Lenovo updates ThinkPads with AMD Ryzen Pro 4000 mobile APUs

by Mark Tyson on 26 February 2020, 13:41

Tags: Lenovo (HKG:0992), AMD (NYSE:AMD)

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Lenovo has announced that its upcoming ThinkPad T series, X series and L series laptops and Yoga convertibles will be available with either AMD Ryzen PRO 4000 Mobile processors or, coming later in 2020, 10th Gen Intel Core vPro processors. The PC making goliath is the first to offer the AMD Ryzen Pro 4000 Mobile processors, it claims. A multitude of Lenovo ThinkPad T series, X series and L series models will become available from Q2 this year.

HEXUS reported upon the launch of the AMD Ryzen 4000 Series mobile processors at the start of 2020. At that time we learned of the initial lineup of the new 7nm Zen 2 CPU and Vega GPU based mobile APUs for consumer laptops. Furthermore, quite a few systems making partners like Acer, Asus, and MSI said they were going to ready laptops based on these APUs. At CES AMD promised the first such laptops would arrive in the current quarter with 100+ system designs available before 2020 is out.

The official AMD product pages currently don't include the new AMD Ryzen Pro 4000 Mobile processors but Lenovo is going to be using them in its upcoming ThinkPad T series, X series and L series laptops and Yoga convertibles. The Pro versions are usually closely related and similarly numbered to the consumer versions of these APUs. AMD makes these Ryzen Pro APU versions by adding features like enterprise-level security and manageability.

In addition to the new processors, Lenovo has implemented the following upgrades:

ThinkPad T series: Modern Standby, Wake on Voice, Dolby Audio Speaker System and brighter displays with optional Dolby Vision support feature. Furthermore users can enjoy WiFi 6 and optional CAT 16 WWAN connectivity.

ThinkPad X series: Both X13 and X13 Yoga can be configured with an FHD 500nit PrivacyGuard ePrivacy display with PrivacyAlert. The X13 Yoga includes Dolby Audio Speaker System and an option for a vivid UHD OLED display with Dolby Vision.

ThinkPad L series: these machines are "thinner and lighter across the board," claims Lenovo. WiFi 6 and optional CAT 16 WWAN connectivity feature. Dolby Audio and brighter optional on-cell touch displays offer improved portable experiences. The ThinkPad L14 and L15 offer rapid-access unified communications functions to make it easy to join or leave meetings.

All the new and refreshed models look set for a Q2 2020 release as bullet pointed below.

  • ThinkPad T14 will be available from 2Q 2020, with an expected starting price of $849.
  • ThinkPad T14s will be available from 2Q 2020, with an expected starting price of $ 1029.
  • ThinkPad T15 will be available from 2Q 2020, with an expected starting price of $ 1079.
  • ThinkPad X13 will be available from 2Q 2020, with an expected starting price of $ 849.
  • ThinkPad X13 Yoga will be available from 2Q 2020, with an expected starting price of $ 1099.
  • ThinkPad L13 will be available from 2Q 2020, with an expected starting price of $ 679.
  • ThinkPad L13 Yoga will be available from 2Q 2020, with an expected starting price of $ 799.
  • ThinkPad L14 will be available from 2Q 2020, with an expected starting price of $ 649.
  • ThinkPad L15 will be available from 2Q 2020, with an expected starting price of $ 649.

HEXUS Forums :: 10 Comments

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Posted by KultiVator - Wed 26 Feb 2020 16:07
Thinkpad build quality with added Ryzen Zen2 goodness should make for some nice devices.
Posted by philehidiot - Wed 26 Feb 2020 16:50
Just a warning. I bought my mum an exceptionally bargainous Lenovo flippy over laptop model like shown above. It was probably the worst tech purchase I've made in the last 20 years. The build is terrible with screws falling out at random and the keyboard has intermittent faults where it fails to register presses on some keys occasionally. The case occasionally parts and needs clipping back together (PCB visible) from the stress of opening and closing due to the awful hinge mechanism. The system itself is very slow for the specification and I've often considered ending the misery but it's not worth potentially scratching the window frame if it doesn't sail cleanly through.

Maybe the Thinkpad range will be better but the hinge mechanism looks almost identical. That the screws don't have a tiny bit of Locktite on like the HPs I've taken apart (last HP laptop I opened up was beautiful inside, amazingly) is just daft and really, I would have rejected that laptop and taken it back but my mum insists on keeping it. Frustratingly, it has a touchscreen which she has got used to and I can't find anything in her kind of budget for a touchscreen laptop with an SSD.

EDIT: It was bargainous due to being end of line methinks, rather than it being a cheapo model.
Posted by KultiVator - Wed 26 Feb 2020 18:56
philehidiot
The build is terrible with screws falling out at random and the keyboard has intermittent faults where it fails to register presses on some keys occasionally.

Surprised to hear this - the ThinkPads I've had over the years (as work devices) have all been really solid, with really excellent keyboards - both when they were made by IBM and after the brand/tech was sold on to Lenovo.

Perhaps some corners have been cut in recent times, on certain model ranges?
Posted by Tabbykatze - Wed 26 Feb 2020 19:19
The X1 ranges had some dubious design choices that were a strong departure from the rugged toughness of the T4xx range and the X2xx range but the more recent Thinkpads seem to have returned to the high build quality levels.

Interested in seeing this new range in action!
Posted by philehidiot - Thu 27 Feb 2020 11:29
KultiVator
Surprised to hear this - the ThinkPads I've had over the years (as work devices) have all been really solid, with really excellent keyboards - both when they were made by IBM and after the brand/tech was sold on to Lenovo.

Perhaps some corners have been cut in recent times, on certain model ranges?

The one I got her was not a Thinkpad, but the design is very similar to what is in those pictures. I kind of hope that hers was some kind of experimental thing which was released to gather data and has been refined before using the same kind of screen design on the Thinkpad range.

I have been told, although not confirmed myself, that the Thinkpads of new are nothing like the Thinkpads of old and are of substantially poorer construction. I was very tempted to get an old Amazon refurbished Thinkpad but was put off by this.

The problem is, whilst I'd love a rugged, functional laptop, I really do like the usability of my old MacBook Air. It's a 2011 model and still works just fine, despite being obsolete. The issue is Apple treated me like something scraped off their shoe when I had a PSU issue and I had to buy a replacement (third party, obviously) even though I had their extended warranty. That makes spending a grand on one of their laptops a huge risk as they simply do not comply with their consumer rights obligations.

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