Skip to main content

ThinkPad debuts its ‘progressive’ new design with Z13 and Z16 laptops

Lenovo has announced at CES 2022 the ThinkPad Z Series, a new line in the iconic business brand that features a completely new “progressive” design that introduces new colors and materials to the ThinkPad.

Sustainability is also a focus, with the ThinkPad Z13 and ThinkPad Z16 offering various choices between recycled aluminum and recycled vegan leather (plastic) materials.

Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 left front view.

The aluminum versions are available in arctic grey (Z13 and Z16) or black (Z13) and the vegan leather version is available in black (Z13), with a design that aims at a streamlined and minimalist aesthetic.

Both laptops incorporate an all-glass palm rest with an embedded 120mm haptic “ForcePad” touchpad that blends in for an extremely clean look.

The new ThinkPads are still recognizable as members of the line thanks to the usual ThinkPad logos and the red TrackPoint nubbin in the middle of the keyboard that can now be double-clicked to call up a Communications QuickMenu to access camera and microphone settings. Also on hand is a Communications Bar incorporating a Full HD (1920 x 1080) webcam with an electronic e-Shutter for privacy and dual-array microphones.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The ThinkPad Z13 features a 13.3-inch 16:10 display with up to a 2.8K OLED panel and a 91.6% screen-to-body ratio. The laptop is powered by next-gen AMD Ryzen PRO U-series CPUs or an optional exclusive AMD Ryzen PRO processor. Integrated Radeon graphics, DDR5 RAM, and PCIe Gen 4 round out the performance specifications.

Material options include arctic grey or black recycled aluminum or black recycled vegan leather. The ThinkPad Z13 has minimal connectivity with two USB-C 4.0 ports and an audio jack, to go with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 with optional 4G LTE WWAN support.

The ThinkPad Z13 will be available in May 2022 with a starting price of $1,549.

Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 right front facing.
Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Image used with permission by copyright holder

The ThinkPad Z16 offers a 16.0-inch 16:10 display with up to a 4K OLED panel with a 92.3% screen-to-body ratio. It’s powered by next-gen AMD Ryzen Pro H-series processors for a bit more power.

The system also uses DDR5 RAM and PCIe Gen 4, with either integrated Radeon graphics or an optional AMD discrete GPU. There’s only one material option with the ThinkPad Z16, the arctic grey recycled aluminum.

Three USB-C 4.0 ports, an audio jack, and an SD card reader provide physical connectivity, while wireless connectivity includes Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 along with optional 4G LTE WWAN support.

The ThinkPad Z16 will be available in May 2022 with a starting price of $2,099.

Editors' Recommendations

Mark Coppock
Mark has been a geek since MS-DOS gave way to Windows and the PalmPilot was a thing. He’s translated his love for…
ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 adds 165Hz screen and RTX 3080 Ti
The ThinkPad X1 Extreme, now in its 5th generation.

Lenovo has announced an impressive update to the ThinkPad X1 Extreme, now in its fifth generation. The two key features are the 165Hz refresh rate screen and the addition of up to RTX 3080 Ti graphics.

In the current generation, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme maxes out at the RTX 3070 and 60Hz.

Read more
Lenovo ThinkPad X13s hands-on review: ARM-powered ThinkPad
thinkpad x13s hands on new specs price photos x13 gen 1 featured image

Lenovo's best laptops have always had Intel or AMD inside, but in a first, there's now a new ThinkPad powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 compute platform.

More specifically, it is the ThinkPad X13s, an ARM-powered device that's unlike a regular ThinkPad in more ways than one. With promising always-on, always-connected performance and a fantastic sustainable design, this Lenovo laptop feels different from past Windows on ARM devices, and after trying one ahead of Mobile World Congress, it dares to take on Apple's M1 MacBooks in the business realm.

Read more
The best laptops of CES 2022
The Dell XPS 13 Plus on a marble side table.

Many of the best laptops make their debut at CES each year. Every manufacturer shows up to CES 2022 with what will be the biggest releases of 2022, many of which are flagship models that set the trends for laptops for 2022 and beyond.
Not including the best gaming laptops at CES, which devices have impressed us most at the show so far? These devices push the boundaries of laptop design in some fundamental way, and they provide a preview of laptop releases in 2022.

Top Tech of CES 2022 Editor's Choice

Read more