Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5: Disrupting The Tech World

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 – A Laptop and Tablet

CES 2024 in Las Vegas has plenty to cheer about – from technological breakthroughs to new AI innovations. Among all the happenings, Lenovo dropped a piece of exciting news – it introduced a new ThinkBook model – Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 – a hybrid of a Laptop and a Tablet – a 2-in-1 Laptop.

When someone looks at the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5, it will appear as a normal laptop with a screen and a base keyboard. However, upon closer look, one will start to feel that there is something different. On the left backside of the screen of the hybrid laptop, there are two cameras which is usual for smartphones and tablets, but unusual for a conventional laptop. The laptop is made of aluminum while the bottom is made of plastic. Both sides of the hybrid base are equipped with one Thunderbolt 4 port.

It also features a 3.5mm headphone jack. The laptop has a 14-inch 2.8K OLED screen which will transform into a tablet upon pressing a button on the laptop base. Then the screen can be detached from the base of the laptop and will work as a separate tablet machine, running on Android 13 and completely distinct from the base of the laptop.

If the base of the laptop is connected to a separate monitor, it will act as a desktop and continue to run on Windows 11 OS. Then, if the screen is attached back to the base and the same button is pressed, the entire machine is transformed into a Windows laptop again and will continue to work on Windows 11. The tablet and the laptop are completely separate from each other with different OS, specifications, and features.

2-in-1 Laptops and Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5

Before understanding how Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 is different from other 2-in-1 laptops and how it could disrupt the tech world, first let’s understand the mechanism of the 2-in-1 laptops. 2-in-1 Laptops come in two distinct varieties – 1. Convertibles and 2. Detachable.

‘Convertible’ 2-in-1 laptops are basically normal laptops with flexible screens. After using these 2-in-1 laptops as ‘laptops’, if the user wants to use them as tablets, the user can fold the screen and transform the machines into tablets. The flexible screens can rotate 360^o, hence, they can be used in different ways as a traditional tablet can be used. However, at the core, these convertible 2-in-1 laptops are ‘laptops’ with rotatable and flexible screens. Users generally do not get all the features of a laptop and a tablet in these convertible 2-in-1 laptops.

On the other hand, ‘Detachable’ 2-in-1 laptops are laptops whose screens can be detached from the keyboard of the machine and the screen will work as a tablet. The ‘screens’ of these detachable 2-in-1 laptops are equipped with CPUs, GPUs, batteries, and all other things necessary to run these 2-in-1 laptops. Generally, the keyboard does not have many functions to carry out other than being a keyboard. So, these ‘Detachable’ 2-in-1 laptops are basically ‘Tablets’ with attachable keyboards. Just like convertible 2-in-1 laptops, these detachable 2-in-1 laptops do not provide all the features of a laptop and a tablet.

Aesthetically and visually, Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 falls into this category. However, there are some striking differences between any other 2-in-1 Laptops and Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5.

How Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 is Different and Unique

As I have mentioned before, aesthetically and visually, the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 is a ‘Detachable’ 2-in-1 laptop. However, there are some unique differences between other detachable 2-in-1 laptops and Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5. Of course, just like any other detachable 2-in-1 laptop, Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 looks like a laptop and, just like any other detachable 2-in-1 laptop, the screen of the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 can be detached from the base keyboard.

Now, here is the unique and interesting thing about the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5. The base of this Lenovo laptop is a full-fledged ‘laptop’ and the screen of this Lenovo laptop is a fully functional ‘tablet’. Both these units are completely separate from each other and stay stand-alone without any synchronization. When the ‘tablet’ – that is the screen – is attached to the base or keyboard, it functions as a display screen of the base ‘laptop’. Once the ‘tablet’ or the screen is separated from the base, it starts to act like a ‘tablet’.

However, the buyer can not use both the laptop and tablet seamlessly, instead, the user will have to switch between working on a laptop and working on a tablet. The laptop has a ‘shared’ folder containing 10 GB of space. The user needs to save the files in this particular folder to access the files in both the units of the laptop. However, the exclusive files on a particular part of the laptop can not be accessed by the other part. In future updates or future models, Lenovo needs to work on that.

As I have mentioned before, the amazing thing about Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 is that both its ‘tablet’ and ‘laptop’ have their specifications and features. Let’s talk about them.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 – The Tablet

The 14-inch screen of the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 is a separate tablet that will be activated upon pressing of a button on the base keyboard. There are two small protrudes coming out of the hinge of the laptop which connects the screen or the tablet with the base keyboard via magnetic connection. Detaching and connecting the screen with the base keyboard can be a cumbersome activity and may require some effort from the user’s end.

Once activated, the tablet portion will start running on Android 13 OS. The screen or the tablet is 0.8 kg in weight and 0.5 cm in thickness. Though it appears to be a bit larger than the conventional tablets, the screen of the machine is not hard to carry around. The display of the tablet portion has 2.8K OLED with 2880 x 1800 pixels and comes with a 60 Hz refresh rate. The tablet has both a touch-screen and a pen (Lenovo Stylus Pen) facility.

At the bottom of the tablet, there is a power button for the tablet which is exclusive to the tablet. The tablet portion of the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 comes with a full HD webcam with a privacy shutter and is equipped with IR for identification purposes. It has two back cameras – one is 13MP ultra-wide and the other is 5MP. It has four 1-watt speakers which provide a decent surround sound experience. Although, high-intensity gamers may not be fully satisfied with the sound quality.

