Looking for a 14-inch gaming laptop? Lenovo has a strong OLED contender
After teasing it in March, Lenovo is soon to launch its first 14-inch Legion gaming laptop – the aptly named Legion Slim 5.
As the old saying goes, big things come in small packages because although the Legion Slim 5 weighs 1.9 kg, there is a lot of muscle behind it. The full spec sheet isn’t out yet, but looking at what we’ve got, customers can equip their machine with an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU and a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 GPU. The hardware is supported by Lenovo’s AI Engine Plus, which in turn is powered by the laptop’s LA1 AI chip. Using both together would allow the Legion Slim 5 to learn a user’s gaming habits by “keeping track of key components and processes to maximize (both) performance and battery life”.
Judging by the wording in the announcement, there will be other hardware options at release for those looking for something cheaper.
One of thousands
Not only is it the first 14-inch Legion model, but it’s also the first in its series to feature a “16:10 WQXGA Plus (resolution) OLED display” that covers the entire DCI-P3 color gamut. WQXGA Plus, in case you’re curious, is 2880 x 1800 pixels on screen. As with the graphics card, the quality of the monitor is enhanced with its own set of features from the “AI powered DLSS 3technology to full ray tracing for realistic in-game lighting. Add in a variable refresh rate of 120 Hz as icing on the cake and you have an environment where the RTX 4060 can “really shine”. Sure, it’s not the best graphics card in its family, but it is still powerful enough.
Other notable features include up to 64 GB of memory, up to a terabyte of storage, as well as a “73.6 Whr battery with Super Rapid Charge Pro technology” for fast charging.
Lenovo states that the 14-inch Legion Slim 5 “with AMD Ryzen processor” will launch in September 2023 in Storm Gray. Pricing starts at $1,439.99 USD.
The company claims in its announcement that the Legion Slim 5 will ship in August; but when we looked at the official storefront, we didn’t see it. All we saw was the Legion Slim 5i Gen 8. We’ve reached out to Lenovo for clarification on the launch and when people can expect an international release.
Analysis: responding to a trend
The Legion Slim 5 comes at a very interesting time for the industry as companies shift more to 14-inch displays on their gaming laptops. There is a niche here that needs to be filled as people are looking for lightweight options. Fortunately for Lenovo, very few devices have the qualities of the Legion Slim 5: a slim gaming laptop with an OLED display and an RTX 40-series GPU for a decent price. The closest competitor it has at the time of writing is the Razer Blade 14, but it costs almost $2,500. There’s the Alienware x14 R2 which is a similar price, although it lacks the OLED screen.
It’ll be interesting to see where the Legion Slim 5 goes from here. Will it become an industry titan or fall short? OLED burn-in could be a concern, potentially hindering its appeal.
While we have you, check out TechRadar’s list of the best gaming laptops for 2023.