Lenovo has announced a handful of devices at CES 2023, including the ThinkPhone by Motorola smartphone. The ThinkPad line of computers is arguably Lenovo's oldest line of PCs, and this doesn't come as a surprise as IBM originally owned it before Lenovo acquired IBM's PC division. The ThinkPad series is popular among business professionals, and now Lenovo is hoping that popularity will help the ThinkPhone succeed.
The ThinkPhone by Motorola is an Android smartphone that's targeted at professionals. While its technical specs are not unheard of, Lenovo has added a handful of security-focused software and hardware to make it stand out. There is the ThinkShield security platform, the AI-based Moto Threat Defense security solution, the Moto Secure app, which is a hub for security and privacy-related items, and a special processor called Moto KeySafe, which provides an extra layer of security to protect sensitive data like PINs, passwords, and cryptographic keys.
A ThinkPad-Inspired Design
Lenovo borrows heavily from the ThinkPad line with respect to design, particularly the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11. The front of the phone is home to a 6.6-inch FHD+ flat 60Hz OLED display with a punch hole for a 32MP camera. Gorilla Glass Victus protects the display, the flat frame is aircraft-grade aluminum, and the back is aramid fiber which Lenovo claims is stronger than steel. The ThinkPhone also has a MIL-STD 810H certification, and an IP68 dust and water resistance rating, which means the phone can survive drops from up to 1.25 meters and immersion in water up to 1.5 meters deep for 30 minutes.
Along with the usual array of buttons comes a programmable red key on the phone's left side, which imitates the signature Trackpoint on ThinkPad computers. The ThinkPhone is powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, has up to 12GB of RAM, and up to 512GB of storage. Lenovo has equipped the phone with a 50MP main rear camera paired with a 13MP ultrawide angle camera and a depth sensor. There is Wi-Fi 6E, an in-display fingerprint scanner, and Bluetooth, but no headphone jack. It has a 5,000mAh battery and supports 68W fast charging and 15W wireless charging. Thankfully, it comes with a portable charger that is powerful enough to charge a laptop.
Lenovo ships the phone with Microsoft 365, Teams, and Outlook. It is also working with Microsoft to bring additional features like push-to-talk for instant communication via the Walkie-Talkie app through Microsoft Teams, which can be activated using the red key. Lenovo has also added a custom version of its Ready For software which it calls Think to Think. Users will be able to connect their phone and PC over Wi-Fi, easily drag and drop files between the two devices, stream any app, receive app notifications on their PC, and even use the ThinkPhone's camera as a webcam, like Apple's continuity camera feature.
In addition, Lenovo says it is working with Microsoft to allow users to stream their Windows desktop on the ThinkPhone. There is no pricing info for the Lenovo ThinkPhone by Motorola yet, but it has been confirmed that it will be available in Australia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and the US this year.
Source: Lenovo