Pros
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Solid performance
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Sturdy, tactile keyboard feel
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Minimalist, professional look
Lenovo’s Slim Pro 7 14 laptop is a master of none, but it does an admirable job as a jack-of-all-trades, even for light gaming.
About the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14
Credit:
Reviewed / Timothy Renzi
For $1,200, Lenovo’s Slim Pro 7 14 nets you almost 10 hours of battery life, incredible multi-core performance, and a discrete GPU for when you feel like gaming a little.
Here are the specs of the laptop we tested:
- Price: $1,200
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050
- RAM: 16GB DDR5 6400MHz
- Storage: 512GB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD
- Display: 14.5-inch, 2560 x 1600, IPS touchscreen, 90Hz, 350 nits (rated), 350 nits (measured)
- Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1
- Camera: 1080p FHD IR/RGB Hybrid with Dual Microphone
- Wired connectivity: 1x USB-C 4, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 1x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5 mm headphone jack
- Battery: 73 Whr
- Weight: 3.6 pounds
- Size: 12.81 x 8.92 x 0.61 inches
- Warranty: 1-year courier or carry-in
At the time of writing, this is the only Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 configuration available, using an 8-core, 16-thread AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS processor. The only color option is Storm Grey.
What we like
Solid build and sleek, minimalist design
Credit:
Reviewed / Timothy Rezni
It’s not the sleekest design, but you gotta admit the Slim Pro 7 14 does look nice.
The Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14’s design won’t appeal to everyone, but it’s unlikely to put anyone off seriously. Unlike your typical MacBook or all-aluminum Windows laptop, this model uses a more rounded approach to nearly every angle. You’re not in danger of hurting yourself on any of the laptop’s edges.
The build feels quite solid, despite the relatively low weight of 3.6 pounds. Opening the lid, you don’t get the feeling that you’re overly stressing the hinges, which can still be a problem on modern laptops, even those with a metal build. While I didn’t encounter this, the lid does seem like it could slightly bend, but it would take a good amount of force. Fortunately, the chassis and keyboard have zero flex.
Port distribution is relatively even, but not necessarily perfect. Both USB-C ports are located on the left side of the chassis, meaning you can’t choose the side you plug into for power. The left side also features a full-size HDMI port.
On the right, you’ll find the lone USB-A port, along with the 3.5mm headphone jack. This side also features the power button as well as a switch to disable the webcam. This is a software-controlled feature, unlike the slider that physically blocks the camera lens found on some laptops. It is definitely easier to use, though you may prefer physically blocking the camera for peace of mind.
Excellent performance for the price
The Slim Pro 7 14 has a few tricks up its sleeve that you wouldn’t expect to find in a typical productivity laptop. While the Zen 3+ cores in the AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS CPU, and RTX 3050 GPU aren’t the latest and greatest on the market, they work well together.
CPU-wise, this laptop sits near the upper third of the pack in our testing on certain benchmarks, but closer to the bottom on others. In GeekBench 6, the Slim Pro 7 14 saw a single-core score of 1967 and a multi-core score of 9392, which put it behind the Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8, but ahead of quite a few other Lenovo models.
Turning to GPU benchmarks, this laptop pulls a little further ahead of the competition. On the 3DMark Night Raid demo, which is admittedly designed for integrated graphics, it scored 39180, putting it well ahead of nearly every other productivity laptop we’ve tested and just ahead of the LG Gram Pro 17.
The aging, entry-level RTX 3050 doesn’t turn the Slim Pro 7 14 into a gaming powerhouse, but it’s more than enough for casual gaming. As long as you’re fine with 1080p, you can run Fortnite on Ultra settings and stay well above 60 frames per second.
Battery life is also fairly solid, thanks to the lower-impact GPU, lasting lasted nine hours and 53 minutes on a single charge in our tests, which simulates browsing the web until the battery dies.
Good keyboard feel, easy typing
Credit:
Reviewed / Timothy Rezni
Seriously, Lenovo’s laptop keyboard has yet to disappoint us.
The Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14’s keys have 1.5mm of travel, which is a luxury for a laptop this thin (0.61 inches). Typically, travel is under 1mm, and this extra travel distance means you feel keypresses through your fingertips better, which is great for touch typists. It’s not quite as nice to type on as a MacBook Pro keyboard, but it’s close.
