This is easily Lenovo’s best-looking gaming laptop, but that doesn’t mean it’s the one you should buy

2025 was a fantastic year for gaming laptops thanks to new processors from Intel and NVIDIA, prompting many manufacturers to release updated models. This led to the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i 16 (Gen 10) becoming one of the highest-rated gaming laptops I’ve ever tested.

I just got my hands on the Lenovo Legion 7i 16 (Gen 10), and honestly, it’s like the Pro model’s cooler, lighter, and more sensible little brother. Right out of the box, setting it up, I was blown away – I genuinely think this is Lenovo’s best-looking gaming laptop *ever*, and that feeling stuck with me throughout my time testing it out.

While I really like the Legion 7i, it’s not necessarily my top pick for everyone. Although it looks fantastic, gamers who want the absolute best performance might find it’s not the most sensible choice. It’s also quite expensive, meaning you’re paying a premium for its sleek design.

Lenovo provided us with a sample unit to review, but had no influence over the content of this review before it was published.

My Lenovo Legion 7i 16 (Gen 10) review

Design ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Okay, so the Lenovo Legion 7i isn’t the *slimmest* gaming laptop out there, let’s be real. But honestly, it’s noticeably thinner and lighter than the bigger Legion Pro 7i – we’re talking about 4mm thinner and almost 2 pounds lighter! And that difference? It’s a game-changer, making it so much more portable.

Simply put, this is the best-looking Lenovo Legion laptop I’ve ever seen. I really like the new design of the Legion Pro 7i (with one minor exception), but this model is noticeably more attractive.

This laptop is as enjoyable to look at as it is to use, thanks to its sleek all-white aluminum design, vibrant OLED display with a black border, refined metal edges, signature Legion vents, and clean RGB keyboard. Most gaming laptops don’t offer this level of style and usability.

The build quality is excellent, though Razer still makes slightly more refined thin and light gaming laptops. While there’s a little bit of give to the screen when you press on it, the Legion 7i genuinely feels like a high-end device.

This laptop prioritizes style, but Lenovo still included useful features. It has two standard USB ports, a fast Thunderbolt 4 port, a USB-C port, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a full-size SD card reader. Importantly, the charging and HDMI ports are located on the back, which is a welcome change after previous models moved away from that convenient design.

I wish it had another USB-A port, and it would be nice if the Thunderbolt port was on the back, or even an Ethernet port, though that’s a lot to ask for such a slim laptop. Overall, though, Lenovo did a really good job with this design.

Display ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lenovo has been increasingly using OLED screens in its Legion gaming laptops, and the Legion 7i is one of the models getting this upgrade. You can get the 16-inch display with either a 165Hz or 240Hz refresh rate, but both versions offer the same great picture quality and features.

This display is stunning, offering incredibly accurate and vibrant colors, wide viewing angles, and deep contrast. It also performs exceptionally well, with a super-fast response time and support for NVIDIA G-Sync variable refresh rate technology. Whether you’re gaming, watching movies, working, or editing photos, this screen delivers a fantastic experience.

The screen is a bit brighter than most laptop OLEDs, which is great, and it displays high dynamic range (HDR) content beautifully, thanks to its high peak brightness and Dolby Vision compatibility.

The biggest downside to this screen is its very reflective, glossy surface, which can cause distracting glare. Also, people who are bothered by the flickering that sometimes happens with OLED screens won’t find a way to avoid it here.

Performance ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Lenovo Legion 7i isn’t trying to be the absolute most powerful gaming laptop, and that’s clear when you look at its graphics options. The strongest GPU you can configure it with is an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 (with 8GB of memory).

Despite its limitations, this laptop performs well and stays remarkably cool. The fans can be a bit noisy, and the area around the keyboard can get warm, but I didn’t experience any slowdowns, freezes, or performance issues during testing.

The Legion 7i performs reliably and smoothly in all areas, easily running even the most challenging PC games, though you might need to adjust graphics settings for peak performance. It’s a premium laptop, so the base model comes with an RTX 5060, which feels a bit underwhelming for the price – I tested the configuration with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and that RTX 5060.

