I’m traveling to the US soon and I’m thinking of buying a laptop as they tend to be considerably cheaper than here (I’m based in Europe).
I’m looking for a laptop with good battery life, good display and with decent performance. I will use it for work sometimes, and though is not often that I will run big datasets, I’d rather be prepared, so the more ram the better.
I’ve found a Yoga 7i Aura (32/1TB/15”) refurbished (eBay certified) for US850, which I think it’s a pretty good deal, but I want to be sure as I haven’t tried the laptop personally (though I have watched several reviews) and with all the options out there it gets overwhelmingly pretty quickly. Anyone with long(er) experience with this laptop? I’m curious specially about the battery life.
At that price point, it seems like a Vivobook would be the only alternative for the price, and though the OLED sounds nice, I think at the moment I would prefer a larger display.
Stretching the budget a little more, I’ve found (all refurbished):
Macbook Air (M3/24/512) - USD 1099.
Zenbook S14 (U7/32/1TB) - USD 1199.
But is it worth spending more? I’m all ears to your comments and recommendations!
PD: Thanks so much for giving the space to ask questions and interact!!
What screen does the yoga come with? If its a 1920x1200 oled screen, might have to consider other options as at that resolution text fringing tends to be noticeable due to different subpixel layout of oled screens, 850 usd I would say is a pretty solid price for that chassis. Assuming its a 256v. Other options arent amazing, seen them for about that price new on good sales at best buy
The screen is a 15.3” QHD+ (2880x1800) IPS screen. Although it’s not an OLED it has been regarded as an excellent panel. It’s also 120Hz, 500+ nits.
Yes, it’s a 258V (same but with 32GB).
I could spend a little more (around 1000 usd) if it’s really worth it, but at that price options get a bit overwhelming and, at least right now, it feels like without a very clear cut benefit.
The yoga 7i is a fabulous choice, it has a beautiful screen, Lenovo keyboards are so good to type on, and the configuration on the yoga 7i is also great.
The only cons I can say are, a bad trackpad and battery health.
If trackpad is a problem, then go for the zenbook S14. It has a good display ( not better than the yoga), good trackpad and good build and keyboard.
I would suggest to choose one between zenbook and the yoga. Macbook air is great but 13 inch is not great to look at and SSD is also an issue. In your post you mentioned you prefer a large display and macbook air is not meant for you. ( You can go for a 15 inch though).
Spending on a laptop is like an investment. A good laptop for work will payback. If possible, make a budget of 1000-1200 USD, you will get a laptop that would last you a long time.
If you can afford the ThinkPad X9 15. That is a step up from the Slim 7i. It may be out of your price bracket though. Look around. The Air 15 is also a good alternative. There is an Zenbook S16 but be aware it gets very warm
Nerd: though I would like to have a good trackpad, not a dealbreaker at all. I’m much more worried about your battery health comment: can you elaborate? I’ve heard that it has a decent battery life, but you mean that it doesn’t hold up in time very well? This would be for sure a bigger problem. Much appreciated!
The Zenbook S14 is definitely a strong contender. The only minor is the smaller screen. The air I’m looking at is the 15”, not the 13” though. My budget could be stretched up toUSD1200 if it’s really worth it (thus far I’ve only seen marginal benefits).
Kingofjoshistan: good suggestion! The 32gb variants seem a little out of my budget, though. An X-Flip or a 7-flip could be options, I think. I will look into them.
JustJosh team: Thanks! The only X9 within my budget would be the 16gb version. And yes, the Mac Air 15” is definitely tempting! I’m not a Mac guy, but I could get used. Specially considering the benefits in construction quality. Main drawbacks are the smaller ssd and the 60hz panel. I’m still in doubt if spending the extra 200 is worth it for me or not. But thanks a lot for the help!
Absolutely!! even I am scared of buying a Lenovo because , there is this notion in the market that Lenovo laptops, specially the IdeaPads and yoga model’s battery degrades a lot faster than normal windows laptop. The thinkpads don’t have this problem.
My elder cousin had an intel based Lenovo IdeaPad pro. She bought it back in 2020 at the time of COVID. First, she faced a hindge problem which was unexpected, and at the end of 2022, she faced heating issues and she used to get the blue screen of death a lot. Her battery health was at 86% but just lasted for around 3 hours in normal use (when she bought it new, it gave her 6-7 hours). In the end she got fed up and switched to a macbook air.
Idk if her perticular model was faulty or if it’s a broad issue that people live with. On reddit I find these issue with only IdeaPads and yoga models. Haven’t heard a ThinkPad user face these issues so ig if you get a ThinkPad you will be fine.
I’m not a 100% sure that these problem remains with the newer IdeaPad’s or yoga models, so please do a bit of research before you get one.
She has a macbook air M2 and she hasn’t spend a single penny in these two years on the laptop for repairs. On the contrary the Lenovo burned her pocket most of her collage days. If you are okay with a macbook, then get one. The zenbook S14 is a macbook equivalent, although it gets warm when used for a while. 1200 dollars on a laptop like the macbook or the zenbook will be worth the money. Just do a bit of research on this before buying.
I’ve now 90% sure I’ll go for the M3 Air 15” 24GB. I went to a local shop just to see them, and though they didn’t have the 7i Aura nor the Zenbook S14, the Slim 7 and the Zenbook 14 that they did have felt considerably cheaper than the Macbook. Let’s see how it goes.
