HP Spectre vs Lenovo Yoga: Ultimate Showdown of Convertibles!

Do you need all the necessary information about the two leading convertibles? If yes, this HP Spectre vs Lenovo Yoga comparison has it all.

HP Spectre vs Lenovo Yoga: At First Glance

It is no news that laptops have evolved by having different form factors. From typical laptops to detachable and, of course, convertible laptops.

Our focus in this comparison is on two convertible laptops that will make any gadget lover indecisive on which to pick. The exact laptops I am referring to are HP Spectre x360 and Lenovo Yoga 9i.

Having the same form factor and target audience are two major reasons these laptops are worth comparing. Just in case you’re wondering, both laptops are designed to suit students, business-oriented individuals, and creatives.

Now, the big question is, “what makes the Spectre x360 any different from the Yoga 9i?”. Answers to that question are in subsequent paragraphs, so be sure to read on!

HP Spectre vs Lenovo Yoga: Design, Dimensions, and Weight

Good looks are at their peak when it comes to the Spectre and Yoga laptops. Both HP and Lenovo carefully designed their respective products with a premium appeal.

Part of the reason they could achieve such a look is because of their respective metal and aluminum bodies. Specifically, the Lenovo Yoga 9i has a sturdy, metal build quality in a shadow black color.

Although some may consider it dull, this laptop is best described as durable. The Yoga 9i is one of those laptops that’s not sleek but sturdy enough as something that can handle a rough day.

Switching over to the Spectre x360, no one can deny the fact that this laptop is far from mediocrity in terms of looks. In fact, rather than presenting a plain black color, HP highlighted this laptop with bronze around its curved edges.

In addition to the edges, the “HP” logo on the lid also has a bronze look rather than the plain silver look we often see on HP laptops. With such a detailed look, you cannot mistake the Yoga for the Spectre, even if placed side by side.

On that note, branding on the Yoga 9i is quite precise with the “YOGA” text logo on the top left corner of the lid. Speaking of lid, the selling point of the Spectre x360 and Yoga 9i is their flexibility.

Rather than simply opening these laptops at 180 degrees, you can open them all the way as a convertible to form a tablet. Whether in tablet, tent, or laptop form, these laptops are very flexible.

If you’re familiar with convertible laptops, you probably know that such laptops tend to be wobbly. Thankfully though, this is not the case for the Yoga 9i but expect some wobbly moves from the Spectre x360.

It’s really impressive to have such solid and precise hinges on the Yoga that makes it flex-free. It’s almost as if Lenovo intentionally took its time in focusing on this laptop’s design.

Back to the laptops’ lids, on opening the lid of Yoga 9i, you’ll notice the little latch specifically designed to comfortably lift the lid. On that latch, the “Yoga series” is boldly inscribed, letting you know what series this laptop belongs to.

Interestingly, this latch is also home to the webcam. Due to the very slim bezels, Lenovo could not fit in the camera hardware on there, so it’s in the latch instead.

By the way, a great feature of the webcam is the toggle switch which allows you to disable the camera during a video call. Unfortunately, though, this camera does not support the Windows Hello log-in feature that’s meant to unlock the laptop when the camera detects your face.

For the Spectre x360, its bezels are as thick as half the size of a ruler, which means it’s nothing close to the Yoga 9i bezels. As a result, the webcam of the Spectre is just where it should be – which is at the top bezel.

Furthermore, the Spectre’s camera supports windows hello log-in, unlike the Yoga 9i. In addition to that, the HP laptop also has a camera killer switch like the Yoga 9i.

Moving on from the bezel, there’s the obvious display screen that takes center stage. Since both laptops share similar form factors, one would expect that they share similar display features.

Well, to start with, the Spectre x360 and Yoga 9i both have a 15.6” display screen size. For their resolution, though, there’s a twist.

To be specific, the HP Spectre x360 comes with a 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) resolution. If it’s your first time hearing that, just simply know that 4K resolution is by far the best resolution out there.

As a result, the Spectre x360 is nothing short of spectacular. This display is clear and vibrant, with good color accuracy and high saturation.

Switching over to the Yoga 9i, Lenovo decided to make this laptop with two types of resolution, giving you an option. Based on your budget and preference, you can get this laptop with either a Full HD (1920 x 1080) or 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) resolution.

If you’re considering budget, the Yoga 9i with Full HD resolution is definitely cheaper. However, if you’re a graphic designer, video editor, or creative concerned with display quality, the 4K resolution is ideal.

Similar to what the Spectre x360 offers, the 4K display of the Yoga provides a very realistic and accurate display quality. Alternatively, if your choice is Full HD, you will be just fine for regular viewing of images, videos, and web pages.

