This is not just a concept, Lenovo is bringing it to market. At CES 2023, Lenovo has unveiled the Yoga Book 9i, a true dual-screen laptop that makes proper use of the added screen real estate. We have reviewed dual-screen laptops before, like the Asus Zenbook Pro Duo, but this is a very different beast.
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When the laptop is shut, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i doesn’t look much different to standard ones. Open it up, and the story is extremely different. You are greeted with two 13.3-inch 2.8K OLED displays that dominates the inside of the device. There is no keyboard deck, no actual trackpad, no physical keys whatsoever. However, to support all sorts of setups and use cases, Lenovo also provides a range of bundled accessories including a folding kickstand, a detachable Bluetooth keyboard and a stylus. And it’s this combination of peripherals that really elevates the Yoga Book 9i into something more than a simple clamshell.
When you pop up the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i on its kickstand, you can use the laptop in either stacked or side-by-side orientations for very different use cases. Impressively, when you stack the screens up above one another, the hinge will hold the top screen in place with minimal wobble of flexing. So, these setups delivers tons of vertical screen real estate or more traditional dual displays depending on your needs. You then also get a Bluetooth keyboard which can either be attached to the laptop in normal configuration, or used on the side for the more experimental configurations.
Of course, you need good software to make use of the novel hardware as best as possible. For example, when the Yoga Book 9i’s screens are stacked on top of each, you can tap five fingers against the screen to span a single window across both displays in what the company calls waterfall mode. Alternatively, when you want to move windows from one screen to another, you can simply flick your finger to send an app up or down.
You also get a stylus out of the box, which allows users to capture screenshots and then press a button to automatically embed it in a new OneNote file. This makes the process of recording minutes or saving ideas from brainstorming sessions during meetings super simple.
When you are travelling or don’t have enough space for the external Bluetooth keyboard, you can always use the Yoga Book 9i in clamshell mode, either by using an on-screen virtual keyboard.
We love when companies tries something new like this, and with Lenovo’s fastidious dedication we can surely see this technology take off in the future. For the time being it will be too expensive for most people, expected to cost around $2,000 at launch in late 2023.
