Slim Shady: Is the IdeaPad Slim 7 the Same as the Yoga Slim 7?

Once again, Lenovo topped the rankings for laptop sales during the second quarter of 2020, capturing almost a quarter of the market share.

Lenovo bases its success on ongoing innovation to the minutest details of its machines, as well as in-house manufacturing to limit component shortages.

Some of these improvements are so refined, that you can barely tell one offering from another. For instance, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 and the IdeaPad Slim 7 are so similar, they could be the same machine.

Let’s take an in-depth look at these two laptops and find out if they’re as alike as they seem.

Lenovo Ideapad slim 7 vs yoga slim 7

The Lenovo Yoga line of laptops came out in 2012, with the brand aiming this collection of laptops at consumers looking for ultimate technological flexibility at an affordable price.

The most noteworthy feature of this aptly-named two-in-one laptop is its ability to bend over backward. This enables users to enjoy the portability of a tablet alongside the superior operation of a laptop.

The first Yoga laptop came out with an 11-inch screen, and a 13-inch model followed in 2013. The IdeaPad Yoga 11 had a Windows RT operating system and Lenovo discontinued it in 2017 due to low sales.

Since then, Lenovo has released a new version of the Yoga every year, with the latest being the Yoga Slim 7.

Lenovo’s IdeaPad laptops came out in 2008 as a more consumer-oriented version of the popular ThinkPad, once dubbed the ‘best laptop ever.’

Over the years, the IdeaPad evolved to become virtually indistinguishable from the Yoga, with the latest version, the Slim 7i Pro, released in 2021.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 vs IdeaPad Slim 7

• The Yoga Slim 7 Pro and the IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro are the fastest on offer from Lenovo in the sub-laptops category, thanks to their H-series CPUs.
• They’re both aimed at consumers who want maximum performance without added size or weight, although Lenovo typically markets its Yoga products as the higher-end version.
• The major difference is that the Yoga Slim 7 laptop has a Zen 3 Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU, while the corresponding IdeaPad has an Intel Tiger Lake-H Core i7-11370H CPU.
• In essence, the Yoga Slim is an AMD version of the IdeaPad Slim with many corresponding features and the same outward appearance. The display, keyboard, port positioning, and aluminum structure are identical on these attractive, well-made, compact devices.

Design Comparison

• Both laptops give off a premium vibe, although they’re a little thicker than most 14-inch laptops. They feature an all-metal design and elegant dark gray or black coloring for a professional, smudge-free look.
• If you want something flashier, the Yoga Slim 7 ‘Orchid’ version comes in purple.
• The plastic bezels around the display are a little chunkier than more expensive laptops and lack the sophisticated appeal of a glass bezel.
• The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 boasts much slimmer bezels of 3 mm on the sides and 7 mm at the top. There’s a tiny 720p HD camera sensor secluded in the top bezel.
• Costlier versions of the Yoga Slim 7 have a glass bezel.
• However, with the IdeaPad, this thicker rim means you get a camera and IR sensor at the top of the IdeaPad’s screen, and it also shields the display from the laptop’s cooling exhaust.
• Other appealing aspects which add to the chunkier appearance of the IdeaPad include thicker metal used for the chassis, a larger battery, and a more complex thermal design.
• Overall, both laptops look and feel well put together, with little give on the keyboard deck or the lid cover.

These laptops have plenty of ports, including:

• USB-C and A ports
• HDMI
• A headphone jack
• MicroSD card reader

The Yoga doesn’t support Thunderbolt 3, due to its AMD platform, but it has far more ports than the more expensive MacBook Air and the Dell XPS 13.

Thanks to this it’s easy to add an external screen without sacrificing any other hardware you might want.

So, the bottom line is that the Yoga offers slightly more design options, but you sacrifice Thunderbolt in the name of appearances when you opt for this laptop.

Size and Weight

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Pro tips the scales at 3.3 lbs. and has a 14-inch screen contained in a 14″ x 9″ x 0.6″ case. The IdeaPad Slim boasts 17.9 x 11.2 x 3.7-inch dimensions and weighs 3.5 lbs.

Keypad and Trackpad

Both laptops feature a standard Lenovo keyboard layout with a mid-sized plastic touchpad. The key caps are plastic, too, offering plenty of ‘give’ and quick responses.

