Analyst(s): Olivier Blanchard
Publication Date: September 17, 2024
What Is Covered in This Article:
- Overview of the consumer laptops unveiled by Lenovo in Berlin
- Notes on early signs of semiconductor differentiation
- Pros & cons summary
The News: Just ahead of IFA Berlin, and in parallel with its commercial PC releases at Lenovo Innovation World 2024, Lenovo announced the newest additions to its consumer-facing Lenovo Yoga and Lenovo IdeaPad portfolios. Designed to enhance user productivity and creativity through the power of AI, these new Copilot+ PCs promise to revolutionize the way consumers create, ideate, and produce, offering a seamless blend of performance and user-centric features. The products include the all-new Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition (15” 9), an Intel Evo™ Edition Copilot+ PC 1 (powered by Intel’s new Lunar Lake Core Ultra processors: Series 2), the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 (14”, 9), the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 (15”, 10), the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 (13”, 10), Copilot+ PCs (powered by the AMD Ryzen AI processor), as well as the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x (14”, 9) and Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 (14”, 9), powered by the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core processor. Also announced was Lenovo Creator Zone, a software suite that allows creators to use natural language to ideate and generate images locally with the power of AI.
Lenovo Picks Up Copilot+ Momentum with New Consumer PC Releases
Analyst Take: If it feels like Lenovo has been hitting the gas with Copilot+ AI PCs these past few months, you aren’t wrong. I am noticing an uptick in both the pace and intensity of the company’s PC segment efforts, and the introduction of the Copilot+ AI PC category has been a perfect catalyst for what I assume is a push by Lenovo to capture more market share from rivals HP and Dell in the nascent AI PC market, especially as the consumer and commercial PC segments begin to ramp up the next refresh cycle.
While future-proofing for AI and the end of support for Windows 10 appear to be top priorities for PC buyers on the commercial side of the PC segment, the consumer side of the business is driven more by raw performance improvements in processor speed and battery life, as well as the promise of next-gen AI-enabled UX.
Jun Ouyang, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Lenovo’s Consumer Business Segment, Intelligent Devices Group summarized the strategy this way: “These new products are designed to be more personalized and empower their users by stimulating creativity, increasing productivity, and fitting in seamlessly into the increasingly dynamic, tech-centric lives that they lead.” While seemingly boilerplate, the statement reflects the core motion behind marketing Copilot+ PCs’ value proposition to consumers. Another way to put it is simply: Faster, better, cooler, and more helpful, without necessarily costing more.
One of the big shifts around this specific release (and its parallel commercial segment announcements) is the addition of Intel’s new Lunar Lake Core Ultra processors to the ecosystem, which already included Qualcomm’s Arm-based Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus processors and AMD’s Ryzen AI processors. Lenovo’s announcements include Copilot+ laptops powered by Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm now, rounding out the holy trinity of Copilot+ PC processors for the first time since Copilot+ PCs launched in May.
Qualcomm’s brand new Snapdragon X Plus 8-core processors, aimed at mainstream price tiers, also debuted the same week as Intel’s Core Ultra release, and unsurprisingly turned up in Lenovo’s expansive new lineup.
Lenovo Aura Edition Copilot+ laptops – Designed in Collaboration with Intel
Lenovo positions its Aura Edition laptops as “the result of a multi-year collaboration with Intel that offers users the ultimate in-premium build, design, and innovative technologies.” In addition to the commercial segment’s Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition (15”, 9) is positioned as a premium offering with the following features:
- Smart Modes: Lenovo Aura Edition laptops offer users higher control over PC customizability. Smart Modes adapt on-the-fly to user needs (regardless of use case – work, relaxation, creating, or more) by dynamically adjusting performance and system settings to deliver optimal conditions for any activity. For instance: Attention Mode. When productivity is paramount, Attention Mode allows users to specifically block distracting websites so they can focus on the task at hand.
- Wellness Features: These include eye wellness and posture warnings that help users fight off fatigue and remind them to take breaks. This helps keep eye health and posture at top of mind when they are “in the zone.” (Hat tip to Lenovo and Intel for thinking of us ADHDers who have a tendency to hyperfocus and can easily lose track of time, posture control, eye health, and even hydration.)
