Lenovo is one of the few big hardware brands that seems to think “the next big thing” in laptops—beyond better processors and even more glowy RGB lights—is glasses-free 3D displays. The Lenovo Legion 9i should support 30 games with 3D effects, though it may be brought down by an enormous, tariff-boosted price tag. Ignoring the possible enormous price, I’m left holding out hope that lenticular lenses can find a niche in today’s gaming environment.
The Legion 9i is one of those kitchen sink, desktop replacement laptops meant for both gamers and creatives who want to do everything from one device, even one that weighs nearly eight pounds. That’s nothing new, though what’s different about this device is its 18-inch “PureSight” display that supports 4K resolution in 2D alongside 2K (1,920 x 1,200) resolution in 3D. Like what we experienced with the Samsung Odyssey 3D gaming monitor and Lenovo’s concept 3D curved displays, the screen is an IPS LCD panel built with a lenticular lens array. This creates a kind of pseudo 3D popout effect along with a subtle hint of depth on images. If you ever tried the 3D effect on a Nintendo 3DS, then you have a good idea what this looks like.
The Nintendo 3DS was also notorious for requiring pitch-perfect viewing angles for the 3D effect. The technology has improved thanks to the use of eye-tracking cameras that beam the image to each eye individually. Lenovo says users will be able to control this using the Lenovo 3D Studio software. The company claims this supports 3D viewing in “a myriad of video, image, and streaming formats” including some creation apps.
Yes, the 3D effect is a novelty for a niche crowd of gamers, but from what I played, the effect enhances the otherworldliness of games with more stylized visuals. Our main gripe with the Samsung Odyssey 3D was its mere 13 supported games when the monitor itself cost $2,000. Lenovo told Gizmodo this laptop supports 30 games, including major titles of the last several years like Cyberpunk 2077, Death Stranding, Black Myth: Wukong, Forza Horizon 5and Fallout 4. We have yet to see this 3D effect when playing a first-person game, and we’d be concerned the view would lead to a sense of queasiness when a cyberpsycho’s monofilament blade aimed at your character pops out of the screen like a knife aimed at your eyes.
The screen also supports variable refresh rate (VRR) that can switch from 240Hz at 4K to a blistering 440Hz at FHD. That’s handy, since the laptop is set to contain an Intel Core 9 275HX CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 laptop GPU, plus up to 192GB of RAM. We still don’t have pricing, but considering the stated specs, it could be an enormously expensive device. The Legion 9i could cost even more than the MSI Titan 18 HX, one of the beefiest and most expensive laptops I’ve ever reviewed. At least it supports four slots apiece for RAM and SSD storage extensions.
Even the cover of the laptop is unique, sporting a camo-like pattern made of eight layers of carbon fiber. The gaming laptop won’t be available until fall this year, although some gamers and creators in China will likely be the first to check it out. Trump tariffs have pushed prices up for most gadgets and many other products besides, so we aren’t holding out much hope for a product most people can actually afford.
Even with 30 games on offer at launch, that still may not be enough to push 3D screens into the mainstream. We asked Lenovo if the Legion 9i could support third-party 3D software, like Samsung’s Reality Hub used on its Odyssey 3D, but the company declined to say. The cost of concept devices like this will only get steeper as time goes on.
