After the race of laptop companies to bring AI to personal computers last year, AI has gradually become a familiar part of high-end laptops, with optimization from both chips and applications. Now the competition is starting to return to factors that users can feel more directly, including design and weight.
Lenovo this year expanded the Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition line, adding an Ultra model that has just been brought to Vietnam with prices starting from 56 million VND for the standard version. This is inherently a fairly high price in the thin and light laptop segment in Vietnam, but is gradually becoming familiar as the market is affected by RAM scarcity. The product is in the same segment as a series of competitors from Asus, HP, or MacBook Pro M5.
Aura Edition is not a new concept for Lenovo, it has appeared since the previous generation and continues to be maintained this year. This product line was developed by Lenovo with Intel, adding tools such as Smart Modes - allowing to change settings according to each user's needs, and Smart Share - supporting connection and sharing data with other devices.
With the Ultra version, Lenovo combines the Aura Edition platform with a design more focused on mobility. Yoga Slim 7i Ultra Aura Edition weighs from 975 grams, is 13.9 mm thick, while still using a 14-inch screen and full-size keyboard. The highest version has a 2.8K POLED screen, 120 Hz refresh rate.
Weighing less than 1 kg is the most noticeable point in actual use, compared to other 14-inch models which weigh about 1.2-1.4 kg. The device can be held in one hand and is quite light and flexible to carry during the day. To achieve this level, Lenovo uses magnesium - aluminum alloy for the top and bottom of the body, and says the product is evaluated according to MIL-STD 810H durability standards.
One of the new features of the Yoga Slim 7i Ultra is the appearance of the built-in Qira AI assistant. The Qira interface is quite similar to the AI assistant on Motorola phones, more like a personal control center than a simple chatbot. According to the introduction, the assistant has the ability to build its own knowledge base and synchronize throughout the ecosystem between the user's PC, tablet and phone. It integrates a number of features such as Live Mode (recognize images directly from the screen or camera to help), Pay Attention (automatically record, untape and summarize meetings) or Catch Me Up (synthesize important notifications).
However, practical experience still reveals some points that need improvement. Although the company announced it takes advantage of the 3rd generation Intel Core Ultra 50 TOPS NPU to handle security on the device, the device still requires a stable Internet connection to operate most advanced features. In addition, Qira currently only supports a few languages and does not yet have Vietnamese.
As a laptop for daily work, the Yoga Slim 7i Ultra clearly pursues a thin, compact and minimalist design language. The frame is slightly curved at the edges instead of having sharp flat edges, making it more comfortable to hold when moving. The thickness of 13.9 mm also makes the body look elegant, but at the same time forces Lenovo to reduce the space for the connection system.
Yoga Slim 7i Ultra Aura Edition is equipped with three Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, distributed on both sides, supporting charging via USB Power Delivery and data transfer up to 40 Gbps. The right side has a flat power key and an E-shutter lever to close the electronic camera.
Compared to the previous generation, the device shortens some connection ports such as USB-A, HDMI, memory card reader slot, and 3.5 mm headphone jack. This is also the general trend of laptops today and is not a big problem if users mainly work with wireless devices or connect via USB-C hub, but it will be inconvenient to frequently plug in accessories directly.
As a laptop for daily work, the Yoga Slim 7i Ultra clearly pursues a thin, compact and minimalist design language. The frame is slightly curved at the edges instead of having sharp flat edges, making it more comfortable to hold when moving. The thickness of 13.9 mm also makes the body look elegant, but at the same time forces Lenovo to reduce the space for the connection system.
Yoga Slim 7i Ultra Aura Edition is equipped with three Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, distributed on both sides, supporting charging via USB Power Delivery and data transfer up to 40 Gbps. The right side has a flat power key and an E-shutter lever to close the electronic camera.
Compared to the previous generation, the device shortens some connection ports such as USB-A, HDMI, memory card reader slot, and 3.5 mm headphone jack. This is also the general trend of laptops today and is not a big problem if users mainly work with wireless devices or connect via USB-C hub, but it will be inconvenient to frequently plug in accessories directly.
A common problem with Windows computers compared to the Apple ecosystem is the ability to connect and transfer data instantly between devices. With Aura Edition, the problem is solved with Smart Share. The feature allows users to quickly sync their entire photo library or files without needing to plug in a connection cable. Activation can be done quickly with the F11 button on the keyboard, then connected via QR code. From here, users can view photo albums, phone screens right on the computer, or share Internet connection and camera.
