Lenovo appears to have fired the first shots in a looming notebook war, as multiple brands move to ignite sales with AI and processor updates, with the market leader taking the early initiative with a premium range of PC’s aimed at creative professionals.
In their first salvo for the year, Lenovo have rolled out five new Yoga consumer models that are powered by Intel Core Ultra processors in select models and equipped with Windows 11 AI Copilot along with four new Legion models for gamers, among these models are two new top end 7i and 5i towers. They have also focused on games for creators.
Lenovo’s Leon Yu, the Asia Pacific Consumer Business Lead claims that “We are bringing forth AI-powered innovative devices to empower users in a time where the uptake of AI-enabled technology is on the rise. With the latest repertoire of new consumer devices, we aim to deliver remarkable performance, versatility, and productivity, setting new standards for users across the Asia Pacific region.”
Retailers such as JB Hi Fi and The Good Guys along with specialist PC resellers, have welcomed the launch as they move to motivate consumers to upgrade their existing notebooks with a new generation of AI enabled machines.
The latest Lenovo Yoga lineup features the Lenovo Creator Zone, a privacy-focused, generative AI software that turns text or sketches into visuals.
Select Lenovo Yoga Pro laptops will also support image training where creators can train a personalised model that learns and creates images that match their style and preferences.
Lenovo Creator Zone and its features will be released in phases in the second half of 2024 in select markets across Asia Pacific with Australia set to get these capabilities.
Lenovo management claim that there is an increasing demand for reliable tools that can help creators get a leg up in delivering quality content, as a result of this the new models that feature the latest Intel processors, are specifically designed to handle graphics-intensive tasks and heavy workloads.
The new models come equipped with colour calibrated PureSight Pro displays and brilliant PureSight OLED displays for greater screen brightness, colour contrast and accuracy demanded by creators.
The key target audience for the powered up models include graphic designers, photo and video production editors who need top end processing power.
Lenovo claim that the new models have enhanced battery capability which we will test in future reviews.
Understanding the importance of uninterrupted workflow, Lenovo’s premium Yoga lineup also features improved keyboards.
New to Lenovo Yoga notebooks is a Copilot key, a shortcut key for Copilot in Windows, the new AI-powered intelligent assistant that helps owners get multiple answers and inspirations from across the web, supports creativity and collaboration, and helps you focus on the task at hand.
The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 and Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i laptops also incorporate Lenovo AI Engine+, driven by the Lenovo LA AI Core chips, which utilises software machine learning algorithms to optimise system performance.
The new Lenovo Yoga portfolio includes:
• Lenovo Yoga Book 9i (13″, Gen 9) for dual-screen productivity, ideal for always on-the-go programmers and multi-taskers.
• Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i (16”, Gen 9), designed for demanding tasks such as 3D rendering and animations and Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i (14”, Gen 9) for seamless video editing and studio recording sessions.
• Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i (14”, Gen 9), ideal for professional-grade photo editing and smooth coding sessions.
• Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 (14”, Gen 9) and Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 (14” and 16”, Gen 9) for high-quality illustrations.
• Lenovo Yoga ecosystem – Lenovo Yoga Pro Bluetooth Mouse, Lenovo Yoga 600 Bluetooth Silent Mouse, Lenovo Yoga True Wireless Stereo Earbuds, and Lenovo Yoga Sleeve.
Pricing is yet to be announced.
