It could have been the MacBook alternative for Windows laptops, but reality looks different

Arm is still not a real alternative under Windows.

With the Snapdragon X Elite, there is currently only a serious ARM processor for Windows. This in various expansion stages. In the Yoga Slim 7x G9 from Lenovo is oneSnapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100-Processor. This is the smallest of the four elite models, which must be the only one without a turbo boost.

Let's see how the compact notebook is doing with OLED touchscreen and whether it is endurance with the endurancecan keep up.

Transparency note:Lenovo provided me with the Yoga Slim 7x G9 for the test free of charge. The manufacturer had no influence on the content of the article and did not get any insight before the test was published. There was no obligation to report.

Design

The SLIM 7x has a high -quality aluminum housing that is very well made.Because it is only 1.29 centimeters thickit almost seems fragile. Fortunately, the impression is wrong.

The housing is built stable and only minimally gives in at sensitive points such as the palm covering even when printed. Since the chassis is very thin, it can be easily overwhelmed with a little strength. However, this is not problematic.

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x G9 has a great OLED touchscreen.

I think it is very nice that the chassis is rounded off on the front and on the sides. With this design trick, the base unit looks a little thinner. I really like the colorCosmic Bluethat stands out from the mostly silver and black laptop housings.

Unfortunately you can see fingerprints on the matt blue very quickly. The owner of a Lenovo Slim 7x should therefore always carry a soft cleaning cloth, otherwise the chic notebook quickly looks unsightly.

The base unit of the housing is so thin that no USB Type A port has found space, instead installed LenovoThree USB-C connectionsthat are connected via USB4. The laptop is also charged via USB-C-so there are still two USB ports available if you have the laptop on the power grid.

That was also about the connection equipment. Also on the side are the power button and a sliding switch with which you can switch the webcam on and off.

Input devices

The keyboard of the Slim 7x is extremely pleasant.It has an amazingly long lifting path for such a thin device. There is also a clearly defined pressure point. Even longer writing sessions are comfortable.

The keyboard is therefore also fully recommended for professional users. It is also nice that the keyboard only gives in a minimal way even if there is strong pressure. In combination with the aluminum housing, this ensures a valuable impression.

The keyboard is excellent and perfect for multi -writers.

The touchpad is sufficiently large at 13.5 x 8.0 centimeters, the sliding properties are fine. A somewhat more sliding -friendly surface would make navigating with the pad even more supple.

The OLED touchscreen also works perfectly. All entries are implemented quickly and delayed without delay.

Display

Lenovo installs an OLED touchscreen (Len145WQ+) in the SLIM 7x G9. The 90-Hertz panel has a resolution of 2944 x 1840 pixels, which results in a high pixel density of 239 ppi.

The brightness is given by the manufacturer with 500 cd/m² (1,000 cd/m² in the peak at HDR). I measured 424 cd/m², so the display remains 18 percent darker than promised in the technical data.

The display surface is strongly reflected.

In the open or in bright environments, the determined brightness of the OLED panel is no longer entirely sufficient to outshine the reflections. In front of the panel, Lenovo also sets a glass window for protection, which contributes to the relatively strong reflections. Subjectively, the OLED touchscreen with sufficient brightness and a lively color display likes. The contrast is perfect OLED.

Interior

Inside the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x G9 it looks a little different than in most other laptops. At the top left are two fans right next to each other, while the processor was moved more to the right.

Two heat pipes lead the waste heat from the CPU to the heat sink.Apart from the SSD, nothing can be replaced or upgraded- The RAM is soldered on the main board. With such flat devices, soldered memory is not unusual, but of course it is a shame that a later upgrade is not possible.

The RAM is soldered and cannot be exchanged accordingly.

Performance

Unfortunately, not all benchmarks run under as usualWindows on ARM. With PC Mark 10, only one single test runs, others are marked as incompatible.

The Geekbench, on the other hand, works perfectly. Here the Snapdragon X1E-78-100 with 12 cores between the older AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (8 kernels) and the current Intel Core Ultra 288V (8 kernels)

The 3DMark-Time-Spy test also runs smoothly, but most individual tests are emulated. Nevertheless, the X1 is very close to the Ultra 288V, at least in the CPU benchmark, but the overall score remains manageable due to the graphic value with 1,889 points.

One of the few benchmarks of the 3DMark suite, which is completely poor, is the solar bay test.Here the Yoga Slim 7x G9 reaches 10,465 points. A comparison is unfortunately not possible at this point, otherwise we only use the popular time-spy test in our tests.

The Cinebench 2024, on the other hand, is also available in a version optimized for arm. Here the ARM CPU strikes and is located in the single core between AMD Ryzen 7 6800H and Intel Core Ultra 288V. In contrast, the two comparison CPUs are clearly beaten in the multi-core benchmark.

