Samsung and Lenovo both make excellent 2-in-1 laptops, but they come at the convertible form factor from opposite directions. Samsung treats the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 like a tablet that happens to have a keyboard — big screen, S Pen in the box, creative-first. Lenovo’s Yoga 9i takes the opposite approach: it’s a laptop first, with a 360-degree hinge for the times you want to sketch, present, or watch something in tent mode.
Both are premium machines. Both have OLED displays and aluminum builds. But the differences are sharper than the spec sheets suggest.
Design and Portability
The Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 is a 16-inch machine. That’s a lot of screen, and Samsung uses it well — the display stretches nearly edge to edge, with thin bezels and a 16:10 aspect ratio that feels expansive without being awkwardly wide. But 16 inches in tablet mode is unwieldy. You’re not going to hold this thing one-handed while taking notes. It works best on a desk, propped up, with the S Pen.
The Yoga 9i 14” Aura Edition is the more portable option by a significant margin. At 14 inches, it’s genuinely usable as a tablet — still large, but manageable. Lenovo’s design language has been refined over generations, and the rounded edges, dark aluminum finish, and clever speaker bar in the hinge give it a premium feel that Samsung’s more utilitarian design doesn’t quite match.
Winner for portability: Yoga 9i.
Display Quality
Both laptops use OLED panels, and both look fantastic. Samsung’s 16-inch display runs at 2880×1800 with the deep blacks and punchy colors that OLED is known for. Lenovo’s 14-inch offers up to 3840×2400 on the top configuration, though the more common 2880×1800 panel is the one most buyers will encounter.
The Samsung gets the edge on pure screen real estate. If you’re editing photos, working with timelines, or just like having multiple windows side by side, 16 inches matters. The Yoga counters with higher pixel density and slightly better color accuracy out of the box.
Winner for display: Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 (size matters more than a few extra pixels).
Performance
Both run Intel’s latest Core Ultra processors, and real-world performance is close enough that you won’t notice the difference in daily use. Both handle dozens of browser tabs, Office apps, and light creative work without breaking a sweat.
Gaming on integrated graphics remains a weak point for both — neither is a gaming laptop, and while Intel Arc graphics have improved, you’re still limited to older titles at medium settings. If gaming matters, you’re looking at the wrong category entirely.
Winner: Tie.
S Pen vs Lenovo Precision Pen
Samsung includes the S Pen in the box. Lenovo charges extra for the Precision Pen 2 (or you might get it bundled depending on the retailer). That’s a meaningful difference at this price point.
The S Pen experience is smooth, with low latency and good palm rejection. Samsung’s software layer adds useful features — screen-off memos, quick translate, smart select — that make the pen feel integrated rather than tacked on.
Lenovo’s pen is perfectly competent for note-taking and sketching, but the software experience is more barebones. You’re getting Windows Ink, which works, but doesn’t have the thoughtful extras Samsung builds on top.
Winner: Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 (S Pen included, better software).
Battery Life
The 16-inch Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 packs a larger battery, but it’s also driving a larger, higher-resolution display. In practice, both deliver 8-10 hours of mixed use — enough for a workday, not enough to leave the charger at home for a weekend trip. The Yoga 9i squeezes out slightly more runtime thanks to its smaller, less power-hungry panel.
Winner: Yoga 9i (by a small margin).
The Verdict
The Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 is the better choice if your workflow revolves around the pen. Digital artists, heavy note-takers, and anyone who wants a big canvas for creative work will find more to love here. The fact that Samsung throws in the S Pen while Lenovo makes you pay extra seals the deal.
For everyone else — which is most people — the Yoga 9i is the better laptop. It’s more portable, better built, slightly longer-lasting, and the 14-inch form factor makes it a 2-in-1 you’ll actually use in all four modes instead of leaving it in laptop mode 90% of the time.
Winner: Lenovo Yoga 9i 14” Aura Edition
Unless you specifically need the S Pen and the 16-inch canvas, save the desk space and go with the Yoga.