It’s Mobile World Congress, and while there are lots of announcements, some are like clockwork. Once again, Lenovo is announcing a wide array of ThinkPads in Barcelona, including the ThinkPad X13s Gen 1, a new ThinkPad X1 Extreme, a ThinkPad T14, ThinkPad T14s, and even some new P-series laptops. There are also a couple of ThinkBooks.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13s
Perhaps the most interesting of the bunch is the new ThinkPad X13s, and the thing that makes it so interesting is that it’s the first ThinkPad to use a Snapdragon processor. And in fact, it’s the first PC to use Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3, a chipset that we’ve actually had a chance to test out.
XDA-Developers VIDEO OF THE DAYThat means that it’s going to get great battery life, which is up to 28 hours according to Lenovo. It also comes with optional 5G connectivity, and it will be one of few 5G laptops that actually supports mmWave as well as sub-6.
Lenovo ThinkPad X13s
Lenovo did say that it was waiting until the time was right to do this. While the company was quick to adopt Windows on ARM and it’s been on board with every generation, it wasn’t so quick to put a Snapdragon processor in a ThinkPad. But performance has come a very long way with the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3, and there aren’t as many compatibility issues now, since 64-bit apps can be emulated on ARM with Windows 11.
As for the rest of the laptop, it has a 13.3-inch 16:10 display, and it also gets a 5MP webcam. That comes with AI-based auto-framing and intelligent noise suppression, features that Qualcomm showed off at Snapdragon Summit in December.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13s is coming in May, starting at $1,099. It’s also going to arrive on AT&T and Verizon later this year.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5
Next up is the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5, which is the most powerful of Lenovo’s premium X1 class of ThinkPads. First of all, it’s got a bigger screen now. It’s now moving to a 16-inch 16:10 screen, with a 165Hz refresh rate. If you want to opt for a higher resolution, you can get the 4K panel that gets you 600-nit brightness.
That’s not all either. Remember, the X1 Extreme is all about power. It was born in an age when most of Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 laptops had 14-inch displays and U-series processors, so it was the first to use a 45W Intel processor. Now, it’s getting the obvious bump to Intel’s 12th generation, up to a Core i9 and with optional vPro.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5
Graphics are getting a bump too. Last generation was when Lenovo redesigned the product to allow for up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, so now you can get it with an RTX 3080 Ti. Lenovo does a lot with the cooling to make this possible, such as pulling in air through the space around the keys on the keyboard and using liquid metal thermal paste.
It also comes with DDR5 memory, which is new to Intel’s 12th-gen processors. That’s not a given though. With most generations, if a new CPU supports new memory, you can bet that that memory is in the product. That’s not the case with DDR5, which is still too cost-prohibitive to be ubiquitous. The good news is that it’s in the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 though.
The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 is coming in June, starting at $2,049.
The Lenovo ThinkPad T-series and P-series
The ThinkPad T-series is considered the workhorse of the lineup, and it’s also Lenovo’s bestselling ThinkPads. This year, the company is killing off the 15-inch model in favor of a new 16-inch model.
With the new ThinkPad T14 Gen 3, T14s Gen 3, and T16, you’ll get your choice of Intel 12th-gen processors and AMD Ryzen 6000 chips. With the 16-inch model, you’ll get H-series processors no matter which brand you choose.
Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 3
For display options, you get a 16:10 aspect ratio with 4K options, and there’s even a 2.8K OLED option on the T14s. Powering those graphics will be AMD Radeon 600M integrated graphics on the AMD variants, or if you go Intel, you can get NVIDIA MX550 or RTX 2050 graphics.
Other stuff has been improved too. The touchpads are larger, and they come with FHD webcams. Ultimately, it’s a pretty significant upgrade over the previous generation.
Lenovo also talked briefly about a new ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 and P16s Gen 1, which come with 12th-gen Intel processors, NVIDIA T550 graphics, and are ISV-certified.
The Intel-powered ThinkPad T14, T14s, and T16 are coming in April, June, and April, respectively, and they’ll start at $1,399, $1,529, and $1,419. The AMD-powered models are coming in June, May, and June, and start at $1,299, $1,399, and $1,299, respectively. Finally, the ThinkPad P14s and P16s are both coming in April, and both start at $1,419.
There are new ThinkBooks as well
Lenovo also introduced the ThinkBook 14s Yoga Gen 2 and the 13s Gen 4. They both include Intel’s 12th-gen processors with Iris Xe graphics, and FHD displays. Naturally, they have Thunderbolt 4 as well.
Lenovo ThinkBook 13s
The new ThinkBook 13s is boating being the thinnest ThinkBook, at 14.9mm, and it comes in Cloud Grey and Arctic Grey, because Lenovo really likes calling colors grey. It also comes with LPDDR5 memory and a 56WHr batter, which should get some good battery life.
Both the ThinkBook 14s Yoga Gen 2 and ThinkBook 13s Gen 4 are coming in April, starting at $849.