Just as leaks predicted ahead of the official launch, Lenovo has launched a new smartphone at CES, leveraging the historic ‘Think’ brand 30 years after the original ThinkPad. The result: the ThinkPhone by Motorola.
Speaking broad strokes, the ThinkPhone is a fairly standard flagship phone with software and design enhancements created to make the most of enterprise situations and workplaces.
Lenovo describes it as the ‘best companion to a ThinkPad’ and features a carbon fibre-like design that’s very reminiscent of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, and it’s built to last too.
The phone’s not only IP68 rated against water and dust but is also MIL-STD 810H certified, so you know it’s going to survive whether you drop it on the ground or drop it in water.
The durability comes thanks to the aramid fibre used in the rear panel construction, combined with an aluminium frame and Gorilla Glass Victus front surface.
It also features a customisable Red Key (that’s the red button on the side), which you can use to quickly get into business apps that you use all the time or connect with your PC to gain access to some of the cross-device functionality.
Those functions include Instant Connect which lets you quickly discover a nearby PC and connect to it or the unified clipboard and notifications which let you easily copy and paste across devices or view your phone notifications on your laptop screen respectively.
You can also use a file drop feature to drag and drop files straight from the ThinkPhone to your PC, or use your phone as a webcam during video calls on apps like Teams.
In fact, the phone is preloaded with Microsoft 365, Outlook and Teams right out of the box and the red button can be used to instantly connect and use the Walkie Talkie feature in Teams for immediate responses to colleagues who work remotely.
As for basic specs, you’ve got everything you need. The phone’s powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, features 8GB or 12GB RAM and either 128GB, 256GB or 512GB storage.
You get HDR10+ and support for Amazon and YouTube HDR from the 6.6-inch AMOLED display on the front, as well as up to 144Hz refresh rates and a resolution of 1080 x 2400.
There’s a 5000mAh battery, 68W wired TurboPower wired charging, 15W wireless charging and dual speakers, plus a dual camera system made up of a 50-megapixel main camera and 13-megapixel ultrawide.
The phone goes on sale in a number of regions across the globe at some point in the next few months. It’ll be available in the US, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Australia and some Asian countries.