I tested the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition for a week - it's got the price and performance, but the design needs a few tweaks

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Two-minute review

Lenovo’s Yoga series has long stood out in the ultra-portable laptop space, thanks to its sleek design and lightweight build—and the new Slim 7i Aura Edition continues that tradition. Weighing just 3.33 lbs (1.53kg) and measuring under an inch thick when closed, it’s designed for those who value portability without sacrificing style.

Under the hood, the Slim 7i Aura Edition features an Intel Ultra 7 256V processor, Intel Arc 140V GPU with 8GB of VRAM, 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and a 1TB SSD. While this setup isn’t geared for heavy-duty tasks like high-end gaming or intensive creative work, it’s more than capable for everyday use. Whether you’re writing papers, doing light photo or video editing, streaming content, playing some less visually intensive games or multitasking across browser tabs, it gets the job done smoothly.

One of the standout features is the vibrant 2K IPS touchscreen, which offers a buttery-smooth 120Hz refresh rate. While the hardware won’t always take full advantage of that refresh rate in more demanding scenarios, it still delivers a fluid and visually engaging experience. Adding to the entertainment value are the quad 2W speakers with Dolby Atmos support, providing surprisingly rich and immersive sound. Topping those impressive specs is a 4-cell 70Wh battery that lasts a pretty long time and doesn’t take long to charge.

There are some design features that may turn away potential buyers. Despite the serviceable portability, other aspects of the Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition don't work well. This starts with the design that’s lacking in several places from the protruding webcam lip to missing some ports alongside a power button placement that is just weird.

Speaking of the webcam, it’s not the best compared to other laptops and isn’t really good in most lighting conditions outside of broad daylight. There aren’t even any sort of AI tools or anything to make image quality better either which is disappointing. Then there’s the reality that the laptop doesn’t have a fingerprint reader for log-in which means that the only biometric measure is the camera which can be inconsistent.

Priced between $1,049 and $1,399, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition is an attractive buy if users can get past some caveats. This laptop should definitely work for students or casual users in need of a stylish, capable machine with just enough power for office work, light creative work and entertainment.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition starts at $1,049 and can reach as high as $1,399
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? It is available now in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia

Available now, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition can be purchased in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Though the ultra-portable laptop can be bought through Lenovo’s online store, there are other ways to get it depending on the territory you live in.

When it comes to cost, be prepared to pay somewhere between $1,049 and $1,399 within the United States on the Lenovo online store. Our review configuration featuring the specs mentioned above comes out to $1,049.

Right now, the users who want an option with less RAM at 16GB, base-level Intel integrated graphics and 512GB SSD storage are going to pay around $1,280 at the moment. Potential buyers looking for 32GB of RAM to review configuration are currently going to pay $1,399. Regardless of the choices, this is definitely an affordable lightweight laptop for general computing tasks.

There are a few options for the UK buyers through Lenovo’s online retailer. Both feature 32GB of RAM, integrated Intel graphics, 1TB SSD and 14.5-inch 3000 X 1872 OLED display with touch capabilities. Setting them apart starts with the £1,300 configuration that has an Intel Core Ultra 7 255 Processor with Windows 11 Home 64. Meanwhile, at £1,690, purchasers can get an Intel Core Ultra 7 285H Processor and Windows 11 Pro 64.

Citizens of Australia on the Lenovo store have one option available at the moment. At $2,999, potential buyers can get an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, Arc 140 V, 32GB RAM 1TB SSD and the lovely 15.3-inch 2.8K IPS display with touch capabilities.

Value: 4.5 / 5

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Specs

Here are the specs for the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition at a glance.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Design

• Light, thin and made up of premium feeling aluminum
• Lacks SD Card and only has one USB-A
• Webcam lip and power button placement buttons problematic

The Luna Grey colorway of the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition sets the right tones against the Lenovo logo top panel when closed. It’s a great way to appreciate all of the rounded lines that accentuate the sleekness and light weight. Made up of a mix of raw and recycled aluminum, the laptop has a special coating that prevents smudging and fingerprints. That includes the chassis, keyboard and touchpad as well. From the looks alongside feel, the Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition comes off as a premium product that has a bit of environmental consciousness to it.

There aren’t a lot of ports on the laptop but enough for someone who relies on simpler computing tasks for sure. On the right side includes a single USB-A and USB-C sitting above the power button and webcam shutter switch. The opposite side will provide users a HDMI port, USB-C port and 3.5 combo audio/microphone headphone jack.

