Lenovo has updated its ThinkPad P-Series with a brand new ThinkPad P1 Gen 4, ThinkPad P15, and ThinkPad P17. Since we have reviewed the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 3, this new version is of particular interest as it brings significant improvements to a user experience I’m familiar with.
Many things are even better, including Display, Graphics, CPU, Webcam, and Storage (now maxing out at 4TB!) but since the display is the most visible change, let’s start with it. This year’s ThinkPad P1 has a 16-inch 16:10 aspect ratio display, which many users requested to Lenovo and other OEMs.
It’s nice because it does improve productivity, thanks to the extra vertical space. The specs suggest that the overall volume is comparable to last year’s model, so the P1 remains very portable.
There’s a 4K and a 2560×1400 resolution option, and both are satisfactory, depending on what you are looking for. Generally, I recommend the 4K for Creative work and the lower resolution if you need more battery life.
Speaking of which, the 90Wh battery is larger than the previous model, and if every minute of extra battery life is precious to you, that’s about ~12.5% more than last year.
Inside, the ThinkPad P1 Gen 4 gets the latest compute gear from both Intel and NVIDIA and should far outpace the benchmark numbers of its predecessor. The latest 11th Gen Intel Core processor (8-cores max) or Xeon processors should provide ample CPU horsepower.
At the same time, the NVIDIA RTX A5000 or RTX 3070/3080 will make graphics performance many times faster than the P1 Gen 3. Believe me: you want this P1 Gen 4 instead. That fits right into Lenovo’s AR/VR strategy, and this mobile workstation should be extremely capable in that regard.
Creative workers will appreciate this workstation and its “pro” features, going from dTPM 2.0 and a Kensington lock for security to simple things like the full-size SD card that can make life so much easier. That must be one of the most demanded yet most ignored items. Don’t forget all the durability features inherent to all ThinkPads: rigid surface, shock, and spill resistance.
To not turn this into a review (yet), I’ll point out that the webcam on this laptop is supposed to be great. Better imaging is something that Lenovo said was coming earlier this year, and -finally- someone is taking laptop webcams to the next level. I can’t wait to see it in action.
To go with such a great workstation, Lenovo has also launched the ThinkPad Thunderbolt 4 Workstation Dock. We’re big believers in TB Docks for mobile workstations, and theirs has a 300W power supply which is unique since most docks top at around 100W and couldn’t become a 1-cable docking solution for a powerful laptop.
Lenovo probably deems the ThinkVision P34w-20 monitor to be a perfect companion for all its ThinkPad. It has a 3440 x 1440 resolution and can reproduce 99% of the sRGB space, making it suitable for most Creative work that requires exquisite color rendering. All in all, this is an excellent ThinkPad workstation update for Lenovo.
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