Speaking of which, both the Spectre x360 and Yoga 9i have great viewing angles thanks to the IPS (In-plane switching) display technology they feature. To expatiate, the IPS is a display technology that contributes to impressive viewing angles.

As a result, you can rest assured that whatever you’re viewing on these two laptops will be clear – whether you’re seated directly in front of the laptop screen or not.

Having compared the resolutions and display technologies, let’s now talk about the brightness of these displays.

To begin with, the screen brightness level is more impressive on the Yoga 9i than on the Spectre. While the HP Spectre x360 has maximum screen brightness of 400 nits, the Lenovo Yoga 9i has a maximum brightness of 500 nits.

A difference of about 100 nits might not mean so much until you need to use a laptop outdoors. On that note, it would interest you to know that using any of these two laptops in direct sunlight would not be so enjoyable.

However, the Yoga 9i should do a better job when used outdoors than the HP Spectre.

On a different aspect of the display, you’re probably anticipating that these convertible laptops are touchscreen enabled. Well, thankfully, they are!

Both display screens of the Spectre x360 and Yoga 9i are multi-touch touchscreens, allowing you to use more than one finger at a time. In addition to using your fingers, there’s yet another method of using a touchscreen which is a stylus pen.

Many laptop manufacturers make the inclusion of a stylus pen optional for touchscreen laptops. Thankfully though, both HP and Lenovo included a stylus pen in their respective devices at no extra cost.

Moving away from the aspect of the display, my next focus is on the keyboard and touchpad. Starting with the keyboard, both the HP Spectre x360 and Lenovo Yoga 9i feature full-size backlit keyboards.

Being full-sized means there are dedicated number keys on both laptops for those who often punch numbers more than words. Also, the backlit keys of both laptops make keys more legible when typing in the dark.

Still, on the keyboard, you’ll notice the responsive fingerprint sensor located right below the arrow keys of the Yoga 9i. Comparatively, the HP Spectre also has a fingerprint sensor located below the keyboard’s number pad.

Just before I move to the next component, I cannot ignore the obvious speaker of the HP Spectre located at the top area of the keyboard layout. This speaker designed by Bang and Olufsen, is made to impress with the amount of sound quality it produces.

However, this is nothing compared to the remarkable speaker of the Yoga 9i. Not only is the speaker loud thanks to the sound engineering job of Dolby Atmos, but it also has an uninterrupted design pattern.

To make more sense, the Yoga 9i has a rotating soundbar, meaning the speakers are not at the back or the sides; instead, they are somewhere between the hinges. This ensures that when you turn this laptop into a convertible, you’ll get really good sound quality rather than having it simply in laptop mode.

Even at that, if you choose to have it in laptop mode, the good sound quality wouldn’t still be compromised either. Consequently, the sound quality of the Yoga 9i cannot be hindered, no matter the form it takes.

Next to the keyboard, there’s the touchpad located at the usual spot below the keyboard layout. In terms of position, the touchpad of the Spectre x360 takes a more central position on the keyboard deck.

However, the case is slightly different for the Yoga, whose touchpad is wider and located slightly to the left. Unless there are other reasons to, most people would not be bothered about such a design choice by the manufacturer.

Moreover, both laptops are still carefully engineered to provide a comfortable armrest for you while typing.

As for usability, the touchpads of both laptops are very responsive with the multi-touch feature. This multi-touch feature makes it possible to comfortably use multiple fingers on the touchpad on either laptop.

With the touchpad, speakers, and keyboard fully explained and compared, let’s move to the ports of these laptops. Both the HP Spectre x360 and Lenovo Yoga 9i have almost the same ports.

For the Spectre, there’s a USB Type-A port, headphone jack, power button, and full SD Card on the left. On the right, there are two USB Type-C ports, HDMI, and volume control buttons.

Moving over to the Yoga, there’s the power-in port, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, and a headphone jack. On the right side of the laptop, there’s the housing for the stylus pen, a USB Type-A port, and the power button.

Notably, it’s impressive to see volume buttons strategically located on the Spectre, making it easy to use when the laptop is in tablet mode. Another noticeable feature of the ports is the impressive location of the Yoga 9i’s stylus pen.

Specifically, this means Lenovo created a dedicated spot to safely keep the stylus pen of the 9i, unlike the Spectre, which does not have a case at all. Also, this stylus pen housing design serves as the pen’s charger, which charges it in about 20 seconds.

Another difference you’ve probably noticed between these two convertible laptops is the HDMI ports. On that note, the absence of the HDMI on the Yoga 9i should not bother you because the thunderbolt ports are full-service ports.

