Lenovo on Monday introduced its new ThinkPad P1 workstation, which brings together a 4K 15.6-inch display, high performance, and portability. The system can integrate Intel’s latest Core or Xeon processors with up to six cores, NVIDIA’s Quadro discrete graphics, as well as a massive amount of DRAM and solid-state storage. At the same time, the P1 is one of the thinnest and lightest laptops of its class on the market today.

The Lenovo ThinkPad P1 mobile workstation is based around Intel’s 8th Core i5/i7/i9 or Xeon processor accompanied by up to 64 GB of DDR4-2667 (with or without ECC) and up to 4 TB solid-state storage. It is noteworthy that Lenovo uses user-upgradeable SO-DIMM memory modules, not soldered-down chips, like many other PC makers do with ultra-thin laptops. When it comes to graphics, models with discrete GPU feature NVIDIA’s Quadro P1000 or P2000. Cheaper versions could potentially rely on Intel’s UHD 620 iGPU, but Lenovo is not announcing any such products today.

Lenovo intends to offer two display options with its ThinkPad P1. The more advanced SKUs are outfitted with a multitouch 15.6-inch 10-bit IPS LCD with a 4K Ultra-HD (3840×2160) resolution, a 400 nits brightness, and covering 100% of the AdobeRGB color gamut. The more affordable models will come with a non-touch Full-HD (1920×1080) IPS panel featuring a 300 nits brightness and covering 100% of the sRGB color range.

Moving on to connectivity. On the wireless side of things, the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 has Intel’s Wireless-AC 9560 802.11ac Wi-Fi solution featuring up to 1.73 Gbps throughput over 160 MHz channels as well as supporting Bluetooth 5.0 tech. As for hardware interfaces, the ThinkPad P1 is equipped with two Thunderbolt 3 ports (unknown controller), two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A connectors, a mini GbE header (requires a dongle), an HDMI 2.0 output, an optional smart card reader, a 4-in-1 card reader, a webcam, a fingerprint scanner, and a TRRS audio port.

When it comes to design, the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 takes a lot of pages from the popular ThinkPad X1 Carbon series. It also comes in black carbon fiber chassis that is rugged enough to take bumps of everyday use by a road warrior. Lenovo says that the new ThinkPad P1 can withstand cold, heat, humid, dust, fungus (ed: !), shocks and other harsh environments, just like its smaller brother. Besides, the two flagship ThinkPads also have similar ergonomic keyboards.

Usage of carbon fiber enables Lenovo to make the laptop thinner and lighter than most 15.6-inch notebooks available today: it is just 17.8 mm (0.7 inch) thick and it weighs 1.7 kg (3.76 pounds). When compared to the latest MacBook Pro 15.6-inch, the latter will be thinner (at 15.5 mm/0.61 inch), but heavier (at 1.83 kg/4.02 pounds). Meanwhile, the ASUS ZenBook Pro 15 UX550 is both thicker (18.9 mm/0.74 inch) and heavier (1.86 kg/4.1 lbs) that the new ThinkPad P1.

All ThinkPad P1 models will come equipped with an 80 Wh battery, but the company does not disclose their battery life, possibly because there will be too many different configurations. It is noteworthy that Lenovo bundles a special miniature 135 W charger with a proprietary connection with the P1, and the laptop cannot use USB-C for charging.

Lenovo will begin to ship the ThinkPad P1 in late August, prices will start at $1,949.

Lenovo's ThinkPad P1 ThinkPad P1 FHD ThinkPad P1 4K UHD Display Type IPS Resolution 1920×1080 3840×2160 Brightness 300 cd/m² 400 cd/m² Color Gamut ~100% sRGB 100% AdobeRGB Touch No Yes CPU Intel's 8th Generation Core i5/i7/i9 or Xeon processors with six cores.

Select SKUs will be powered by vPro-enabled CPUs Graphics Integrated UHD Graphics 620 (24 EUs) Discrete NVIDIA Quadro P1000 (GP107GL, 640 SPs)

NVIDIA Quadro P2000 (GP106GL, 1024 SPs) RAM up to 64 GB DDR4-2667

with or without ECC, depending on CPU Storage up to 4 TB PCIe SSD with RAID 0/RAID 1 Wi-Fi Intel Wireless AC-9560 2×2 802.11ac Wi-Fi with up to 1.73 Gbps Bluetooth Bluetooth 5 Thunderbolt 2 × USB Type-C TB3 ports USB 2 × USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C HDMI HDMI 2.0 GbE Native, with a dongle Fingerprint Sensor Yes Webcam 720p webcam

720p webcam with IR for Windows Hello Other I/O Microphone, stereo speakers, TRRS audio jack, joystick, trackpad, card reader, optional smart card reader, etc. Battery 80 Wh Dimensions Thickness 18.4 mm | 0.7 inch Width 361.8 mm | 14.2 inch Depth 245.7 mm | 9.7 inch Weight 1.7 kilograms | 3.76 lbs Operating System Windows 10 Pro for Workstations (with Xeon CPUs only)

Windows 10 Pro

Ubuntu Linux (pre-load)

Redhat Linux (certified) ISV Certifications ArcGIS, AutoCAD, CATIA, Creo, Inventor, Microstation, NX, PDMS, Revit, Solid Edge, SolidWorks, Vectorworks

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