I've found the best new laptop for designers, and it's a Lenovo Legion 9i
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
Sometimes you can't use a gaming laptop for content creation and design, but in most cases, you can, and sometimes going the gaming route will get you a better deal.
But other times, you find a gaming laptop that feels more like a design laptop; that's the case with Lenovo's 10th Generation Legion 9i.
At the Lenovo Tech World conference in Shanghai, Lenovo announced the newest generation of Legion 9i laptops, now in an 18-inch chassis.
The Legion 9i 18 Gen 10 has four slots of RAM, supporting up to 192GB, and four slots for SSD storage, supporting up to 8TB.
The Legion's Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 GPU operate at a combined total of up to 280W for maximum performance. And to keep the system cool under pressure, Lenovo has packed the Legion Coldfront vapor chamber and quad fan system into the Legion 9i.
The Legion 9i has solid gaming props, but the most interesting piece of the new Legion is its display. Lenovo offers two different display panel options, a 2D only, 3840 x 2400, LCD or a 2D/3D display that has a max 2400p resolution in 2D, and drops down to 1920 x 1200 when in 3D mode.
We have seen some recent strides in 3D gaming courtesy of Acer's SpatialLabs displays and Samsung's recent Odyssey 3D gaming monitor. But 3D displays are often more useful for designers as many games don't fully support 3D.
Lenovo has positioned the Legion 9i Gen 10 as a device for game developers, visual artists, and 3D professionals which helps explains the 2D/3D display.
Like many 3D displays, the Legion 9i uses eye-tracking and a lenticular lens array to provide a 3D experience without glasses.
The 2D/3D and 2D displays support dual-mode functionality to get a smooth, classic gaming experience in 4K at 240Hz while dropping down the resolution to 1920 x 1200p with a 400Hz refresh rate when you need a faster reaction time.
But the display isn't the only design tool added to the Legion 9i. The Lenovo 3D Studio software supports 3D viewing for a myriad of video, image, and streaming formats in both side-by-side and top-bottom arrangements. Lenovo Studio also supports 3D in 30 games and multiple creation apps.
And for added AI integration, the Legion 9i features Lenovo's AI Core chipset and AI Engine+ to dynamically adjust settings based on use, maximizing performance between gaming and rendering time.
You do still get the classic gaming features like Lenovo Legion Space to sync the laptop's RGB to in-game sound and whatever is being displayed, for deeper immersion and ambiance. The Legion Space software also features Game Coach, Game Clip Master, and Game Companion to help gamers improve their skills and quickly create shareable gaming content.
The top cover of each Lenovo Legion 9i (18', 10) is as unique as the design work being done on it. Made of eight layers of aviation-grade carbon fiber hand hand-applied and forged together, the resulting Forged Carbon laptop lid is lighter and stronger than aluminum, and thanks to the handcrafted manufacturing process, each top cover is one-of-a-kind. HDMI and DC in ports are located on the rear of the laptop, and a bevy of ports on both sides, including a pair of Thunderbolt 5 ports on the left side for high-speed devices, storage, and displays.
If you're psyched for the new Legion, either as your new gaming rig, design device, or all-around powerhouse you will have a bit of a wait.
Lenovo will be launching the Legion 9i Gen 10 in China with availability coming in North America this fall.
Thanks to the volatile US foreign manufacturing tariffs and the Legion 9i's ship date being a few months out, pricing for North America is still being determined. Lenovo will announce full pricing information closer to the ship date.
Are bigger gaming laptops really better? Here's how an RTX 5080 beat an RTX 5090.