To be precise, having full-service ports means that the thunderbolt ports can execute the job of the HDMI port successfully. Hence, the thunderbolt can conveniently serve for power delivery and as a DisplayPort.

Consequently, it’s fair to say that both laptops have the ideal ports required for a laptop.

Just before I wrap up this section, I definitely have to mention the aspect of weight and dimensions. After all, with everything said, you’ll most likely want to know if all these features take a toll on the weight of these laptops.

Fortunately, the answer to that is NO. Both the HP Spectre x360 and Yoga 9i are laptops that can be categorized as slim and lightweight.

More precisely, the Spectre x360 weighs 2010 g and has a dimension of 356 x 251 x 17.9 mm (W x D x H). Taking a slightly different turn, the Yoga 9i weighs 2000 g and has dimension of 238.5 x 355.5 x 17.5 – 19.7 mm (W x D x H).

Comparatively, it’s obvious that the Yoga 9i is slimmer and more lightweight than the Spectre. Although, this does not define the Spectre x360 as a heavy laptop either.

To wrap up this section, it’s obvious that sound quality goes to the Yoga. However, in most other aspects of design, it’s fair to call it a tie between both laptops.

Hence, both laptops deserve an even score of nine out of ten in this HP Spectre vs Lenovo Yoga comparison.

HP Spectre vs Lenovo Yoga: Processor (CPU) Performance

We all need fast processor power in a computer to complete our tasks, and both laptops offer fast processors but in varying capacities. Just before I delve into the processing capacity, I’ll provide the specifications of these laptops.

Starting with the HP Spectre x360, this convertible laptop features a quad-core Intel Core i7-8550U. In addition to that, the cache of this processor is 8 MB.

When it comes to speed, this processor has a base frequency of 1.8 GHz, while its maximum speed is 4.0 GHz.

Moving over to the Lenovo Yoga 9i, an 8-core Intel Core i9-10980HK is what powers this laptop. Furthermore, this processor has a 16 MB cache.

Also, the processor frequency of this laptop is equally not lacking, with a base and maximum frequency of 2.40 GHz and 5.30 GHz, respectively.

Looking at the different processor features of these laptops, you’ll most likely be wondering just how different they perform. Well, you do not have to wonder much because I will provide information on processor performance.

As a matter of fact, there’s a benchmark test tool specifically designed for testing processor performance. This tool is called the Geekbench 5, and it basically puts a computer processor under much pressure just to analyze how much it can handle.

At the end of a test, the Geekbench produces its test results in figures, and as you may have guessed – a higher score means better performance. Having established that, let’s get right to it.

Based on this benchmark, the HP Spectre x360 scored about 8000 points which is definitely more than the 7600 points of the Lenovo Yoga 9i. By the way, these test results are based on their respective multi-core performance.

Does that sound confusing? Well, do you remember in the first and fourth paragraphs that I mentioned the number of cores both laptops have?

Well, those “cores” is what I’m referring to. A processor performs more tasks simultaneously when running on multiple cores rather than a single core.

Hence, my reason for providing the test scores of multi-core performance is to give you an idea of what multitasking is like on these laptops.

Notably, though, the HP Spectre x360 processor performance score beats the 6000 average score of processors in this category. Comparatively, the test score of the Yoga 9i does not exactly meet the 7900 average score of a Core i9 processor.

Notwithstanding, both processor performances are not so far from the ideal. Having known the test results, you are probably looking for a more practical explanation of what to expect from these processors.

Actually, it will interest you to know that both the Spectre x360 and Yoga 9i can handle any computing task without glitches. Be it video or photo editing, continuous web browsing, or general productivity tasks, you will not have a problem with these laptops.

More specific details on the multitasking capabilities of these laptops are in the next section. Notwithstanding, both HP and Lenovo did their best in providing processing power that will not disappoint.

Even though the Yoga 9i does not meet the required mark of a typical Core i9 processor – it still has a higher performance than the Spectre. Furthermore, the specifications of the Yoga 9i appear to be more powerful than the Spectre.

Hence, the Spectre x360 and Yoga 9i deserve a rating of eight and nine respectively in this HP Spectre vs Lenovo Yoga comparison.

HP Spectre vs Lenovo Yoga: Memory (RAM) Performance

In the aspect of memory, choosing the better convertible between these two laptops is a no-brainer. Starting with specifications, the HP equipped the Spectre x360 with a 16 GB DDR4-2400 SDRAM.

Fortunately, the memory size does not end there. You can upgrade this RAM up to 32 GB, and that is because the Spectre x360 has two memory slots.

