Lenovo has unveiled a laptop successor at MWC with the ThinkPad X12 Detachable Gen 2 - offering boosted performance capabilities and a wealth of AI-powered features. The previous model, the Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable laptop, is one of the most popular business laptops in, well, the business, so we’re excited to see what this newer model has to offer.
The crucial upgrade here is that the ThinkPad X12 Detachable Gen 2 is powered by the latest generation Intel Core Ultra processors and will ship to consumers with the built-in AI assistant Copilot in Windows (or Copilot for Microsoft 365, for enterprise buyers), which will be easy to use thanks to the dedicated Copilot key - something that’ll be present in all future Windows laptops, according to Microsoft.
The detachable laptop will also feature the iconic red IdeaPad TrackPoint nub and an accompanying magnetic stylus, allowing you to conveniently switch between annotating graphs and contracts to whipping up presentations in a flash.
Good enough to make Microsoft nervous?
From the images in Lenovo’s press release, we can’t see any major design differences between the older model and the new one, with the same backlit keyboard and split trackpad. The Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable earned a respectable four stars in our review, boasting an impressively lightweight chassis and comfortable keyboard.
We expect to see better performance from the ThinkPad X12 Detachable Gen 2, especially with the updated CPU and the addition of artificial intelligence features. The Microsoft Surface Pro is the most obvious competitor, and given how powerful the new laptop seems to be, Microsoft will have to do quite a lot to meet or surpass it.
With more detachables on the market, especially devices like this, Microsoft is going to have to try harder to stand out. Both laptops offer similar chassis designs and the same business-focused performance enhancements, and security features.
Now that the Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable Gen 2 will be offering an inbuilt Copilot button to summon the AI assistant - something we’ll almost certainly see on the hotly-anticipated Surface Pro 10 - there isn’t a whole lot to separate the two outside of aesthetics. For professionals and students looking for a lightweight laptop-tablet hybrid, this could be the best option for a while: hopefully, Microsoft takes note and stops dragging its heels to finally deliver a Surface device that exceeds our expectations.