The tablet has its own battery with 38 Watt/Per Hour specifications. The full extension of the tablet’s battery is yet to be tested in a real-time environment. The tablet part has only one USB port – a USB-C port. Its wireless connectivity is better as it is equipped with the latest Wifi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

As mentioned before, the tablet the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 runs on Android 13. It is equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 mobile CPU and Qualcomm’s own integrated Adreno GPU. What is amazing about the tablet part of the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 is that it has its very own SSD storage and RAM which allows the tablet portion to function independently and gives the machine its uniqueness, making it different from other 2-in-1 laptops. It has 256 GB storage and 12 GB RAM which, alongside Android 13, enable the tablet to run smoothly.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 – The Laptop

As mentioned before, the base keyboard of the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 is the laptop. The base keyboard weighs a little less than 1 kg and has a thickness of 0.8 cm. Once the screen or the tablet portion is attached to the machine, it acts like the screen of the laptop. The screen/tablet and the base keyboard together weigh 1.8 kg and have a thickness of 1.6 cm.

If the tablet or the screen is removed and if the keyboard is attached to a separate monitor, the base keyboard will keep on acting like a desktop computer. While attached to the base keyboard, the screen will retain its touch-screen feature. Additionally, the Lenovo Stylus pen can also be used. The laptop portion of the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 is equipped with Windows 11. It has an Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU and an integrated Intel Arc GPU. It has 1 TB of SSD storage and 32 GB of RAM.

The laptop portion has two USB-C/ Thunderbolt 4 ports and an audio combo jack. Just like the tablet portion, it has the latest Wifi 6E version. However, it does not have the latest 5.3 Bluetooth instead it has a 5.2 version which is a letdown. It has two 2W speakers which give a relatively good sound experience. Just like the tablet portion, the laptop portion of Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 has its own battery which is supposed to last for 11-12 hours. The battery has 75 Watts/Per Hour of charging power.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 – Features, Price, and Launch Date

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 – Pros & Cons and Score

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 – Score

How Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Can Disrupt The Tech World

Computer machines started as huge cumbersome machines that needed a lot of space and maintenance. With innovations, it came to our household as desktops. Soon, it jumped into our lap as ‘laptops’. At the same time, our phones turned smart and could do various activities that were previously done by other devices. Smartphones could even do some activities that computers used to perform. So, consumers yearned for a computer device that could perform all the tasks of a computer and could be carried anywhere with ease. Hence came tablets which were easy to carry and could perform various tasks of a computer and smartphones.

However, tablets could not replace the laptops. Tablets gave comfort and agility but they lacked the power and strength of a laptop. To cater to consumer demand for both mobility and power, tech companies introduced 2-in-1 laptops. As mentioned earlier, they came in two varieties – Convertibles and Detachables. Both the varieties have their pros and cons. Convertible 2-in-1 laptops are laptops with flexible screens and Detachable 2-in-1 laptops are tablets with detachable keyboards. unfortunately, none of the versions can truly provide the ‘best of both worlds’.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 tries to cater to this need of the consumers who would want a laptop that has the power of a laptop and mobility of a tablet. A hybrid computing machine that can be taken to the workplace, to college, or to a library to carry out various tasks, that should be mobile and agile enough to carry in subways, coffee shops, and metros, and that can be used for carry out leisure and fun activities such as watching a movie, taking pictures, browsing social media, etc.

However, the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 does not try to provide a machine with the best features of both laptops and tablets, instead, it provides two machines – a laptop and a tablet – and fits them into a single set-up. Prospective consumers can bring it to the workplace college or coffee shops and perform professional and study-related tasks. They can easily carry it in buses or subways. During leisure time, they can detach the screen – the tablet portion – and use it for various fun-related activities. This would revolutionize the 2-in-1 laptop segment. Through time and innovation, this approach can be, enhanced, and rough edges can be smoothed out to make the future hybrid machines even more potent.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 – Drawbacks

However, Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 comes with its own drawbacks. Having two distinct machines within one set-up will create issues with seamless connectivity between two machines. In its current form, Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 has a shared folder of 10 GB space. Files need to be stored in this folder to access seamlessly. Not everything can be accessed through both the laptop and the tablet. Lenovo has to find better techniques to make both the tablet and laptop connect with each other coherently and without any restrictions.

Also, having two separate machines and configurations would mean that the cost would be high. Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 is priced at $1,999 which puts it in the premium section. The decision to buy a laptop is a big one and customers think about all their options before making a purchase. Consumers would ask the question – why not buy a separate laptop and a tablet instead of buying a Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5? A good quality laptop and tablet would easily come at or below $1,999.

Also, even with a premium price, the hybrid laptop does not provide too much raw power for high-intensity gaming or graphics. Various intense graphic works, such as HD video creation or editing, HD image editing, HQ content creation, etc, will require more features which could drive up the price even more. Also, these high-intensity graphic works would require uninterrupted connectivity between laptop and tablet portion should the user choose to work on both devices and only 10 GB of shared space will not do.

Conclusion

Even with the above-mentioned drawbacks, Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 has the potential to become one of the top laptops and one of the top 2-in-1 laptops. It does open up a new window for the amalgamation of laptops and tablets. It is definitely going to disrupt the laptop world and set some new normals, especially in the spectrum of 2-in-1 laptops. However, it needs to add more features and be more innovative in order to broaden its horizon and extend its reach.

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***This article is for information purposes only. It does not make any recommendation. Do not make your decision based on this article only.