Lenovo has announced two new gaming laptops under its LOQ Essential lineup. The new Lenovo LOQ Essential 15IPH11 and LOQ Essential 15IRH11 are positioned as more accessible gaming laptops for students and users who want one machine for gaming, studies, content creation and everyday work.
The LOQ Essential 15IPH11 focuses on integrated Intel Arc graphics and a more efficient design, while the 15IRH11 comes with a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU. Both models feature a 15.3-inch 16:10 display with a 165Hz refresh rate and 100% sRGB coverage.
Both Lenovo LOQ Essential models feature a 15.3-inch WUXGA IPS LCD with a 16:10 aspect ratio. The display supports a 165Hz refresh rate, 100% sRGB coverage, up to 300 nits brightness and a 3ms response time with overdrive.
The high refresh rate should make games and general navigation feel smoother. The 100% sRGB coverage also makes the display more suitable for content creation than a typical budget gaming laptop display.
Both laptops run Windows 11. Lenovo is also positioning the LOQ Essential 15IPH11 for workloads beyond gaming, including classes, streaming and creative applications.
The 15IPH11 also has a dedicated NPU for local AI processing in supported applications. Its integrated graphics architecture allows system memory to be dynamically shared between the processor and GPU depending on the workload.
The Lenovo LOQ Essential 15IPH11 is powered by up to an Intel Core Ultra X7 358H processor. It comes with up to 16GB of LPDDR5x memory running at 9600MT/s. Storage goes up to a 1TB M.2 2242 PCIe Gen 4 SSD. The 15IRH11 uses up to an Intel Core 7 230H processor. It supports up to 32GB of DDR5 memory at 5200MT/s and up to a 1TB M.2 2242 PCIe Gen 4 SSD.
The higher memory limit of the 15IRH11 makes it the more suitable option for users who expect to run heavier applications or multitask frequently.
The LOQ Essential 15IPH11 uses up to Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics with a 65W TDP. The integrated GPU uses the laptop’s high-speed system memory instead of having a separate dedicated VRAM pool.
Lenovo says this unified memory architecture can support multiplayer games, supported AAA titles, streaming and creative applications. The Intel Arc graphics also support hardware-accelerated ray tracing and Intel XeSS AI-powered upscaling.
The LOQ Essential 15IRH11 takes a more traditional gaming approach with a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU. It comes with 6GB of GDDR6 memory and a 75W TDP. This should make the 15IRH11 the better choice for users who specifically want a dedicated GPU for gaming. The RTX 3050 also gives the laptop access to NVIDIA’s ray tracing and upscaling features. Both models also support memory and SSD upgrades.
The LOQ Essential 15IPH11 has a 5-megapixel QHD webcam with an IR sensor and E-Shutter. This makes it better equipped for video calls and Windows Hello-style facial recognition than the 15IRH11.
The LOQ Essential 15IRH11 gets a 720p HD webcam with an E-Shutter.
Both models feature a TrueStrike keyboard with 1.6mm key travel. The 15IPH11 gets a single-zone RGB backlight option, while the 15IRH11 has a single-zone purple backlight.
For audio, both models have two 2W tweeters with Nahimic Audio support.
The laptops support Wi-Fi 6 with 2×2 AX connectivity and Bluetooth 5.3. The LOQ Essential 15IPH11 includes a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, USB-C with Thunderbolt 4, USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, RJ45 Ethernet, HDMI 2.1, a 3.5mm audio combo jack and a DC-in port. The 15IRH11 has USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, USB-C, USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, RJ45, HDMI 2.1, an audio combo jack and DC-in.
Both laptops pack a 60Wh battery. Lenovo claims that the integrated-graphics LOQ Essential 15IPH11 can deliver up to 21 hours of battery life. The lower power requirements of the integrated graphics design should help reduce power consumption and thermal load compared with a laptop using a dedicated GPU. Actual battery life will depend heavily on the workload, display settings and power mode.
The Lenovo LOQ Essential laptops measure 344.9 x 254.83 x 20.9-23.25mm and weigh from around 2.1kg. Lenovo says the new models are 10% lighter and slimmer than their predecessors. The 15IRH11 also gets transparent purple accent keys, which gives it a more gaming-focused look.
The 15IPH11 is available in Luna Grey and Eclipse Black, while the 15IRH11 is listed in Eclipse Black and Luna Grey.
Lenovo LOQ Essential 15IPH11 and 15IRH11 pricing and availability
The Lenovo LOQ Essential 15IPH11 is expected to be available in October 2026 at an estimated starting price of $1,399. The Lenovo LOQ Essential 15IRH11 is expected to start at $979.99.
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