The “think” in the name of Lenovo gets a new second part. For the first time there is a ThinkPhone that is officially called “Lenovo ThinkPhone by Motorola”. We were able to try out the Android smartphone at CES 2023 in Las Vegas.
The ThinkPhone isn’t stingy with precious materials. In addition to the matte aluminum frame, it comes with an aramid fiber back, which the manufacturer says is “stronger than steel”. The processing of the pre-series device is successful, everything fits exactly in its place, the buttons have no noticeable play and full pressure points.
There is an additional red button on the left, which is reminiscent of the characteristic red trackpoint in the keyboards of Lenovo notebooks. It can be freely assigned with some functions and can also be used for push to talk in Microsoft teams if desired. The housing is protected against dust and water according to IP68, and Lenovo also ensures protection against falls from a maximum height of 1.25 meters with the MIL-STD-810H certification.
The 6.6-inch OLED display shines brightly and shows rich colors. It can handle a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz, but only if you set it to a fixed value. The adaptive control only works up to a maximum of 120 Hz, but a difference between 120 and 144 Hz cannot be seen with the naked eye. With the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, the ThinkPhone has a very powerful chip in its belly that has more than enough power to still be fast in a few years. The ThinkPhone should receive Android updates for at least four years.
Android on the safe side
The Android 13 operating system of the ThinkPhone not only extends Lenovo’s well-known security functions from Motorola such as Moto Threat Defense and Moto Key Safe, but also implements its own features. With Think 2 Think, an extension of Motorola’s Ready For feature, the smartphone can be paired with a compatible Lenovo PC running Windows 10 or 11 and can then stream Android apps to the computer, manage shared file storage via drag and drop, or receive notifications represent. Once introduced to each other, ThinkPhone and notebook will connect automatically in the future and can share both the mobile phone connection and the clipboard.
The ThinkPhone works closely with (Lenovo) PCs.
Linked to the PC, all ThinkPhone cameras can also be used on the PC. There are three of them: main camera with 50-megapixel sensor, 13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle and 32-megapixel front camera. At least on paper, the camera equipment does not come close to the smartphone luxury class. The ThinkPhone has to prove its quality in a detailed test. The battery with a capacity of 5000 mAh should provide decent endurance.
Lenovo ThinkPhone with aramid fiber back cover
Question marks on the price and availability of the Lenovo ThinkPhone
It will be exciting to see when, how and at what price the ThinkPhone will come onto the market. Lenovo hasn’t mentioned a price so far, but it should be above 1000 euros. It also remains unclear whether the smartphone will only be offered to business customers or whether the ThinkPhone will also be available to private customers. The manufacturer has not yet commented on this, but it is likely that it will at least appear in their own online shop for everyone. Lenovo assures that the ThinkPhone will be available “in the coming months”.
(sht)
