Lenovo Pro 9i Aura Edition review: Impressive creator-grade power that doesn't come cheap

Published Aug 29, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT The Pro 9i is an impressive laptop with a solid, utilitarian design and a great-looking OLED screen. When I first picked up the 16-inch Lenovo Pro 9i Aura Edition, my initial reaction was that it was a very beefy, but solid-feeling laptop. Thanks to its top-end Intel Core Ultra 9 386H chip and Nvidia RTX 5060 GPU, it delivers ample performance for everyday tasks, including photo and video editing, and even a bit of gaming. The Pro 9i's overall design is the definition of understated, making it well-suited for those after a more low-key, business-oriented look. At the same time, though, it's a bit chunky, especially compared to similar creator-focused laptops. There's a lot of competition in the prosumer Windows 11 laptop space, including Asus' impressive and sleek-looking ProArt P16 for example, which makes the Pro 9i Aura Edition difficult to wholeheartedly recommend at its $1,900 starting price. Still, during my several weeks with the Lenovo's Pro 9i, I've walked away impressed with both the laptop's performance and design. Lenovo sent XDA the Pro 9i for review. It did not have any input on the contents of this article. Lenovo Pro 9i 8/10 CPU Intel Core Ultra 9 386H GPU Nvidia RTX 5050, 5060, 5070 Display (Size, Resolution) 16-inch, 3200x1200 pixel OLED, 120Hz RAM 32GB / 64GB Storage Up to 2TB Battery 4 Cell Rechargeable Li-ion 92.5Wh Webcam 5MP RGB+IR with Dual Microphone Wi-Fi connectivity Wi-Fi 7 Speakers 6 stereo speakers, 2W x 4 (dual side woofers), 2W x 2 (tweeters), Dolby Atmos Pros & Cons Impressive-looking display Powerful performance Design is a bit bulky Expensive Lenovo Pro 9i review pricing, availability, and specs The Lenovo Pro 9i Lenovo sent me to review features a Panther Lake Intel Core Ultra 9 386H CPU paired with a Nvidia RTX 5060 GPU, 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and 1TB of storage. Other key features include a 16-inch, 3200×2000-pixel resolution, 120Hz Tandem OLED screen, with 1,600-nit peak brightness, 100% of the sRGB/P3 color gamut, and Dolby Vision compatibility. TDP tops out at 130W. The laptop features a proprietary power connector (it can also be charged over USB-C), one HDMI 2.1 port, two 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, 2 USB-A ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, and even a full-size SD card slot (which is increasingly rare in laptops these days). Lastly, the Lenovo Pro 9i also supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. In terms of dimensions, the Lenovo Pro 9i measures 0.68 x 14.20 x 9.76-inches and weighs 4.2lbs. The laptop starts at $1,900, though the version Lenovo sent me to review costs far more at $2,500. Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i CPU Intel Core Ultra 9 386H GPU Nvidia RTX 5050, 5060, 5070 Display (Size, Resolution) 16-inch, 3200x1200 pixel OLED, 120Hz RAM 32GB / 64GB Storage Up to 2TB Battery 4 Cell Rechargeable Li-ion 92.5Wh Webcam 5MP RGB+IR with Dual Microphone Wi-Fi connectivity Wi-Fi 7 Speakers 6 stereo speakers, 2W x 4 (dual side woofers), 2W x 2 (tweeters), Dolby Atmos This is clearly a laptop built with creative professionals in mind The understated design has a very utilitarian feel to it Given the Lenovo Pro 9i Aura Edition's beefy design, I found it far more comfortable to use sitting on a desk than on my lap. Thankfully, the laptop's reasonably-sized trackpad is great. In fact, it feels a lot like the excellent trackpad featured in the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, and to me, that's definitely a good thing. The same can be said about the Pro 9i's keyboard, thanks to its low-profile keys with pleasant-feeling rubber caps. Typing has the right amount of bounce to it and doesn't feel mushy. Every Lenovo Pro 9i includes a Yoga Pen Gen 2 stylus, which is a nice touch given the Pro 9i's focus on creativity. The stylus works fine with the display and trackpad. Drawing isn't my thing, so I personally don't have much use for it. However, this is a solid move by Lenovo to include the stylus at no additional cost. One interesting design quirk is the thermal bump under the Lenovo Pro 9i. It lifts the laptop slightly and allows ample airflow beneath it. While this is uncomfortable when using the Pro 9i on my lap, in my multiple weeks of use, the laptop's fans haven't spun up that loudly, and when they do, it's rare for it to get very warm. This is especially impressive when you consider that the Pro 9i is just 0.68-inches thick. Despite its somewhat chunky design, the Pro 9i feels very thin, especially for a high-performance, creator-focused laptop. On the display front, the Lenovo Pro 9i's OLED screen looks great, which is exactly what you want from a content creation-focused laptop. Colors are vibrant, blacks are deep, and it has the specs creatives expect