It’s not simply the travel, either. Many laptop keyboards have a spongy feel on bottoming out despite the level of travel, but the keyboard on the Slim Pro 7 14 feels more responsive. The keys aren’t overly springy, but they don’t have the sluggish return that you’ll notice on other sub-$1,000 laptops.
The touchpad isn’t quite as nice as the keyboard, but it works fine. The actual feel of moving the cursor with the touchpad is okay, but as with many laptops, it takes a little too much pressure for a physical click. If you’re more of a tap-to-click type of person, the touchpad should work perfectly for you, and the palm rejection is solid.
What we don’t like
Screen isn’t very bright
Credit:
Reviewed / Timothy Renzi
Maxing out at 350 nits, the display won’t handle all bright lighting conditions well.
The Slim Pro 7 14 uses a 14.5-inch, 2560 x 1600 IPS touchscreen. This display panel is crammed into a bezel that would typically fit a 14-inch display, meaning you get a nice screen-to-bezel ratio and the same footprint as a 14-inch laptop.
While you want a screen capable of at least 400 nits for any kind of HDR, the Slim Pro 7 14’s display topped out at 350 nits in our tests. Black levels aren’t particularly impressive either, leaving this laptop lagging behind many of its peers.
If you’re using the screen in a typical room, it looks fine. Take it into a very bright room or outside, and you may have more trouble seeing the screen than you would expect. Does the limited brightness harm the display? Not much. It would be nicer if it had a bit more brightness, but for indoor use, it looks fine, even for gaming.
That said, at least it features a touchscreen. At times it feels overly sensitive, but I got used to it relatively quickly. The screen only folds 180 degrees to lay flat, so don’t expect to use this laptop as a tablet.
Too much bloatware
It’s to be expected that any new laptop is going to have some software preinstalled, even if it’s just the typical apps from the Microsoft Store. You’ll also usually find some software from the vendor. In this case, Lenovo Vantage is preinstalled to show you hardware info and alter settings around power usage and the webcam.
Lenovo Voice is also here, presumably for voice commands, but those are already built into Windows 11 via Cortana. Then there’s Lenovo Welcome, ostensibly for setting up your PC, but that’s also handled via Lenovo Vantage.
These apps all popped up notifications multiple times a day during my time testing the Slim Pro 7 14. The most egregious app was Lenovo Hotkeys, which simply seems to remind you of a few hotkey settings, seemingly at random.
Finally, there’s a trial of McAfee LiveSafe, but in my case, all it seemed to do was bug me to sign up for a subscription.
Should you buy the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14?
Maybe, it’s a solid option for productivity and light gaming
Credit:
Reviewed / Timothy Renzi
Lenovo’s Slim Pro 7 14 is a good choice for anyone who needs mid-tier performance for more complex tasks than checking email.
If you’re looking for a laptop for general web browsing and productivity, there are plenty of lower-priced options like the Acer Aspire 5 that may meet your needs. That said, if you edit photos, videos, or even audio and think you need a little extra power, the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 is a better choice than models with lower-spec CPUs or integrated graphics.
Speaking of graphics, while the RTX 3050 isn’t a powerhouse, it’s got more than enough juice for casual gaming. If you’re heading out on a road trip to shoot and edit some video but want to get in on a little Fortnite or even more heavy-duty games, the GPU will handle it. You may need to lower some settings, but the Slim Pro 7 14 will run most games you throw at it.
The main disappointment is the display, as some of those games would look nicer if the display were just a bit brighter. This shouldn’t get in the way of most photo or video work, and you’re still getting a very decent laptop for the price, but if you frequently work outdoors, you may want to look elsewhere.
Lenovo Slim Pro 7
The Lenovo Slim Pro 7 has solid performance, it’s sturdy, has a tactile keyboard feel, and a professional look.
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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
Meet the tester
Kris Wouk
Contributor
Kris Wouk is a freelance tech writer and musician. While he’s been writing about technology for more than 10 years, that’s a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of time he has spent enamored with tech. When he’s not testing gadgets, he spends most of his time in Ableton Live.
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