Lenovo's first own-brand smartphone in four years is a looker and a powerhouse. | Image by Lenovo
Did you know that Lenovo is one of the world's top ten handset vendors and a top five player in India's massive smartphone market? That's even though I'm pretty sure most of you can't name a single Lenovo-branded phone because... we haven't had one in several years.
But the China-based tech giant is all of a sudden no longer content with only releasing mobile devices under the Motorola label it has owned since 2014, bringing the Legion family of gaming-centric smartphones back from the dead for another Y70 edition.
This is a solid but not exactly mind-blowing spec sheet
6.82-inch OLED screen with 2772 x 1280 pixel resolution, 144Hz refresh rate technology, and 7000 nits peak brightness;
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor;
Android 16;
12 and 16GB LPDDR5X Ultra memory options;
256GB, 512GB, and 1TB UFS 4.1 storage variants;
50MP primary rear-facing camera with f/1.8 aperture and optical image stabilization;
8MP secondary ultra-wide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture;
32MP front-facing snapper with f/2.2 aperture;
8,000mAh battery;
90W charging capabilities;
Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos;
USB Type-C port;
Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, NFC connectivity;
IP66, IP68, and IP69 water and dust resistance;
224 grams weight;
Black and white color options.
What are the new Legion Y70's main rivals?
Clearly, Lenovo's first own-brand phone since 2022 is not designed to directly take on the likes of Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra or Apple's iPhone 17 Pro Max as far as raw power or camera capabilities are concerned.
The Legion Y70 (2026) is clearly not the world's thinnest or most elegant phone. | Image by Lenovo
But in the battery capacity department, the Legion Y70 (2026) plays in an entirely different league than many of the world's overall best phones right now, also eclipsing the likes of the OnePlus 15 and OnePlus 15R while narrowly losing out to the 8,600mAh cell-packing OnePlus Ace 6 Ultra.
The 90W wired charging speeds are almost as impressive (even though they're not doubled by any wireless charging support whatsoever), while the non-Elite Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 SoC puts Lenovo's gaming powerhouse a level below the RedMagic 11S Pro.
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Should Lenovo release more phones under its own brand?
That's probably the greatest gaming phone out there today (especially after Asus left 2024's ROG Phone 9 Pro without a sequel), but for what it's worth, the Lenovo Legion Y70 (2026) is a lot cheaper, starting at the equivalent of only $450 in China.
What exactly makes this a good gaming phone?
That's always a rather difficult question to answer, seeing as how any mobile device powered by a Snapdragon 8-series SoC can be great for gaming, but what separates the new Legion handset from your S26 Ultra or OnePlus 15 is a massive and (purportedly) ultra-efficient cooling system.
That gargantuan battery is without a doubt a key selling point of Lenovo's new gaming beast. | Image by Lenovo
Also, while the 6.82-inch display won't blow your mind with its pixel count, its peak brightness is... something else (at least on paper), absolutely crushing pretty much any phone you can think of and matching Huawei's claims for last year's Mate 80 Pro Max super-flagship.
The 8,000mAh battery can be a great asset for lengthy gaming sessions as well, promising up to two whole days of endurance between charges, but compared to the aforementioned RedMagic 11S Pro and Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro, the Legion Y70 (2026) seems to lack a certain... pizzazz that generally connects with hardcore gamers.
Wait a minute, what's the price again?
I think I moved past that detail a little too fast, so let's go back and talk more about pricing. Believe it or not, Lenovo is charging as little as 3,099 yuan ($454) in China for this Snapdragon 8 Gen 5-powered device with a huge battery, blazing fast charging, and... not-that-bad cameras, bumping that mark up to CNY 3,699 ($543) for folks who need 512 gigs of internal storage space instead of just 256.
It's unlikely to ever happen, but Lenovo could definitely find a global audience for the Legion Y70 (2026). | Image by Lenovo
A top-of-the-line variant with 1TB storage and 16GB RAM, meanwhile, costs 4,899 yuan ($719), which is... also incredibly affordable. Too bad a US release seems totally out of the question, and European availability is highly unlikely as well. Still, it's definitely nice to see a brand like Lenovo try its hand at smartphones again, especially at a time when other companies are throwing in the towel or seemingly planning to do so.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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