HP Spectre x360 14 vs Lenovo Yoga 9i 14: Which is the Best One to Buy?

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In this comparison of HP Spectre x360 14 and Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 laptops, we’ll see which one is better to buy considering all the features and performance as per their price range. So, we’ll see that is it worth buying or not.

BUY NOW	BUY NOW
HP Spectre x360 14	Lenovo Yoga 9i 14
PROS	PROS
Attractive design. 3:2 OLED display. Good battery life.	Outstanding battery life. Competitive productivity performance. Rotating speaker.
CONS	CONS
Too much bloatware. Pricey.	Still using a 16:9 aspect ratio. Colors are a little muted and inaccurate.

SPECIFICATIONS

INTRODUCTION:

This is the comparison of HP Spectre x360 14 and Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 laptops. Spectre 14 is one of the first devices with Intel’s promising 11th gen processor plus it came with a gorgeous OLED screen in a very useful 3:2 aspect ratio. I found that Spectres are usually very high-quality devices that last a long time. On the other side, whether you’re a student, working professional, casual user, photographer, or someone strictly working from home, the level of performance you can get from this ultraportable Yoga 9i is nice. I have fairly high expectations for 11th gen tiger lake intel processors running on the new Intel Evo platform on this Lenovo Yoga 9i. Let’s get into the detailed review.

DESIGN & BUILD:

HP Spectre x360 14  

The laptop is insanely lightweight for its size. It’s a decent amount lighter than the Macbook Pro 13 and it has a bigger screen, this makes it very comfortable to have on your lap and to carry around. Although it’s a very high-quality feeling chassis, I don’t like the choices. The nightfall black model picks up fingerprints very easily. The silver model doesn’t have those issues but it has the issue where it’s kind of hard to make out which key is what in certain lighting conditions. This is because they have used the light character key color on a light-colored background. 

The keyboard is very comfortable to use. It feels like I have ample key travel and there is a good tactile feel to using the keyboard. Even though I find typing on this laptop very comfortable, unfortunately, I find the keys on the right side of the laptop odd, I mean the vertical row for the end, home key, etc. I sometimes mishit them as most keyboards don’t have those keys there.

Lenovo Yoga 9i 14

The design of this laptop is something to drool over, it’s the thing that drew me in when I first took it out of the box. It exudes quality, this isn’t the first laptop with leather. This thing looks and feels amazing, the shadow black genuine leather cover is just so nice and it feels premium. I’ve been using a fake leather skin because I like the look and the feel but this cover on the Yoga 9i is miles and miles ahead of this thing. The entire build is a combination of leather, glass, and metal. There is nothing about this chassis that says budget. Weighing in at around 3.17 pounds or 1.44 kilograms, it feels substantial when you hold it but not in a bad way.

Right below the screen is the 360-degree hinge that doubles as the rotating soundbar. You might think that the integrity of the hinge would be compromised by integrating even more moving parts inside it but that’s not the case here. I found the hinge to be nice and firm but it also just glides when you switch between the different convertible modes. I didn’t saw any failure or malfunctions related to the durability of this hinge design.

It’s a nice backlit tactile keyboard with decent key travel. You shouldn’t have any issues typing on this comfortably for long sessions at a time. It’s a positive typing experience with no fatigue and the keys are responsive during gaming. This keyboard deck is aluminum but the palm rest area and touchpad or trackpad is all edge-to-edge glass. It’s a super sleek buttonless design, an all-new glass sense touchpad uses precision drivers. It’s silky smooth with all the gestures, it’s definitely going to pick up some fingerprints but what glass surface doesn’t. Lenovo claims that this new design brings 50% more active surface area with haptic feedback and they didn’t exaggerate. If I had to point out one negative, it’s the lack of a mechanical click on the trackpad. Again, it’s haptic feedback, so it might be something you’ll have to get used to.

DISPLAY:

HP Spectre x360 14

There are some amazing things that I love about this laptop. This is the best display of any laptop I’ve ever used. It’s vibrant bright and it’s that middle ground in terms of resolution that we’ve all been asking for. It’s more pixel-dense than a Full HD display but not as dense as a 4K one. On laptops with a screen size of this one, I notice the pixelation on 1080 resolution. On a 4K screen, things look really sharp to me, so I’ve personally always opted for 4K screens even on smaller laptops. 4K screens tend to consume more power and not be great for battery life, this is the perfect sweet spot. It’s got enough pixels that things look super sharp but it isn’t unnecessarily dense like a 4K screen.

A 13.3 inch 16 by 9 aspect ratio display like in the HP Envy 13 is really too small for me to recommend as a primary device, it’s good enough as a secondary one if you have a desktop or larger laptop at home, while this displays 13.5-inch size and 3×2 aspect ratio is good enough for your primary productivity laptop. The extra screen real estate that you see in applications like word or even when browsing the internet is noticeable.

