- Lenovo has revealed the Yoga Solar PC over at MWC 2025
- The rear lid of the laptop has a highly efficient solar panel built-in, one that can charge the battery even in low-light
- A bunch of other notebooks have been shown off including more Yoga models and an IdeaPad
Lenovo has revealed a cluster of new laptops over at MWC 2025 including a prototype of a Yoga solar-powered notebook, alongside a number of other Yoga models, and a new take on an IdeaPad.
What’s grabbing the most attention at the show, though, is that Yoga Solar PC which as noted remains a concept piece of hardware, so this isn’t something that’s coming through for production (at least not yet).
The laptop has a solar panel built into the lid that uses ‘Back Contact Cell’ technology, Lenovo explains, to get a high conversion rate from the solar cells. The company claims a 24% conversion rate from the solar energy absorbed by the panel, which is towards the upper end of the efficiency scale in the solar industry right now (at least in real-world usage).
Lenovo notes the laptop uses a ‘Dynamic Solar Tracking’ system which constantly monitors the solar panel’s current and voltage and “works with the Solar-First Energy system to automatically adjust the charger’s settings to prioritize sending the harvested energy to the system.”
In other words, you get the most bang for buck from the sun’s rays, and the panel is capable of picking up solar energy even in low-light conditions, Lenovo observes. So, when outside even on a dull and cloudy day, the theory is that the Yoga Solar PC will be able to keep its battery charge from depleting – at least while the laptop is idling, anyway.
We only get one concrete figure regarding the kind of solar power that might be on tap here, which is that the panel can “absorb and convert enough direct sunlight in 20 minutes to power up to one hour of video playback on the PC.”
Another notable plus point with the Yoga Solar PC is that this is a thin-and-light device, despite the inclusion of that solar panel, measuring 15mm and weighing in at 1.22kg – impressive.
Lenovo is making a further play on the renewables front with the Solar Power Kit for Yoga, another proof of concept which is basically a power bank that has a detachable USB-C solar panel. That panel can be attached to your backpack, or tent, when out in the wilds, picking up solar power to change the bank’s battery and power your devices.
It’s still early days for these concepts, of course, but here’s hoping that one day, a solar-powered portable will be on our list of the best laptops – I don’t see why this won’t happen, it’s just a question of time.
Yoga laptops aplenty and some tempting choices for creatives
Also at MWC 2025, Lenovo revealed its Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition offering a 16-inch OLED display with a 3.2K resolution, and tandem OLED tech enabling a high level of brightness (1600 nits) while maintaining power efficiency.
It’s a highly color-accurate (‘PureSight Pro’) screen offering a 120Hz refresh rate, and you can equip the Yoga Pro with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 GPU. The CPU is up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H, so this can be specified as a very powerful laptop for creative types.
There’ll also be a Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i Aura Edition which comes in a 14-inch rather than 16-inch form factor, alongside a refreshed Yoga Pro 7 14-inch model.
Lenovo had other Yoga models on display, including the Yoga Slim 7 14-inch laptop, another portable aimed at creators with a 2.8K resolution OLED display (and up to 22.5 hours of battery life).
Lenovo Yoga 7 2-in-1 hybrids were also shown off in both 16-inch and 14-inch flavors of these 360-degree convertibles. For more details on all of these Yoga models, check out TechRadar Pro’s coverage here.
An everyday AI notebook with an eco-friendly twist
Those looking for more of an everyday laptop will be interested to learn about the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x, a 15-inch notebook which carries the tagline ‘AI for anybody.’
This one is a Copilot+ PC with a Snapdragon X (Arm-based) processor partnered with a 60Whr battery for plenty of longevity away from a power socket, and a rapid charge feature that only takes 15 minutes to give you two hours of battery power. That kind of swiftness is always welcome in a pinch when you’re about to leave the house and realize that your notebook is running low on battery.
Other notable attributes of the IdeaPad Slim 3x include a metal cover and durability rated to a MIL-STD-810H standard, and there’s the possibility of future expansion by adding a second SSD via a free slot. It’s always good to see upgrade options with notebooks, as this is another (indirectly) green-friendly option to keep the device relevant and usable going forward in the future.
In Europe, most of these new laptops will emerge later this month, in March 2025, although the exceptions are the Yoga Pro 7 which isn’t coming until April, and the Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition which won’t arrive until June 2025. However, the US release schedule is quite different to the European release dates.
In the US, some of these laptops aren’t yet marked as available or inbound at all. We know some devices are coming, though, and that includes the Yoga 7 2-in-1 models, with the 14-inch notebook debuting in March 2025 at $899, and the 16-inch model is priced starting from $849 and will be out in Q3 2025.
The Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition has also been announced for a launch in the US in Q2 2025, priced from $1,799. We’re still waiting to hear on other models, though, including the Yoga Pro 7i Aura.
European pricing (including VAT) is as follows, and as mentioned, these devices arrive later in March unless otherwise noted:
- Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition (16-inch): €1,699 (arrives June 2025)
- Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i Aura Edition (14-inch): €1,399
- Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 (14-inch): €1,399 (arrives April 2025)
- Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 (14-inch): €999
- Lenovo Yoga 7 2-in-1 (16-inch): €1,299
- Lenovo Yoga 7 2-in-1 (14-inch): €1,099
- Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x (15-inch): €599
