At CES 2016, Lenovo announced a massive overhaul of its ThinkPad line. In addition to unveiling new ThinkPad X1 notebooks, tablets and convertibles, Lenovo also unveiled refreshes to its X, T and L series ThinkPad as well as a new ThinkPad 13. Except the ThinkPad 13, which comes with options for either Windows or Chrome operating systems, all the ThinkPad models unveiled come with Intel's sixth generation Skylake processor, giving them a boost in performance and battery life.
The ThinkPad T460 series come in several different variants. The standard ThinkPad T460 comes with a 14-inch display and can be configured with up to an Intel Core i7 processor, discrete Nvidia GeForce 940MX graphics, 32GB memory and 265GB PCIe-based SSD. There's optional support for WiGig docking. Lenovo states that the battery life is up to 14 hours.
Lenovo also offers a 15.6-inch variant called the ThinkPad T560. The T560 has two extra hours of battery life and can be configured with a higher resolution 3K display compared to the full HD maximum resolution on the T460. The T460 weighs 3.8 pounds (1.7kg) and measures 13.35 x 9.15 x 0.8 inches (33.9 x 23.2 x 2.0cm), while the T560 comes in at 5 pounds (2.3kg) and measures 14.98 x 10.16 x 0.88 inches (38.0 x 25.8 x 2.2cm).
The ThinkPad T460 starts at $909 (£615, AU$1,244) and the ThinkPad T560 starts at $969 (£655, AU$1,326). Both models will be available in February.
ThinkPad T460s and T460p
The slimmer variant of the ThinkPad T460 is the ThinkPad T460s, offering a lighter, more portable form factor. The T460s weighs 0.8 pounds (0.4kg) less than the standard model and measures 13.0 x 8.9 x 0.74 inches (33 x 22.6 x 1.9cm). The screen on the T460s, however, is a WQHD panel, making it a higher resolution display than the standard model.
The ThinkPad T460s can be configured with up to an Intel Core i7 Skylake processor, 24GB memory, 512GB PCIe SSD and discrete Nvidia GeForce 930M graphics. Battery life is rated for 10.5 hours.
For performance users, the ThinkPad T460p can be configured with a quad-core Intel Skylake Core i processor, which delivers up to 1.7 times the performance of a dual-core mobile processor, and up to 32GB of memory. Lenovo claims that the ThinkPad T460p is 13% thinner and 15% lighter than the model that it replaces.
Battery life on the performance model is up to 12 hours, and like the ThinkPad T460s, the maximum resolution is WQHD. The ThinkPad T460s starts at $1,059 (£716, AU$1,450) and the T460p starts at $1,249 (£845, AU$1,710). Both models ship in February.
ThinkPad 13
The ThinkPad 13 is a lightweight notebook that's been Mil-Spec tested for increased durability. The Windows version will be available in April for $449 (£303, AU$614), while the Chrome OS option will arrive in June for $399 (£270, AU$546). The ThinkPad 13 comes with a 13-inch display, and the notebook weighs just 2.3 pounds (1.04kg).
You can configure the ThinkPad 13 with up to an Intel Skylake Core i5 processor, 512GB SSD storage and 16GB DDR4 RAM. The notebook comes with full-size HDMI port, USB 3.0, USB Type-C and support for OneLink+.
ThinkPad X260
As Lenovo's most compact business notebook, the ThinkPad X260 is still powerful. Equipped with a 12.5-inch full HD IPS display, the X260 comes in at just 2.9 pounds (1.3kg). The system is powered by up to an Intel Core i7 processor with integrated graphics. Lenovo claims that the battery can last up to 21 hours on a charge with the PowerBridge swappable battery.
Configurations include up to 16GB DDR4 RAM and up to 512GB SATA or PCIe drive for storage.
Pricing starts at $929 (£628, AU$1,272) when the system ships in February.
ThinkPad L460 and L560
The ThinkPad L series is part of Lenovo's value line. The ThinkPad L460 starts at $749 (£506, AU$1,025), while the ThinkPad L560 starts at $779 (£527, AU$1,066). Both models will ship in February.
The L series can be configured with up to an Intel Skylake Core i7 processor, but budget conscious shoppers can also opt for an Intel Celeron model. For users who work with graphics, the ThinkPad L460 has an option for discrete AMD Exo Pro Radeon™ R5 with 2 GB DDR3 VRAM graphics.
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