from Lenovo uses it ThinkBook line commercial laptops as a sort of playground for some of his craziest ideas for years. At last CES, for example, it showed off an ultra-wide 17-inch ThinkBook Plus that featured an 8-inch LCD screen on its keyboard in addition to the main 3K display. At CES 2023, Lenovo is not only continuing to try new multi-display ideas with its latest ThinkBook Plus, but it’s also showcasing some sort of modular concept for accessories with the ThinkBook 16P.
The new ThinkBook Plus iterates on the version Lenovo showed us in 2020, which was simply a laptop with an e-ink display built into its lid. This year’s model takes the conventional clamshell hinge and turns it into a pivot mounted in the middle of the hinge. This lets you turn the screen with one hand and switch between the 13.3-inch 2.8K OLED and the front-illuminated 12-inch e-Ink panel on the top cover. Lenovo also updated the e-ink color screen this year, to achieve 12Hz refresh rate. With this, the ThinkBook Plus Twist can display the Windows interface on each side, and the system will switch screens every time you turn it. Both panels also support pen input, so you can easily take notes.
A twist form factor isn’t new to Lenovo, having tried similar styles before with the ThinkPad X41 tablet in 2005 and the ThinkPad Twist in 2012. A dual-screen laptop lid though? Shocking. I’m slightly concerned about the risk of breakage with this format, as you’ll be gripping the camera module quite firmly while applying non-minimal force to rotate the screen. While I didn’t feel any damage during my time with the demo units, I’m not sure how well it will hold up to repeated use over time.
Although it’s a little less eye-catching, I’m actually more intrigued by the ThinkBook 16P. This is the fourth generation of Lenovo’s biggest high-end machine and therefore comes with premium specs. It will be powered by the 13th Gen Intel Core i9 processor, NVIDIA’s latest RTX 40 series GPUs. Although it only has one display, the ThinkBook 16P can be configured with up to a 3.2K IPS display running at 120Hz. There’s also an updated keyboard here offering a 1 stroke, 5mm, making it one of the deepest in Lenovo’s lineup.
What’s most intriguing about the 16P, however, is the new magnetic pogo pin connector at the top of the connector (behind the webcam). With this, you can take any of the new attachments Lenovo has created for this device and add additional functionality to the machine. The company calls this system Magic Bay and made three first Magic Bay accessories: a 4K webcam, an LTE pack and a selfie light. The latter is my favorite, not only because I’m a shameless narcissist, but also because it has a capacitive touch sensor on the right side that lets you toggle brightness levels. Additionally, Lenovo plans to sell this accessory for just $20.
Meanwhile, the 4K webcam module sits on a rotating hinge, allowing you to simultaneously capture yourself and the people in front of you on the same call. Lenovo has also designed software that can combine feeds from attached and built-in webcams and supposedly optimize the way you watch calls through Zoom (and other apps). Finally, the LTE extension brings – you guessed it – cellular connectivity to your laptop. There’s a USB-C connector at the bottom that lets you use it as a wired hotspot for another device at the same time if you want.
The ThinkBook Plus Twist will be available for $1,650 in June, while the 16P starts at $1,350 and arrives in May. Watch our video above for a better look at the new machines, and be sure to stay tuned for all the news from CES 2023.
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