I volition admit that I was skeptical erstwhile I archetypal saw pictures of Lenovo’s caller dual-screen Yoga Book 9i. I’ve tried foldables and dual-screens aplenty, and portion galore are usable, galore besides person superior limitations. But this is the archetypal dual-screen laptop I’ve ever tried that I could spot myself really buying. And that’s due to the fact that Lenovo has intelligibly done the bundle engineering indispensable to marque definite it tin code galore of the somewhat... evident concerns that shoppers mightiness person with specified a device.

The archetypal objection is an evident one: there’s nary disposable touchpad connected the Yoga Book i9. That’s what archetypal jumped retired astatine maine erstwhile Lenovo announced the device, which is simply a laptop-sized spiritual successor to Microsoft’s Surface Neo — fundamentally 2 13.3-inch, 16:10, 2.8K OLED screens stacked connected apical of each different with a hinge successful the mediate and a detachable keyboard. “How connected world volition 1 navigate this?” I wondered arsenic I watched the keynote.

It turns retired determination are a clump of ways, and they each look to work. First, you tin interaction the screen. Second, you tin usage the stylus (which lives precise sturdily successful a sleeve connected the backmost of the device). And third, successful Lenovo’s bundle settings, you tin propulsion up a virtual touchpad close onto the screen. This touchpad has haptic buttons that, with their carnal feedback, actually consciousness decently akin to existent buttons. You tin resize this touchpad. You tin determination it around. The satellite is your oyster. It felt unusual astatine archetypal to beryllium touchpad-ing connected a screen, but it’s thing I ideate you’d get utilized to.

You tin also fold this instrumentality astatine 90 degrees and usage it similar a regular 13-inch laptop. This is simply a diagnostic of single-screen foldable devices arsenic well, but the woody with those is that it usually makes the surface you’re moving with overmuch smaller (since you’re taking a surface you’d antecedently been utilizing horizontally and halving it lengthwise).

Folding the Yoga Book into clamshell mode evidently decreases your disposable screens from 2 to one, but the size alteration does not consciousness astir arsenic drastic arsenic it does erstwhile you fold, say, Asus’s Zenbook 17 Fold successful half. You’re inactive looking astatine 1 standard-sized 13.3-inch laptop surface with the aforesaid facet ratio arsenic it had before. (The bottommost half, wherever the keyboard attaches, is besides not peculiarly cramped, different predominant contented with foldables.)

Anyway, erstwhile you fold the Yoga Book 9i into clamshell mode, a virtual keyboard and touchpad automatically popular up successful the places you’d expect them to be. This touchpad is besides haptic, and portion I mostly hatred utilizing onscreen keyboards, this 1 is astir apt the astir clicky and comfy 1 I’ve ever used. You tin besides spot the carnal keyboard close connected apical of the virtual one, with the touchpad remaining successful the aforesaid spot if you bash so.

These each look similar precise workable solutions to the occupation of the missing touchpad. OEMs person struggled with the question of wherever to enactment touchpads connected dual-screen laptops since clip immemorial, and we’ve seen a fig of front-mounted keyboards and teensy, crappy touchpads successful the space. In erstwhile reviews of Asus’s dual-screen models, I’ve suggested that their trackpads were truthful unspeakable that Asus would beryllium amended served ditching them each together. Lenovo has taken that leap, and, frankly, I respect it.

The Yoga Book doesn’t usage a peculiar mentation of Windows 11 (RIP Windows 10X), but with each the assorted gestures Lenovo has added to optimize interactions for the dual-screen signifier factor, it feels similar it could be. There are galore ways to determination your windows and applications around, and it each takes astir 4 seconds to master.

My favourite is the flick. Press and clasp connected immoderate app oregon browser tab, past flick it, and it flies to the different screen. There’s besides a drawback layout diagnostic customized for this device, which volition astir apt beryllium overmuch much utile to galore radical successful the Yoga Book’s signifier origin than it is connected modular Windows laptops.

A 5 digit pat connected your tab oregon model besides expands it to capable some screens, successful the aptly-named “waterfall mode”. I tin spot this being amusive to use, though having a elephantine hinge successful the mediate of your waterfall hinders the aesthetic somewhat. If you’re utilizing the laptop successful clamshell mode, tugging the keyboard down with 8 fingers pulls up a small power sheet with speedy entree to upwind forecasts, CPU usage and show statistics, Outlook, and different applications. (This, though, gets escaped of the touchpad that’s down there, truthful it’s much of a quick-reference happening than thing you’d privation to permission unfastened — unless you person a rodent plugged in.)

I’m definite determination are a 1000 much chill things that Lenovo has built successful here. (Lenovo’s representatives were anxious to amusement america much tricks, but our clip slot was limited.) I’m besides definite I haven’t figured retired each imaginable presumption successful which you could usage this device, and that purchasing this would necessitate immoderate exploration astatine the start.

I person specifically gotten a batch of questions astir horizontal mode, and whether you tin usage the 2 screens broadside by side. The reply is that yes, you can, but it’s a small spot odd. As you tin spot from the representation above, the screens are gangly and bladed erstwhile placed this way, and the effect looks a spot much similar a storybook than a enactment setup. It is thing you could do, but it mightiness necessitate immoderate getting utilized to (and, astatine times, originative resizing).

Another question I heard a batch of: does the Yoga Book wobble? The reply is: yes. If you’re tapping the surface and the laptop is afloat vertical, the apical surface is simply a spot wobbly. I don’t spot this arsenic a immense problem, however, due to the fact that I ideate I’d privation to bash astir of my navigation connected the non-wobbly bottommost screen, which would beryllium person to maine and much comfy to reach.

And finally: How almighty is the thing, and tin you edit video connected it? The processor wrong is simply a 13th-Gen Intel Core i7 U-series chip, and you cognize what, that’s not terrible. It’s designed for bladed and airy devices, truthful you won’t person an unthinkable editing experience, but you could astir apt implicit a task connected it if you were retired and about.

It is true, though, that whether this instrumentality yet succeeds volition beryllium connected Lenovo’s quality to make an fantabulous bundle experience. The institution didn’t rather win determination with the ThinkPad X1 Fold, which was reasonably glitchy to use. The Yoga Book 9i feels better, though my trial clip was limited. I didn’t person immoderate problems with navigating the net oregon jumping astir successful tabs during my little clip with the device; and though determination person been reports of the instrumentality blue-screening during different folks’ testing, I didn’t acquisition that myself. I’ll person galore much impressions erstwhile I get my hands connected a last unit.

But my main content is that I deliberation idiosyncratic whitethorn yet person figured retired the close mode to bash a dual-screen device. This is simply a truly neat idea. It’s managed to harvester the portability benefits of foldables with the amusive versatility of dual-screens without galore downsides that I tin see. Though you request to beryllium good with a hinge successful the mediate of your workspace — and with coughing up astatine slightest $2,000, which is conscionable the starting price.