As you would typically expect, one of these slots is soldered to the laptop’s motherboard, which means replacing that RAM will not be possible for end-users. The second slot, on the other hand, is where the advantage lies because this slot can be easily replaced by you, the end-user.

Moving over to the Yoga 9i, Lenovo included a 12 GB DDR4-2933 standard memory in this laptop. Unlike the Spectre, the RAM of the Yoga 9i can be found in only one slot.

To make matters worse, this 12 GB RAM is soldered to the motherboard, so forget about easily replacing it. However, there is a second model of this laptop you can consider, which features a single-slot, non-upgradable 16 GB of RAM.

At this point, you are probably making a mental calculation of how both laptops handle multitasking. Thankfully, you do not have to wrack your brain around memory performance when a benchmark test can answer that.

This benchmark test tool for analyzing computer memory is called PCMark 10. To properly understand a memory’s capability, the PCMark makes a computer undergo a series of work productivity tasks.

Like every other typical test, the results of the PCMark 10 are in numerical values; hence, a higher score means better performance. Having established that, let’s talk about our findings.

We discovered that the HP Spectre x360 scored approximately 9500 points which is quite different from the 7800 points of the Yoga 9i. Despite the difference in test scores, these laptops do not perform so differently.

To give more perspective, both the Spectre and Yoga are competent laptops that can handle about 35 web browsing tabs at once. Furthermore, these tabs may include Google Docs for editing documents, YouTube, and Audiomack for streaming videos and audio.

Summarily, the memory performance of the Spectre x360 and Yoga 9i is very convenient for everyday use for work and leisure. Although, we cannot totally ignore the fact that both laptops have different memory features that can as well influence a final decision.

All in all, I would rate the HP Spectre x360 a nine for being more versatile in its RAM features and also scoring higher in the benchmark test. For the Lenovo Yoga 9i, an eight is befitting for its memory features and performance in this HP Spectre vs Lenovo Yoga comparison.

HP Spectre vs Lenovo Yoga: Storage Options and Performance

Similar to the memory section, the Spectre x360 and Yoga 9i share some similarities as well as differences in the storage department. To make more sense, I’ll discuss the specifications first.

HP included a 500 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD in the Spectre x360. Furthermore, this laptop has two slots – one has 500 GB of SSD while the second is an empty slot.

The fact that the second slot is empty is an indication that you can include another SSD storage in there. Although, this second slot can only take 500 GB, which makes the total maximum storage of 1 TB.

Speaking of which is more advantageous, the Yoga 9i has more standard storage capacity than its HP counterpart. To be exact, the Yoga 9i comes with 1 TB PCIe SSD storage.

It does not end there, though; this storage is upgradeable up to 2 TB. This means that, unlike its RAM which cannot be replaced, the Yoga 9i’s storage can be easily replaced by you, the end user.

Notably, a storage feature that is lacking in the Yoga 9i is the SD card reader. HP seems to have seen the importance of including a microSD card reader.

Lenovo, on the other hand, excluded this feature. This omission by Lenovo might just be a deal-breaker for creatives who would really need that SD card reader.

Moving on, after knowing the storage specifications of both laptops, you’re probably asking yourself if there’s more to note about their storage. To answer that, there is actually additional information that will give you more perspective about storage drives.

To achieve that, there’s yet another benchmark test tool called the CrystalDiskMark. By analyzing the read and write speed, the CrystalDiskMark informs us about how fast it takes storage in opening and storing files.

Furthermore, the CrystalDiskMark presents test results in MB/s (megabytes per second). In line with that, we discovered that the HP Spectre x360 has a read and write speed of about 1650 MB/s and 1410 MB/s respectively.

Far from this, the Lenovo Yoga 9i has a read and write speed of about 2100 MB/s and 1890 MB/s respectively. From the look of this, the Yoga 9i will save and open files faster than the Spectre x360.

Even at that, we cannot say that the Spectre x360 would be sluggish in storage performance either.

In addition to read and write speed, we were able to discover how long it takes to transfer or send a large file on both laptops. Specifically, the HP Spectre x360 will spend about 15 seconds copying (or transferring) a 4.97 GB file.

At a shorter duration though, the Yoga 9i will spend about 8 seconds sending the same file.

In a word, the Spectre x360 is more favorable with its SD card reader, but if that would not be of use to you, then the Yoga 9i is preferable. Not only does the Yoga 9i have more storage capacity, but it is also fast when dealing with copying and saving files.

Therefore, the Spectre x360 deserves a rating of an eight, while a higher rating of nine best suits the Yoga 9i in this HP Spectre vs Lenovo Yoga comparison.

