Choosing the Right Lenovo Laptop in 2024: A Detailed Guide

Lenovo leads the global computer sales market with over 24% of the total, surpassing both HP and Dell. The brand, which was previously rather secret in our area, gained notoriety in 2005 with the acquisition of IBM's IT division.

Since then, Lenovo's laptop lineup has expanded and changed to include more reasonably priced and functional models like the IdeaPad and Yoga.

We have compiled a short list of noteworthy Lenovo laptops based on their intended purpose to make it easier for you to distinguish between the brand's numerous models.

Lenovo ultraportables

Lenovo's ultrabooks carry the Yoga Slim nomenclature. In 2023, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 series was generally very successful. There are the classic Slim 7, the Slim 7 Carbon, and the Slim 7 Pro. The Slim 7 Pro has an OLED screen, and the Slim 7 Carbon relies on a featherweight.

 Otherwise, they are very similar. As with many manufacturers, there are several configurations, notably depending on the processor used, namely Intel or AMD.

The lightweight computer by Lenovo: Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon (13IAP7)

We tested a version of the 13-inch Yoga Slim 7i Carbon with an Intel Core i7-1240P processor and 8GB of RAM. The laptop PC stands out above all for its lightness: 970 grams. In terms of looks, nothing to say, the device is thin and sober, of quality, with its magnesium alloy shell.

 The touchpad is excellent, and as for the keyboard, it is pleasant to use with a short stroke typical of an ultraportable.

For the screen, it is equipped with a 13.3-inch IPS LCD panel with 2560 × 1600 pixel definition and a 16:10 ratio, which is also tactile.

The colorimetry is excellent, as are the contrasts. If the CPU's performance is good, it will tend to heat up a little. In terms of autonomy, expect 9 to 10 hours, which is nothing exceptional, but remains respectable.

This Yoga Slim 7i Carbon in the 13-inch version, however, suffers from availability problems, unlike its 14-inch big brother with an AMD Ryzen 5 CPU.

The 14-inch model weighs only 1.1 kg and therefore remains very light. If you can't find the 13-inch version, look for the 14-inch.

Still in the Yoga Slim range, here is another laptop to consider. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Pro 14 comes in the form of a 14-inch laptop with great performance. In this case, this version of the Lenovo laptop PC has a sober but effective appearance.

The dual-screen PC: Lenovo Yoga Book 9i

Lenovo makes a truly original proposal, which you will not find in the catalogs of other brands. The Yoga Book 9i is a kind of dual-touch-screen laptop to which you can add a keyboard.

The device therefore brings together two OLED touchscreen tablets of 13.3 inches each with a hinge. You can use them vertically or horizontally. The magnetic keyboard can be attached to the bottom screen and placed on the upper or lower part of the panel. It can also be used remotely.

However, we regret that it must be recharged separately. A stylus is also provided. Everything is particularly well finished, all in aluminum, and weighs only 1.38 kg.

The device houses an Intel i9 SoC, no less. However, it is mainly optimized to avoid heating, so it does not deliver all its performance. On battery life, expect 7-8 hours with brightness at 50%. For an ultraportable, this is not exceptional, but for such a specific machine with two screens, it is really honest.

Everything is very efficient and well-optimized. However, its very high price will not make it suitable for everyone. You will need to find very specific uses for it to fully benefit from it. The proposal still has the merit of being truly original and well-accomplished.

The Lenovo Legion range: Lenovo’s gaming laptops

Lenovo does have a range of laptops dedicated to gaming, called Legion. If there are several models (Legion 5, Legion 7, Legion Y, etc.), we prefer to recommend only one.

The gaming laptop: Lenovo Legion 5 Pro (13ACH6H)

Lenovo has succeeded with the Legion 5 Pro, a laptop PC aimed at gamers. This one offers very good value for money. We particularly welcome the high-end 16-inch screen (16:10 format), with a definition of 2560 × 1600 pixels and a nice refresh rate of 165 Hz. Perfect for gaming.

In addition, the look of the dark gray chassis is exemplary sobriety, which will undoubtedly appeal to those who are not fans of “gamer” designs and omnipresent RGB.

But it is in terms of performance that the Legion 5 Pro shows its superiority, especially considering its price placement.

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor performs amazingly well when paired with an RTX 3070, whose TGP is raised by the Nvidia Dynamic Boost 2.0 feature. The 3D performance is astounding.

 We will particularly note excellent results with ray tracing. This goes hand in hand with direct heat dissipation, which prevents any thermal throttling.

Concerning the connectivity, it is surprisingly placed partly at the back of the laptop, in particular the Ethernet port and the HMDI. On the sides, you will still find USB-C ports and a headphone/microphone jack.

The Lenovo Legion 5 is, however, not free from flaws, like any technological product. Its keyboard and touchpad might have deserved a little more attention. But the biggest weak point is undoubtedly its autonomy. With only 3.5 hours away from a shot, the least we can say is that it disappoints.

Fortunately, the silent mode dedicated to office automation can significantly improve this score. Also, be careful about nomads; the power supply is huge. If you are interested in this computer, be aware that you will need to be close to an electrical outlet to be able to use it properly.

Still, for less than 1,800 euros, the Lenovo Legion Pro is a convincing gaming laptop and allows you to enjoy the most recent games without any problem.

However, if you want the best from Lenovo (and even more generally for portable gaming), you can turn to the very recent Legion 7i Gen 7. This 16-inch laptop PC has a beautiful 2560 × 1600 pixel definition screen at 165 Hz.

For performance, you can count on the latest generation i7, but it can even push up to an i9-12900HX, up to 32 GB of DDR 4,800 MHz RAM (!), and up to 2 TB of M.2 SSD. As for the graphics card, it is an RTX 3070 Ti.

The Lenovo Legion 7i is excellent and a power monster. But all this has a price, and last but not least, the basic configuration is sold for at least 2,800 euros on the Lenovo website.

The inexpensive gaming laptop: Lenovo LOQ 15IRH8

If Lenovo's range of gaming PCs is often labeled Legion, the manufacturer has declined its offer with the LOQ nomenclature. This seeks to aim for value for money. To reduce costs, the chassis is functional. The whole thing exudes solidity and highlights performance. The connectivity is complete with two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, and an Ethernet port.

The configuration we had for testing included an Intel Core i7-13620H, a 10-core SoC that can climb up to 4.90 GHz. This chip is coupled with 16 GB of DDR5 RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060. As you can imagine, this technical sheet is designed to shine in gaming, even with raytracing games. All the same, the cooling is not impeccable, with a peak of 56 degrees noted as well as very noisy fans.

In terms of sacrifices, it is the PC screen that has undergone some reductions. It is a 15.6-inch LCD panel with Full HD definition that is installed. For its part, the maximum refresh rate in place is 144 Hz. In our measurements, some deficiencies were noted. Particularly in terms of brightness, with a peak at 338 cd/m2. Even if these are concessions, it is clear that they are acceptable for entry-level.

The Lenovo LOQ 15IRH8 has a nice 60 Wh battery. The proprietary power supply is 170W. The USB-C port placed on the model is also compatible with the Power Delivery standard. In office use, the PC is capable of withstanding 4 to 5 hours of use. The starting price of the gaming laptop is 899 euros; our configuration is priced at 1199 euros.

Ideapad: affordable Lenovo laptops

The Ideapad series offers more affordable prices. If you are looking for an inexpensive laptop PC, this is the place to turn. For our part, we offer you here those of series 3 and series 5, which range from 13 to 17 inches.

The affordable alternative: Lenovo IdeaPad 3 (14ITL6)

In our opinion, one of the most balanced models is the IdeaPad 3 14ITL6. It's a modest 14-inch laptop, equipped with an Intel Core i3-1115G4 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a 256 GB hard drive. Simple; it shows and does what we expect from him.

It has good connectivity, with an HDMI port, a USB-C, as well as several USB-A ports, and an SD card reader. With 1.41 kg on the scale, its weight remains contained for a 14-inch, which, however, does not claim to be ultraportable.

This entry-level model is sold almost everywhere for 579 euros, a fair price for the manufacturing quality.

It is particularly suitable for students who need to take notes in class and for anyone who wants a reliable and not-too-expensive laptop.

An inexpensive 15-inch laptop: Lenovo IdeaPad 5 (15ALC05)

If you want a larger screen, still at a very attractive price, turn to the IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 for the 15-inch model. The Ideapad 5 is an excellent model with a recent CPU, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, which is very versatile and low-consumption.

For the rest, we stay with the classic, with a full HD screen and 8 GB of DDR4 RAM. The screen, for its part, is unfortunately very average in terms of colorimetry. We would therefore not recommend it to creative people who need good color coverage.

Lenovo sometimes has the bad habit of shifting the touchpad to the left, like here. This has two negative effects: firstly, it excludes left-handers, and secondly, it causes friction of the left wrist on the pad.

Furthermore, the touchpad covering is plastic and not glass. The keyboard, for its part, is very large and very pleasant, faithful to Lenovo's know-how on the subject. A numeric keypad is even integrated, as is a fingerprint reader on the power button.

Finally, the autonomy turns out to be rather comfortable for a 15-inch laptop, with around 7 to 8 hours of autonomy in typical use.

The Chromebook by Lenovo: Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook (2020)

In its catalog, Lenovo also offers Chromebooks. The company uses an IdeaPad Duet Chromebook to illustrate the computers, which are primarily meant for students. The PC is presented as a 2-in-1 running ChromeOS.

The machine has a 10.1-inch touchscreen but also great ergonomics. Indeed, for less than 300 euros, you are also entitled to the TouchPad as well as an easy-to-install physical keyboard. If the typing is narrow, you can at least use it for work. Keep in mind that this is a booster machine.

In terms of performance, the IdeaPad Duet Chromebook includes a MediaTek Helio P60T processor. The power deployed within the machine is sufficient to open several tabs at once. The configuration is complete with 4 GB of RAM and at least 64 GB of storage. Please note that you do not have the option to expand the memory of your hard drive.

In the end, it is a simple but effective machine. Don't make it your main PC, but don't underestimate it either. Despite its flaws, the IdeaPad Duet is capable of providing you with great service. This Chromebook is sold for 299 euros.

Everything you need to know before buying a Lenovo laptop

Who owns Lenovo?

Lenovo is a Chinese brand founded in 1984. In its country of origin, the company does not have the same name: Lián xiǎng (联想). Its head office is in Beijing. In 2005, the brand bought the PC branch of IBM, well known for its ThinkPads, which Lenovo still produces. The company also acquired Motorola in 2014.

In 2021, Lenovo managed to overtake HP and take first place in terms of PC sales (laptops and desktops), with 82 million units sold.

How is the Lenovo laptop line organized?

The Yoga range is dedicated to leisure and office uses, the IdeaPads are entry-level, and the Legion is there for gaming. ThinkPads remain laptops dedicated to professionals.

Lenovo laptops are good for the office and leisure. But they are not the best gaming laptops. Asus has made a good name for itself there. Likewise, the brand pays very little attention to Chromebooks.

How do I find out the characteristics of a Lenovo laptop?

Lenovo mainly distinguished itself by the invention of the convertible PC. With its Yoga range, the brand offers a special hinge that allows the screen to rotate 360°. Lenovo is also very fond of touchscreens. Finally, Lenovo produces excellent keyboards with large and comfortable keys, which will be well-suited for those who type a lot.