Game benchmarks

Native ARM games have to be searched for Windows with a magnifying glass, usually the games from the Windows are emulatorPrismexecuted. Of course, this costs a lot of performance compared to a native game.

Apple has that at the. Let's take a look at how it works under Windows.

EmulatedThe Lenovo laptop only reaches HD resolution and with medium detailshalfway playable 29 fps.Collaps constantly at the start and could therefore not be tested.

I have for thatexcavated again. It is one of the games that support Windows Auto SR. These are Microsoft's upcaling technology that almost an equivalentrepresent. Auto SR can currently still be found exclusively on Windows on Arm.

Auto SR is automatically activated by Windows for compatible games. The resolution was 1280 x 768 pixels and could not be changed in the game. The details were placed on maximum.

With these settings, the game ran with 33 to 40 fps. This means that The Witcher 3 can be played, but it just looks creepy in this resolution and looks out pixelated. In my opinion, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x G9 is not suitable for playing, Microsoft's Auto SR does not change that.

Temperature & volume

There is nothing to complain about at the temperatures, the CPU remains very cool under full load with a maximum of 73.5 ° C. I am more likely to be used to over 90 ° C from the X86 warehouse. The values ​​of the SSD also move under load in the absolutely uncritical area. The ARM architecture can really score here.

The surface temperatures are also uncritical, even if the keyboard on the left and in the middle becomes significantly warmer than on the left side. Overall, the surface temperatures are good, but also not better than the.

I was particularly excited about the volume.Here I had firmly expected that the device only accuses the fan under load. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Although the fan does not go to the Lenovo Slim 7x G9 in the Idle, the notebook has been brought in full swing, the fan will continue to rotate for a very long time. Means: it drives down noticeably, but it no longer goes out.

The comparison of the Lenovo laptop with the S14 from Asus shows that the device with ARM CPU is actually louder than the model with the old X86 processor. That surprised me.

Battery life

The great advantage of the ARM architecture is efficiency, accordingly you can also assume a long term with a laptop that is equipped with a corresponding CPU.

This is also the case with the Yoga Slim 7x G9. Unfortunately, the PC Mark's battery tests do not run under Windows on Arm; I could therefore only measure the term with the Battery-Eater test. Here the small laptop reaches a good 18 hours with its 70-apartment battery.

However, the almost equally large ASUS S14 with X86 processor and 72-WH battery comes to a 30-minute term. Even if I now sound like a record - I wouldn't have expected that either.

Should you be the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x G9 kaufen?

Das Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x G9 Is the right notebook for you if you ...

• ... is looking for a high -quality processed laptop with a nice design.
• ... have a weakness for high-contrast OLED screens.
• ... you absolutely want to try a laptop with Windows on arm.

Possible alternatives

Apple MacBook Air:Compact, super flat and with a strong endurance, the MacBook Air is an ideal alternative to Windows on ARM laptops. While a lot is still immature for the Windows devices on the software side, you are already two steps in Cupertino.

Software and hardware work perfectly here. The cheapest version with older M3 processor is already available for around 950 euros, but for the current M4 version you have to pay at least 1,099 euros.

Asus Vivo Book S15:The Vivo Book from Asus comes with a large 15.6-inch OLED screen and has the same arm CPU under the hood as the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x G9. However, it is already available from 899 euros, but also offers only 16 GB-RAM.

ASUS ZenBook S14:, It comes with a classic X86 CPU, but still offers a good battery life. There are also a high-quality OLED touchscreen and 32 GB-RAM. The ASUS S14 is available from 1,499 euros.

Fazit Zum Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x G9

I was really looking forward to the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x G9. Now, after the test, disillusionment spreads for me. This is not even because the SLIM 7x G9 would be a bad device.

The workmanship is great, the display and the input devices too, you can hardly do it much better.

But what really drives me:The device can deliver almost nothing of what I expect from an ARM notebook.

I had actually expected an eternally long battery life and a mostly noiseless company. The term is good, but also not a piece better than with an ASUS S14, one moreotherX86 CPU. With the volume, the ASUS device is even quieter.

Somehow the interaction between hardware and software does not seem to harmonize.In any case, Windows on Arm does not convince me at the current time.

In general, the OS runs stable and inconspicuous, but there are always programs that simply crash.

That was the case during the test at Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Or applications that do not run natively, but have to be emulated, which of course costs performance. Here, too, Apple seems to me to be a good bit ahead of me.

In the test I compared the Lenovo notebook with the ASUS ZenBook S14. Both devices are similar to size and equipment. This applies even to the price, both are available from 1,499 euros.

At the current time I actually see no reason to reach for a Windows laptop with ARM CPU, since there are no advantages on the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x G9, but there are some disadvantages. Too bad, I actually expected more.