Lenovo India CEO on how Legion gaming laptops appeal to non-gaming users

Most of the gaming laptops are unwieldy, lack right software optimisations, and do not score high on portability scale – probably why productivity-oriented users stay at bay. Lenovo sees this as an opportunity.

Rahul Agarwal, CEO and Managing Director of Lenovo India. (HT Tech)

Gaming laptops are just for gaming enthusiasts. Yes and no, both. Most of these devices come with cutting-edge technologies and top-of-the-line specifications. They are not perfect, though. Most of the gaming laptops are unwieldy, lack right software optimisations, and do not score high on portability scale – probably why productivity-oriented users stay at bay. Lenovo sees this as an opportunity to rope in its Legion laptops as the perfect product for both gaming and non-gaming users.

Those tracking the laptop and PC industry in India should know that Lenovo recently launched its the Legion 7i, 5Pi and 5i laptops for hardcore gamers. These laptops boast of Intel 10th-gen processor, 100% Adobe sRGB colour gamut and Dolby Vision, 10th Gen Intel Core i9 H-Series mobile processor 80WHr battery – good enough for any power user working remotely.

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To achieve the coveted balance, Lenovo has made some fine adjustments – thin and light design with 19.9mm thickness and 2.2kgs weight, TrueStrike keyboard for heavy long term use, larger trackpads, full-sized number pads and easy access to ports design.

“For our latest Legion line-up, we engaged with a panel of 7,800 consumers from around the world in 2019 (gamers and non-gamers) to better understand their needs through a series of surveys. Based on our findings, we integrated customer insights and anticipated their needs to inspire and drive our innovations, including crafting better keyboard design, smarter thermals, top webcam placement and easy access to ports design,” Lenovo India CEO and Managing Director Rahul Agarwal told HT Tech.

And it is not just the heavy, non-gaming work that Lenovo expects customers to do, but also perform their daily tasks. It's more like an investment in tech, so you need just one machine for everything.

“Lockdown and the pandemic have led to a growth in laptop demand, across segments - starting from commercial laptops for working from home, consumer laptops for WFH and online classes, and the gaming laptops for more virtual engagement amongst the gaming community,” he said.

“In fact, with people spending less on travel, luxury dining and other experiences – we can see that consumers are willing to invest in higher-end technology to support their multiple needs.”

But staying relevant for gamers is as important for Legion since the entire sub-brand is based on it and has made a pretty big mark in the industry.

Agarwal says that Legion laptops continue to cater to the gaming community's feedback and there are certain factors that set them apart from rivals like Asus, HP, Dell and others.

“Lenovo Legion devices are “stylish on the outside and savage on the inside” – delivering both a sophisticated exterior and epic gaming performance. What sets us apart from the other competition brands, is our intent to take the gaming community's feedback seriously. From the start, Lenovo Legion was designed together with the gaming community – even the name itself was crowdsourced.”