Lenovo’s Yoga Slim 7x packs unbelievable Snapdragon power in an affordable thin-and-light package

We often talk about the Windows on Arm era in the context of Apple silicon. Windows on Arm already had its “Apple silicon moment,” so to speak, but what about its M2 MacBook Air moment? You know, the one when the laptop hardware finally matched the chip inside, and all the Arm processor kinks were worked out. I’ve been using the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x Gen 11 alongside the current Intel Core Ultra Series 3 laptops, and I’m calling it — this is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite moment.

I’m ready to recommend the Yoga Slim 7x to Windows users the same way I’ve recommended the MacBook Air to macOS users for years. “Just get a MacBook Air” becomes “just get a Yoga Slim 7x.” That’s high praise, but I promise I have the numbers to back it up. The new Yoga Slim 7x uses a higher-tier Snapdragon X2 Elite X2E-88-100 chip that crushes Intel’s Panther Lake processors in the workflows people actually care about. Battery life is as good as ever, and the rest of the Yoga Slim 7x is premium to boot. The flagship configuration of the Yoga Slim 7x delivers that Snapdragon chip, a 2.8K, 120Hz OLED screen, 32GB of memory, and 1TB of storage at a sub-$2,000 price point.

If you’re a Windows laptop user that hasn’t made the switch to Windows on Arm yet, what are you waiting for?

Lenovo loaned us the Yoga Slim 7x for this review, but the company had no input in this article and did not see it before publishing.

9/10

Operating System

Windows 11

CPU

Snapdragon X2 Elite X2E-88-100 Processor (4.70 GHz)

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x adds a higher-tier Snapdragon X2 Elite processor to an already-great ultrabook laptop. It’s thin, light, and complete with an aluminum chassis sporting a gorgeous Cosmic Blue finish. The display is a 2K, 60Hz OLED that can be upgraded to a 2.8K, 120Hz panel. Whether you go with the base model or the flagship configuration, the Yoga Slim 7x is enough to make you switch to Windows on Arm for good.

Pros & Cons

• The Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite chip delivers top-tier performance
• Windows on Arm is fantastic and helps provide long battery life
• Thin-and-light design with stunning blue aluminum materials

• USB-C ports don’t support Thunderbolt; no headphone jack onboard
• 2K display configuration isn’t as good of a value as 2.8K option
• A Windows Hello fingerprint sensor would’ve been nice to have

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x pricing and availability

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x comes in a handful of configurations, starting with a $1,199 model that includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Plus chip, 16GB of soldered memory, and 512GB of SSD storage. From there, you have optional upgrades to the Snapdragon X2 Elite X2E-80-100 or X2E-88-100 processors, up to 32GB of soldered memory, and up to 2TB of SSD storage. There are two OLED display options to choose from: a 2K, 60Hz panel and a 2.8K, 120Hz panel.

The Yoga Slim 7x configuration I tested includes the Snapdragon X2 Elite (X2E-88-100) chip, 32GB memory, 1TB storage, and the 2K OLED display. This model typically retails for $1,849.99 at Best Buy or $1,839.99 at Lenovo, but it’s currently discounted to $1,747.99 on Lenovo’s website. Notably, at the time of publishing, Lenovo’s upgraded model with the specs as tested plus the better 2.8K display is only $1,599, down from the retail price of $1,899. If you’re interested in the unit I reviewed, it’s worth grabbing the 2.8K OLED version at a discount rather than paying more for a build-to-order configuration.

This Windows on Arm laptop is more premium than its price makes you think

The first thing I noticed after unboxing the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x was the laptop’s visually stunning Cosmic Blue aluminum chassis. It’s both premium and stylish. Somehow, the Yoga Slim 7x looks thinner and lighter than it actually is. Don’t get me wrong, the 0.55-inch thickness makes the Yoga Slim 7x easy to take with you on the go, it’s just not unprecedented in this category. The sloping case design of the Yoga Slim 7x creates a slimming effect, and the modest 2.78-pound weight adds to the portable feel.

Look around the Slim 7x, and unsurprisingly, it has all the usual characteristics of a Yoga laptop. There’s the webcam bump at the top of the lid that makes opening the laptop hassle-free, even if it looks a bit odd to those who aren’t used to the design. You’ll also find a debossed “Yoga” logo on the palm rest. The right side of the laptop includes a privacy switch that disables the webcam, a protruding power button, and a USB-C port.

Credit: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf

There are vents on the bottom and sides of the laptop that handle intake and exhaust for the active cooling system. The left side of the Yoga Slim 7x houses the other two USB-C ports on this laptop. Admittedly, the port selection here is slightly underwhelming. I don’t mind going all-in on USB Type-C ports, but supporting Thunderbolt gives me more confidence. In this case, the Yoga Slim 7x merely offers USB4 support. It’s probably fine, although the lack of a 3.5mm audio jack might immediately turn away some buyers.

Speakers with support for Dolby Atmos flank each side of the keyboard, which is satisfying to type on. There’s just enough travel and space between each key for me to type about as accurately as I can. The Yoga Slim 7x’s keyboard does make some noise when you type on it, but it’s a deep sound rather than a high-pitched clack. To me, this all adds to the pleasing experience of typing on the Yoga Slim 7x. If you like Lenovo keyboards, you’ll probably find this one great as well.

Credit: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf

The touchpad isn’t centered on the chassis, so you have less space for your left wrist than your right one. This hasn’t caused any problems for me; in fact, the touchpad may be one of the best parts of the Yoga Slim 7x. I don’t use tap inputs on my Windows laptops, as I prefer the old-school clicks. Clicking the Yoga Slim 7x touchpad is rewarding, and doesn’t require too much force. Keep in mind that the laptop won’t register clicks in the top-fourth area of the touchpad, though touch input is fine in this section.

A brilliant display – that you might want to upgrade

There’s a variant with a better resolution and refresh rate that’s worth a look

Lenovo managed to hit a very competitive price point with the Yoga Slim 7x, and usually, budget and midrange Windows laptops skimp out on the screen to do so. That’s not the case here. The display is one of the best parts of the Yoga Slim 7x, but you’ll want to carefully choose your configuration to get the best deal. The model I reviewed has an OLED touchscreen panel with a 2K resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate.

I used a 60Hz laptop screen for years without an issue, so I don’t think this is a dealbreaker. But when there’s a Yoga Slim 7x configuration with a higher-resolution 2.8K display and a superior 120Hz refresh rate available for just $60 more, you take it. That’s at retail prices using the custom build-to-order option. Go with the pre-built configuration with the Snapdragon X2 Elite chip I tested and the 2.8K, 120Hz OLED, and you’ll end up paying $1,599 with current deal prices ($1,899 retail). I have no idea how long this deal might last, but the Yoga Slim 7x is an outstanding laptop with an even better display at the $1,600 price point. I’d jump on it if you’re interested in the Yoga Slim 7x.

With the pricing considerations out of the way, even the 2K OLED screen I used on the Yoga Slim 7x was a joy to look at. I don’t use the touchscreen on laptops that much, but this one felt nice to navigate with my fingers when I did. The hinge on the Yoga Slim 7x opens almost completely flat. It’s certainly not a convertible laptop, although this wide hinge makes using the touchscreen more comfortable in bed or on a couch.

The one criticism I have of the Yoga Slim 7x screen is its handling of brightness. The 2K OLED model has a typical brightness of around 400 nits, which is fine (but not great) for a laptop in this class. However, with the display continuously set at a 100% brightness level, the actual brightness fluctuated enough to be distracting. This could be a result of the Yoga Slim 7x switching between HDR and SDR modes, but the effect was visually jarring. I’d prefer the Yoga Slim 7x screen to maintain a more consistent level of brightness at each value out of the box.

It’s a performance beast, but check your apps

If you’re not a gamer, the Yoga Slim 7x punches above its weight class

Lenovo’s new Yoga Slim 7x Gen 11 is a worthy performance upgrade, because we’re getting more powerful Snapdragon chips this time around. Not every Qualcomm Snapdragon X series chip is the same; like any processor lineup, there are different performance tiers for Snapdragon X SoCs. While older Yoga Slim 7x laptops maxed out at the low end of Snapdragon X Elite offerings, the new Yoga Slim 7x Gen 11 is a completely different story. The two “Elite” chips for this generation are the Snapdragon X2 Elite X2E-80-100 and X2E-88-100. Both are capable and fast, and they make Intel Core Ultra Series 3 look outdated already.