Lenovo Yoga 9i 14

All models come with a 14 inch IPS touch display but you can choose between Full HD with Dolby vision and the one I have here which is a 4K HDR screen. This 14-inch display has a 16 by 9 aspect ratio with a 3840 by 2160 resolution. It’s a glossy IPS panel, so we get deep blacks vibrant colors, great contrast, and it is color accurate. Lenovo claims 500 nits of brightness and I found that to be true for my unit. It’s HDR and supports Dolby Vision. Covering almost 90% of the display surface area makes for nice thin bezels that translate into a more immersive viewing experience. If you’re concerned about the performance of the screen in direct sunlight at max brightness, it was fine but of course, the reflections will be there. If you use Lightroom, Photoshop, or edit videos, you’ll be happy with the color gamut on the Yoga 9i. It covers 100% sRGB and 90% DCI-p3.

FEATURES:

HP Spectre x360 14

This has configurations of the 11th gen CPU, 16GB of RAM, one terabyte SSD, and the OLED 13.5 inch 3000 by 2000 pixel display. The only difference between the two models of HP Spectre 14 is only the color; one is the nightfall black and the other is silver.

There are some negative things about this laptop. The first one is the sound. It’s not the worst I’ve heard but it doesn’t get that loud, it also lacks power and presence. I frequently found myself smashing the volume up button while watching a movie trying to get more sound out of the laptop. It’s bizarre as it has a multi-speaker array with two speakers at the top and two underneath. Also, I’ve gone into the Bang & Olufsen app to try to raise the volume by setting the equalizer to the max, there’s just nothing that can be done.

The issue is how hard it is to take the back off the laptop, several screws are under a large rubber foot. This is a premium laptop and I don’t want to rip off the rubber foot to get inside the laptop. I would assume that this laptop has a replaceable SSD and it would be nice to be able to get at it.

If you are using an external 4K display with this laptop, you will only get a 30-hertz refresh rate. Everything is super jittery and unusable. If I scale the resolution of the display down to 1440, I get 60 hertz, so my assumption is they are using a very data DisplayPort version. At this age, running a 4K external monitor at 30 hertz isn’t acceptable. Both charging-capable ports are on the right side of the laptop. So, you’ll have to run a cable around the back if your outlet is on the left side. So, the pop-up advertisements that come up on this laptop are unacceptable, HP should stop installing this bloatware.

This is one of those laptops that doesn’t seem to sleep properly. I’ve noticed this occurring more when the laptop’s plugged in, so I haven’t experienced actual battery drain yet but it still worries me that that could occur.

Lenovo Yoga 9i 14

This is a 14-inch 2-in-1 convertible with a genuine leather cover. Diving into the specs this Yoga 9i is running the 11th gen Intel Core i7 1185G7 CPU aka Tiger Lake, integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics, 16 GB of DDR4x RAM which is soldered to the motherboard, and a 512 GB upgradable SSD. This machine can be configured in several different ways but this review unit is on the higher end of the available models.

In terms of ports, on the right, it’s pretty clean with only the power button. Moving to the left, we have a single USB 3.2 gen 2 port, two full-featured Thunderbolt 4 ports that not only charge the device but can run one 8K display or two 4K displays, and we get the headphone microphone combo jack. The port selection is minimal and I typically prefer at least one HDMI port. Moving around to the back, there’s the Lenovo integrated pen. This pen uses Wacom technology and I really like having a garaged pen that charges.

The Lenovo integrated pen is a decent size and it works great on this screen. If you want to sketch, take notes, sign documents, and pretty much anything else that accepts pen support, the experience should be a good one and I found lag to be very minimal. This pen features a special nib that replicates the feeling of writing on paper, it’s a really neat addition. Overall, the display is not only gorgeous but functional for both media consumption and productivity.

The Dolby Atmos stereo speakers on this laptop sound great and they get nice and loud. We get two tweeters and two woofers. This sounds really good and that includes the bass response. I have zero complaints about the audio quality on this laptop and this rotating soundbar gives you clean crisp sound, no matter the position of the laptop.

At the top of this display, there’s the 720p webcam with the privacy shutter and dual array microphone. The camera quality is more than enough for conference calls and casual video chats. A privacy shutter should be standard on every laptop with the webcam simply because privacy matters, so I’m happy to see it continued on the Yoga 9i. For another layer of security and a quick way to log into your laptop, we have the ultrasonic fingerprint reader on the palm rest which’s responsive and accurate. When it comes to connectivity, there’s Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 on board. In my time with this machine, the range and strength of the connection have been solid as expected.

PERFORMANCE:

HP Spectre x360 14

One of the issues with this laptop is the fan noise. It comes on rather suddenly at times even when doing something not intensive like watching a movie. When it does come on, it’s quite noticeable. It isn’t high pitched but it’s reasonably loud. Now when you have speakers that can’t get that loud, you can’t overpower the fan noise. So, even though this laptop has an excellent display, it’s really not a good laptop for watching movies as the fans are audibly distracting.

