The global pandemic has seen a bunch of annual trade shows either canceled or opening virtual doors only. Mobile World Congress has opted for a hybrid live/digital event, and Lenovo has launched a laptop powerhouse for creators and prosumers called the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4, and a bunch of accessories under its new Go brand, including a wireless charging pad for laptops.
The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 features an edge-to-edge 16-inch display that's available at up to 4K resolution with support for Dolby Vision for "ultra-vivid image quality" and 600-nit brightness, as well as the promise of 10-bit color and low blue light. Touch and stylus support can also be selected if needed.
Wrapped in gorgeous reinforced carbon fiber, the portable workstation can be configured with 11th Gen (Tiger Lake) Intel Core i9 H-series vPro processor options, supported by as much as 64 GB of DDR4 3,200-MHz RAM and 4 TB of M.2 PCIe SSD storage. And the top choice for graphics shapes up as Nvidia's mighty GeForce RTX 3080 GPU with 16 GB of GDDR6 video memory. Lenovo says that the 90-Wh battery should be good for up to 10 hours of per-charge up time.
All that performance grunt could soon have things running hot, so the company's engineers have developed three new cooling systems for the models optioned with Nvidia RTX GPUs, calling on a combined effort from heat pipes and vapor chamber, fans that move air over the top and bottom of the setup, and air intakes at the backlit keyboard (which offers a 1.5-mm keystroke).
Around the edges of the device you'll find a single HDMI 2.1 port, two USB-C ports, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a UHS-II SD card slot. An optional nanoSIM slot is available for on-the-go 5G connectivity, with Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6E completing the wireless offerings.
There are 1080p webcam or 1080p IR hybrid webcam options for quality Zoom videochats with colleagues, friends or family, complemented by dual noise-canceling far-field microphones and a privacy shutter to stop prying eyes during down time. Onboard sound is supplied via user-facing Dolby Atmos speakers. And a more comfortable cursor control experience is promised from the wide 115 x 67-mm (4.6 x 2.6-in) touchpad.
Elsewhere, enterprise-class security features include the use of a Trusted Platform Module 2.0 chip, and a fingerprint reader that's integrated into the power button.
The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 laptop has 359.5 x 253.8 x 17.7 mm (14.13 x 9.99 x 0.78 in) dimensions, and a starting weight of 1.81 kg (3.99 lb). It goes on sale from August, from US$2,149.
New additions to the company's Go accessory brand were also announced at the virtual MWC 2021, including a wireless vertical mouse, a speakerphone, and both wired and wireless headsets with active noise cancellation. But arguably the most interesting new Go product is a Wireless Charging Kit that will be available from October for $139.99.
Designed for folks who have to frequently plug/unplug the charger but don't want to, the kit's charging mat can be powered by a 45-W to 65-W charger and Energyware's Power-by-Contact technology will wirelessly top up the battery of any 13 or 14-inch laptop that has the receiver module plugged into its USB-C port. Handy.