slim 7 Pro X, where the “i” means it has an Intel CPU. Lenovo is introducing the “X” moniker to stand for laptops made for creators. In addition to offering up to an RTX 3050 laptop GPU (4GB GDDR6), Lenovo has fine-tuned the machine’s hardware, a Lenovo representative told Ars Technica when we checked out the laptop in person. AI software also helps manage performance and battery usage.
Lenovo won’t reveal TDP numbers, but says the TDP of the Slim 7/7i Pro X is higher than the non-Pro X version (only 16-inch in the US), especially if you’re using a dedicated laptop GPU, which is overrated in the non-Pro X version. closure.
The new laptop also has a 70-watt-hour battery, compared to the non-X’s 60 Whr. Lenovo claims that the battery with the Intel CPU can last 12.5 hours of 1080p video, while the AMD version can last 15.5 hours.
These laptops feature CPUs for creators from their respective lines from Intel and AMD. H-series chips at the top of Intel’s 12th Gen mobile CPU pyramid, Slim 7i Pro X up to i7-1200H with 6 performance cores or 2.3-4.7 GHz P cores, 8 efficiency cores or E cores (1.7-2.3 GHz ), 20 threads, and 96 EUs.
Meanwhile, the AMD version of the laptop is upgraded to the Ryzen 9 6900 HS Creator Edition, with 8 cores, 16 threads, and a base clock speed of 3.3 GHz, which can be boosted to 4.9 GHz. It also features AMD’s 12 GPU core Radeon 680M graphics card.
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Lenovo also outfitted the creator machine with super-fast RAM. The Intel machine supports up to 32GB of LPDDR5-6000 memory on both channels, while the AMD version can hit 6,400 MHz — just as fast as LPDDR5.
Enlarge / The laptop includes a 1080p webcam, weighs 3.48 pounds and is as thin as 0.63 inches.
Sharon Harding
At the end of the day, they’re not as heavy as Lenovo’s ThinkPad laptops, which include workstation-equivalent laptops like the 16-inch ThinkPad X1 Extreme. That laptop upgrades to an octa-core i7-11850H, RTX 3070 (8GB), and DDR4-3200 RAM for about $2,800.
The Pro X laptop prioritizes resolution and speed over color coverage, though 100% sRGB is fine for those creating for Windows, for example. The 3072×1920 screen has a high refresh rate of 120 Hz and Nvidia G-Sync Adaptive-Sync to combat screen tearing. The maximum brightness of the IPS panel is said to be 400 nits.
Lenovo Slim 9i: the touch of glass
The zoomed-in/Slim 9i’s screen showed vivid saturated colors in the short time we used it.
Sharon Harding
The flagship Slim 9i in the Slim series starts at a higher $1,800.
A lot of the price comes from the machine’s 14-inch OLED touchscreen. You can get a high-contrast screen with 3840×2400 resolution (323.45 pixels per inch) at standard 60 Hz, or tick down to 2880×1800 (242.59 ppi) at up to 90 Hz. Either way, the 16:10 screen is VESA DisplayHDR 500 True Black certified, guaranteeing the deepest blacks and at least 500 nits of brightness.
Thanks to the touch of glass, the Slim 9i at least looks like a flagship. Like a modern smartphone, the lid is covered with 3D glass. A Lenovo representative told us that glass won’t provide extra protection, but will make the laptop look sleeker. The glass also works well with the rounded shiny edges of the laptop deck. The glass case seems susceptible to fingerprints, though, and we hate to imagine what the laptop might look like if you damage the glass.
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The top cover is wrapped in glass.
Sharon Harding
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The top cover is wrapped in glass.
Sharon Harding
The Slim 9i only comes with Intel CPUs up to i7-1280P. The CPU has four P cores (2.1-4.7 GHz), eight E cores (2.1-3.4 GHz), and 16 threads. Memory is slower than the aforementioned Pro X laptops, with two channels maxing out at 32GB LPDDR5-5600.
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You should be able to get more battery life out of the Slim 9i’s 75Whr battery compared to the Pro X machine. Lenovo claims up to 15 hours of 1080p video playback.
Amplification/port selection is less than the Pro X laptop with three Thunderbolt 4.0 ports and one 3.5mm jack.
Sharon Harding
Another push for so-called creation machines is on the audio side. The Slim 9i has two 2W tweeters, and a pair of 3W subwoofers. If you want more glamour and a similar design, consider Lenovo’s Yoga laptop, which includes the same setup, plus a soundbar in the hinge.
carbon cladding
Enlarge / Lenovo Slim 7i Carbon.
Sharon Harding
As the name suggests, the Slim 7i Carbon uses a combination of magnesium alloy and carbon fiber in the lid. You won’t find carbon fiber on decks because magnesium alloys offer better thermal management and lower cost. The design has a matte, soft finish with a mild texture that helps with my grip. It also matches the premium feel of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, which uses the same chassis material.
Enlarge / The Slim 7i Carbon starts at 2.13 pounds and 0.58 inches.
Sharon Harding
The 13-inch Slim 7i Carbon features up to i7-1260P, 32GB LPDDR5-4800, 1TB SSD, and a 2560×1600 IPS panel up to 90 Hz. Its 50 WHr is said to last up to 13.5 hours and play 1080p video.
Enlarge / The laptop has three USB-C ports, including two Thunderbolt 4.
Sharon Harding
The Slim 7i Carbon starts at $1,300.
