Lenovo has an absolute ton of devices coming this spring, and of particular note are the company’s new Windows laptops and Chromebooks. The company just took the wraps off its first AMD Ryzen-based IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon, along with an update to the Chromebook Duet, which was one of the more popular Chrome OS devices to sell out at the start of the pandemic. And for those wondering who is still selling Android tablets, Lenovo has a new one that promises enticing specs — perhaps powerful enough to woo you away from Apple’s iPad.
Ryzen IdeaPads
Let’s just jump right in. The IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon is 14.9mm thin and weighs less than three pounds. It has a 14-inch quad-HD display with a 90Hz refresh rate and a maximum brightness of 400 nits. The IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon includes a 61Wh battery, and there are vents on the side to help dissipate heat when the laptop is resting on a table.
Inside, the IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon is available with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U mobile processor and up to 16GB of RAM. The Carbon variants of Lenovo’s laptops are typically more durable and lightweight due to their aluminium build, and when I saw the laptop in person, it was indeed quite light — I didn’t feel much strain holding it with one hand. The IdeaPad Slim 7 Carbon starts at $1,699 and will be on sale in October. It will ship with Windows 11 right out of the box.
The IdeaPad Slim 7 Pro is the other Ryzen-based Windows laptop announced alongside the Carbon. It’s tuned for content creators and pros, and as a result, offers a larger 16-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Inside, it’s available with up to the same AMD Ryzen 7 5800U mobile processor as the Carbon, as well as up to 16GB of RAM. It has a larger 75Wh battery to accommodate the higher refresh rate and will ship with Windows 11 out of the box. The IdeaPad Slim 7 Pro starts at $US1,450 ($1,961) and will also be available in October 2021.
Chromebook Duet 5
Lenovo is refreshing the Chromebook Duet with upgraded specs and a more refined look. The Duet 5 Chromebook runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 processor with up to 8GB of RAM. This Chromebook is best suited for school-from-home, or perhaps even WFH, depending on how much power you need.
The Duet 5 Chromebook resembles a traditional laptop, with a 13.3-inch full-HD OLED display, though you can convert it to a tablet as you need. There’s a comfortable keyboard included. It’s available with up to 256GB of storage, which should be enough if you’re truly planning to take advantage of Chrome’s cloud storage. There’s also a 42Wh battery on the inside with rapid-charging technology and both a front-facing 5-MP camera and a rear-facing 8-MP camera for video chatting. There are a limited number of ports, however, with only two USB-C slots available. You’ll want to invest in an adaptor to add peripherals or connect the Chromebook to a monitor.
The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 starts at $799 and will be available in October.
Tab P12 Pro
For those asking about the manufacturers still producing Android tablets, look no further than Lenovo. Lenovo announced the Tab P12 Pro, a successor to the P11 Pro, though it’s not necessarily a replacement.
This tablet is a whopper of a device. It has a 12.6-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 600 nits of brightness. It’s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 processor and is available with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage.
The tablet has both facial recognition and a fingerprint reader embedded into the power button. There’s a front-facing 8-MP and dual rear-facing cameras, including a 5-MP wide-angle camera and a 13-MP autofocus camera. The Tab P12 Pro also features quad JBL speakers and Dolby Atmos to make it more of a home entertainment device.
For stylus users, the Tab P12 Pro comes with the Lenovo Precision Pen 3, and there’s an optional keyboard available. There’s even a handy silicone case on the back of the folio cover to bring the pen along without worrying about losing it.
The Tab P12 Pro will cost $US610 ($825) and will be available in October. It will launch with Android 11 out of the box.
Editor’s Note: Local Australian pricing for the Tab P12 Pro and IdeaPad Slim 7 Pro is yet to be determined.