At CES 2024, the keyword is AI and Lenovo is using it across most of its product reveals this year and that includes its ThinkBook laptops, ThinkCentre desktops, ThinkBook Plus hybrid tablet PCs, and new beefed up Magic Bay Studio webcam.
ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid
Moments ago, Lenovo took the wraps off its 2024 ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid tablet pc which mimics the Microsoft Surface style detachable computing experience. The ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid can go from tablet to laptop with the use of an attachable keyboard, but unlike Microsoft’s Surface Pro Type Cover, Lenovo opted for a thicker and more ridged keyboard construction more akin to the Surface Book. The Gen 5 Hybrid keyboard is built like a standard laptop keyboard referred to in marketing material as the Hybrid Station.
Bigger than its physical transformation is the Gen 5’s Hybrid’s ability to transition between Android and Windows 11 based on its being attached to the keyboard. In its tablet orientation, the Plus Gen 5 defaults to running Android and when connected to its Hybrid Station converts to Windows 11.
Lenovo forces the transition between Android and Windows through its Hybrid Stream technology that enables streaming of Android applications in Picture-in-Picture windows with low latency.
Powering this sort of flexibility will be Intel’s latest Core Ultra processors paired with integrated Intel Arc graphics mixed with Qualcomm chipset support.
The Gen 5 Hybrid will have a 14-inch, 2.8K OLED display with touch and pen support as well as a DCI-P3 of 100%. When in Hybrid Tablet mode, the Gen 5 will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ chip paired with Android 13 out of the box and support 12GBs of memory as well as 256GBs of UFS3.1 storage.
When attached to the Hybrid Station, the Gen 5 Hybrid will be powered by Intel’s Core Ultra 7 processor, Windows 11, 32GB of memory, 1TB of SSD, and Intel’s Arc GPU.
The base tablet comes with a 38Whr battery and gets a boost to 75Whr’s with a 100W power adapter.
Customers will be able to bio authentic on the device both using IR Camera and with a fingerprint reader on the Hybrid Station. Bluetooth standards are different in tablet and Hybrid Station modes with the flexible tablet experience getting support for Bluetooth 5.3 and attached bumped down to 5.2.
The Gen 5 also gets a bit of heft attached to it with the Hybrid Station locked, going from 785g in tablet mode to 970g in full desktop mode.
Lenovo ThinkBook 13x, 14, 16p and Graphics Extension
The Lenovo ThinkBook lineup features Intel’s 14th Gen Core Ultra Processors with dedicated NPUs for artificially intelligent enabled features as well as machine learning camera and audio presets with pre-generative models baked into Windows 11.
The ThinkBook 13x will come with a 13.5-inch Ultra-Narrow Bezel display and finally adopt Microsoft’s long held 3:2 aspect ratio for a taller display to view more vertical internet content such as website and social media apps. The 13x display will support 120Hz refresh rates, 500 nits of brightness, HDR400, 100% sRGB, Dolby Vision and TUV Low Blue Light technology.
Harman Kardon will be back for another round of audio support on a 4-speaker set up with support for Dolby Atmos.
Sadly, Lenovo hasn’t really upgraded its webcam situation for the 13x with support for only an FHD resolution.
Under the hood, the 13x will come with configurations that support up to 32GB of memory, up to 2TB Gen 4 PCIe SSD storage and intel’s Arc GPUs.
The ThinkBook 13x will support up to 3 USB-C Thunderbolt ports and single 3.5mm audio jack as far as connectivity is concerned. and a 74Whr battery will power the whole thing.
Moving on to the slightly bigger brother of the 13x is the 14 Gen 6+ that hosts the same internals as its smaller counterpart but differing in screen specs.
The 14 Gen 6+ bumps its screen up to 14.5-inch, 120Hz, 3K resolution IPS panel with 400 nits of brightness and Dolby Vision support on the higher configuration models. There are options for a 2.5K screen at 90Hz with 350 nits of brightness or an odd 2.59K, 90Hz OLED model.
