The IdeaPad series is marketed as a mid-range offering to contrast to high-end Yoga series. Apparently, this also means that certain Yoga laptops with lesser Core i5 CPUs may slightly pull ahead of some IdeaPad laptops with the pricier Core i7.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-IdeaPad-Slim-9i-Core-i7-1165G7-has-slower-CPU-performance-than-the-Yoga-9i-Core-i5-1135G7.515018.0.html
Very confusing, the IdeaPad Slim 9i vs the YOGA Slim 9i
This Ideapad Slim 9i IS thinner and lighter than the YOGA Slim 9i, which is what it makes it better to me..... BUT the new thinkbook 13xi that uses 11th gen chips is even thinner and the same weight, 2.65pounds.
So why get this over the 13xi? I think the new 13xi makes both of these Slim 9i models unneeded
The yoga slim 9i and the ideapad slim 9i are the same laptops but in different regions (in america it's ideapad slim, in europe it's yoga slim). But the Yoga 9i without the "slim" is a 2in1 device so it is possible it's thinner.