Today, Lenovo is announcing a series of upgrades to much of its ThinkPad line and updating its business-focused products to 2021. Some of the big changes this year are impressive and welcome, with Lenovo committing to bring feature parity. between their AMD and Intel offerings, as well as upgrading some of their laptops with 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, and continuing the trend to bring back 16:10 aspect ratio screens for a better productivity experience.
ThinkPad X13 and X13 Yoga
Although part of the ThinkPad X line was updated at CES, Lenovo is continuing the 2021 updates today on the X13 and X13 Yoga products, and the changes make these devices already impressive even more.
On the processor side, Lenovo is offering 11th generation Intel Core processors – also known as Tiger Lake – with optional vPro, as well as AMD Ryzen 5000 Pro options. Lenovo claims to have heard customer feedback and is working hard to eliminate the resource gap and options between the two platforms. Most of the time, customers who choose AMD or Intel will have the same specifications and options available for the rest of the product, such as monitors, memory and so on, except platform-specific features such as Intel with support for Thunderbolt 4 and PCIe 4.0.
The X13 and X13 Yoga will also receive Wi-Fi 6E, which means 6 GHz support, and for those who want connectivity outside the home, the sub-6 5G is an option on the X13, or 4G is available on both models .
Lenovo also continues to advance to 16:10 screens, with taller screens filling the body more and providing more vertical pixels for productivity. This is a big trend, and it shouldn’t have taken so long to come back, since, of course, the original widescreen ThinkPads were all 16:10 before the entire industry moved to 16: 9. Lenovo is also proud to offer support for low blue light hardware on the screens and, unlike most low blue light technologies that cause a red shift on the screen, the backlight physically produces less of the stressful blue lights, allowing the screen to stop maintaining the balance of suitable white.
As this is a suitable business machine, there is also additional security, such as Match-On-Chip fingerprint readers built into the on / off button, and Intel models will support Human Presence Detection which allows the machine to lock out when you are away and unlock when you come back. This will be through the IR camera, and as far as the visual camera is concerned, Lenovo is including an option for both HD with IR and FHD with IR, the latter being a good addition thanks to the increase in videoconferencing in recent years.
The updated ThinkPad X13 will be available in May from $ 1139 USD, and the X13 Yoga will be available in April from $ 1379.
ThinkPad T14, T14s and T15
ThinkPad T14
When most people imagine the ThinkPad, they probably think of the venerable T Series. Lenovo said it is working on a resource parity between Intel and AMD, and one of the changes is not to mark products differently based on the CPU , but for the T series, it looks like they haven’t gotten there yet. There will be ThinkPad T14 i, ThinkPad T14s ie ThinkPad T15 with Intel technology, and for 14 inch models, those with the brand without hi will be based on AMD Ryzen.
Although the T series is, at least for this generation, maintaining 16: 9 aspect ratios, with several options for the 14 and 15 inch range including UHD monitors with Dolby Vision. Lenovo is also offering its PrivacyGuard monitors for extra security and some low-power options, depending on how you configure them.
ThinkPad T14s
Regarding performance, the laptop will offer up to Core i7 11th generation with vPro or AMD Ryzen 5000 Pro options. The memory will be up to 32 GB in the S model and up to 48 GB in the non-S model. Storage is up to 2 TB of PCIe storage, with Intel platforms supporting PCIe 4.0 speeds. The non-S model T14 and T15 also offers an optional NVIDIA GeForce MX450 with 2 GB of GDDR6, if extra graphics are required on Intel Iris Xe or AMD Vega 8.
As with much of the ThinkPad line, Lenovo is offering Wi-Fi 6, 6E and mobile features with 4G and 5G options. As with the ThinkPad X13 line, Lenovo will also offer FHD webcams with IR as optional updates.
Although the T14s is smaller and lighter than the T14, it does include a larger 57 Wh battery, compared to just 50 Wh on the larger model. The 15-inch T15 also has a 57 Wh battery.
The ThinkPad T14s is one of my favorite laptops and it is always nice to see it updated. The new models will be available from March and until May depending on the model, with prices starting at $ 1149 for the ThinkPad T14 AMD model.
ThinkPad P14s and P15s
Also receiving an update are some of the P Series mobile workstation models and, as with the other units, there will be both the 11th Generation Intel Core with vPro and the AMD Ryzen 5000 Pro CPU offerings.
The P14s and P15s will offer 8 GB or 16 GB of soldered memory, as well as an SO-DIMM slot, which will allow up to 48 GB of maximum memory in these thinner and lighter versions of P-series laptops. Lenovo is also offering NVIDIA T500, which is the class of workstation graphics based on the Turing MX450 and with 4 GB of VRAM.
Both P14s and P15s will offer FHD monitors as standard, with some options like ePrivacy or Low-Power, and both will offer an optional UHD monitor with HDR 400 and Dolby Vision HDR. UHD monitors will come with X-Rite color calibration.
For those who need a Linux version, Lenovo will offer installations of Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, as well as Red Had as factory options.
Wireless will be Intel Wi-Fi 6E for 6 GHz support thanks to Intel AX210 on Tiger Lake models, and AMD offerings will still support Wi-Fi 6, but without 6 GHz support.
Although some of the other ThinkPads are being offered with an FHD webcam, the P14s and P15s are not, at least for now. The latest webcam is physically larger and would require a more comprehensive overhaul of the chassis, but the HD webcam offers infrared if needed.
Intel-powered P14s and P15s will be available in March, starting at $ 1,389 for both, with AMD technology P14s arriving in May, and starting at $ 1,169.
ThinkPad L14 and L15
Completing the line is the cheapest way to get into a ThinkPad, and this is the L Series. Also being offered in a design based on L14 / 15 i Intel or L14 / 15 AMD, the less expensive offerings still offer some powerful options.
With 11th generation Intel Core with vPro and AMD Ryzen 5000, there will be two SODIMM slots, thanks to the thicker and heavier design, which means that the cheaper models here can be equipped with more RAM, up to 64 GB. There will be Intel Iris Xe or AMD Vega graphics, and buyers can also opt for NVIDIA GeForce MX 450.
One of the sad realities of an economical device is the screen, and the basic model comes with a 1366×768 TN (Yuck) panel. Fortunately, Lenovo offers FHD IPS offerings on both.
Storage is up to 1TB PCIe SSD or spinning hard drive up to 2TB, but you get Wi-Fi 6 across the range and optional cell options.
The L series is all about the starting price, and the new L14 and L15 will be available in May from $ 689.
Source: Lenovo