Lenovo Slim7x Snapdragon Laptop

Lenovo Slim7x Snapdragon Laptop

November 21, 2024
laptop, blackfriday, sales

I picked up a Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x Snapdragon X (14″, Gen 9) laptop a few days ago as part of the Black Friday deals, I managed to get it foraround $1900.

This is a quick post to outline my thoughts on it.

Laptop specs

My use-cases and software #

  • Docker Desktop
  • Kubernetes
  • VMs
  • Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform and CDK)
  • Studying (LaTeX, ProctorU for exams)

Design and Build Quality: #

  • Great build quality, solid top cover and keyboard materials.
  • Design is nice and clean, typical Lenovo design that works well.
  • Weight and size is slightly larger than my previous Slim 7i Pro, but not too bulky.

Display: #

  • 14.5" 3K UHD OLED Touchscreen display, with 90 Hz refresh rate.
  • So far I’ve been very impressed with it.
  • I’ve turned down the brightness and set it to 60 Hz for the battery life (not that I need to).

Performance: #

  • Day-to-day tasks are very snappy. Definitely the smoothest Windows experience I’ve had.
  • Applications that require multi-core performance have been pretty smooth so far (no complaints) although I haven’t tested it too much.
    • Kubernetes and Docker worked with no hitch.
    • Using WSL2 for some initial Kernel compiling has worked fine (no issues).
  • No real gaming experience so far, but I didn’t purchase this machine to do that as I already have a gaming desktop.
    • I did launch Factorio briefly on the machine and that had no issues, though I suspect because Factorio is not that demanding.

Battery Life: #

  • Very impressed so far. Claims of anywhere from 12 to 16 hours. I’d say that figure is pretty spot-on for most tasks (non-performance).
  • Performance-related tasks obviously shorten that, with an hour to two expected and in-line with similar laptops.

Keyboard and Trackpad: #

  • Keyboard quality and typing experience have been excellent. The keyboard feels sturdy and the travel on the keys is very nice.
  • Trackpad is fine. Definitely not a MacBook quality trackpad but it functions well.

Ports and Connectivity: #

  • Lacking. In total there are three USB-C works, one of which is used for power. This is not as big of an issue for me as I’m always with an Adapter anyway, but it is frustrating for most.
  • Lack of audio input is definitely a bummer.

Software and Features: #

  • Windows Hello works well and haven’t had any issues.
  • Being ARM, compatibility is an issue to watch-out for. I’ve personally had a pretty positive experience with most software
    • Docker + Docker Desktop, and Kubernetes integration, works fine.
    • WSL2 works excellent.
    • All the native applications have ARM versions (Spotify, Obsidian, Vivaldi, VSCode).
    • Hyper-V works for some VMs, though you need to disable Secure Boot and limit the Virtual CPU’s to 1 to get it to launch. I have an Ubuntu 24.10 ARM64 VM working with no issue and plan on playing around with other images.
    • Guardian Browser worked during the pre-checks (used for exams).
    • LaTeX (via WSL2) works fine with no issues rendering from a very quick test
  • I have been able to dual-boot Ubuntu 24.10 as well (take a look here if interested https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/ubuntu-24-10-concept-snapdragon-x-elite/48800#p-121153-what-works)

Price and Value: #

  • The normal retail price is anywhere from $2400 to $2900 (AUD) depending on your retailer and specs.
  • I managed to get it for $1900, which I think is a pretty good value for 1TB disk and 32GB RAM particularly compared to other options.

Pros and Cons: #

PROS:

  • Snappy performance for day-to-day.
  • Excellent battery life
  • Great screen quality
  • Most of my software has no compatibility issues.
  • Support for ARM in Windows and Linux so far has been positive.

CONS:

  • Port selection is pretty bad.
  • Graphics performance compared to Intel and AMD isn’t great (not a big issue for my use-cases but still worth a call-out)
  • ARM compatibility with other applications. Again not that big of an issue for me, but I haven’t encountered any of those scenarios yet which may yet happen.

Conclusion: #

  • I would recommend this laptop if you are sure the compatibility issues won’t affect you.
  • The battery, performance and quality is excellent and great for most use-cases.
  • I would recommend getting it on sale if possible. The price I paid I feel is reasonable ($1900) but some of the retail prices at $2300+ are a little harder to justify, particularly given the new platform and comparable yet excellent alternatives (AMD Zen, Lunar Lake, etc.)