There’s clearly no shortage of laptop choices, but if you need a few more, Lenovo’s assortment of 2022 machines covers multiple sizes and chips.
Finding the right laptop for your needs isn’t always easy, but at least you can rest assured knowing there’s plenty of choice.
Different manufacturers and picks of form-factors make up much of that choice, and even when you pick one model, you may have different sizes and processors, handy if you like one over the other.
That’s more or less how things are for Lenovo this year, which has updated its ThinkPad range for 2022, offering the high-end X13 and 360 degree hinged X13 Yoga in a Generation 3, while also bringing some less expensive laptops along for the ride.
The top models are the X13 variations, offering either Intel 12th-gen Core processors or AMD Ryzen 6000 processors — dealer’s choice, really — each with a bigger trackpad, optional 5G in the X13, a camera shutter to close up the front-facing webcam for security and privacy reasons, and something a little new: Dolby Voice.
This last one is Dolby’s audio technology connecting with the microphone, providing a way to focus in on your voice specifically and deal with background noise and echo while you chat for remote calls and such. There are also improvements to the screen with Dolby Vision built into the X13 models, plus a little more battery life if you opt for the 54.7Wh model.
They’re distinct from the X13s, Lenovo’s collaboration with Qualcomm to build an X13 model powered by a mobile Snapdragon, delivering speed from a new chip alongside 5G support, but also an extension of battery life not out of kilter with what we saw from Apple’s M1-based laptops, the M1 MacBook Air and M1 MacBook Pro.
There’s no word on release for the X13s yet, though hopefully it should see release this year, possibly as the more premium Lenovo X13 model.
Lenovo’s ThinkPad L13 variations in the L13 and L13 Yoga will fit in below the X13, providing similar processor choices in Intel and AMD options, but none of the love for 5G or Dolby Voice, essentially building them as less premium takes of the X13. However, there will also be 14 and 15 inch models of these, coming in the aptly named L14 and L15. They may not be an update to the “Slim” range of Lenovo laptops like the model we saw last year, but they do seem to be built with some of the ThinkPad’s premium features in mine.
One thing they all seem to cover is a durability rating, covering MIL-STD 810H, a durability rating that often covers water resistance and drop proofing to a certain amount. That doesn’t mean you should go out of your way to drop the laptops, but more that Lenovo appears to be trickling its more durable chassis throughout its range.
What the entire range does appear to be missing, at least initially, is pricing and availability in Australia. Lenovo does seem to suggest both the ThinkPad X and ThinkPad L models are coming to Australia (and also our friends across the puddle in New Zealand), but there’s no word on pricing or specific release dates. Our guess is you can expect that in the coming weeks, likely in April or May.