HP Spectre vs Lenovo Yoga: Graphics Card Performance

Irrespective of the fact that both the Spectre and Yoga are non-gaming laptops, they both feature powerful GPUs. To start with, the Spectre x360 and Yoga 9i both feature dedicated graphics cards.

Don’t know what that means? Well, a dedicated graphics card has its own Video RAM and that is something an integrated graphics card lacks.

Unlike the integrated, a dedicated graphics card is capable of handling graphics tasks without sharing the system’s memory with the CPU.

With that knowledge, you should expect a better performance from a dedicated graphics card as compared to an integrated one. That said, the HP Spectre x360 comes with an NVIDIA GeForce MX150 dedicated graphics card.

In addition to that, this GPU has 2 GB GDDR5 Video RAM (VRAM), a base frequency of 1469 MHz, and a boost frequency of 1532 MHz.

Away from the Spectre, Lenovo used an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti dedicated graphics card to power the Yoga 9i. This GPU also has a larger VRAM of 4 GB GDDR6.

Furthermore, it has a 1350 MHz base frequency and 1485 MHz boost frequency. Specifications aside, the performance level of these respective GPUs will really determine just how powerful they are.

That said, there is yet another benchmark test tool meant for analyzing graphics performance. This benchmark is called 3DMark, and it functions by carrying out graphics-intensive tasks like gaming on the computer.

Similar to the previous benchmarks used in other sections, the higher the score on the 3DMark, the better the performance. For the HP Spectre x360, this laptop resulted in a score of about 3100 points.

Scoring slightly higher, the Yoga 9i achieved about 3500 points in the 3DMark test.

In addition to the benchmark test, we were able to discover how these laptops are likely to perform in real-life gaming. For example, GTA V is playable at around 80 fps on the Yoga and 70 fps on the Spectre.

Another game that can be played on both laptops is Civilization VI. This game is playable at around 23 fps on the Spectre and 28 fps on the Yoga.

By and large, these two convertible laptops have good graphic performance despite the fact that they are not designed for such. All the same, it is evident that the Lenovo Yoga takes the lead again in this section.

Thus, I will rate the Yoga 9i a nine and the Spectre x360 an eight in this section of the HP Spectre vs Lenovo Yoga comparison.

HP Spectre vs Lenovo Yoga: Battery Life and Performance

It has been a common ideology that convertible laptops are not great when it comes to batteries. However, the Spectre x360 and Yoga 9i laptops are set to change that assumption.

Starting with specifications, HP included a 6-cell, 79.2 Wh Li-ion battery into the Spectre x360. What you’ll find in the Lenovo Yoga 9i, though, is a 69 Wh Li-Polymer battery.

Now, the next important question is, “just how long do these batteries last”? Well, not to worry, we’ll answer that shortly.

According to HP’s claims, the Spectre is said to last up to 17 hours of battery life. As for the Yoga, Lenovo claims that this laptop has a battery life of 13 hours for full HD resolution.

If you opt for the model with the Ultra HD resolution, Lenovo says you’ll get around 8 hours of battery life.

Since all these battery lives stated are claims, we cannot exactly be sure if they perform as such in real life. Thus, we were able to get an estimate of how these two laptops will perform on a typical day’s use.

Specifically, the Spectre, with its UHD resolution, should last about 13 hours on continuous web browsing with brightness set at 50%. As for the Yoga, the model with Ultra HD should last about 10 hours on continuous web browsing till the laptop dies.

For the second display option which is the Full HD, the Yoga 9i should survive about 15 hours also on continuous web browsing. This 15 hours battery survival is likely to happen even with brightness at 50% and WiFi turned on.

Thankfully, Lenovo’s claims are very realistic, unlike that of HP, which was about four hours exaggerated. Nonetheless, it is obvious that both laptops hold it down when it comes to battery life.

Considering their respective battery life, the Spectre deserves a higher score of nine in this section. The battery life of the Yoga though is worth an eight in this HP Spectre vs Lenovo Yoga comparison.

Our Rating Summary

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

On a final note, it is obvious that the features of the HP Spectre x360 and Lenovo Yoga 9i would give anyone a hard time deciding. Regardless, there has to be a winner somehow.

Therefore, if you are considering easy upgradability for storage and RAM, the HP Spectre is your best bet. Let’s not also forget that this laptop has an SD card reader.

On the other hand, if you need a very rugged laptop that can take a beating and one with great sound quality – the Lenovo Yoga 9i has that. Also, let’s not forget that this laptop has a more powerful GPU and processor.

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