We’re seeing a plethora of newly announced products pop up as 2022 begins to pick up steam. CES has us drooling over the potential, and some of those promises are starting to materialize, and 2022 looks like a big year for lightweight laptops. We haven’t seen some of our most anticipated gaming laptops at CES yet. but Samsung recently announced the Galaxy Book 2 Pro with Intel Arc graphics, and now Lenovo is joining its new lineup, including the Arm-based ThinkPad.
One of the main selling points of this new ThinkPad X13 is its fairly long battery life. Thanks to the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 processor, these machines are really low-powered. This processor has a TDP of just 9W, which is pretty low considering Lenovo claims its performance is equivalent to an unnamed Intel Core i5. Sure, we want to test it out for ourselves before believing the hype, but this is a laptop that can last all day without issue. It’s just nice to see. Although with 5G support, I could see the battery draining a little faster than advertised during use. It’s like a tablet replacement for those who want something in a Windows 11 laptop. They’ll be available for purchase in May starting at $1,099.
Lenovo also announced a product it claims is aimed at young gamers with its new IdeaPad Gaming 3 line. Usually, IdeaPads are just budget cut-down ThinkPads, but they’re aimed at the gaming market instead. It seems a bit odd, but the specs on the 15″ and 16″ models can be quite fun.
Both come with Intel and AMD options, though Intel has slightly higher specs with matching price tags. Potential buyers can choose between the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H or the 12th Gen Intel Core i7. This is combined with an RTX 3060 for Intel models or an RTX 3050 Ti for AMD. Throw in 32GB of DDR4 memory and 1TB SSDs and the gaming story starts to come together.
Anyone looking for a hardcore gaming laptop will want to stay away as it doesn’t quite fit. But Lenovo has the Legion line to take care of that niche. Instead, the IdeaPad Gaming 3 does seem like a smart choice for an inexpensive laptop that can also play some games. But it certainly isn’t the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro, which stole our hearts a bit with its excellent underpinnings.
This might be a smart option for students who want to play a little less powerful games between classes or who have learning games they need to play on the same computer. Games like Minecraft and Fortnite need to run like a breeze. These machines will range from $929 to $1,489 for Intel’s most powerful model, so it might be worth waiting for the new Legion model or other 2022 gaming laptop prices before making that choice.
