Why You Can Trust CNET Lenovo's $2,499 foldable ThinkPad is ready for preorder, joined by its lightest X1 laptop ever
The ThinkBook line also got some new entries, including one with integrated wireless earbuds so you're always ready for your next Zoom meeting.
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The ThinkPad X1 Fold was a highlight of CES 2020.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold is the future of the PC market. Or not. It really all depends on where you fall on the value of foldable displays. Having a 13.3-inch OLED tablet PC that folds in half is ostensibly cool, as is the option to use it as dual, 9.6-inch screens. You can fold it a little to read it like a book or bend it a bit more so that you're typing on half and working on the other. It's a giant notepad as well as a powerful Windows 10 Pro laptop with Wi-Fi 6 and optional 5G. And it's available for preorder now for $2,499, which is about £1,900 or AU$3,600, converted.
The X1 Fold's accessories are available to preorder, too, and those are really what makes it more interesting than simply a tablet that folds in half. There's the Mod Pen that lets you draw, take notes and sign documents on the Fold. Then there's the Easel Stand that attaches to the back so you can stand the X1 Fold horizontally or vertically. But the Bluetooth Mini Fold Keyboard is probably the most interesting since it stores and charges when set on top of (or inside of) the X1 Fold.
The X1 Nano is the PC maker's lightest ThinkPad ever.
Along with the X1 Fold preorder announcement, Lenovo unveiled its lightest ThinkPad ever, the X1 Nano. Starting at $1,399 (£1,090 or AU$1,978, converted) and available before the end of the year, the 13-inch laptop weighs 1.99 pounds (907 grams) and is built around an 11th-gen Intel Core processor and Iris Xe graphics. It's part of Intel's Evo platform that's a guarantee of sorts that you'll get the best possible mobile experience. Other features include:
- Dolby Vision-enabled, 2K-resolution display with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 100% sRGB color gamut
- Updated suite of AI and biometric security and privacy including voice recognition and presence detection
- Window 10 Pro or Ubuntu Linux OS
- Wi-Fi 6 and optional 5G wireless
- Thunderbolt 4, quad speakers and 360-degree mics
Joining the X1 Nano is a fleet of ThinkBooks covering all kinds of user types. The ThinkBook 13s Gen 2 i with optional 2,560x1,600-resolution display, for instance, seems ideal for anyone who needs a small laptop to work anywhere at anytime. Also part of Intel's Evo platform, the 13.3-inch laptop weighs only 1.3 kilograms (2.8 pounds) but promises all-day battery life, fast charging, instant wake when you lift the lid and Thunderbolt 4 connectivity. It'll also be available with AMD Ryzen 4000 series processors.
No, it's not a optical drive. It's a Versa Bay with wireless earbuds.
The ThinkBook 14s Yoga i, the company's first two-in-one ThinkBook, has the same general features of the ThinkBook 13s but with 360-degree hinges attached to its 14-inch full-HD touchscreen with active pen support. But probably the most interesting model is the ThinkBook 15 Gen 2 i. The 15.6-inch laptop is available with a pair of Bluetooth earbuds stored in the built-in Versa Bay offering up to 2 hours of battery life at 70% volume, Lenovo says. Like the others, the ThinkBook 15 will be available with 11th-gen Intel Core processors, but an Nvidia MX450 discrete graphics chip is also an option and AMD processors.
The new ThinkBook models arrive in October and November starting as low as $549.
