What you need to know
- Lenovo's second-generation foldable Windows PC is now available to buy, over a year after it was first announced.
- Lenovo says it took so long to release because it did extensive testing and made several improvements to the hardware and software.
- The laptop can be purchased now for $2,499, half the price of a HP's competing foldable PC.
It's finally here. After over a year of waiting, Lenovo is finally shipping its second-generation foldable Windows 11 PC. The ThinkPad X1 Fold 16 was unveiled in September 2022, and at the time featured cutting edge specs in the form of an Intel 12th-Gen processor and 16.3-inch foldable display.
Over a year later, the laptop is now available to buy for $2,499. Normally, I'd call that an eyewatering price tag, but when you consider its closest competitor, the HP Spectre Fold, is shipping now for $5,000, the ThinkPad X1 Fold suddenly looks like an excellent deal.
Lenovo says the ThinkPad X1 Fold 16 has gone through significant real world testing over the last year, which has resulted in several key improvements being made to the hardware and software. The company says it's made revisions to the audio and video functions, added a more seamless posture mode switching, and refined its TrackPoint technology.
The ThinkPad X1 Fold 16 is a major upgrade over the original ThinkPad X1 Fold, which featured a smaller 13.3-inch display and anaemic Intel Lakefield processor. The 12th-Gen Intel Core i5 and i7 found in the new Fold 16 is much more powerful, and more energy efficient too which should result in better battery life.
The ThinkPad X1 Fold 16 also supports a wireless keyboard accessory, which can be placed on one half of the display to turn the foldable into a 14-inch laptop. The keyboard features a haptic touchpad, but is costly. The keyboard will set you back $300 on top of the $2,499 foldable PC.
In fact, a maxed out ThinkPad X1 Fold, with an Intel Core i7, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, 5G, and keyboard will set you back $4,161. The entry-level $2,499 model comes with an Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD.
