I’m sitting here looking at a laptop that doesn't have a keyboard. Well, it has one, but it’s currently sitting on my desk while the actual computer stands tall like an open book. It’s weird. Honestly, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i is the first piece of tech in a decade that made me feel like I had to relearn how to sit at a desk. We've been stuck in the "clamshell" era for so long that seeing two 13.3-inch OLED screens stacked on top of each other feels like a glitch in the matrix.
It's not a gimmick. Or maybe it is, but it’s a gimmick that actually works for people who spend their lives Alt-Tabbing between spreadsheets and Slack.
When Lenovo first showed off the Yoga 9i dual screen concept, everyone compared it to the ill-fated Surface Neo. But while Microsoft’s project gathered dust in a warehouse somewhere, Lenovo actually shipped this thing. And they didn't just ship it; they polished the software until the dual-screen gestures actually felt human. If you've ever tried to use a second monitor at a coffee shop, you know the struggle of lugging around a portable display and a mess of cables. This laptop solves that by just being the dual setup.
The Reality of Living With Two Screens
Let’s get the specs out of the way because they matter for context. You’re looking at dual 2.8K OLED panels. They are gorgeous. Inky blacks, punchy colors, and that 16:10 aspect ratio that gives you just enough vertical room to actually read a long article without scrolling every three seconds.
But here’s the thing about the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i that reviews often gloss over: the ergonomics are a total wild card.
When you have it in "Waterfall mode"—that’s the one where the screens are stacked vertically—your eyes are constantly moving up and down. It’s great for referencing a brief on the bottom screen while writing on the top. However, if you do this for eight hours, your neck is going to feel it. You have to find the right height for your chair. It’s a literal lifestyle adjustment.
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Then there’s the keyboard. It’s Bluetooth. It’s thin. It attaches magnetically to the bottom screen if you want to use it like a "normal" laptop, but then you’re only using 50% of what you paid for. Most of the time, you’ll have the keyboard sitting on the table in front of the stand. It feels a bit disconnected at first. You’ve got this high-tech tower of glass and then a little plastic keyboard. But once you get into a flow, having that extra screen real estate is addictive.
Why Software Makes or Breaks This Thing
Hardware is easy; software is where dual-screen dreams go to die. Lenovo built some clever tricks here.
If you tap eight fingers on the bottom screen, a virtual keyboard pops up. It’s fine for a quick email, but let’s be real, haptic feedback isn't the same as physical keys. It's sorta like typing on a giant iPad. The real magic is the "User Center" software. You can flick windows from the top screen to the bottom with a flick of your finger. It’s intuitive. You don't have to think about it.
One specific detail I love? The "Book Mode." You turn the laptop sideways, hold it like a massive hardcover, and suddenly reading PDFs or digital comics feels natural. It’s heavy, though. Don't expect to hold it like a Kindle for an hour unless you're looking for a forearm workout.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Yoga 9i Dual Screen
A lot of people think this is a gaming machine because of the price tag. It's not.
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Don't buy this to play Cyberpunk 2077. While the Intel Core Ultra processors (in the newer iterations) are snappy, there’s no dedicated GPU. This is a productivity beast, not a frame-rate monster. If you try to push 2.8K resolution across two screens during a heavy gaming session, the fans will start sounding like a jet engine taking off from your desk.
Another misconception: that the hinge is fragile. Lenovo has been doing the 360-degree hinge thing longer than almost anyone. The "Watchband" hinge legacy lives on here. It’s stiff, it stays where you put it, and the soundbar integrated into the hinge actually pumps out decent audio regardless of how the screens are oriented.
The Battery Anxiety Is Real
Physics is a stubborn thing. Powering two high-resolution OLED panels takes a massive amount of juice.
- Single screen use: You might get 9-10 hours.
- Dual screen use: Expect 6, maybe 7 hours if you’re being careful with brightness.
- Heavy multitasking: Keep your charger handy.
If you’re planning to work from a park all day without an outlet, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i will give you anxiety by 2:00 PM. It’s the price you pay for the extra pixels. You’ve basically got two tablets glued together, and that second panel is a thirsty guest at the battery party.
Is the Foldable Future Better Than the Dual Screen Present?
We’ve seen the ThinkPad X1 Fold and the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold. Those use a single, continuous folding OLED. They look like the future, sure. But they are also incredibly expensive and the screen often has a visible crease.
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The Yoga 9i takes a different path. It uses two separate pieces of glass.
Is there a gap between the screens? Yes. Does it matter? Honestly, no. After about twenty minutes, your brain just ignores the hinge. It’s like the "notch" on an iPhone; it disappears once you’re actually doing work. Plus, two separate screens mean you can have two different touch inputs without the software getting confused about where the "fold" is. It feels more robust. You aren't worried about a piece of dust getting under a plastic folding film and ruining a $2,000 panel.
Making the Most of the Setup
If you actually buy one of these, you need to change how you work.
- Stop using the virtual keyboard. Use the physical one. The virtual one is a cool party trick, but for real work, it’s a productivity killer.
- Use the Origami stand. It looks complicated to fold, but it’s the key to the whole experience. It holds the screens at the perfect angle for "Waterfall" mode.
- Master the gestures. Flicking apps between screens is the only way to feel like you’re actually getting your money’s worth.
The Lenovo Yoga Book 9i isn't for everyone. It’s for the person who feels cramped on a 14-inch MacBook. It’s for the researcher who needs a source document open while they type. It’s for the coder who wants their terminal on the bottom and their IDE on the top while sitting at a Starbucks.
Actionable Insights for Potential Owners
Before you drop the cash, you need to evaluate your workspace and your tolerance for "first-gen" quirks.
- Check your backpack size: Because of the stand and the external keyboard, the "package" you carry is thicker than a standard laptop. Make sure your bag can handle the extra bulk of the accessories.
- Update the firmware immediately: Out of the box, the window management can sometimes be janky. Lenovo releases "Vantage" updates frequently that specifically improve the dual-screen transition logic.
- Invest in a high-wattage power bank: If you travel, a 65W or 100W PD power bank is a mandatory accessory to offset the drain of those dual OLEDs.
- Optimize your Windows Snap settings: Go into System > Multitasking and tweak how Windows handles snapping. This makes the dual-monitor logic much smoother when you're dragging windows across the "gap."
This device represents a pivot point. We're moving away from the idea that a laptop is just a screen and a keyboard. It's becoming a modular workspace. It’s weird, it’s expensive, and it’s occasionally frustrating—but once you go back to a single-screen laptop, everything else just feels tiny.
The transition to a dual-screen workflow requires about three days of "retraining" your brain. You’ll find yourself reaching for a mouse that isn't there or trying to fold the screens the wrong way. But once the muscle memory kicks in, the ability to have a full-screen reference window and a full-screen workspace in a device that fits in a messenger bag is hard to beat. Just keep your charger close and your expectations for "lap-ability" low—this is a desk-first machine that happens to be very portable.