The ThinkBook 16p Gen 5 moves out of the Intel Core Ultra space and into Core i9 Gen 14 territory with support of up to 64GB of memory configured in 32GB by 32BG memory slot arrangements, and dual SSD slots offering up to a whopping 4TB of Gen 4 PCIe SSD storage.
An NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 GPU will be onboard underneath a 16-inch, 3.2K, 165Hz resolution screen that can get up to four hundred nits of brightness. An 80Whr battery will power the ThinkBook 16 Gen 5 this time around adding to its slight increase in weight which is now up to 2.2kg or 4.85lbs.
Lenovo Magic Bay Studio
Lenovo is leaning into its AI-driven technology developments with its new dedicated webcam, the Lenovo Magic Bay Studio. The new attachable webcam from Lenovo is said to deliver “cutting-edge 4K camera technology.” Lenovo will make use of AI to engineer a higher quality image for users as well as deliver a handful of convenient features for a better conference call or streaming experience.
This AI-driven technology places a strong emphasis on clarity, sharpness, and
Lenovo
color accuracy, redefining the standard for professional video conferencing. Users can rely on this camera’s advanced
features, empowered by AI, for outstanding visual experiences.
Magic Bay Studio also achieves audio excellence through synchronized audio functionality, particularly impressive
when combined with selected ThinkBook laptops. Meticulous engineering fine-tunes the audio components, delivering
rich, clear, and immersive sound. This superior audio quality enhances virtual meetings, webinars, and multimedia
content consumption, setting new standards for audio precision.
For now, the Lenovo Magic Bay Studio is only available to pair with the ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 and the ThinkBook 16p Gen 5 due to pogo pin connectivity support only being on those two devices.
ThinkCentre Desktops
For the stationary computer geek, Lenovo is extending its NPU complements to the ThinkCentre lineup with upgrades to the Neo Ultra, Neo 50a 27, and Neo 50a 24.
While the Neo 50’s are Lenovo’s All-in-One computing devices, the Neo Ultra is the company’s most powerful NUC available. The Neo Ultra is a 3.6L sized cube that packs an Intel Core i9 processor utilizing Intel vPro Enterprise technology as well as support for NVIDIA’s GeForceRTX 4060 GPUs.
Lenovo is also future proofing the Ultra with a replaceable independent NPU card, support for 64GB of RAM, up to 4TB of storage, and a bevy of connectivity options that include 6 Type-A slots, 2 full HDMI 2.1 ports and one that supports dGPU, 3 DP 1.4 slots, 2 flex areas for VGA/DP/HMDI/Type-C/ Serial/LAN ports, a Type-C and audio combo connections. Wi-Fi support on the ThinkCentre is also boosted to Wi-Fi 7 support as well.
The tiny ThinkCentre box weighs 3.25kg or 7.7lbs.
The all-in-one ThinkCentres are a bit more modest of upgrades with Intel Core i7 processors, capped at 32GB of memory support and 1TB of SSD storage. as the names would imply, the 50a 27 is the 27-inch offering with a 16:9 aspect ratio on a FHD panel with support of 100Hz refresh rate and 300 nits of brightness.
The 50a 24 is the 23.8-inch offering with is similar FHD resolution screen on a 16:9 aspect ratio with lower peak brightness at 250 nits but retains the 100Hz refresh rare panel.
All ThinkBook hardware will be available after Q2 2024, however, the ThinkBook 13x, ThinkBook 16p, and Magic Bay could be on shelves as early as Q1 or April of 2024.
The ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 has an expected starting price of $1,999, the 13x will start at $1,399, the 14i Gen 6+ at a hefty $2,199, the Neo Ultra will start at $1,499, the 50a 24 at $799 and the 50a at $899 respectively. The 16p at $1,599 and the Magic Bay Studio accessory at $199.99.