- Collaboration Tools: This suite of settings is designed to enhance video call experiences. This includes low light enhancement, virtual presenter, and background blur to increase clarity and comfort when working together with others.
- Shield Mode: As its name implies, this mode focuses on safeguarding privacy with features such as privacy alerts, privacy guard, and auto prompt VPN to help ensure safety and security when working with sensitive information.
- Adaptive Power: When computing away from a power outlet, battery life is paramount. This gives users easy access to power settings to help optimize battery life and performance.
- Smart Share: This handy little feature enables seamless AI-driven image sharing between smartphones and laptops. With it, users can effortlessly tap a supported smartphone on the screen’s edge, prompting the laptop to automatically launch the Smart Share app on both devices, allowing for a simple drag-and-drop transfer of up to 45 recent photos. The feature supports both Android and IOS platforms.
- Smart Care: Smart Care offers real-time support and troubleshooting from real-life Lenovo technicians, accessible both via PC and phone. Via Lenovo’s Premium Care Service, users can live-chat or call support for assistance that also offers concierge level support.
While Lenovo doesn’t explicitly state it that way, Lenovo Aura Edition is the first concrete example of the kind of targeted differentiation within the Copilot+ ecosystem that I have seen yet, and it works on several levels:
- Intel Core Ultra + Lenovo Aura Edition = Unique premium AI-enabled features not available on equivalent Lenovo premium PCs powered competitors’ processors (AMD and Qualcomm).
- Intel Core Ultra + Lenovo Aura Edition = Unique premium AI-enabled features not available on Lenovo Copilot+ PCs powered by Intel Core Ultra in lower price tiers.
- Intel Core Ultra + Lenovo Aura Edition = Unique premium AI-enabled features not available on any PCs outside of Lenovo’s ecosystem.
In a Copilot+ ecosystem that feels simultaneously increasingly complex and increasingly homogeneous across PC OEMs’ product lines, Intel and Lenovo may be onto something with this collab.
The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition (15”, 9)
The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition (15”, 9) is an Intel Evo Edition laptop powered by Intel Core Ultra processors (Series 2), with an 8-core hybrid processor and high-performance graphics (GPU) for smooth and efficient performance during demanding tasks. The neural processing unit (NPU) delivers up to 48+ TOPS and accelerates AI-driven applications for creators who require AI-assisted computing power. The laptop’s up to 32GB of 8533MHz RAM 3 allows users to multitask effortlessly, while the up to 1TB of SSD storage 3 provides ample space for larger files and fast data access.
Designed for extended creative sessions, the 70WHr battery ensures that users can work on their projects in between charges. Connectivity is seamless with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, allowing for fast and stable wireless connections. The Yoga Slim 7i features multiple ports, including Thunderbolt 4, to provide versatile options for connecting peripherals, transferring data quickly, and expanding the laptop’s capabilities. These features make the Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition an exceptional choice for users who demand high performance, stunning visuals, and reliable connectivity.
The laptop is also certified carbon neutral and, like all Lenovo Yoga laptops, comes with a complimentary 2-month membership to Adobe Creative Cloud.
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 (14”, 9) – powered by AMD
The Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 (14”, 9), powered by the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processor, is capable of delivering up to 50 NPU TOPS. This Copilot+ PC accelerates creative workflows, making it ideal for content creators and professionals who demand a little bit more from their laptop PCs than the average specs.
- X Power Software Accelerate: The AI-improved Lenovo X Power Software Accelerate drastically speeds up software previews, rendering, and exports. This feature allows creators to see their work in real time, significantly reducing waiting times and enhancing productivity.
- X Power Hardware Boost: Keeps the system cool even under heavy loads, ensuring sustained performance during intensive tasks. Users can rely on the laptop to perform efficiently without overheating, making it perfect for long creative sessions.
- Yoga Premium Suite: A comfortable Soft Touch-coated Yoga keyboard featuring 1.5mm key travel and 0.3mm deep dish keys, a dual tweeter, dual woofer speaker system, four microphones with voice ID noise cancellation, and an FHD IR Camera that ensures clear and sharp video calls.
- 14.5” PureSight Pro OLED Display: 2.8K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 600 nits peak brightness, and 100% Adobe RGB, P3, and sRGB coverage with automatic color management and X-Rite Delta E<1 color accuracy, making it perfect for graphic designers, photographers, video editors, or anyone who needs precise and vibrant color representation.
