MWC 2023: Lenovo presents new upper-class notebooks

Lenovo Thinkpad Z13 Gen 2 (Bild: Lenovo)

The Mobile World Congress (MWC) surprises us again this year with some exciting technology highlights. Of course, the PC expert Lenovo did not miss the opportunity to present its innovations. At the trade show, they presented several upcoming upper-class notebooks to the world public, which are supposed to come with Zen 4 processors from AMD, among other things.

Lenovo Thinkpad Z13 Gen 2 and Z16 Gen 2

The Thinkpad Z13 Gen 2 as well as the larger Z16 Gen 2 were also part of the game. Lenovo equips these with Zen 4 CPUs from AMD. An alternative from Intel should not be available here. It is not yet known which processor of the 7000 series it is exactly, but in view of the working memory of a maximum of 64 GB LPDDR5X-7500, it can be assumed that it is probably Phoenix.

This is the codename of AMD’s Zen-4, but why is Lenovo keeping such a low profile in this regard? This is probably due to the fact that some of the installed processors have not even been announced by AMD yet. This means that the ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2 and Z16 Gen 2 should be equipped with brand new processor technology.

You can already tell from the name of the two notebooks that they come in different sizes. The screen diagonals are 13.3 inches and 16 inches, respectively, and have different resolutions of 2.8K and 4K. An OLED screen is supposed to be available for both models. The standard version, on the other hand, is likely to use IPS.

Otherwise, both models show up rather uniform in their technical equipment. For example, you should be able to opt for a huge PCIe SSD with a size of 2 TB. Those who like to work on the go can also install a modem for LTE. Lenovo’s Thinkpad Z16 Gen 2 scores with a bit more ports in terms of connectivity. Besides three USB-C ports and a 3.5 mm jack, an SD card reader is also used.

Lenovo Thinkpad Z13 Gen 2 (Image: Lenovo)

Unfortunately, the Z13 does not have a third USB-C port or an SD card reader. On the other hand, it scores with its slim weight of 1.2 kg, which is about 600 g less than the Z16. Both notebooks score wirelessly with WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1. The Z13 takes a slightly different approach in terms of looks. You can have the lid made of aluminum embellished with flax fiber in brown.

Other highlights from MWC 2023:

Other (new) announcements

In addition to Lenovo Thinkpad Z13 Gen 2 and Z16 Gen 2, the manufacturer has also announced other upcoming notebooks. Strictly speaking, however, these are not really new products, but rather updates of already available models. For example, Lenovo wants to introduce ThinkPad X13 Gen 4, X13 Yoga Gen 4, ThinkPad T14 Gen 4, T14s Gen 14, T16 Gen 2, L13 Gen 4 and Z16 Gen 2.
Thinkpad L13 Gen 4, L13 Yoga Gen 4, L14 Gen 4, L15 Gen 4 and the Thinkpad E14 Gen 5 with new CPUs. The Thinkpad E16 is an exception. This is new in the portfolio and wants to target business users.

Prices and availability

Lenovo’s Thinkpad Z13 Gen 2 and Z16 Gen 2 are by no means bargains. Thus, the prices for the 13.3-inch model are supposed to start at 1,965 Euros. The larger 16-inch model will cost at least 2,335 Euros. While the Z13 Gen 2 is supposed to go on sale in July 2023, Lenovo wants to offer its Z16 Gen 2 in August 2023.