New Lenovo 2021 Laptop Models (Pepcom 2021)
Back to: Pepcom Digital Experience Main Page (Jan 2021)
Lenovo presented many new laptops from their Thinkpad line including:
- Thinkpad X1 Titanium Yoga
- X1 Carbon (5G)
- X1 Yoga
- X12 Detachable
- X1 Nano
They also introduced some really cool consumer products including the AIO 7 Yoga All-In-One desktop, Ideapad 5G, and the LaVie Mini for entertainment amd gaming.
Thinkpad X1 Titanium Yoga
The X1 Titanium Yoga is the thinnest Thinkpad ever launched (a bit thicker than half the width of a US quarter). Lenovo liken this model as the “detachable killer” – it’s as thin and portable as a detachable without the worry of keeping track of the keyboard.
A big design note is the hinge design – there’s no noticeable gap when the display and keyboard are folded out all the way. That’s a great design in theory, but what interests me in this is how it’ll dissipate heat. We’ll have to keep tabs on that. Aside from that, the 13.5” display has a new 16:10 ratio and is roughly the size of a sheet of paper. Titanium has been added to the top cover to keep it thin, but also rugged enough to handle MIL spec requirements.
For enhanced voice communication, Dolby Voice lets you adjust for your situation (e.g. a single voice (you) to a room full of people). An optional full sized magnetic pen is also available, and while there’s no slot being that the laptop is so thin, it does attach to the side magnetically.
Estimated availability: January 2021
Thinkpad X1 Carbon & X1 Yoga
Both the X1 Carbon and X1 Yoga have been redesigned with 16:10 display ratios without adding to weight or thickness. And for quick and simplified login, Lenovo have added a combined power/fingerprint reader to kill 2 birds with 1 stone.
The X1 Carbon has a 5G option. It’s a clever design with the 5G antenna placed in the hinge and the heat exhaust hidden behind that hinge to not have it exposed (I guess it looks prettier that way?) As always, I wonder how they take heat dissipation into consideration with this design. It comes with a good number of ports including: 2x USB-C, 2x USB-A, HDMI, and a mic/headphone jack. Weight is 2.5 lbs for easy portability.
The X1 Yoga is convertible with an aluminum chassis for good thermal management. Being made of aluminum, the traditional Thinkpad black has been turned (at least for this model) to gray.
Estimated availability: February 2021
Thinkpad X12 Detachable
Aptly named X12 for the 12.3” display, it’s got a detachable keyboard and is part of X series, though *not* a part of the X1 flagship line. It’s optimized for portability, but unlike most detachables, this one was designed with a good sized keyboard to keep it functional and to prevent hands from cramping.
The display has an adjustable kickstand on the back and a loop on the side to hold a smart pen.
Estimated availability: January 2021
Thinkpad X1 Nano
The ultraportable X1 Nano is super light weighing only 2 lbs, but comes with a 13” display with 2k resolution and a 16:10 ratio. It’s certified to be in line with the Intel Evo platform (11th gen Intel processor, Iris Xe graphics, lightweight, 9+ hour battery life on FHD display, WiFi 6, Thunderbolt 4, one second wake-from-sleep).
Small, but powerful with select configurations available now, more coming in the future.
Consumer products
Yoga AIO 7
As an All-In-One desktop PC to use at home, the Yoga AIO 7 saves space and offers a nice big 27” screen. Speaking of screens, this 4K display offers a super accurate 99% DCI-P3 color gamut (exceeds sRGB by ~25%). It also rotates easily into portrait mode for reading web content or writing documents and tilts 20 degrees backwards for viewing angles you can be comfortable with.
The innards are powered by AMD Ryzen 7 (up to 4800H processor) and Nvidia graphics (up to RTX 2060 gpu). For ports and UI, you have the power button and input controls on one side while the other has a headphone jack, USB-A and USB-C port. There’s more on the back: 4 x USB-A, ethernet and power port.
It’s got a contemporary design in gray, with a fabric covered JBL stereo speakers below the screen and a built-in mic so you can speak to Alexa. Bundled accessories include a wireless keyboard and mouse, and a detachable 5MP webcam.
And from what we understand, a future update will allow you to watch online shows directly, transforming the AIO 7 into a 4K smart tv.
Ideapad 5G
Forget the slow wi-fi connection, the Ideapad 5G, as per its namesake has 5G and 4G LTE connectivity. It’s an entirely fanless design using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx processor and Adreno 680 graphics, offering up to an astounding 20 hours of battery life with continuous video playback.
The display is 14” IPS FHD (1920×1080) with 300 nit brightness and 100% sRGB color gamut (a.k.a. a really nice screen.) Twin speakers are mounted on either side of the keyboard with Dolby audio, and for ports, you get a SIM slot, power port and a USB-A port on the right and 2 x USB-C ports and headphone/mic jack on the left. Memory type is LPDDRX4 for those of you that care (because the speed, man!) It weighs in at 2.6 lbs.
Tab P11
The Tab P11 is one of the few devices I’ve seen with a high megapixel camera. An 8MP front facing camera to be exact, and a “Smart Privacy” feature to blur the background for you packrats. The 2K display is an 11” IPS touchscreen with 400 nit brightness with a classy dual tone aluminum design on the back. There are 4 Dolby optimized speakers, 2 on each side.
Lots of optional accessories are available, including:
- Keyboard that attaches via magnets and pogo pins on bottom (no wireless pairing needed)
- Soft-cover fabric backing with built in magnetic kickstand
- Precision Pen 2 with 4096 sensitivity points (up to 200 hr battery life)
LaVie Mini
The LaVie Mini is a concept device designed jointly with NEC (no pricing or availability yet). It’s made for fun, entertainment and gaming with an 8” display and unique keyboard with rounded keys that has a retro typewriter look.
The hardware includes the latest 11th gen i7 Intel processors with Iris Xe graphics. Memory is 16GB of dual channel LPDDR4, 256GB SSD storage, and an 8” WUXGA (1920 x 1200) touchscreen that rotates 360 degrees and has an IR sensor above for Windows Hello.
Two notable accessories include:
- The docking station. You slide the LaVie straight in for charging and extra ports in the rear, including 2 x USB-C, 2 x USB-A and an HDMI port for 4K resolution @ 60fps. It functions nicely as a portable entertainment center.
- The gamepad controller. It has all the functions of a modern controller with analog thumbsticks, right and left trigger buttons and vibration.
Since the LaVie Mini has an 8” display, your hands will be wider apart than with your typical game controller. I didn’t see any pogo pins on it, so it might need BlueTooth pairing.
—
More Info: https://www.Lenovo.com
Event: Pepcom Digital Experience (Jan 2021)