Portable PCs with on-board AI are on the way, but not until next year, as Lenovo dishes the details on what’s to come.
It seems like just yesterday that Intel detailed what was coming for its AI-based hardware. And it was. Literally yesterday.
This week has seen a surprising amount of news for the end of the year, and with only a couple of weeks left, the news that AI hardware in the PC world has kind of arrived before the flurry expected at CES in the new year.
We don’t doubt that more news will come out then, but ahead of it, some manufacturers are looking at what’s to come, with one of them being Lenovo.
The major computer maker has talked up what the world can expect from its ThinkPad X1 Carbon, ThinkPad X1 2-in-1, and IdeaPad Pro 5i line, with Intel’s AI-based Core Ultra onboard, allowing apps to take advantage of on-device artificial intelligence model and support for Windows 11 Copilot, which has rolled out to Windows 11 installs now, but uses an internet-based AI model.
That could soon change thanks in part to the on-chip AI tech inside Intel Core Ultra chips, of which AMD also makes available in its new chips, as well.
Lenovo’s launch this week primarily looked at the Intel side of things, with the X1 models delivering a thin and light business machine with a Core Ultra range of chips, while Lenovo’s upcoming 16 inch IdeaPad Pro 5i will use the “Evo Edition” of Intel’s Core Ultra chips, arming the hardware with Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphical chips to help content creators get that little bit more from their portable computing experience.
Interestingly, we have pricing for some of these ready to go, but the release date is a little further off than you may expect. As such, Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 with Intel Core Ultra inside will start at $3599 and the X1 2-in-1 Gen 9 for $4099, both of which look set for release in Australia in March 2024. Meanwhile, the 16 inch IdeaPad with Intel Core Ultra has no pricing or release earmarked for Australia, though we can’t imagine it’ll be terribly far behind.
That gives keen computer buyers a few months to think about whether this line is their next purchase, or to just sit back and wait to see what comes next for everyone else, because these clearly won’t be the only releases on the way.