Compared to others within its tier of ultra portable laptops, the lack of additional USB-A ports or even a SD Card slot could bring issues for the creative sect of users that Lenovo is trying to court with this laptop. Even the power button placement comes with its own set of problems as picking up the laptop in the wrong way can put the laptop to sleep. Adding to that is the lack of a fingerprint scanner which makes the webcam the only biometric option for unlocking the laptop.

Before opening the display, half of the laptop protrudes out a bit thanks to the webcam which looks a bit awkward. Once opened, the top half reveals the lovely 2880x1800 IPS touch screen surrounded by bezels that can be laid flat at a 90 degree angle. The bottom half features a nice feeling keyboard that’s pretty quiet alongside a pretty smooth touchpad. Between the keyboard are two speakers with the remaining ones on the bottom panel.

Overall, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition strikes a balance between elegant design and functional performance, though a few layout quirks and limited port options may leave many users wanting more.

Design: 3.5 / 5

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Performance

• General computing tasks run briskly
• The 15-inch 2K IPS touch screen is wonderful in motion
• Intel Arc 140V GPU doesn’t help much when it comes to gaming and heavy creative work

During my week and some change with the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition, most of my time was split between using Google Chrome and Adobe Suite. This was the best way to get an understanding of how general computing tasks work on the laptop.

The Intel Ultra 7 256V and 16GB LPDD5X RAM do a great job of ensuring applications run smoothly and open quickly regardless of how many Google Chrome tabs I had open. Despite having five browser windows open with dozens of tabs open, there wasn’t a hint of slowdown. Meanwhile, fan noise remained quiet and the bottom became slightly warm on the lap.

Keeping expectations in check, creative tasks worked pretty fine as well. Using Photoshop, editing 1080p images wasn't a problem regardless of how many layers were in a file. Rendering times were a bit on the slow side for the same resolution when attempting to add video content to the Photoshop file with a two minute video taking around three or so minutes to do so.

The time on encoding on Premiere Pro was a lot quicker though at around 30 seconds for a minute of HD video. Attempting to go higher in the resolution does lead to a less performance especially when rendering which can stretch pretty long.

Intel may be the king of CPUs but the same can’t be said in terms of their more recent ambitions into discrete GPUs. The included Intel Arc 140V GPU has 8GB of VRAM but it seems to help more in creative tasks than gaming.

On desktops, the GPU has compatibility issues compared to rivals Nvidia and AMD so expect similar situations here. During our benchmark test for games this was more than obvious as Borderlands 3 could only hit 25 frames per second at 1080p resolution while Shadows of The Tomb Raider couldn’t even run at all at the same resolution. This means that more CPU intensive games that require a lot of visual processing like Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm and Total War: Warhammer III fared fairly better.

A shame considering that more casual or serious PC gamers won’t be able to make the most of the beautiful 15-inch 2K IPS touch screen that also has a 120Hz refresh rate. Delta E<1 helps maintain color accuracy while also supporting 100% P3 and 100% sRGB color gamuts.

During general computing tasks, text is crisp and easily readable while images are bold and lush. The 500 nits of brightness are used to great effect as well alongside watching video content means lush colors and blacks are deep regardless of settings. For more sensitive eyes, the display is also TÜV Low Blue Light and Eyesafe certified.

The same can be said for the 4 2W speakers that come with Dolby Atmos compatibility. From watching or creating videos to listening to music on Tidal, audio quality is fine regardless of loudness levels which can get pretty high. Bass can get really deep without any distortion and mid-tones are identifiable which is surprising considering how small they are.

Performance: 4 / 5

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition: Battery Life

Battery life on the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition is on par with some of the best ultra light laptops in its class thanks to the 4-cell 70Wh battery. During our Web Surfing Battery Informant test, I was able to get 14 hours and some change out of the device. This allowed me to make it throughout an entire day through a single charge of moderate usage.

I realized this while working my hybrid Digital Editor position as I worked in an office three times a week. During those times on a full charge, the end of the day would leave me at around half of battery life.

Charging is through one of the USB-C ports and the adapter supports Rapid Charge Express which gives around three hours of runtime with just a 15-minute charge. I was able to get around full in close to an hour.

Battery life: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if... 

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How I tested the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition

• Tested this laptop over the span of a week and some days
• Used for Google Chrome, Tidal and Adobe Creative Suite

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition was tested over a one-week period. General computing tasks were conducted using Google Chrome, including the use of Google Docs and YouTube. Creative software such as Adobe Premiere Pro and Photoshop was used to assess performance in content creation. Instagram was used to evaluate webcam and microphone functionality.

The 15-inch IPS touchscreen display was assessed by streaming multiple 4K YouTube videos to examine visual output and speaker function. Additional audio performance was tested using music playback on Tidal.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed April 2025