Lenovo has just launched a new Mac Studio rival in China that blows Apple’s own boxy desktop out of the water.
Dubbed the Lenovo YOGA Portal, this cuboid of creativity stands at just over 4 inches tall (a little higher than the Mac Studio), 7.7 inches wide, and 7.9 inches deep. Granted, it’s not a stunner — the Mac Studio’s sleek aluminum definitely stands out over Lenovo’s design, which looks more like an IKEA cable management box. But it’s what’s underneath that we’re more interested in.
So far, there’s only one configuration. For 17,999 Yuan ($2,500) you get Intel’s latest Core i7-14700 and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070. That’s arguably spicier than the global version that comes with a core i9 and the RTX 4060, at least when it comes to gaming.
Lenovo’s Mac Studio killer?
The Lenovo YOGA Portal also features a dedicated M.2 slot so you can add in a separate dedicated neural processing unit (NPU) to give it a serious AI upgrade. The YOGA Portal features four total M.2 slots, one for WLAN, one for AI, and two for SSD expansion.
There’s connectivity aplenty too, with 2 USB-A ports, a headphone jack, and USB-C on the front. Round the back, there are a further four USB-A ports, two HDMI 2.1 slots, Ethernet, and 4 DisplayPort 1.4 openings. You can even add further optional rear storage, with punch out ports for more USB, HDMI, DisplayPorts, or even VGA.
It’s unclear whether the YOGA Portal will ever be sold beyond China’s shores, but the impressive graphics and AI expansion would make it an enticing desktop upgrade if it was. It’s a warning shot across the bow for Apple. The M4 Mac Studio isn’t expected to debut until the summer 2025, with Apple having skipped the M3 model. While the M4 chip has already debuted in the 2024 iPad Pro, the first Mac to include it is expected to be the M4 MacBook Pro later this year, followed by the M4 MacBook Air and M4 Mac mini.
Apple’s answer to a potent Mac Studio rival could be the latter, with recent rumors suggesting the new M4 Mac mini might well be considerably smaller than the current M2 Mac mini.