- The Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 (14”, 9) also features a robust set of ports, including USB 4.0, USB 3.2, HDMI™ 2.1, and an audio combo jack, providing versatile connectivity options for various peripherals and external devices.
- With Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 support, users can also enjoy fast and stable wireless connections, enhancing both productivity and portability. And starting at just 15.6mm and 1.54kg (3.4lbs), these features make the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 (14”, 9) a versatile and powerful tool for professionals and creators who need a reliable and efficient device for their demanding workflows.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 (14”, 9)
The Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 (14”, 9) is a convertible Copilot+ PC powered by the new Snapdragon X Plus 8-core processor, making the device an excellent AI-enabled option for mainstream users (read: uncompromising PC users on a budget). Despite being designed for a more mainstream price tier than the Elite and its 10-core Plus sibling, the 8-core Snapdragon X Plus processor delivers the same 45 TOPS NPU to enhance AI-driven tasks, ensuring efficient performance no matter the situation. With 16GB of Dual-Channel LPDDR5X RAM 3 and up to 1 TB TLC 2242 SSD storage, users can still enjoy smooth multitasking and ample storage for all their files.
My first impressions of the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core were very positive, and I feel that this processor punches far above its weight for the price, meaning that this laptop might actually deliver the best bang-for-buck value of this entire lineup.
The 14” 16:10 WUXGA 60Hz 400 nit OLED touch display features 100% DCI-P3 coverage and delivers crisp visuals both as a PC and in tablet configuration, making it perfect for creative professionals and multimedia enthusiasts. And weighing in at 1.49kg (3.30lbs) and as thin as 17.5mm (0.69”), it is highly portable.
The front-facing FHD RGB camera delivers crystal-clear video calls and features a manual privacy shutter for peace of mind when not in use. The fingerprint reader provides instant login with Smart Login.
As with all convertibles, durability is key. This is why the Lenovo IdeaPad 5x 2-in-1 (14”, 9) is tested to MIL-STD-810H specifications 6 and features a metal A-cover to ensure the device is ready for whatever is thrown at it. This extends to connectivity—the device features two full function USB Type-C ports (DP1.4, PD3.0, 10Gb/s, Data transfer), two USB Type-A ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, microSD card reader, and audio combo jack, as well as Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3 support, ensuring that users can effortlessly connect to multiple devices.
I will go out on a limb here and suggest that in general, any device powered by Qualcomm silicon is highly likely to deliver best-in-class connectivity performance for its price-point – a value-add that device OEMs with multiple semiconductor partners aren’t always comfortable pushing to their customers for obvious reasons.
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x (14”, 9)
The IdeaPad Slim 5x (14”, 9) is all about portability, power, and durability, making it ideal for road warriors and coffee shop aficionados. Also featuring the new Snapdragon X Plus 8-core processor, up to 32GB LPDDR5X Dual Channel RAM 3 , and up to 1TB TLC 2242 SSD storage 3, the IdeaPad Slim 5x (14”, 9) delivers slick AI-powered performance, enhancing productivity during demanding workloads.
The optional 14”16:10 WUXGA 60Hz OLED display provides extreme color accuracy and spectacular color contrast for designers and media enthusiasts.
The full-metal chassis laptop is tested to MIL-STD-810H standards 6 for extreme durability in a package as thin as 16.9mm (0.66“) and as light as 1.48kg (3.26lbs) including its 57WHr battery, making this laptop durable during long sessions away from power.
The FHD RGB camera is with manual privacy shutter for crystal-clear calls when in use and enhanced privacy when not. The two full function USB Type-C (DP 1.4, PD 3.0, Data transfer) ports, two USB Type-A ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, microSD card reader, and audio combo jack provide versatile options for connecting peripherals. With Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, users can enjoy fast, stable wireless connections. The optional backlit keyboard enhances useability in low-light environments.
With the IdeaPad Slim 5x (14”, 9), Lenovo has added a powerful, portable Copilot+ 1 PC to its IdeaPad lineup.
