IFA 2018 has come to an end, but during the week we saw some huge product launches and amazing new tech! Although the big focus this year was on 8k televisions and Smart Homes, the Travel Tech market had some very impressive and important new devices.
Lenovo Yoga C930
Lenovo went BIG this year at IFA! They had a couple of announcements in the lead up to the show and hosted their own TechLife event, on the Thursday before the main doors opened, which was packed full of new devices.
But, by far my favorite, and the most innovative for travellers was the new Yoga C930 and its Rotating Soundbar!
If you’ve read my recent review on the Yoga 530, you’ll know I’m now a fan of the 2-in-1 convertible style of laptops for travelling with. The Yoga C930 adds even more weight to this opinion due to the inclusion of the revolutionary new Rotating Soundbar in-between the hinges.
Now you can enjoy the Dolby Atmos® Speaker System from any angle and in any mode you wish to use the Yoga in! And it is a great sound!
Inside of the Soundbar are two speakers that Lenovo developed with Dolby, the result is an audio delight for any style of laptop.
There is further Dolby goodness in the display. Both the UHD & FHD IPS Touchscreens both benefit from the technology that delivers a richness that even I am not used to experiencing on a Lenovo machine.
Once in tablet mode, the screen was responsive and easy to use. There is a Digital pen to act as a stylus, which has its own port, or Garage, as Lenovo describes it. Meaning you will always have it safe and charged as the port keeps the Digital Pen powered when plugged in.
How Much does the Lenovo Yoga C930 Cost?
The Yoga C930 is expected to go on sale in the US first during October, before being introduced to other markets. The Base model will begin at around £1000, but with many different specification options, this price could rise.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme
As a near 20-year ThinkPad user, I’m always excited and overly critical, of any new model to the range! But, Lenovo have created a whole new beast in the X1 Extreme.
This laptop is a business travellers dream!
Lenovo has gone all out to produce the most powerful ThinkPad ever made, but somehow, have kept the overall device slim and lightweight!
The highlights, of which there are many, include multiple versions of a 15.6″ display, the top end being a 4K UHD HDR touchscreen with Dolby Vision™. The potential to upgrade up to an 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7 vPro processor and 64GB of RAM.
Usually, thin laptops sacrifice ports to save on space. Lenovo has done no such thing with the X1 Extreme packing in 8 ports including USB-C, USB-3 and HDMI.
Another stand out figure is the battery life claim. Lenovo has stated the X1 Extreme will deliver up to 15-hours of battery power from a full charge! There is also rapid charge technology, so a 60 minute charge will return an 80% charge.
The X1 Extreme could have been used to break away from the usual Matte Black soft touch shell synonymous with the range, but as a ThinkPad connoisseur I’m happy to see the style remain. Along with the red TrackPoint, its what makes a ThinkPad such a unique laptop brand.
How Much does the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Cost?
The final cost will vary depending on how you customize your X1 Extreme. At launch prices begin at £1,359.99 and can rise up to £3,224.
I’d like to thank Lenovo for hosting {Tech} for Travel during IFA. Along with other journalists and content creators, Lenovo clearly had plenty of new products to show off and they wanted to do so with the full spectrum of media present.
Besides the Yoga C930 and X1 Extreme, Lenovo had a few other Travel Tech items, including a new Moto Mod, which I will cover in more depth over the coming weeks.
Lenovo sounds interesting, but I think I’ll stick with my Apple.