I tested the Yoga Slim 7x with the X2E-88-100 chip against the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H in both the Dell XPS 14 and XPS 16. The benchmark results the Yoga Slim 7x returned were so high, I had to check them a few times to make sure I was seeing things right. Put simply, the Snapdragon X2 Elite in the Yoga Slim 7x obliterated the comparable Core Ultra X7 358H in both single-core and multi-core Geekbench 6 tests.

The advantage in single-core performance stood out in particular — the Yoga Slim 7x scored nearly 1,000 points higher than the XPS 14 in this Geekbench 6 test, which is a synthetic way of quantifying how snappy a laptop will feel in short bursts, like web browsing or app launching. The difference in multi-core performance was almost as staggering, with the Yoga Slim 7x scoring over 4,000 points higher than the XPS 14.

The Yoga Slim 7x feels every bit as quick and agile in everyday use as you’d expect based on these benchmark tests. The soldered 32GB memory onboard plus 1TB of SSD storage adds to the responsiveness. The one area where Qualcomm still lags behind is in graphics. Not just in app compatibility, but also in raw performance. Multiple Intel Core Ultra Series 3 laptops, and even a last-gen Core Ultra Series 2 system, beat the Yoga Slim 7x in 3DMark’s Wild Life Extreme benchmark.

Windows on Arm isn’t as perfect as Apple silicon in terms of app compatibility in 2026, so you’ll want to use free resources like the Windows on Arm compatibility checker to ensure your apps work before you buy a Snapdragon PC. Ideally, you’d prefer for all your apps to run natively on Arm to get the best performance, though emulation is possible for x86 apps.

This is more of a precautionary warning than anything else. It’s entirely possible that all your apps run natively on the Snapdragon X2 Elite platform. I used the Yoga Slim 7x as my work machine and didn’t even have to think about Windows on Arm app compatibility — every app I depend on ran natively without problems.

Credit: Brady Snyder / MakeUseOf

Battery life is as good as advertised on the Yoga Slim 7x thanks to the Snapdragon processor inside. I get around an hour of regular work done in exchange for 10-12% battery consumption, and that’s with the display at full brightness and the power mode set to “Balanced.” That’s enough for all-day use without having to reach for a charger.

My favorite Windows on Arm perk is not the battery life, but how laptops like the Yoga Slim 7x handle power and charging overall. When you close the lid, it sleeps. If you plug a USB PD charger in, it charges. That sounds simple, but avoiding the phantom battery drain, kernel panics, and overheating caused by power issues on Intel laptops is a win in itself.

Should you buy the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x?

You should buy the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x if:

• You want a premium but lightweight laptop with an all-metal build
• You need strong performance and stellar power efficiency
• You crave a powerful Windows on Arm laptop for around $1,500

You should NOT buy the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x if:

• You need to use your laptop for gaming or graphics-heavy workloads
• You need a laptop with more ports or Thunderbolt support
• You want a laptop with more upgradeable or repairable components

The glaring weakness of Snapdragon-powered laptops right now is gaming and graphics performance. It’s a real issue, and I won’t downplay it. My counter, though, would be to point out that many midrange productivity laptops in this category wouldn’t be a good fit for regular gaming, either. For the student, office worker, or creative, the Yoga Slim 7x and the Snapdragon X2 Elite dominate the competition in the ways that actually matter: general performance and battery life.

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x, as tested, performs like x86-based systems much more expensive, making the price of this laptop feel too good to be true. The discounted $1,599 model with the high-end Snapdragon X2 Elite processor and 2.8K OLED display is the sweet spot. It’s the complete package available at a price point people can actually afford, and it’s my default Windows laptop recommendation going forward.

Operating System

Windows 11

CPU

Snapdragon X2 Elite X2E-88-100 Processor (4.70 GHz)

GPU

Qualcomm Adreno

RAM

32GB LPDDR5X

Storage

1TB SSD

Lenovo’s Yoga Slim 7x is the Snapdragon X2 Elite laptop that might convert longtime Intel and AMD users. It brings the perks of Windows on Arm to a classic Yoga Slim form factor, and the price point is compelling for what you get.