from a laptop like this, including HDR 1000 True Black and 100% coverage of Adobe RGB, DCI-P3, and sRGB. The screen is very glossy, though, so it's difficult to view under direct sunlight. One thing I've found weird is how the webcam oddly juts out of the top bezel of the laptop. It's not a big deal, but it's a strange design decision that I found distracting at first. However, this quickly faded away as I used the Pro 9i more, similar to the MacBook Pro's dreaded display notch. Overall, I wouldn't say I don't like the look of the Lenovo Pro 9i, but I definitely wouldn't call it sleek either, especially compared to the Dell XPS 13, Asus ProArt P16, or if you're inclined to the world of Apple, Apple's MacBook Pro (which admittedly is also rather substantial). I will give Lenovo credit for not adding RGB flourishes anywhere like some similar creative, professional-focused laptops — not every laptop needs over-the-top flashing lights. On a side note, as someone who's spent a lot of time using Apple's MacBook line over the past several years, I really appreciate the number of ports the Lenovo Pro 9i offers. Pretty much everything is here, including HDMI 2.1, an SD card reader, two USB-A ports, two Thunderbolt 4 ports that support Power Delivery 3.0 and DisplayPort 1.2, and more. Given the laptop creator's focus, this is great to see. The only notable port missing is Ethernet port, which is an odd move by Lenovo. The Lenovo Pro 9i's impressive hardware specs offer solid performance Across various apps, I've been impressed with the laptop It comes as no surprise that the Lenovo Pro 9i is a beast when it comes to performance. Thanks to its Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor, 32GB of RAM, and discrete Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 GPU. It easily handled whatever I threw at it, whether it was light video editing in Adobe Premiere or editing dozens of images at once in Photoshop and Lightroom CC. I even did a bit of gaming on it with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and I was impressed with the performance. I was able to get between 50-60fps at 1080p with High graphics settings and DLSS set to Quality (kicking up the resolution to 2K or 3K resulted in a slightly lower frame rate, as expected). This obviously isn't a gaming-focused laptop, but thanks to its discrete RTX 5060 laptop GPU, it can handle modern games with ease and at pretty solid visual settings. The Lenovo Pro 9i's battery life is decent but not mind-blowing, with it hitting roughly 8-9 hours, depending on what I did with it that day. I usually use my regular workday as an average test, which includes a lot of internet browsing, typing up a storm, and editing at least a few photos in Lightroom and Photoshop CC. When gaming, the battery dies far more quickly, lasting just three hours or so, but that's to be expected and isn't unusual in any way. Dell XPS 13 (Intel Core 5 320) Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i (Intel Core Ultra 9 386H) Dell 14S (Intel Core Ultra 7 355) Asus Zenbook A16 (Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-94-100) Asus Zenbook 14 (Core Ultra 9 285H) Dell XPS 14 (2026) (Intel Core Ultra X7-358H) HP EliteBook Ultra (Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100) Geekbench 6 (single/multi) 1,480 / 7,989 2,370 / 7,240 2,720 / 11,318 3,521 / 22,978 2,807 / 15,390 2,835 / 16,358 2,392 / 13,266 Cinebench 2024 (single/multi) 936 / 115 - / - 177 / 577 146 / 1,490 125 / 746 123 / 806 101 / 826 3DMark (Time Spy/Wild Life/Night Raid) 3,218 (Time Spy) / 32,791 (Night Raid) 1,589 / 9,181 / 16,537 3,194 / 21,267 / 29,409 4,516 / 38,708 / 50,653 4,401 / - / 31,322 6,136 / 33,695 / 37,886 1,793 / --/ 24,654 CrossMark (Overall) 2,069 1,324 1,969 2,091 2,032 1,905 1,007 Lastly, it's worth noting that the Lenovo Pro 9i's speakers are surprisingly impressive, which isn't something I've been able to say about every Windows 11 laptop I've used over the last few years. They offer plenty of bass and a surprisingly wide soundstage for a laptop that's so thin. Should you buy the Lenovo Pro 9i? You should buy the Lenovo Pro 9i if? You're looking for a strong content creation laptop A beefy, well-built laptop appeals to you You should not buy the Lenovo Pro 9i if? $1,900 is a high starting price, despite the ample power You want a sleek-looking laptop While Lenovo's Pro 9i Aura Edition is a solid laptop, I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. Its chunky look won't land with all users, and at 16-inches, it's a little unwieldy despite its thinness. Still, if you're a creative professional looking for a powerful laptop that offers impressive, all-around performance, and you don't mind that the Pro 9i is pretty big and on the pricey side, its RTX 5060 and Intel Core 9 386H make for a compelling, very capable combination. Lenovo Pro 9i 8/10 CPU Intel Core Ultra 9 386H GPU Nvidia RTX 5050, 5060, 5070 RAM 32GB / 64GB Storage Up to 2TB