A Look Back (and Peek Ahead) at Lenovo’s Technology Innovations

PCMag isn’t the only one with a whole lot of birthday candles on their cake this year. Lenovo was founded back in 1984 and is the largest and arguably the most innovative PC maker in the world today. PCMag has been reviewing Lenovo devices(Opens in a new window) since the magazine was printed on paper and cell phones were called pocket PCs. Join us in celebrating a few groundbreaking machines that have impressed editors over the last four decades—and still impress today. 

The Razr Flip Is Cool Again 

(PCMagazine, 2006)

When the Motorola Razr V3 launched in 2004, it was so ahead of its time, this magazine had to tell readers how to pronounce it. The Razr quickly became the most popular phone in the country and, by 2007, the Razr sported a camera, music and video player, a web browser, a whopping 3.5 hours of battery life, and a regular spot on PCMag’s Editors’ Choice list. 

Now, with nostalgia fueling trends worldwide, it’s no surprise the flip phone craze has come full circle in 2022. The Razr 5G(Opens in a new window) has that cool retro feel but with all the bells and whistles you want, including a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G processor. When you open it, you’ll find a gorgeous 6.2-inch, 2142-by-876-pixel folding POLED display and a 48MP camera. And you can go all day without recharging, instead of 3.5 hours. 

Don’t Mess With ThinkPad’s Classic Chassis

(PCMagazine, 2004)

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon laptop carries quite a history, having racked up more rave reviews than almost any other notebook. Back in 2007, PCMag reviewed the ThinkPad X Series as one of the best-performing ultraportables on the market, thanks to its durable chassis, full-size keyboard, and all the wireless technology of the day. 

Fast forward to today’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9(Opens in a new window), and it’s remarkable how fast and light these executive notebooks have become. True to its classic form, the matte-black carbon-fiber and magnesium-alloy chassis has passed military-grade tests and the keyboard has slightly curved keys that hug your fingers, which keyboard jockeys will appreciate. 

Tiny ThinkCentre Still Hits the Sweet Spot

(PCMagazine, 2003)

Back in the aughts, the need for smaller desktops at the office was real. Lenovo answered the call with the ThinkCentre S50 in 2006, which was raved about for being smaller than a cereal box and offering employees more desk space for their “folders and pads.” As you know, the workspace is still evolving and, with it, Lenovo’s small desktops. 

Today, the ThinkCentre M70s Small Form Factor Desktop(Opens in a new window) rings in at a demure 8.2 liters and the black chassis has a clean design that looks slick in the modern office — a.k.a. your kitchen table. The 10th Gen Intel Core processor and fast DDR4 memory let you multitask with ease. This tiny machine also supports up to three monitors and its ports and expansion slots make upgrades a snap. Talk about a sweet WFH setup.

It’s Game-On With Legion 

(PCMag, Lenovo)

The Legion gaming series is a stellar example of how Lenovo is still crushing it after all these years. Announced at CES 2017, the Legion Y520 and Y720 were Lenovo’s first machines built with gamers in mind. Out of the gate, the laptops were well built machines with NVIDIA graphics, Dolby Atmos sound, and 7th Gen Intel Core i7 processors that allowed gamers to immerse themselves like never before. 

In 2022, the 6th generation Legion 7i(Opens in a new window) is still killing it. Its groundbreaking gaming benchmarks include an Intel Core i9 HK-series CPU and high-wattage NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080. The fantastic G-Sync screen and PCI Express Gen 4 storage continue to wow gamers everywhere.

Bend, Work, and Play With Yoga

(PCMag, Lenovo)

The hybrid craze began in 2012, when Lenovo launched IdeaPad Yoga, the industry’s first multi-mode notebook with a 360-degree flip-and-fold design. The Yoga racked up 11 awards that year, and PCMag called the Yoga 13 “the best hybrid design we’ve seen so far.” 

A decade later, the Yoga 9i(Opens in a new window) continues to impress with its slick metal design, high-end features, and 18 hours of battery life. Groundbreaking updates to get excited about include an 11th Generation Intel Tiger Lake CPU and a display hinge that’s really one long Dolby Atmos speaker bar that delivers unprecedented sound. Slim, lightweight, and with a great touch screen, Lenovo’s Yoga is still raising the bar.