Lenovo’s Legion 2025 series launch in India this year wasn’t about shock value or dramatic reinvention. Instead, it leaned into refinement with sleeker designs, OLED displays that pop, a software hub that feels more polished, and a serious layer of AI hardware baked into the machines. We caught up with Clifford Chong, Gaming Category Manager (Asia Pacific) – Lenovo, to chat about it all, and the conversation turned into a mix of gaming confessions, design philosophy, and some refreshingly honest takes on where the PC industry is headed.
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Warming Up: Games First, Business Later
Before diving into thermals, AI chips, and panel specs, we had to know: Does Clifford still actually game? After all, it’s one thing to lead a gaming division; it’s another to stay plugged into the titles that players obsess over. His answer was instant and relatable: “I’ve been halfway through Alan Wake 2. It’s a bit morbid,” he laughed, “but I always use the excuse that I need to test games in the office.”
Honestly, it was refreshing to see we aren’t the only ones who use work as an excuse to play. But more importantly, it was the perfect icebreaker, confirming two things. One: Yes, execs do still play. Two: Clifford knows that talking about gaming culture is just as important as rattling off specs. It set the tone for a chat that never felt like corporate jargon.
Design: Subtle, Classy, Still Savage
Legion laptops have always carried a certain “gamer chic” vibe with bold lines, RGB, and cooling grills that looked ready for liftoff. But the 2025 lineup feels different. More refined. The kind of laptop you can bring to a client meeting at 11 AM and still frag enemies at 11 PM. When we asked Clifford about this shift, he pointed straight to the community: “It’s not a radical change because we already have a very solid fan base… a lot of products are user-tested.”
We also asked him what he thought about other brands copying Lenovo’s design language, especially placing all the exhausts at the rear. Clifford, with a grin, noted that “it only validates that we are on to something… it encourages us to keep innovating.” He further emphasised that this year the design isn’t loud anymore, but it’s confident. Legion knows its identity, which is always a good thing.
OLED Flex: Not All Panels Are Equal
One of the biggest talking points this year was displays. OLED panels are making their way into more gaming laptops, but not all OLEDs are built the same. Clifford made that distinction: “We’re using the latest OLED panel development… colour accuracy, vibrance, brightness — a lot better than last year. Not all OLEDs are equal.”
We’ve reviewed many OLED gaming laptops here at 91mobiles, and what he said resonated. He shared a pro tip: switch the Legion’s display to DCI-P3 colour mode + max brightness. According to him, that’s where the panel truly shines. On the other hand, HDR is one of those things that’s nice to have, but he confesses he mostly leaves it off.
What struck us most was how seriously Lenovo takes panel validation. Clifford mentioned sending panels for certifications so gamers have reassurance they’re getting good stuff. That’s not always the case in this category, where “OLED” can sometimes mean compromises. What that means is Lenovo wants you to know they’re not just checking a marketing box. Their OLEDs are tuned, certified, and engineered to look stunning for years — without the dreaded burn-in.
LOQ 17-Inch: Who’s It Really For?
The other curveball from this year’s launch: a 17-inch LOQ. Now, that size usually screams “desktop replacement.” So, we asked Clifford — is this really what Indian gamers want?
His answer was pragmatic: “The 15.6-inch is still the sweet spot… but the 17-inch appeals to desktop replacement customers and budget creators who don’t want a full PC setup.” He even likened it to a McDonald’s menu: small, medium, large. You might not order the large every time, but it’s important to have it there, because some people absolutely will.
For India, where space can be limited and budgets even more so, a 17-inch LOQ makes sense for creators who need screen real estate but don’t want to buy a monitor. Of course, we’re not expecting it to outsell the 15-inch variant anytime soon. But as an option for students, creators, and “desktop replacement” gamers, it fills a gap in Lenovo’s lineup that competitors often ignore.
Pricing Overlap: LOQ vs Legion
When Lenovo announced that the LOQ i7 + RTX 5050 variant would retail for around ₹1.1 lakh, while the Legion 5 with the same configuration would cost ~₹1.2 lakh, we had to ask the obvious: doesn’t this make the LOQ look like the “almost there” option, nudging buyers to just stretch for the Legion?
It was nice to see that, unlike most business representatives, Clifford didn’t dodge the question. Instead, he leaned into Lenovo’s positioning strategy: “We don’t want Legion to be out of reach… we’re trying to make it more mainstream, more approachable… bring economies of scale to components so Legion is priced close to LOQ.”
Ultimately, it’s a fine balance. LOQ exists to bring affordability and accessibility, while Legion represents the aspirational edge. By narrowing the gap, Lenovo is making sure gamers who stretch for the Legion feel like they’re making a smart jump and not getting fleeced. Lenovo is deliberately blurring the lines to make Legion feel like an attainable upgrade, not a luxury.
AI Chips: Not Just Buzzwords
AI in laptops is the new marketing darling, but Clifford was quick to clarify that this isn’t just sticker-level branding. Some Legion models actually have dedicated AI chips on the motherboard. These are the company’s LA3 + LA1 AI chips, designed to dynamically optimise workloads in real time, helping maintain high frame rates and low latency during gaming and intensive tasks.
“On some of our products, we actually have two chips… they manage different components. It’s machine learning built into the chip itself. It predicts your requirements and tunes the power flow… controls the fan… monitors the temperatures.” This means the AI isn’t just software adjusting sliders; it’s hardware baked into the system, actively optimising performance in real time. Think smarter thermals, better power efficiency, and a smoother experience without the gamer needing to micromanage settings.
Of course, competing brands also do this, but usually via the CPU’s NPU. What Lenovo is doing, however, is different: it leaves the CPU’s NPU free to perform whatever AI-related tasks you need, while using the LA3 + LA1 chips for all background optimisation tasks.
Closing Words: A Message to Gamers
Before we wrapped up, we asked Clifford what message he’d like to share with Indian gamers. His answer was surprisingly passionate: “The technology is ripe and the price points have come down… every college student’s first device should be a gaming PC… it opens the door for so many different streams.”
It’s a bold vision: making gaming laptops the new “default” choice for students, not just entertainment machines but gateways to creation, learning, and community. And to be honest, most of us here at 91mobiles do agree with it. Gaming laptops these days are essentially the Swiss Army knife of student life, helping with study, work, and of course, those late-night Valorant sessions. Not to forget that budget gaming has evolved in recent years, an insight we noted thanks to DLSS and Frame Generation. Add to that all the AI capabilities that Lenovo brings to the table, and the Legion and LOQ’s updated lineup definitely offers refinement that should appeal to gamers and first-time laptop buyers.
Should you still buy the Legion 2025 lineup? Stay tuned for our in-depth reviews of the same.
