New product announcements from Lenovo are raining down on us this CES 2020 season. After announcing a couple of refreshed ThinkPads, its first eGPU, and a long list of monitors, Lenovo has centered the spotlight on its foldable ThinkPad concept from last year. The Chinese electronics manufacturer has also announced a ThinkBook laptop whose top cover is equipped with an e-ink touchscreen display. Apart from that, there are a couple of Yogas (one with 5G), a couple of Chromebooks, and even a tablet. Let’s take a closer look:
Lenovo gave us a quick look at its first foldable laptop in May last year but this is the first time it’s talking about specs and availability. The ThinkPad X1 Fold is essentially a single-screen tablet that folds in half to become a dual-screen laptop, giving the user the best of both worlds. The folding pOLED touchscreen panel from LG Display measures 13.3 inches diagonally and the multi-link hinge that runs along the spine of the device is made of lightweight alloys, including carbon fibre. The device is complemented by Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Fold Stand and Bluetooth Mini Fold Keyboard. According to Lenovo’s press release, the ThinkPad X1 Fold is expected to go on sale in mid-2020 for a starting price of $2,499 (Rs 1,80,150 approx).
Lenovo’s newest ThinkBook model incorporates a 10.8-inch e-ink touchscreen panel in the top cover, which, according to Lenovo, can show essential notifications, display reading material, and act as a touch-enabled scribble pad for quick note-taking. On the inside, there’s a conventional 13.3-inch Full HD screen and a full-size keyboard. The ThinkBook Plus is powered by Intel’s 10th Gen Core series CPUs and Intel Optane memory. It’s accompanied by the optional ThinkBook Plus Sleeve and ThinkBook Bluetooth Silent Mouse. According to Lenovo’s press release, the ThinkBook Plus is expected to go on sale from March this year for a starting price of $1,199 (Rs 86,435 approx).
Lenovo showcased its first 5G-enabled laptop at Computex in Taipei for the first time last year but now it’s releasing information regarding its availability. Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx 5G Compute Platform, the Yoga 5G is a convertible laptop with support for millimeter wave full-band and sub-6GHz 5G networks. Weighing in at 1.3 kilogrammes, it features a 14-inch Full HD IPS touchscreen panel with 400 nits of brightness. The laptop is also equipped with an IR webcam and an integrated fingerprint reader. According to Lenovo, its battery will last up to 24 hours. The Yoga 5G (Flex 5G in the US) is expected to go on sale later this year for a starting price of $1,499 (Rs 1,08,065 approx).
Available in 14-inch and 15.6-inch versions with either an AMD Ryzen processor or an Intel 10th Gen Core series CPU, Lenovo’s standard Yoga line is now updated with the company’s proprietary Q-Control cooling technology and an attention-sensing functionality called Glance by Mirametrix. In addition, its Smart Display technology masks content on the screen when the user isn’t looking at it. Some variants of the Yoga Slim 7 (IdeaPad 14 in the US) also get Amazon Alexa integration and Nvidia GeForce MX series graphics. The new Yoga line-up is expected to go on sale from April this year for a starting price of $849.99 (Rs 61,575 approx).
Lenovo’s new announcements are joined by two Chromebook models, namely the IdeaPad Duet Chromebook and IdeaPad Flex 5 Chromebook. The former is a hybrid device with a 10.1-inch Full HD touchscreen display, a detachable keyboard, and a claimed 10-hour battery life. The latter is a convertible laptop with a 13-inch Full HD IPS touchscreen panel. It’s powered by up to an Intel 10th Gen Core i5 CPU with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of solid-state storage. Available in Graphite Grey with a metal finish, it comes with Wi-Fi 6 and a claimed 10-hour battery life. Both models are expected to go on sale later in the year. According to the press release, the IdeaPad Duet Chromebook is expected to start at $279.99 (Rs 20,185 approx), and the IdeaPad Flex 5 Chromebook, at $359 (Rs 25,880).
Lenovo has a few more announcements, such as the second-generation Smart Tab M10 FHD Plus and the Smart Frame. The former is an Android-powered tablet with a 10.3-inch Full HD touchscreen panel with support for Ambient Mode. Accompanied by a handy charging station that doubles as a stand for the tablet, the Smart Tab M10 FHD Plus 2nd Gen is expected to go on sale later this year for a starting price of $189 (Rs 13,625 approx). The latter is a large 21.5-inch digital photo frame that can automatically curate your photo album with the help of a proprietary smartphone app. According to the press release, the Lenovo Smart Frame is expected to go on sale from August this year for a starting price of $399 (Rs 28,765 approx).