Nvidia's affordable RTX 5060 is coming soon, but that's not the GPU I have my eyes on
Microsoft's new Surface Pro could solve our biggest issue with the previous gen

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Bloomberg
AI Apps Could Grow 100x Over Next Few Years: B Capital
Bloomberg Markets: The Close Raj Ganguly, Co-CEO & Co-Founder at B Capital Group Management speaks with Romaine Bostick and Scarlet Fu about the future of AI in the venture capital space. (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Get the five-star Sonos Beam (Gen 2) as it returns to its record-low price
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. If you're looking for one of the best Sonos soundbars, then from a specification and performance perspective, we recommend the Sonos Arc. Unfortunately, that will set you back $599. Enter the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), which might be smaller and older, but we still gave it an impressive five stars when we reviewed it in 2021. Even better, right now you can pick it up for only $369 at Amazon. This is the lowest price we have seen it and a brilliant discount on an award-winning Dolby Atmos soundbar. Get it while it's still so affordable. The latest offering from Sonos impressed us with its exceptional and immersive Dolby Atmos performance. Being a Sonos product, it also has Wi-Fi and network streaming onboard, plus compatibility with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Available in black or starsView Deal We loved the original Sonos Beam when it arrived in 2018; its successor is even better. The second-generation Beam (Gen 2) not only lives up to the high bar set by its predecessor but also exceeds it by a margin that more than justifies its new feature set and higher cost. The Beam Gen 2 ups the ante with forward-facing drivers and more processing power, opening up the door to immersive virtual Dolby Atmos audio. There's also eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel) connectivity, which means the latest Beam can handle the higher-bandwidth Dolby True HD Atmos format. Atmos aside, it sounds incredible, reaching deeper than the Beam Gen 1 with more refinement, a warmer treble, and a wider dynamic range. Where the Beam Gen 1 might skim over certain complex sounds, the Gen 2 has a greater capacity to take them on, consistently resulting in a richer, more nuanced and varied listening experience. While the Beam (Gen 2) might be small in stature, it produces a sound that is much broader than its compact frame suggests. If you do find yourself wanting a broader sound and enhanced bass, then simply pair the Beam (Gen 2) with a Sonos Sub or Sub Mini, and a pair of Era 100 or Era 300 speakers for a full surround sound setup. If you're in the market for a sub-$500 soundbar, the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) at $369 is simply your best option right now. MORE: Read the full Sonos Beam review Check out the best budget soundbars As well as our list of the best Dolby Atmos soundbars
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Pick up Apple's newest, most powerful stylus for under $100 today
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Apple released the brilliant Apple Pencil Pro last year, and it currently has a fantastic $30 discount at Amazon, lowering it to just $99. It should be the go-to stylus for any creative using an iPad because of its high-level feature-set and excellent functionality. Made for artists, it has haptic feedback, pinch gestures and a barrel roll to change brushes. Of course, it also has the hover function and the best tilt and pressure sensitivity on the market. (Best Buy has the same offer, see below.) This isn't quite the lowest price I've seen it go for, but it's only $10 off – and a stylus of this calibre for under $100 is real value. When we reviewed the APple Pencil Pro, we gave it 4 stars and would recommend it to any creative that needs the enhanced features it offers. Remember, it is only compatiable with the latest iPads so be sure to check yours is one of them. You can do this in our Apple Pencil vs comparison article, and the iPad for drawing one, too. Apple Pencil ProWas: $129 Now: $99 at BestBuySave: $30 Overview: This is a decent saving on Apple's newest and most sophisticated iPad stylus yet, which provides workflow boosts for digital artists and illustrators using the newest Apple tablets. New features include haptic feedback, a pinch gestures to control actions and access tools and a barrel roll feature to change brushes. The stylus also provides more precise control with improved tilt and pressure sensitivity. Features: Barrel roll, pinch gesture and haptic feedback. Improved tilt and pressure sensitivity. Compatible with this year's iPad Pro (M4), iPad Air (M2) and iPad mini (A17). Release date: May 2024 Price history: The best price we had seen until now was $89 during the Black Friday check: $99 at Amazon Review consensus: We gave the new stylus 4 stars in our initial review. We were impressed with the new features, which were only held back by the fact that many apps hadn't yet introduced support at the time we wrote the Deal Not quite right? See our Apple Pencil alternatives guide, and the offers we've found below: