The most powerful RTX 5070 Ti gamer so far - Lenovo Legion Pro 5 16IAX10H OLED review

As befits a "pro" laptop, the somewhat simpler gaming design can also appeal to content creators. Furthermore, we were particularly impressed by the Legion Pro 5 16's excellent OLED display and powerful 3D performance. In the 16-inch laptop, RTX 5070 Ti category, the Legion Pro is certainly one of the strongest representatives in terms of performance and build quality. On top of this, its predecessor's criticisms have been eliminated, which means that the initial question of whether Lenovo has worked on the weaknesses while retaining its strengths can be answered in the affirmative.

However, you get the feeling that Lenovo, perhaps because of the OLED, had to cut corners elsewhere. This is especially true of the hardware, some of which is no longer quite up to date. Two of the three USB-A ports only transmit at 5 Gbps instead of 10 Gbps, there's no Thunderbolt 5 (only 4 Gbps), no Wi-Fi 6E, and no Wi-Fi 7. There's also no SD card reader, which is likely to annoy creators. Similarly problematic are the dropped frames when playing a high-resolution YouTube video or the relatively loud volume at high performance. An additional gripe is the increasing amount of advertising Lenovo includes in its various more or less mandatory software solutions. This is an area where Lenovo should take a step back for the sake of its customers!

This model is still hard to come by and isn't listed on various comparison portals. In Germany, only the model with the RTX 5070 (without the "Ti") is available starting at €2,400 (around $2,880).

Last year, the Legion Pro 5 16 or the Legion Pro 5i were some of the best and most popular gaming laptops. The main criticisms were the thermally throttling SSD, the heaviness, and the somewhat uneven cooling system. However, the CPU and GPU performance were above average. Which changes have Lenovo made to the successor?

Compared to its predecessor, the new chassis is about 1 mm thinner, but 1 mm deeper and 6 mm wider. All other laptops in this class are narrower, but our Legion Pro 5 is the thinnest, excluding the Blade 16 and G16. It also weighs 100 g less.

The power connector and HDMI port are now on the left, the LAN port and one USB-A port are on the right, and other ports have also been moved from the back to the sides.

However, the USB ports in particular are no longer quite as modern. There's no Thunderbolt 5, only version 4, and the second USB-C slot isn't Thunderbolt-capable. Two of the three USB-A slots (the two on the right) only operate at 5 Gbps, and an SD reader is completely absent.

The port layout is fine, although the sides are now obviously more crowded than before.

Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 are no longer impressive in the age of Wi-Fi 7 or even Wi-Fi 6E, especially with Bluetooth 6 having been available since September 2024, and Bluetooth 5.4 no longer setting the standard. The predecessor already featured Wi-Fi 6E, and the direct competition is all faster, but at least the module is replaceable.

Lenovo has packed a 5-megapixel camera into the wide notch on the top of the case. Images are sharp, and color accuracy is acceptable. On the right-hand side, there's a slider switch for the electronic shutter.

The packaging is a mix of cardboard and plastic, with the latter used as a plastic bag that not only wraps the Legion and the power supply, but also serves as adhesive strips around the edges of the Legion, and as foam for insulation.

Lenovo offers a two-year warranty, including courier or carry-in service. Accessories are not included in the package.

The touchpad measures 12 x 7.5 cm and is covered with a smooth Mylar surface. Multi-touch inputs are implemented smoothly, and the integrated buttons respond reliably and with a moderate click. However, tapped clicks were sometimes not recognized correctly in our testing.

With the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, an RTX 5070 Ti Laptop, 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD, the Legion positions itself as a gamer. On the other hand, the "pro" (fessional) device is also aimed at content creators with its design and brilliant OLED display.

The Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX is a high-end mobile CPU. Its 24 cores (8 P and 16 E cores) clock at up to 5.4 GHz. It integrates a small NPU with 13 TOPs and an iGPU with four Xe cores.

In Cinebench R15 loop, our Legion Pro 5 demonstrated high performance on par with a Asus Scar Strix 16 or even a Neo 16 A25. Unlike the RTX 5090 competition, however, the performance does not remain quite as constant and drops by a total of around 8 percent within 5 to 6 runs, settling to the level of the XMG Pro 16.

Across all CPU tests, the Legion sat just between the Asus Strix Scar 16 (+1%) and the XMG Pro 16 (-1%). The gap between the competitors is small, with the fastest device (Neo 16 E25) enjoying a 5 percent advantage.

When away from a power outlet, Performance mode is not selectable and Balanced mode is active. In Cinebench R15 Multi, the score dropped by approximately 37 percent.