MWC Barcelona 2022: Lenovo Drops Slew Of New Devices On First Day

Lenovo followed a blockbuster quarter with a new arsenal aimed at consumers and businesses.

Lenovo on Monday announced a new product lineup to be showcased at Mobile World Congress, showing off a mix of consumer and business devices that focus on lightweight options with bigger specs.

Hot on the heels of its latest quarterly earnings showing record sales (its first $20 billion-plus quarter), the Hong Kong-based PC giant flexed with a parade of new feature-packed offerings. The new line-up includes 2-in-1 convertibles, detachable laptops, tablets, new business machines, student/gamer-baiting laptops and more.

In a recent exclusive CRN interview, Lenovo North American President Vladimir Rozanovich discussed the company’s commitment new technologies and product development. He said Lenovo has already re-invested about $2 billion into research and development. “The thing that really comes into factor with R&D dollars is making sure that we’re looking at where that next innovation is coming from,” he said.

Rozanovich said the company believes the market will remain strong, with 2022 PC sales expected to hover at 350 million units. In 2021, market researcher IDC said PC sales totaled a record 348.8 million units, up 14.8 percent year-over-year. That was the highest sales total since 2012.

CRN takes a look at Lenovo’s top MWC releases.

Ideapads, Convertibles And A New Tablet

With the IdeaPad Flex 5i, Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5, and IdeaPad Duet 5i Lenovo brings the focus to consumer-level computing without the bulk, offering lightweight designs that still pack plenty of punch. The IdeaPad Flex convertible laptops offer 14- and 16-inch interactive screens with an optional Lenovo E-color pen. The Duet 5i is squarely aimed at students, as a detachable laptop with Windows 11.

Chromebooks have proven a popular pandemic seller for schools and businesses and Lenovo made sure to add to their lineup with the IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook, the 2-in-1 IdeaPad Flex 3i Chromebook, and the Duet 3 Chromebook. Lenovo rounded out their entry-level offerings with the Lenovo Tab M10 Pluce3, an Android-based tablet that supports the Lenovo Precision Pen 2.

Pricing for the Chromebooks start at $399.99. Availability expected May 2022.

Pricing for the IdeaPad Flex models range from $619.99-$899.99 depending on options. These models should be available starting in May 2022.

Pricing for the IdeaPad Duet 5i with bundled keyboard folio will start at $749.99 and will be available in July 2022.

Pricing for the Lenovo Tab M10 Plus will start at $189.99 and will be available starting June 2022.

More Laptops For Students And Gamers

The company announced the new IdeaPad Gaming3i and IdeaPad Gaming 3 laptops in two screen sizes: 15-inch and 16-inch. Lenovo promises improved thermal components for quieter gameplay, new chassis colors, high-performance detailing, and a beefed-up WQHD+ panel option with 165Hz refresh rate for enhanced viewing. These gaming devices will come with the option of the new 12th Gen Intel Core i7 H series or AMD Ryzen 6000 processors. As a new accessory meant to work seamlessly with these new laptops, the company released the Lenovo Legion M600s Qi Wireless Gaming Mouse, an ultra-light mouse rated up to 80 million clicks.

Pricing for the units starts at $929 and go up to $1,489.99 depending on options. The computers will be available starting in May 2022.

The Qi Wireless Gaming Mouse will start at $99.99 and will be available in September 2022.

Taking Aim At Hybrid Workers With New Thinkbooks

Lenovo’s ThinkBook 14s Yoga Gen 2 and Thinkbook 13s Gen 4i laptops are aimed at the small and medium-sized businesses where hybrid remote and on-site work has become the norm.

The 14s Yoga Gen 2 offers an array of specs:

* Latest 12th Gen Intel Core processors with Intel Iris X graphics

* 14-inch FHD Dolby Vision-enabled display with 100 percent sRBG color gamut

* Dual SSD storage supporting up to 2 x 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSDs, and up to 40 gigabytes of RAM

* Intel Thunderbolt 4 and USB Type-C ports

* Intel Wi-Fi 6E

* Corning Gorilla Glass-protected display

* The 13s Gen 4i is no slouch when it comes to features:

Streamlined new 14.9 thin construction

* Three 13.3-inch display options including WUXGA and WQXGA resolutions and touch option

* FHD camera option for crisper video clarity

* Ambient Light Sensor

* Up to 1TB PCIe SSD storage and up to 32 gigabytes of RAM

* Battery life expected to by around 11 hours with a 56Wh battery

* 2 x Intel Thunderbolt 4 ports

Pricing:

* Thinkbook 14s Yoga Gen 2 will be available from April 2022, starting at $849

* Thinkbook 13s Gen 4 i will be available from April 2022, starting at $849

Thinkpad Laptops And Thinkvision Monitor Aim To Boost Productivity

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 looks to be a powerful work machine with up to 64 gigabytes of RAM, and optional dual Solid-State Drives (SSD) supporting up to 8 terabytes of storage.

Other features include:

* New 165Hz refresh rate on 16-inch, 16:10 aspect ratio display with low blue light technology

* 12th Gen Intel Core H-series processors up to i9 and optional Intel vPro technology

* New High performance mobile graphics options

* SD Express 7.0 card reader to support the latest SDXC memory cards

* ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 and P16s Gen 1 are mobile workstations offering a mix of power and performance for professional users.

* The ThinkPad T series is the workhorse of the ThinkPad stable with robust and reliable features.

Features include:

* New 14-inch and 16-inch displays

* Wi-Fi 6E and Cat16 4G wireless WAN

* ThinkPad T 14 will be the first to market with a new software-only human presence detection solution using ultrasound sensor technology

* Larger 115 touchpad for improved usability

* The ThinkVision M14d mobile USB-C monitor can turn any space into a workspace. Weighing less than 1.3 pounds, the M14d delivers a 14-inch IPS 2.2K display and 16:10 in a manageable package.

* Base pricing on the new ThinkPads ranges from $1,399 to $2,049. Availability for some units will begin in April 2022 with others released as late as June 2022.

* The ThinkVision M14d Mobile Monitor is priced at $299 and will be available in July 2022.