Intel Core i7-1260P debut: Lenovo Yoga 9 14IAP7 convertible review

Topping the popular Core i7-1165G7. Intel’s 11th gen Tiger Lake-U series is already pretty good. Now, let’s see how much more the 12th gen Core i7-1260P can offer in one of the first convertible subnotebooks from Lenovo to support it.

Unveiled at CES 2022, this year’s Yoga 9 14 succeeds last year’s model by introducing both a brand new chassis design and new 12th gen Alder Lake-P processor options to replace the 11th gen Tiger Lake-U series. Configurations are available with the Core i7-1260P CPU, 8 to 16 GB of LPDDR5-5200 RAM, and either 2400p (4K) OLED, 1800p (2.8K) OLED, or 1200p IPS touchscreen. The unit in review is the middle configuration with the 2.8K OLED touchscreen.

Competitors in this space include other high-end subnotebook convertibles like the Asus Zenbook Flip 14, Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, MSI Summit E13 Flip, or HP Spectre x360 14.

This review page will focus more on the 2.8K OLED display and performance of the processor with a full review on the 4K OLED version of this model coming soon. The 2.8K and 4K SKUs are otherwise visually identical.

Lenovo Legion 5 15 review: AMD’s new Radeon RX 6600M meets Ryzen 5 5600H

A solid gaming laptop! Lenovo takes advantage of raw AMD power for its current Legion 5 15. We took a closer look at how well the Ryzen 5 5600H and the new Radeon RX 6600M work together. In this detailed review, you can find out what kind of performance can be expected and whether it can stand up to Nvidia.

Lenovo’s Legion series is a household name in the field of gaming laptops. Lenovo has been establishing this brand for several years now and continues to build upon it. This is also the case with the current Lenovo Legion 5 15ACH6A, which comes equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H based on the current Zen3 architecture. The GPU is the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, a new mobile graphics card in the mid-range segment that offers 8GB of VRAM, which is appropriate for this price range. The remaining hardware includes 16 GB RAM and a 512 GB SSD, as well as a 165 Hz display which reinforces the laptop’s intended purpose.

The machine is currently selling for just under 1,000 Euros, a highly competitive price for what is on offer. Whether performance meets expectations will be uncovered later in this review.

Similarly equipped devices are used for comparison. A list of these can be found in the table below.

Lenovo V15 Gen 2 AMD review: Hexa-core machine with a caveat

Display from the dark ages. Lenovo now equips the V15 G2 with a hexa-core processor from AMD but still keeps the Full HD resolution in its TN display with weak viewing angles. Our test will show whether the affordable entry-level device is still good for doing some regular work.

With the V15 Gen 2 AMD, Lenovo offers an affordable entry-level laptop that is the direct successor to the V15 ADA. The V15 series should be distinguished from the business class, which includes laptops like the Lenovo ThinkBook 16p, and from the slightly higher-quality office midrange, which Lenovo represents by the IdeaPad 5, for example.

In terms of the equipment, our test unit ranges in the middle of the field with its hexa-core AMD Ryzen 5 5500U Zen 2 Lucienne CPU, integrated Radeon RX Vega 7, 8 GB of RAM (expandable), 512-GB PCIe-3 NVMe SSD, and 1080p TN display. This configuration is available for about 600 Euros (~$653) or often for even less on sale. Other models are available with a Ryzen 7 5700U octa-core or Ryzen 3 5300U quad-core CPU and with up to 16 GB RAM preinstalled. According to the spec sheet, alternatively there is also an IPS panel available, but in practice such a model is hard to find.

In terms of Lenovo in-house devices, the IdeaPad 3 would be the most likely competitor. Other affordable entry-level devices include the HP 14s/15s, the HP 255 G7, the Asus Vivobook 15 and Asus ExpertBook B1, Dell’s Inspiron 15 3511, the Acer Aspire 5 A515, and Fujitsu’s Lifebook A3510. You can also add other comparison devices below each section.

Lenovo Tab P12 Pro Review: 5G Tablet Laptop Alternative with large 120 Hz Display

Also usable as touchscreen on Windows! The Lenovo Tab P12 Pro is a premium tablet with a focus on productivity. It transforms into a 12.6-inch laptop alternative with both stylus and multi-display support thanks to its keyboard dock and kickstand.

The Tab P12 Pro is Lenovo’s response to Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S-series. This flagship tablet features a Snapdragon 870 as well as fast UFS 3.1 storage. Compared to its predecessor it grew in size to now 12.6 inches, and it finally features an AMOLED panel with a refresh rate higher than 60 Hz. Stylus support is available on this 120 Hz panel as well.

Depending on SKU this premium tablet comes with either 6 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128 GB of UFS storage or 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage with a 5G option in select markets. US prices start $700.

Lenovo ThinkPad T14s G2 AMD Laptop Review: Ultrabook Efficiency Meets Workstation Power

Black box with AMD efficiency inside. Despite its redesign the ThinkPad T-series premium model comes with a 16:9 display for the final time in its life. Its input devices continue to excite, and overall efficiency was improved dramatically thanks to AMD’s Cezanne-generation resulting in lower emissions, longer battery life, and a higher level of performance.

The ThinkPad T14s G2 is successor to the popular T14s and is only second in popularity to Lenovo’s own T-series ThinkPad without the “s” suffix. We had the Intel SKU in review recently, and now it is time to take a closer look at the AMD model. Our review unit, model number 20XGS01100 is made for the European educational market and very well equipped. For slightly under 1,500 Euros you get an AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 5850U 8-core CPU, 32 GB of soldered LPDDR4X RAM, a Vega 8 iGPU, a 1 TB large NVMe SSD, and a 400 nits FHD IPS low-power display.

Considering that the case is identical to its Intel-equipped sibling we would like to refer you to our review of the ThinkPad T14s Gen2 Intel if you want to find out more about its case, connectivity, input devices, and speakers.

Its main competitors are the HP EliteBook 845, Dell’s Latitude 14 5420, the Intel-equipped T14s G2, the X1 Carbon G9, and last but not least its immediate AMD-equipped predecessor. Another potential rival is Lenovo’s own ThinkPad X13 Gen2 (AMD).

Lenovo ThinkBook 15p G2: Testing the creator laptop with RTX and 4K

Weaknesses in the detail. With the second generation of its multimedia laptop, Lenovo addresses some complaints about the predecessor. The ThinkBook 15p G2 shows some improvements and offers almost everything you could ask for in terms of media creation. Thanks to an Nvidia RTX and a powerful Tiger Lake processor, there is a lot of performance. However, a few weaknesses also remain.

Lenovo’s current ThinkBook 15p G2, whose predecessor we already reviewed, is able to remedy a few problems of the predecessor. For example, we finally also see Thunderbolt 4 among the connections, and the quality of video calling isn’t at such a low level anymore. There is no model anymore that doesn’t offer an additional graphics card, with the entry card being the slightly older Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q. In addition, you can still save significantly on the RAM, the SSD, and particularly on the display compared to the top model that we tested. However, even the smallest model still offers sufficient graphics performance for creative tasks.

With our tested Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti and Intel’s i7-11800H Tiger Lake processor, the similarities to the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme are obvious. The Dell XPS 15 9510 basically offers a very similar configuration. We will see why the asking price of almost 1800 Euros (~$1984) is still set considerably lower.

We already described the case, input devices, connection equipment, and speakers in our review of the Lenovo ThinkBook 15p predecessor. The following only addresses the new changes, since the basic frame remained the same.