Lenovo's New ThinkPad X1 And IdeaPad Pair Windows Copilot With Intel's Latest CPUs
On Thursday, notebook computer powerhouse Lenovo announced its latest product lineup, providing a taste of what the company will showcase at January 2024's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Featuring Intel's latest Core Ultra processors, Lenovo is hyping the new SKUs as featuring "dedicated AI acceleration support" that should help with, among other things, Windows Copilot. According to Lenovo's announcement, the new Intel chips know when to shift computational tasks away from the CPU to the GPU or NPU (neural processing unit) when they would handle the tasks more efficiently, potentially increasing battery life.
"With Copilot in Windows, the things users do every day are made easier, faster, and more effortless," reads the Lenovo press release. "New features will help summarize web pages, compose an email, change settings, and enable new experiences in apps including Paint, Snipping Tool, and more."
Lenovo also announced, among other things, new cloud computing solutions and new accessibility features on its laptops. With the latter, Lenovo has added tactile markings to several keys that are important to visually impaired users and often next to similarly sized keys, hoping to reduce user error. Specifically, the new markings will be on the volume up/down, Insert, Function/Fn, and Enter keys.
With all of this in mind, as well as some new accessories that were unveiled, let's take a look at each new product that Lenovo has announced and what makes each of them tick.
Thinkpad X1 series
Lenovo announced two different ThinkPad refreshes on Thursday: The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 laptop ($2,989 and up), which launches "in limited configurations starting December 2023" before being released more widely in March 2024, and the ThinkPad X1 Yoga/2-in-1 Gen 9 ($2,639 and up) which also drops in March. Going by the spec sheet supplied by Lenovo, the two models are largely identical, with Yoga's touchscreen/tablet features being the differentiation. The listed specs are as follows:
- Latest Intel Core Ultra CPU.
- Up to 64GB of LPDDR5X RAM.
- Up to 2TB of Gen 4 PCIe NVMe solid-state storage
- GPU options up to Intel Arc.
- Display options include up to 120Hz refresh rate, 2.8K resolution, OLED touch screen, 400nit brightness, and HDR500 True Black.
- 57 Whr battery.
- Four USB ports, split evenly between USB Type-C at Thunderbolt 4 speeds and USB Type-A at 5Gbps.
- Dolby Atmos audio with Dolby Voice.
- Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 network connectivity.
- Mobile internet connectivity that Lenovo confusingly describes as "5G sub-6 (CAT20), 4G LTE (CAT16), 4G LTE (CAT4) for China market eSIM and Nano SIM ready."
IdeaPad Pro 5i
Lenovo also announced the newest IdeaPad, the IdeaPad Pro 5i, referred to as "the world's first consumer Intel Evo Edition laptop powered by Intel Core Ultra processors." For the uninitiated, the Intel Evo branding is there to signify high-performance laptops, with the minimum requirements including an 11th-generation Inter Core CPU (we're now on gen 13), 8GB RAM, a fast SSD for storage, fast charging capable of offering four hours of battery life after a 30-minute charge, Wi-Fi 6 or better networking, and at least one USB Type-C port with Thunderbolt 4 speeds. Specific to the new IdeaPad Pro 5i, Lenovo describes it as "providing faster AI-powered photo creation and editing, quicker video export, and speedier multitasking thanks to Intel AI." Spec-wise, the 5i offers up:
- CPU options up to Intel Core Ultra 9.
- Up to 32 GB of LPDDR5X RAM.
- Up to 1TB Gen 4 PCIe NVMe SSD for storage.
- Integrated graphics up to Intel Arc and discrete graphics up to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU.
- A 16-inch OLED display with both 2K (with 400nit brightness) and 2.5K (with 350nit brightness) resolution options,120Hz refresh rate, and both TÜV Low Blue Light and TÜV Eyesafe Display certification.
- Dolby Atmos audio via a pair of 2W speakers.
- 84Whr battery.
- Three USB ports are divided up into one Type C/Thunderbolt 4 and a pair of Type-A at USB 3.2 speeds.
- Wi-Fi 6E networking and Bluetooth 5.2.
The IdeaPad Pro 5i is available now, with price points starting at $1,149.99.
ThinkVision 27 3D Monitor
Lenovo's announcements also included a new display, the ThinkVision 27 3D Monitor. The glasses-free 3D experience and its 2D to 3D conversion feature are powered by the monitor having its own built-in 3D rendering engine, which Lenovo touts in its press release as "elevat[ing] productivity by reducing the need for additional equipment and computing power." With the 27-inch monitor projecting two images at the user and built-in eye tracking, Lenovo says that it provides "a natural 3D viewing experience."
According to the spec sheet provided by Lenovo, the panel in the monitor is of the IPS 3-side NearEdgeless variety with 4K resolution in 2D mode and 1920x2160 resolution in 3D mode. It boasts 310 nits of brightness, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, a 60Hz refresh rate, and factory color calibration. Connectivity-wise, the monitor features a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort input with a USB Type-C connector, and an RJ45 audio out jack. The USB Type-C connector supports "up to 100W" of USB Power delivery.
The monitor will be available in February 2024 at $2,999.
Other accessories
Lenovo also announced a pair of new smaller accessories on Thursday. Up first is the Lenovo USB-C Dual Display Travel Dock, a USB Type-C hub that can charge laptops and fuel external displays. Available in March 2024 for $109.99, the dock can support two 4K monitors at a time — one via HDMI and one via DisplayPort — and is touted by Lenovo as being "built using 66% Post-Consumer Recycled Content8 (PCC) in the exterior and plastic-free packaging."
Also announced was the Lenovo Wireless VoIP Headset, which is exactly what it sounds like and features the Certified for Microsoft Teams seal of approval. The Bluetooth headset's spec sheet touts it as having 40 hours of battery life for listening to music, 30 hours of talk time, and a two-hour charging time from 0% to 100%. It also features replaceable ear pads, multipoint Bluetooth connectivity for using the headset with two devices at once, and hardware buttons for launching Teams, power/pairing, volume, call answer/end/reject/hold/switch, and mute/unmute, plus support for flipping the boom mic to mute. The headset hits stores in April 2024 for $99.99.