Forza Horizon 5 — 96 FPS (Extreme preset, 1600p resolution, NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution/Frame Generation disabled)
Gears 5 — 85 FPS (Ultra preset, 1600p resolution)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 — 101 FPS (Extreme preset, 1600p resolution, NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution set to Quality, NVIDIA DLSS Frame Generation disabled)
Cyberpunk 2077 — 46 FPS (Ray Tracing: Ultra preset, 1600p resolution, refresh rate, v-sync, NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution Transformer Model set to Auto, NVIDIA DLSS Frame Generation/Ray Reconstruction disabled)

Battery life ⭐⭐⭐½

Lenovo Legion laptops haven’t typically been known for lasting a long time on battery power, but I was hoping the Legion 7i would be different. It *is* more compact and easier to carry around, and honestly, it did improve battery life… though not by a huge amount.

The Legion 7i offers better-than-average battery life for a 16-inch gaming laptop. After an hour of typical use – like working with Microsoft Office or watching an HD video at medium volume – the battery typically loses a little over 20

I usually test battery life with typical settings, not by turning features off or limiting performance. With the Legion 7i, this means you can realistically expect around 6-7 hours of use, but it won’t last a full day on a single charge. More concerningly, the battery drained quickly even when the laptop wasn’t being used, so it wasn’t reliable to leave it unplugged overnight without needing to recharge it the next day.

Keyboard & touchpad ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

As expected, the Lenovo Legion 7i continues to feature the excellent “TrueStrike” keyboard, and now it’s available in a sleek, all-white finish. I’m still a big fan of this keyboard – it’s comfortable to use, has a logical layout, includes full-size arrow keys, vibrant per-key RGB lighting, and a number pad that doesn’t feel too small.

This keyboard is great for both gaming and everyday typing – it’s enjoyable to use and consistently works well. The glass touchpad is a good size and feels smooth, plus it works reliably thanks to Microsoft’s Precision drivers. While it doesn’t have advanced haptic feedback, that wasn’t really expected.

Software & AI ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Legion 7i runs on Windows 11, and it works beautifully with the large OLED screen. I didn’t encounter any performance problems or crashes, and thankfully, Lenovo kept the pre-installed software to a minimum.

Lenovo Vantage and Legion Space are both useful for controlling your computer’s settings and hardware, although it can be a little frustrating that these options are split between two different apps. It’s also worth noting that the Legion 7i doesn’t have enough processing power in its AI chip to be a Copilot+ PC, meaning you’ll miss out on some of Windows’ newest AI features – if those features are important to you.

I noticed this laptop has Lenovo’s AI Engine+, but honestly, it doesn’t seem to make a big difference in how *I* use it. From what I can tell, it’s mostly working behind the scenes to tweak the hardware and settings, which is cool, but not something I really notice as a user.

Everything else ⭐⭐⭐½

Let’s finish up with a few drawbacks. The Legion 7i is a high-quality laptop, but it’s let down a bit by its average speakers, which are located on the bottom and don’t sound as good as those on other top-of-the-line laptops.

The 5-megapixel front camera is nothing special, but it does offer Windows Hello face recognition, which worked very well in my testing. It also includes a physical privacy shutter, which is a nice added feature.

The device includes Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 for wireless connections, and both worked perfectly during testing.

Legion 7i 16 review: My final thoughts

✅You should buy this if …

You want a thinner and lighter 16-inch gaming laptop.
You absolutely love this all-white, all-aluminum design.
You love rear-facing ports for power and display output.

❌You should not buy this if …

You need a more powerful GPU with more VRAM.
You want something that’s even more compact.

There are many places to buy a good gaming laptop, but I often recommend Lenovo first. Their Legion laptops are known for being powerful and dependable. However, they don’t always have the most stylish designs, particularly when you compare them to models like the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 (2025) that we recently tested.

The Lenovo Legion 7i 16 (Gen 10) immediately stands out with its striking all-white design. It’s a beautiful laptop that also delivers serious gaming performance. However, it’s quite expensive, and you can’t upgrade the graphics card when you buy it.

The Legion 7i might not be the best choice if you’re looking for the most affordable option or prioritize raw power above all else. However, for many gamers, it’s a really impressive laptop that delivers excellent performance and has a stylish design. You can find the Lenovo Legion 7i 16 (Gen 10) starting at $1,779.99 directly from Lenovo’s website, or the specific model I tested for $1,869.99 at Best Buy.

2025-12-28 17:12