If there’s one thing Lenovo knows how to do well, it’s design a great laptop – including those tailored for gaming. Just take a look at our recent Legion 5 Pro review if you need convincing. However, Lenovo are also known for their ability to design on-the-go-friendly laptops and they’re bringing both concepts together with its latest release – the Lenovo Legion Slim 5.
14-inch gaming laptops used to be a market dominated by the once untouchable Asus Zephyrus G14 – used to be. However, the Zephyrus G14's now annual slump in performance has led its latest revision to receive its worst score to date. The Asus Zephyrus G14 (2023) is a shadow of its former self, and the Legion Slim 5 could be Lenovo's way of planting the final nail in its coffin.
Lenovo Legion Slim 5
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 is the first 14-inch gaming laptop in the Legion lineup, and it’s coming into the space in grand style.
Proving that you don’t have to choose between ultra-portability and ultra-performance, the 14-inch Legion Slim 5 does it all – pairing a svelte form factor with a powerful 4nm, 8-core, AMD Ryzen 7000 Series processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 Series, DLSS 3-boosted graphics for phenomenal gaming and overall performance ready to maneuver at a moment’s notice.
The Legion Slim 5 is further backed by up to 64GB of LPDDR5X RAM, up to 1TB of PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD storage, and a range of high performance USB Type-A and Type-C ports to maximize the potential of this portable gaming prodigy.
Not content with just being the first 14-inch laptop in the Legion gaming lineup, the Slim 5 is also the first to feature a stunning 2.8K (2880 x 1800) OLED panel. The all-new ultra-vibrant display also packs a 120Hz variable refresh rate with a response time of 1ms for impeccable smooth and responsive gameplay.
The Lenovo Legion Slim 5 is currently set for a U.S. release from September 2023 starting from $1,439.99.
Lenovo Legion Slim 5 specifications
Lenovo Legion Slim 5: Leading the charge
Battery life has been the bane of some of the best gaming laptops to hit the market, and the Lenovo Legion Slim 5’s 4-cell 73.6 watt-hour battery is an incredible counter, especially when it comes to charging speeds.
Making use of Lenovo’s Super Rapid Charge tech, the Legion Slim 5 can be topped up from empty in just 80 minutes. For quicker bursts, it takes just 10 minutes for the Legion Slim 5’s battery to reach 30% capacity, and 30 minutes to hit 70%.
While it remains to be seen how well the battery fares in use (and with this being a powerful gaming laptop, let's not hold our breath), the ability to rapidly charge the Legion Slim 5 is a fantastic feature that can quickly turn the tides on a ailing battery life.
Outlook
14-inch laptops are becoming the new norm across a number of manufacturer’s catalogs, and the Legion breaking new ground in the 14-inch space makes perfect sense. Whether this shift results in a string of successes, or a faultline of failures remains to be seen.
Though, with Lenovo’s track record, we’d back the brand to make something magical in this new form factor. On paper, at least, the Legion Slim 5 is already well on its way to doing so.
