Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 and Z16 pair AMD Ryzen with extra green-cred
Lenovo's ThinkPad line is expanding, with CES 2022 bringing the ThinkPad Z13 and Z16 in an attempt to coax newbies to the series into adding the Windows laptops to their bag. Along with the familiar ThinkPad features like the TrackPoint nubbin and ever-popular keyboard, the Z Series is also Lenovo's first ThinkPad range to lean into sustainable materials.
In the case of the Arctic Grey and Black models, for example, Lenovo has used recycled aluminum for the casing. There's also recycled black vegan leather, while the AC power adapter is made from 90-percent post-consumer content. The packaging, meanwhile, uses 100-percent recyclable and compostable bamboo and sugarcane.
Despite all that, there's been no real compromise on the styling or design. Lenovo has used polished edges for the casing, while the keyboard has an edge-to-edge design and the palm-rest is all glass. It integrates a 120mm "haptic force pad" touchpad with integrated TrackPoint buttons. You can also double-tap the TrackPoint to summon a Communication QuickMenu, which has options for the most frequently-tweaked camera and microphone settings.
Also new is the Communications Bar. That has a Full HD webcam – using a 1.4um sensor, larger than in previous ThinkPad models, and offering an electronic e-Shutter for privacy – and a dual-array microphone. It's atop a screen with narrower bezels, too. The ThinkPad Z13 has a 13.3-inch 16:10 screen with a 91.6% screen to body ratio, while the ThinkPad Z16 has a 16-inch display with a 92% screen to body ratio.
The smaller notebook can be equipped with a 2.9K OLED touchscreen, while the larger can have a 4K OLED instead. Both support Dolby Vision and low blue light output. For audio, there's Dolby Atmos speakers and Dolby Voice AI noise cancellation.
Inside, the ThinkPad Z13 gets a next-gen AMD Ryzen PRO U-Series processor, with integrated AMD Radeon graphics and Microsoft Pluton security co-processor. Lenovo will also offer a configuration using an exclusive, U-Series R7z for those who want more performance. Memory is up to 32GB of LPDDR5, while storage is up to 1TB of PCIe Gen 4 SSD.
Ports for the 13-inch model include two USB-C (USB 4.0) and an audio jack. There's also WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, and the option of 4G LTE Cat 16 baked-in.
The ThinkPad Z16, meanwhile, uses next-gen AMD Ryzen PRO H-Series processors, with a choice of either integrated or discrete AMD Radeon graphics. The Microsoft Pluton is also standard. With Smart Shift technology, the laptop can adjust the CPU, APU, and GPU on-demand to balance battery life and performance depending on the current workload.
The 16-inch laptop has up to 32GB of LPDDR5 memory and up to 2TB of PCIe Gen 4 SSD storage. Ports include three USB-C (USB 4.0), an SD card reader, and an audio jack; there's also the same WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, and integrated LTE options as in the smaller model.
As you'd expect, there's MIL-Spec 810H compliant construction, and all of the normal security features, including a match-on-chip fingerprint sensor built into the keyboard.
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 will be priced from $1,549, while the ThinkPad Z16 will be priced from $2,099. Both are expected to go on sale from May 2022.