Lenovo has unveiled a bevy of new ThinkPad and IdeaPad notebooks designed to help businesses retain employees in a tight labor market by distributing stylish, portable PCs with eco-friendly features.
The hardware maker introduced the new products on the eve of this year’s Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona. All of them, the company says, reflect a belief that the best way to reduce workforce churn at a time of low unemployment is to make hybrid work styles and sustainability priorities in laptop selection.
“Lenovo’s latest ThinkPad laptops demonstrate human-centric innovations that are core to driving positive employee experiences, introducing and improving on features that encourage new ways of hybrid working more efficiently and nurture purposeful thinking all while making significant efforts to create more sustainable products,” the vendor said in a media statement.
Included among the new products are the ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2 and ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2, refreshed editions of products that joined the ThinkPad family for the first time last year. They feature AMD Ryzen 7000 Series processors with AMD Radeon 700M Series graphics that according to Lenovo deliver up to 15% better CPU performance and up to 30% better integrated graphics performance than earlier models.
Both units, which can be configured with up to 64GB of dual channel memory and up to 2TB of PCIe solid-state storage, offer haptic touchpads and a customizable “Quick Menu” that users can open by double-tapping the device’s TrackPoint pointer.
The 13.3-inch Z13, which weighs 2.63 lbs., will ship in July at prices expected to start at $1,249. The 16-inch Z16, which weighs in at a heftier 3.99 lbs., will arrive in August at prices expected to start at $1,749.
The new ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 and convertible ThinkPad X13 Yoga Gen 4, which Lenovo says are complete redesigns of their predecessors, feature narrower bezels, user-facing Dolby Audio speakers, and an optional 5MP infrared camera. The X13 Gen 4 offers an also optional 13.3-inch 2.8K OLED display that is Dolby Vision enabled and features Eyesafe Certified Natural Low Blue Light technology to reduce eye strain.
Both units run on 13th Generation Intel Core processors with Intel vPro and Intel Iris Xe graphics. X13 Gen 4 buyers can choose AMD Ryzen 7000 Series processors with AMD Radeon 700M Series graphics instead. The systems are scheduled to arrive in May at prices expected to start at $1,099 for the X13 Gen 4 and $1,379 for the X13 Yoga Gen 4.
Two new 13.3-inch L series notebooks, the ThinkPad L13 Gen 4 and L13 Yoga Gen 4, are designed to balance portability and affordability. The former device, which weighs 2.78 lbs., is expected to cost $869 when it ships in April. The latter device, also due in April, weighs 2.9 lbs. and will sell for an expected $1,099.
The larger ThinkPad L14 Gen 4 and L15 Gen 4 come with up to 2TB of SSD storage, twice the capacity of earlier generations. They will arrive in April at prices expected to begin at $869.
New additions to the workhorse ThinkPad T series include the T14 Gen 4, T14s Gen 4, and T16 Gen 2, which offer an optional 5MP infrared camera and a range of low blue light display options, including a 2.8k OLED panel. All three products will arrive in May. Pricing for the T14s is expected to start at $1,239, versus $1,479 for the T14 and $1,269 for the T16.
Like Lenovo’s ThinkBook line, two new E series ThinkPads, the E14 Gen 5 and E16 Gen 1, are aimed at SMBs. Both units feature a 16:10 aspect ratio on displays with screen-to-body ratios in excess of 90%. They run either on 13th Gen Intel Core processors or AMD Ryzen 7000 Series processors with AMD Radeon 610M graphics, and are equipped with up to 40GB of memory, dual SSD storage offering up to 2TB of capacity, and optional support for Wi-Fi 6E. Prices will begin at $739 for the E14 Gen 5 and $759 for the E16 Gen 5 when they ship in May.
The 14-inch IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook, part of a product family meant for consumers, runs on MediaTek Kompanio 500 Series processors. It weighs 2.9 lbs., offers up to 13.5 hours of battery life, and is available with an FHD IPS touchscreen. Due in May, it is expected to sell for $340 and up.
Like earlier systems, the latest ThinkPads and IdeaPads reflect Lenovo’s increasing use of recycled materials and post-consumer content plastic in select components, as well as the company’s plan to phase out plastic packaging this year.
The ThinkPad Z13 is also available with a top cover made from Flax Fiber, a “bio-based” material made from the waste left over after flax seeds are harvested and processed.
Lenovo has pledged to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. It’s optional CO2 Offset program, which helps environmentally-conscious businesses meet ESG targets by compensating for the global warming effects of new Think PCs, has offset over 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide to date, the company says. That’s roughly the volume of greenhouse gases produced by 215,000 vehicles in a year, it adds.