These features offer a familiar traditional feel, in place of the too-hard experience provided by some modern laptop models. The IdeaPad keyboard is backlit with white LEDs, and the Yoga has two-level backlighting.

The plastic trackpad on both machines is a little flimsy but tracks well and handles the usual clicks and gestures adequately.

The Screens

The IdeaPad Slim 7 implements a high-quality panel with outstanding contrast, 400-nits of peak brightness, and 100% sRGB color coverage. It’s glossy, but it’s not a touchscreen, which doesn’t suit all users.

In bright conditions, this can lead to unnecessary glare, but you won’t have to deal with the graininess so typical of matt screens.

Tests reveal the following about the IdeaPad’s display:

• AU Optronics LEN889A panel hardware
• 2.23 measured gamma
• 77.0% DCI P3, 99.3% sRGB, and 73.5% Adobe RGB coverage
• 395.88 cd/m2 maximum brightness at the screen center
• 2026:1 contrast at max brightness
• 9.58 cd/m2 minimum brightness at the center
• 6900 K white point
• 0.19 cd/m2 Black on max brightness:
• No Pulse-Width Modulation

Overall, the screen works well in everyday situations and it’s adequate for low-level color-accurate work.

Lenovo’s Yoga Slim 7 full-HD display features a maximum brightness of 456 nits which is good enough for working in bright light. In dark spaces, you can turn up the keyboard backlight to improve visibility.

The 4K model has a maximum brightness of 500 nits.

Both LCDs offer in-plane switching with minimal discoloration when you move the screen to 45° either vertically or horizontally.

Display tests on the Yoga Slim 7 reveal the following:

• Lenovo LEN8A90 (LEN140WQ+) panel hardware
• 78.8% DCI P3, 98.2% sRGB, 75.6% Adobe RGB coverage
• 2.22 measured gamma
• 398.34 cd/m2 maximum and 1.24 cd/m2 minimum brightness at the screen center
• 1518:1 contrast at maximum brightness
• 6200 K white point
• 0.26 cd/m2 black-on-black max brightness

This screen is also a glossy, non-touch version and matches the IdeaPad when it comes to color-work and daily use.

Speaker Performance

• Lenovo is well-known for delivering high-quality performance at a low cost. This is particularly evident when it comes to the sound produced by both the IdeaPad Slim 7 and the Yoga Slim 7.
• You won’t get the volumes that you achieve with a high-end laptop like a Surface Laptop 3 or a MacBook, but there’s more than enough bass available to avoid the tinny tunes usually associated with laptops.
• The IdeaPad boasts two up-firing speakers optimized for Dolby Atmos, capable of serving up a decent virtualized 3D sound stage. If necessary, you can adjust the sound using the pre-installed Dolby Atmos desktop app.
• Like all laptops, you can improve the sound with external speakers or headphones, and both these laptops have more than enough places to plug them in.
• The Yoga Slim 7 sports stereo speakers firing through grills on the underside, and while sound quality is adequate, the IdeaPad still offers better quality.

Performance Aspects

• For most laptop users, performance is a deal-breaker, and neither of these machines disappoints.
• In line with Lenovo’s emphasis on providing great performance at low prices, both laptops offer performance in line with far more expensive models.
• They offer fast, efficient performance for all your daily streaming, word-processing, and online needs and deliver adequate performance when it comes to low-level gaming.
• Excellent thermal control and almost silent operations are extra draw cards for these laptops.
• The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 has tenth-generation Intel laptop quad-core processors with an advanced Intel Iris Plus integrated graphics unit.
• The Yoga Slim 7 comes standard with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 and a Realtek module, delivering a strong signal at 30-feet even with obstacles in between. Later models of the Yoga ship with advanced Intel AX201 Wi-Fi chips.
• The battery offers around six hours of screen time once disconnected from a charging source.
• Most IdeaPad Slim 7 models have AMD Ryzen 4000-series chips and perform at rates that far outstrip other laptops in its league and most others in higher-priced categories. An additional graphics core helps boost graphics performance on the IdeaPad Slim 7.
• Like the Yoga, Wi-Fi 6 ensures a seamless online experience with the IdeaPad Slim 7 and the battery lasts up to 14 hours in standby mode and up to 6 hours when in use.

Choosing Your Tech

In the end, the choice between the Yoga Slim 7 or the IdeaPad Slim 7 depends on the CPU you prefer, availability in your area, or price. You can’t go wrong with either of these excellent laptops.

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