Lenovo's 2024 Laptop Drop: The Models That Should Be On Your Radar

Lenovo has showcased a fresh lineup of laptops at IFA 2024 across the ThinkBook, IdeaPad, ThinkPad, and Yoga lineups, loading them with the latest silcon and some snazzy new tricks. There are a bunch of new features on the new generation of Lenovo "Aura" laptops. For example, you can simply tap your phone against the laptop and get access to the most recent photos in your phone gallery, with the added convenience of seamless drag and drop. 

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This is somewhat similar to the OnePlus Pad 2, which relies on an NFC handshake to mirror a paired OnePlus phone's UI on the tablet screen. There's also a dedicated "Mode" key on the function row that lets users access features like privacy blur and auto-prompt activation for VPN on a public network. On one of its ThinkBook laptops, Lenovo has implemented a voice-activated motor system for the swiveling screen.

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Users can simply ask the laptop to open or close the lid, click a picture, and move to the rhythm of a musical performance video playing on the screen. It might sound a tad gimmicky, but as per the presentation, it seems to be a particularly useful trick to have for presentations. Moreover, once the machine detects that the user has vanished from the frame, it automatically closes the lid after within 15 seconds. The ThinkBook AI PC POC, as the company likes to call it, is more like a proof-of-concept device without any specific launch plans attached to it.

Coming to the internals, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition offers a 15-inch 2.8K (2880 x1800 pixels) OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, optional touch support, and 500 nits of peak brightness. The company is retaining the IR camera up top for Windows Hello sign-in and a physical privacy shutter atop the webcam. Powering the machine is Intel's Core Ultra 7 processor, paired with up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of PCIe Gen 4 SSD storage. You also get a Dolby Atmos-ready quad-speaker array, while also embracing next-gen wireless connectivity protocols such as Bluetooth 5.4 and Wi-Fi 7. Armed with a pair of USB-C (Thunderbolt 4) and lone HDMI 2.1 and USB-A ports, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition will hit the shelves in a familiar Luna Grey color.

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On the more premium side of things, we have the new ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition. This one taps into Intel's freshly announced Gen 2 Ultra "Lunar Lake" processors that aim to beat the likes of Qualcomm Snapdragon X and AMD's new AI-focused mobile silicon. The design hasn't changed much, but on the inside, you can go all the way up to Intel Core Ultra 9, 32GB of RAM, 2TB of PCIe Gen 5 SSD, and a touchpad with haptic feedback. Tipping the scales at just over 2 pounds, this one offers an HDR-ready 14-inch OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh, while also touting a pair of USB-A and USB-C ports each.

Moving away from the x86 ecosystem, Lenovo is also embracing the Windows on Arm experience with a goal of offering Copilot+ PCs at an affordable price tag. To that end, the company has introduced the IdeaPad 5x, a 2-in-1 convertible with a 14-inch OLED screen and port selection matching that of the new ThinkPad. Notably, this machine comes equipped with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus processor, a watered-down version of the Snapdragon X Elite silicon that appeared earlier this year. The lower-end Snapdragon silicon on this one ticks alongside 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB SSD storage. Wi-Fi 7 connectivity is part of the package, as well, and so is a dedicated microSD card slot and the physical privacy shutter for the webcam up top.

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For folks eyeing those perks in a bigger format and slightly more firepower, Lenovo is offering the ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 Copilot+ PC. This one keeps the same mid-tier Qualcomm processor, but serves all its might via a 16-inch panel with 2.5K resolution. The RAM climbs all the way up to 32GB, while the peak storage capacity you get on this one is 2TB of PCIe Gen4 SSD. Other perks include Wi-Fi 7 support, a pair of USB-A and USB-C ports each, and Dolby Atmos speakers, all of which are bundled in a sleek Luna Grey metallic chassis.

Rounding off the slate of IFA 2024 launches is also a fresh lineup of laptops powered by AMD's latest mobile processors with AI perks in tow. These AMD machines are available across the ThinkPad, Yoga, and ThinkBook portfolio. At the summit is the ThinkPad T14s Gen 6. This one draws power from the AMD Ryzen AI Pro silicon, but boosts the RAM capacity all the way up to 64GB of the fastest LPDDR5X-7500 dual-channel variety. The machine offers a 14-inch display, 5G support, a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a Haptic ForcePad.

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For folks on a tighter budget, Lenovo is offering the Yoga Pro 7. This one packs a 14.5-inch OLED screen and relies on the AMD Ryzen AI processor paired with up to 32GB RAM. It offers fewer ports compared to the ThinkPad, and also downgrades the connectivity suite to Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 standards.

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In case you're eyeing something bigger, the ThinkBook 16 Gen 7+ might do the trick for you. It delivers the same kind of firepower as the Yoga Pro 7, but marries it all to a 16-inch display with a 165Hz refresh rate. It also offers more ports than even the ThinkPad, and serves a few other niceties like Dolby Atmos stereo speakers, Wi-Fi 7, Windows IR log-in, and double the storage capacity. It's also worth pointing out that these machines will be getting the fancy Copilot features that have been reserved for Snapdragon laptops so far.