The next issue is the heat you feel when using the laptop. When on a desk, this laptop doesn’t feel warm to the touch at all. It’s really good when using it like that, the palm rests remain cool at all times and even the keyboard doesn’t feel that warm. However, it does have a very hot spot at the back of their laptop which you will certainly feel if you have it on your lap. With the fan and the heat issue, I only ever use this laptop with turbo boost disabled. This prevents the laptop from running at its max power with the trade-off that it doesn’t get as hot and loud. In this situation, you’re unable to get the full power out of the laptop plus the fans still come on at times, it’s not as frequent but it happens.

Lenovo Yoga 9i 14

I did some benchmarks on this laptop. In Cinebench, it scores around 2160 and in Geekbench it’s 5655, in 3DMark Time Spy it’s around 1480 scores. For gaming, it gets around 145 FPS in Valorant and 100 FPS in GTA 5 and 85 FPS in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and 130 FPS in Overwatch. This thing is a major upgrade over Ice Lake, it outperforms that last-gen processor with ease. In this period of time, this is the fastest and lightest ultraportable on the market. The Tiger Lake processor did not disappoint, it’s actually true that the performance of the new integrated Xe graphics runs circles around the previous Iris Plus graphics just.

We get the 11th gen Intel core i7 1185G7 and 16 GB of DDR4x RAM. Multitasking is one of the primary reasons to pick up a convertible laptop like this one and it handles a load of tasks very well. I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the results ranging from everyday tasks to editing photos and even some surprisingly satisfying gaming sessions. Obviously, you’re not going to get great frame rates on high settings in 1080p and you’re not going to be playing anything in 4K but on low to medium settings, you can get smooth playable over 80 frames per second.

This is a thin and light laptop that can handle work and play. Since this is a thin frame, a certain level of thermal throttling is expected but the yoga 9i handles it well. It never reached the point of a noticeable slowdown in my workflow. The fans did ramp up to maintain a decent operating temperature but it was never overpowering or disruptive. Even while running benchmarks, it didn’t get so hot to the touch that I couldn’t use it on my lap.

BATTERY:

HP Spectre x360 14

This latest Spectre 14 has a pretty big 66-watt hour battery. The battery life really depends on which type of display you choose. If you choose a 4K OLED display, then you may get around 8 hours of battery life at low usage. If you buy an HD display, then you may get better battery life than this assumption.

Lenovo Yoga 9i 14

In performance mode with this bright 4K display, battery life is going to suffer. With mixed-use, I consistently got a little over 7 hours of battery life with the brightness turned down a bit. If you opt for the 1080p display, you can easily get close to 10 hours of battery life depending on your use. It’s a 60-watt hour battery and the included 65-watt charger will get you from 0 to 100 percent in just over one hour. The rapid charging here is great.

WHICH TO BUY?

I was really hoping that this Spectre 14 would replace Dell’s XPS as my portable laptop of choice. I love the Spectre’s keyboard and the display and I feel myself getting super excited to pick up and use the laptop but unfortunately due to these issues, it’s a letdown. Maybe some people genuinely could be happy with this laptop like for doing some casual works. The Lenovo Yoga 9i is an easy recommendation. It has a luxury design with the excellent build quality. The performance is great for productivity and even casual gaming. This is a 14-inch convertible that isn’t much bigger than a lot of 13-inch laptops on the market. The speaker system is awesome and the screen is top quality. There is no SD card reader, not even micro SD card, no HDMI port, and the RAM is not user upgradable but as a whole package, the Yoga 9i delivers in nearly every category.

If you got more attracted to the HP Spectre’s design, then you can buy the Spectre 14 but I think Lenovo Yoga 9i performs better overall and also comes under less price range comparatively.

Expert reviews of HP Spectre x360 14:

By Laptopmag
The Spectre x360 14’s edgy yet sophisticated chassis drew me in while the excellent 1920 x 1280-pixel and 3K2K OLED display options…

By Pcmag
Its tall OLED screen and swank, thoughtful design vault the HP Spectre x360 14 to the top rank of …

By Digitaltrends
Maybe the HP Spectre x360 14 isn’t the best laptop you can buy. For a variety of reasons, Dell’s XPS 13 probably retains that top spot. But I’ll say this: The Spectre’s darn close, and if I were…

Expert reviews of Lenovo Yoga 9i 14:

By Pcmag
The Lenovo Yoga 9i’s slick metal design, high-end features, and killer battery life make it a serious contender…

By Notebookcheck.net
The new 4K touchscreen in the Yoga 9i 14 makes quite an impression and shines with good rates and an HDR 400…

By Laptopmag
The Yoga 9i is an excellent 2-in-1 laptop for those who need power in a portable package. It outpaces most of its competitors, it’s among …

Arya

Hello! I'm Surendar Arya, a passionate tech writer from Uttar Pradesh, India. I'm a freelance contributor to the tech blog - The World's Best And Worst. My enthusiasm for technology drives me to explore the latest trends and innovations in the field. I take immense pleasure in guiding individuals on how to leverage technology for their benefit, making their lives easier and more efficient.