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In lock-step with Intel, Lenovo is announcing its laptop offerings powered by Intel’s 10th generation Comet Lake processors.
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Per Intel’s architecture roadmap, the Comet Lake release signifies the company doubling down on 14nm development and squeezing a few more years out of the engineering process while offering even more “productivity” power.
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Devices with Comet Lake processors will be sporting up to eight-core processing power and follow Intel’s new Athena marketing for the year. As part of a way to market the seemingly step backward in chip development, Intel is now branding its new chip as part of an ultrabook rebranding under the name Athena and new prerequisites users should come to expect from device donning the new branding.
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Athena-ready devices should come with the latest Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, a minimum of 10-hour battery life and 8GB DRAM dual-channel mode.
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Out of the gate, Lenovo is using its ThinkPad line up as a testing bed for Intel’s Athena, 10nm eight-core processors.
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Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 7th Gen (2019)
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Starting at $1,479
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Of course, the flagship ThinkPad X1 Carbon is getting the 10th generation Intel processor, but its also getting a few more tweaks for 2019 such as a boost in battery performance with up to 18 and a half hours of on-screen time, global LTE-A Wireless WAN and new Wi-Fi Gig+ option for always-on connectivity.
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Other ThinkPad X1 Carbon includes:
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- 14.9mm thin and starting at 2.4 pounds (1 kg)
- A diverse selection of 14-inch display options is available, including the stunning
- Intel UHD 620 Graphics
- Thunderbolt, USB 3.0, HDMI 1.4 ports
- IR Camera, Fingerprint reader with support for Windows Hello biometric authentication
- 500 nit, 10 bit, 4K Dolby Vision™ panel, or the option of a new, brighter 400 nit FHD display
- The Dolby Atmos™ Speaker System, featuring two top-firing tweeters and two down-firing woofers, delivers a more immersive soundscape
- Four far-field microphones enhance the experience of conferencing and collaboration
- Enjoy up to 18.5 hours2 of productivity, and when the power gets low, Rapid Charge can deliver 80 percent battery in just 60 minutes
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ThinkPad X1 Yoga 4th Gen (2019)
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Starting at $1,609
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The Yoga variant of the ThinkPad X1 comes with many of the same features as the more traditional clamshell version including:
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- Up to 6-core 10th Gen Intel® Core™ processors
- Dolby Atmos™ Speaker System with far-field mics
- Global LTE-A Wireless WAN
- Up to 2TB PCIe SSD
- 14″ FHD and WQHD IPS Touch panel with up to 50 nits of brightness
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The differences show in the weight of the device with the Yoga weighing slightly more with its precision-machined aluminum chassis at 2.9 pounds versus the carbon fibered clamshell version at 2.4 lbs.
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The other big differentiator is the Integrated ThinkPad Pen Pro that comes in the box and enables multi-mode pen input on the device.
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Lenovo ThinkPad T490
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Starting at $1,129
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Some lower model ThinkPad’s are also getting Comet Lake treatment with the T490 getting a refresh.
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Per Project Athena branding, the Lenovo ThinkPad T490 is claiming to sport 15 hours of battery life as well as Global LTE-A Wireless WAN and new Wi-Fi Gig+ and meets the minimum “thinness” guidelines with its 3.23 lb footprint.
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Other highlights include:
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- Integrated or nVidia G2 w/ 2GB DDR5
- 14″ FHD, WQHD, non-touch and touch panels
- Up to 1TB PCIe SSD and Intel Optane SSD
- RJ-45 Ethernet
- Fingerprint, IR Camera biometric authentication as well as ThinkShutter panel
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Lenovo ThinkPad X390
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Starting at $1,019
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Similar to the T490, the X390 offers up productivity at affordable prices with a few fewer features in its checklist but more configurations available.
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- FHD Non Touch w/ CF A cover: 311.9 x 217.0 x 16.5
- FHD Non Touch w/ PPS A cover: 312.0 x 217.2 x 16.9
- HD & FHD Touch w/ PPS A cover : 311.9 x 217.2 x 16.9
- 13.3” Narrow: HD TN 250nit, FHD IPS 300nit, FHD IPS LCLW 300nit on-cell touch, FHD IPS Privacy Guard 400nit
- Graphics Integrated Intel HD Graphics
- Memory DDR4 (2400MHz): Up to 32GB (4,8,16, 32GB soldered down)
- Storage Up to 1TB PCIe SSD, Intel SSD w/ Optane Memory
- Camera / Microphone HD w/ThinkShutter , Opt. Hybrid IR w/ThinkShutter / Dual Far Field Mic
- Battery (Size / Life) 48Whr / Up to 16.8hrs-mm14 (Single Battery)
- Rapid Charge – 80% Yes (w\\ 65W AC)
- Keyboard Top load Backlight w\\ White LEDs (CRU)
- 2x USB-A 3.1 Gen1, 2x USB-C (1x TBT), uSD Card, Audio Jack
- Video Ports / Audio HDMI 1.4, TBT (DP 1.2), Audio Dolby Premium
- Wireless Communication Integrated WLAN 2×2 AC & Wifi6 2×2 (AX) – select model’s, LTE CAT9 & EU CAT6, NFC
- Biometric / Security Touch FPR, SCR, IR Camera, ThinkShutter, dTPM 2.0
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Lenovo ThinkPad L13
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Starting at $749
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Lenovo managed to further thin the bezels on its ThinkPad L series offering the same 13-inch screen size while reducing the overall footprint.
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In addition to getting some Comet Lake love, the L13 also offers cheaper and less powerful configurations with a Celeron and i3 processor options.
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The L13 comes in at 3.1 pounds with a decent display that gets up to 300 nits on an FHD IPS touch panel and up to 14 hours of on-screen time and rapid charge technology.
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There are several memory options that include 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB of DDR4 2666 Mhz.
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- Up to 1TB PCIe SSD
- 46Whr Battery
- WLAN 2×2 AC
- Fingerprint Reader, IR Camera, and Windows Hello support
- HDMI, Type-C
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Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga
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Starting at $919
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As with most Yoga offerings, the L13 Yoga variant only differs in a handful of feature options from its traditional clamshell brethren.
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The L13 Yoga weighs a bit more at 3.3 pounds vs the L13 at 3.1 and its battery life takes a bit of hit, offering up to 12 hours on-screen time as it pumps more power into its 13.3-inch FHD IPS touch panel.
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However, most other features match the L13, including battery size, I/O ports, wireless connectivity, biometric hardware support and even color options of both Black and Silver.
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There is, however, the omission of an Intel Celeron configuration option with an i3 chips as its starting point.
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We should have more on the real-world usage of Lenovo’s new line as well as Intel’s new Comet Lake productivity power in the near future.
\n\nFurther reading: Comet Lake, Dolby, Intel, L13, Lenovo, Microsoft, Project Athena, T490, ThinkPad, X1 Carbon, x390, YOGA