IdeaPad Slim 5 Series – Powered by AMD
Not to be confused with the IdeaPad Slim 5x, the IdeaPad Slim 5 (sans “x”) is available in both 15” and 13” sizes, and is powered by AMD Ryzen 7000 processors. These laptops provide robust performance for multitasking and demanding applications. With up to 32GB LPDDR5X RAM 3 in the 15” model and up to 16GB in the 13” model as well as 1TB M.2 SSD storage, users can experience smooth computing and ample space for all their files and apps. Both form factors feature a Copilot key for easy access to Copilot.
(Note that Microsoft support for Copilot+ PCs powered by both AMD and Intel is scheduled to begin in November.)
The standout feature of the IdeaPad Slim 5 series is its ultra-thin and light all-metal design that uses Lenovo’s proprietary silk aluminum, translating into two sleek and portable devices that are also durable enough for on-the-go professionals. Weighing in at as little as 1.15kg for the 13” model with its 54Whr battery and 1.49kg for the 15” model with its 70Whr battery, these laptops are easy to carry around without compromising on performance.
Both models feature high-quality displays—up to a 15” 2.5K 165Hz OLED display with 100% DCI-P3 coverage on the 15” model, and a 13.3” WUXGA display with 100% sRGB on the 13” model. These displays offer vivid colors and sharp details, ideal for both creative work and media consumption. The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 Series also features FHD IR cameras with privacy shutter, extensive connectivity options including USB Type-C, USB Type-A, HDMI, microSD card reader, audio jack, as well as Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 support.
The IdeaPad Slim 5 series offers an excellent balance of high performance, portability, and durability at a competitive price, making it an ideal choice for those seeking a reliable and versatile range of laptops for both work and leisure.
General Availability
North America and EMEA availability for all of these PC models: September and October 2024 timeframe. Read the full press release here.
Conclusion
Overall, a great lineup from Lenovo on the consumer side of the PC segment.
The introduction of a Lenovo Aura Edition laptop at the top of this roster is a nice touch, and a good way to gauge interest in that type of differentiation with premium tier PC buyers in the consumer segment with minimal risk of blowback. My read on Aurora edition laptops is that we may see a proliferation of this type of differentiated features and experiences delineating silicon vendors and price tiers across PC OEMs. But for now, Lenovo and Intel together appear to be leading the way with this strategy, which is a valuable differentiator in and of itself.
Two bits of caution that I do have for Lenovo however are (1) nomenclature for “equivalent” Copilot+ PCs powered by Core Ultra, Ryzen, and Snapdragon processors needs to help PC buyers more easily differentiate. Current nomenclature does provide useful hints (the addition of “x” to IdeaPad Slim 5 series indicating Snapdragon X instead of AMD, for example) but isn’t clear enough. This could snowball into a mess of confusion as the number of models grows, and Lenovo should consider revamping its product marketing language sooner rather than later – something HP did in anticipation of the original Copilot+ launch.
The other bit of caution, which relates to the first, is that a lot of these laptop nomenclatures are painfully long. “Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition (15”, 9)” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. Given Lenovo’s fairly massive number of SKUs, now might be a good time to simplify some of these names a bit, at least the top-line, to help consumers more easily shop for them.
Beyond that, Lenovo is demonstrating outstanding initiative and tactical execution here, with solid use of specific silicon across their product line to deliver maximum value and fine-tuned checklists of experiences for very specific types of users in their preferred price tiers. The exact same approach as for the commercial segment, but equally well calibrated for the consumer segment.
Other PC OEMs should be starting to feel a bit of pressure from Lenovo going into Q3 and Q4, and I am curious to see what impact, if any, this will have on their partnerships with silicon partners and ISVs going into 2025, specifically with regard to creating unique differentiation vehicles for their Copilot+ products.
Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.
Other insights from The Futurum Group:
Lenovo’s Vision for the Future: Embracing AI PCs
Lenovo FY Q1: Hybrid AI Drives Profitability and Growth
Does Intel Entering the Copilot+ PC Ecosystem Late Really Matter?
Author Information
Research Director Olivier Blanchard covers edge semiconductors and intelligent AI-capable devices for Futurum. In addition to having co-authored several books about digital transformation and AI with Futurum Group CEO Daniel Newman, Blanchard brings considerable experience demystifying new and emerging technologies, advising clients on how best to future-proof their organizations, and helping maximize the positive impacts of technology disruption while mitigating their potentially negative effects. Follow his extended analysis on X and LinkedIn.