The advantage of Smart Share is that it supports both Android and iOS operating systems instead of being limited to just one closed platform. Actual use with Android phones shows that the speed of opening albums and transferring photos to the computer is very fast. For a smooth touch experience, users must install the Smart Connect app on their phone, while keeping Bluetooth turned on and sharing the same Wi-Fi network on both devices.
The keyboard continues to be one of the familiar strengths of the Yoga line, showing that Lenovo does not compromise the typing experience to pursue a thin and light design. The keyboard retains 1.5 mm of travel and the familiar six-row layout. The key surface is slightly curved and hugs the fingertips, so typing long text or high-speed typing happens quite naturally, with less finger slippage or hand fatigue like many ultra-thin laptop models in the same segment. The mouse trackpad is relatively large at 75 x 120 mm, with a technology called Force Pad that provides a smoother swipe feeling and recognizes multi-point operations quickly and accurately.
In terms of aesthetics, Lenovo chose white keyboard tones combined with a bright silver chassis, making the overall look eye-catching and premium. In return, the surface requires more cleaning, when the light color easily reveals dirt, hand sweat and stains around the edge of the key after a period of use. The backlight system also creates a slight glare in low-light environments if turned on at a high brightness level.
In the highest version, the Yoga Slim 7i Ultra Aura Edition uses a 14-inch 2.8K POLED screen, 120 Hz refresh rate, 500 nit brightness and maximum HDR of 1,100 nit. The version in the article has Full HD+ resolution, maximum scan frequency of 60 Hz, lower but the actual display quality is quite good.
POLED panels take advantage of contrast and color. Black areas are deep, colors are highly saturated, while light and dark areas in the image are clearly separated. With landscape photos, videos or colorful content, the screen feels clear, blocky and eye-catching. The wide viewing angle also helps colors change less when viewed from different positions.
What can be improved is that Lenovo can add touch to better take advantage of the quality of the panel and expand the way of interaction, especially for people who often edit photos or operate directly on the screen.
On the bottom, the Yoga Slim 7i Ultra uses magnesium - aluminum alloy, has a minimalist design and few unnecessary details. A large mesh array running across nearly half of the machine's body is an area for the ventilation system, combined with a heat vent arranged near the hinge to create air circulation. The rubber feet are relatively thick, helping to lift the device body off the table, along with the sound output slot from the speaker system.
During use, the machine temperature is relatively stable. The palm rest hardly heats up significantly during normal tasks, while the fan operates quietly in default mode and only becomes clearer when switching to high performance mode. This result may partly come from the Smart Modes of the Aura line, with the ability to optimize according to the user's usage process. In addition, the company allows users to switch usage modes to optimize performance or battery life.
As a high-end line, the device supports maximum configuration Core Ultra X9 388H and 64 GB RAM. However, the actual test version in this article uses a Core Ultra 7 355 chip with 32 GB RAM and 1 TB storage memory. When global memory chips are scarce and prices increase, keeping the 32 GB RAM capacity and 1 TB hard drive can be an effort to help users feel secure in long-term use without worrying about memory shortage, especially when the RAM on this ultra-thin model is hard soldered to the motherboard. However, the minus point is that this version only comes with standard Intel Graphics graphics core and does not have an integrated Intel Arc graphics card.
Real-life performance testing accurately reflects the processing power of the new chip. With the Cinebench 2026 test, the Core Ultra 7 355 processor scored 464 single-core points and 2,135 multi-core points, showing the ability to handle heavy tasks that require continuous calculation. With the included AI feature, the Intel chip is also good enough.
Meanwhile, with the measurement on Geekbench 7, the device stopped at 22,651 points. Although capable of serving basic office tasks, web browsing or photo editing, the lack of a graphics card limits graphics performance if users need to edit 4K videos with many effects or play heavy 3D games.
Actual testing when watching YouTube on Chrome with maximum brightness and speakerphone open, the device consumes about 7-9% of the battery after an hour of continuous playback. This is quite a level for a thin and light device, thanks to the 75 Wh battery. This level meets the needs of working all day under normal conditions. The device also integrates fast charging, allowing it to be plugged in for 15 minutes to use for about 3 more hours when you need to move quickly.
At a price of nearly 60 million VND, the Yoga Slim 7i Ultra Aura Edition is in the same segment as the most high-end laptop models on the market. When component prices increase, maintaining the configuration at a decent level shows that the product is aimed at those who are willing to spend a large amount of money at once to own a beautiful, light computer with ample configuration for stable use for many years.
The device has some impressive equipment such as a beautiful POLED screen, great brightness, large 75 Wh battery, large RAM and memory, and weighs less than 1 kg. However, the device still has minus points such as cutting off the traditional port or the Qira AI feature not yet supporting Vietnamese.
