Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023) vs HP Spectre x360 13.5 (2022): What’s the best convertible?

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  Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023)

  Lenovo’s 2023 Yoga 9i has a 13th-generation Intel Core i7 processor and a stunning OLED display. It also has beautifully polished corners and a soundbar hinge down the middle.

  Pros

  • Newer and more powerful 13th-gen Intel processors
  • Stunning OLED display by default

  Cons

  • More expensive
  • Battery life may not be as good

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  HP Spectre x360 13.5

  The HP Spectre x360 13.5 is a premium convertible laptop with a stunning design and great performance for everyday tasks.

  Pros

  • Taller display and better webcam
  • Better battery life in general

  Cons

  • Not quite as beautiful
  • Base model has an IPS panel

Lenovo makes excellent laptops, and the Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023) is looking to be another fantastic contender this year. As a follow-up to one of the best laptops of 2022, this year’s convertible doesn’t change a ton aside from upgrading some specs, but that’s all it really needs to be great.

However, Lenovo isn’t alone, and the HP Spectre x360 13.5 made its debut last year as well, with a super premium design and great specs of its own. While they compete in the same segment, these two laptops are actually very different. How will the Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023) compare to the HP Spectre x360 (2022) when it hits stores this April? Let’s find out.

Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023) vs HP Spectre x360 13.5 (2022): Pricing and availability

Lenovo announced the Yoga 9i for a launch in April, with prices starting at $1,500. However, you can already order the laptop on Lenovo’s website, starting at $1,700, with shipping expected in late April. If you want to buy elsewhere, you may need to wait longer for wider availability.

Meanwhile, the HP Spectre x360 13.5 has been available for a few months now, and you can order it from HP directly as well as Best Buy and other retailers. Officially, pricing starts at $1,250.

• 	Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023)	HP Spectre x360 13.5
  Color	Storm Grey, Oatmeal	Nightfall Black, Nocturne Blue, Natural Silver
  Storage	Up to 1TB SSD	Up to 2TB SSD
  CPU	Up to 13th-generation Intel Core i7-1360P	Up to 12th-generation Intel Core i7-1255U
  Memory	Up to 16GB LPDDR5-5200	Up to 32GB RAM
  Operating System	Windows 11 Home	Windows 11
  Battery	75Wh	66Wh
  Ports	2 x Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB Type-C, 1 x USB Type-A, 3.5mm headphone jack	2 x Thunderbolt 4, 1 x USB Type-A, 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD card reader
  Camera	Full HD 1080p + IR camera	5MP HP True Vision IR Camera with temporal noise reduction
  Display (Size, Resolution)	14-inch, 16:10, up to 4K OLED (3840 x 2400)	13.5-inch, 3:2 aspect ratio, up to 3K2K OLED, 500 nits, touch
  Weight	Starting at 3.09 pounds (1.4 kg)	3.01 pounds (1.37 kg)
  GPU	Intel Iris Xe graphics (integrated)	Intel Iris Xe (integrated)
  Dimension	12.52 x 9.06 x 0.6 inches (318 x 230 x 15.25 mm)	11.73 x 8.68 x 0.67 in (297.94 x 220.47 x 17 mm)
  Speakers	2 x 3W woofers (on the side), 2 x 2W tweeters (on hinge)	Dual stereo speakers, audio by Bang & Olufsen
  Price	Starting at $1,499.99	Starting at $1,249.99
  Adaptor and Battery	Up to 100W USB-C Slim AC adapter	65W USB-C power Adapter
  Finish	Aluminum	Aluminum

Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023) vs HP Spectre x360 13.5 (2022): Faster processors, worse battery

Lenovo Yoga 9i (2022) uses the same design as the new 2023 model

Starting right with performance, Lenovo seems to pull ahead, particularly regarding the processor. The 2023 Lenovo Yoga 9i is powered by a 13th-generation Intel Core i7-1360P processor with 28W TDP. It features 12 cores, 16 threads, and boost speeds up to 5GHz.

On the other hand, the HP Spectre x360 13.5 is last year’s model, so it has 12th-generation processors. More importantly, these processors come from Intel’s U series, with a lower 15W TDP, and in tandem, they have 10 cores and 12 threads, with boost speeds up to 4.7GHz. Looking at benchmarks like Geekbench 5 and 6, you can see there’s a big advantage for Lenovo’s laptop based on the CPU alone. We’ll have a better idea of real-world performance when the Yoga 9i releases.

However, nothing is without its downsides, and this performance advantage comes at the cost of battery life. Intel’s 28W processors are more power-hungry than the 15W models, and battery life is generally much shorter as a result. When we reviewed the 2022 Lenovo Yoga 9i, it came in at about four hours of battery life, compared to the average of six hours we saw in our HP Spectre x360 13.5 review.

Spectre x360

Aside from that, the two laptops are similar. The HP Spectre x360 can be configured with 32GB of RAM, which gives it an advantage over the Yoga 9i, but for most users, 16GB is more than enough. The Spectre x360 can also be configured with a larger 2TB SSD, as opposed to 1TB on the Yoga 9i.

Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023) vs HP Spectre x360 13.5 (2022): Different screens, but both are great

Lenovo Yoga 9i

Turning to the display, the Lenovo Yoga 9i once again takes the lead by offering a 14-inch 16:10 OLED panel as the default configuration, so you get true blacks and more vibrant colors. The base model is a 2.8K (2880 x 1800) panel — which is already very sharp — with a smooth 90Hz refresh rate. Alternatively, you can go even sharper with a 4K (3840 x 2400) OLED panel with a 60Hz refresh rate.

By comparison, the HP Spectre x360 13.5 has a smaller screen, at 13.5 inches, but it has a taller 3:2 aspect ratio, so it may actually be better for getting work done while remaining portable. However, the base model comes with a Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) IPS panel, which can’t match Lenovo’s offering. That being said, you can upgrade to a 3K2K (3000 x 2000) OLED display, and at that point, things are pretty even between the two laptops, though the Spectre still doesn’t have the option for a higher refresh rate.

Spectre x360

There’s more to the media experience than a great screen, and Lenovo pulls a massive victory in the audio department. The Yoga 9i has a quad-speaker setup, which is unusual for such a small laptop. There are two speakers on the sides and two others on the hinge, so they’re always facing you. The audio on the Yoga 9i is fantastic for watching movies. The dual speakers on the HP Spectre x360 13.5 can’t compete, even though they’re not bad either.

On the flip side, HP wins with its webcam, thanks to the big 5MP sensor the company is using on most of its new laptops. It only records 1080p video, just like the Yoga 9i, but because of the larger sensor, it can crop the video frame without losing quality. The Lenovo Yoga 9i has a smaller 2.1MP sensor, so the image won’t be as clear. Both laptops support Windows Hello facial recognition, though.

Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023) vs HP Spectre x360 13.5 (2022): Two premium designs with very different looks

Lenovo Yoga 9i (2022) shares the same design with the 2023 model

When it comes to build quality and the overall feel of the device, these two laptops stand toe-to-toe. They’re both convertibles, but there are some big differences when it comes to the actual design. The Lenovo Yoga 9i is a beautiful laptop with an aluminum build and matte surfaces, while the corners are rounded and shiny to make for an eye-catching look. It comes in two colors, Storm Grey and Oatmeal (a sort of soft shade of gold).

The HP Spectre also looks excellent, but in a very different way. It also has an aluminum build, but the surfaces lead into thin edges that make for a unique look. The Nocturne Blue and Nightfall Black colorways have a dual-tone design, where these edges have a different color from the surfaces, and it looks great, though it’s a bit more subdued than the Yoga 9i. If you want something even more toned down, there’s also a single-color silver option.

Spectre x360 ports

Regarding portability, the two laptops aren’t too far off from each other. Because of the bigger screen, the Lenovo Yoga 9i is wider and taller, but it’s also thinner, so it ends up feeling a bit more modern. But it’s a little heavier, weighing 3.09 pounds against the 3.01 pounds of the Spectre x360. Considering the difference in size, that difference is negligible.

As for ports, the similarities continue. These laptops have two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a USB Type-A port, and a headphone jack. However, the Lenovo Yoga 9i also has an extra USB Type-C port, while the Spectre x360 13.5 has a microSD card reader. One potential advantage of the Spectre x360 13.5 is that it’s available with optional 5G connectivity, so if you need to get work done while you’re traveling, you don’t have to rely on unsecured Wi-Fi.

Another difference we should mention is that the Lenovo Yoga 9i has a special row of keys on the right side, providing shortcuts to specific features. That includes switching to dark mode, changing performance modes, or enabling background blur for the webcam.

Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023) vs HP Spectre x360 13.5 (2022): Which one is right for you?

There’s always some personal preference that plays into whether you should buy one device or another, but it’s safe to say that, overall, the Lenovo Yoga 9i is a better laptop. It has newer and more powerful processors to handle more demanding workloads. The display is better out of the box since you get an OLED panel by default and a higher refresh rate. Not to mention, it has a quad-speaker system that delivers a fantastic audio and media experience.

Of course, it has a higher starting price, but once you try to configure the Spectre x360 to have similar specs, that price difference becomes almost non-existent. If you want the best possible product, it’s probably the Lenovo Yoga 9i.

Lenovo Yoga 9i (2023)

With powerful 13th-generation Intel processors and a stunning OLED display, the Lenovo Yoga 9i is the best of these two laptops, providing a terrific experience in almost every way. It also looks great and it’s relatively light for its size.

That said, there is a major benefit to the HP Spectre x360 13.5, and that’s portability. Not in terms of the weight and size but mostly the battery life. The weaker processors result in less power consumption, and if you’re traveling, you can use this laptop for much longer without having to charge it. On top of that, there’s optional 5G connectivity here, which is (again) great for portability. And if you’re in meetings frequently, the 5MP webcam is also a good reason to get this laptop, particularly if you don’t want to buy an external webcam.

HP Spectre x360 13.5

The HP Spectre x360 13.5 is still a great choice if you care about portability, feature more efficient Intel processors, plus the option for 5G connectivity. It’s also great if you want a better webcam for online meetings and calls.

If you’re not convinced by either of these laptops, you can always check out our lists of the best Lenovo laptops and the best HP laptops to see what else each of these companies has to offer.