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These 16-inch laptops start at 4.5 pounds and have a choice of the latest chips from AMD and Intel.
Joshua Goldman
Senior Editor / Reviews
Joshua Goldman is a senior editor for CNET Reviews, covering laptops and the occasional action cam or drone and related accessories. He has been writing about and reviewing consumer technology and software since 2000.
Lenovo announced its latest high-end Legion 7 series gaming laptops on Tuesday. At the top of the line are the Legion 7 and 7i, which Lenovo said are the world’s most powerful 16-inch gaming laptops. A pair of thinner, lighter versions, the Slim 7 and 7i, were also announced.
The Legion 7 (AMD) and 7i (Intel) feature a 16-inch 2,560×1,600-resolution 16:10 display with either a 165Hz refresh rate or a variable refresh rate up to 240Hz and 500-nit brightness. There are three display choices, including a mini-LED one with a peak brightness of 1,250 nits and 100% P3 color gamut coverage.
This is the world’s most powerful 16-inch gaming laptop, Lenovo says.
The body of these laptops is made from aluminum and magnesium and has RGB lighting pouring from its keyboard, fan vents, lid and front edge. The redesigned keyboard has a little more key travel than its predecessor as well as improved curved keycaps and force sensors on the WASD keys for greater control over the acceleration of in-game characters.
Configurations will be available with:
Other features include a 99.99Whr battery, a full-HD webcam with a privacy shutter and a large port assortment including 2.5Gbps Ethernet, HDMI 2.1 and Thunderbolt 4 (Legion 7i) and USB 4 (Legion 7). The Legion 7i will start at $2,449 when it starts shipping later in May. That converts to roughly £1,985 or AU$3,520. The Legion 7 arrives in June starting at $2,059.
The Slim 7 and 7i (one example on left) isn’t much thinner than the Legion 7 and 7i, but they weigh about a pound less.
Those who don’t mind trading some gaming performance for increased portability will want to look at the Legion Slim 7 or 7i. The body is 16 millimeters thick (0.6 inch) and has a starting weight of 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds). By comparison, the regular Legion 7 is 19mm (0.8 inch) and 2.5 kg (5.5 pounds). The Slim 7 has the same display choices but adds a 1,920×1,200-resolution option, too. Combined with more midrange graphics chips, this model starts at a more affordable price of $1,519 for the Slim 7 and $1,589 for the Slim 7i.
Component choices will include:
The Legion Slim 7 doesn’t put on the same light show as the Legion 7.
The port assortment isn’t quite as full as the Legion 7’s set; there’s no Ethernet jack for example. But the Slim 7 does have one advantage that makes this a little more attractive for those who are gamers and creators: a full-size SD card slot.
The Legion 7i and Slim 7i will be available later this month while the Legion 7 and Slim 7 arrive in June. Of course, due to the continued chip shortages and supply chain problems, the timing could slip or availability could be limited to specific configurations.
