The Force is strong with Lenovo

The annual IFA in Berlin, Germany is one of the biggest consumer electric exhibitions in Europe, and this year, Lenovo harnessed The Force with its announcements of Star Wars-inspired laptops and AR devices.

Lenovo Yoga 920 Convertible Laptop

Lenovo’s flagship convertible laptop is the Yoga 920, a unique laptop that performs well for different needs due to its flexible “form factor”.

The Yoga 920 looks like regular laptop but transforms into different modes, including a tablet mode for those who want the full power of a Windows 10 machine with the agility of a tablet.

Powered by the latest (8th-gen) Intel Core i7 processor, the Yoga 920 comes in several variants that come with either 8GB to 16GB of RAM and 256GB to 1TB of SSD storage. The 13.9-inch display comes in either full HD (1920x1080 pixels) or 4K (3840x2160 pixels) and is protected by Gorilla Glass. There’s an optional Lenovo Active Pen 2 if you want to use a stylus for the touchscreen display.

Lenovo also revealed a limited-edition Yoga 920 Vibes with the same hardware configuration but with a selection of stylish cover designs made by top talents of the Instituto Europeo di Design. The designs are embedded into the lid and covered by Gorilla Glass as well.

Another set of special edition laptops was also unveiled – the Star Wars Special Edition Yoga 920 Rebel Alliance and Star Wars Special Edition Yoga 920 Galactic Empire.

Battery life goes from 10.8 hours for the 4K model all the way up to 15.5 hours for the full HD variant.

All the Lenovo Yoga 920 models and special editions will be released by the end of September with the price of the Yoga 920 starting at €1,599.99 (P98,063), the Yoga 920 Vibes at €1,799 (P110,329) and the Star Wars edition at €1,899 (P116,462).

Lenovo Yoga 720 and Miix 520

Along with the Yoga 920, Lenovo also announced a slightly smaller Yoga 720. This 12.5-inch two-in-one convertible has almost similar features as the Yoga 920 although with modest configuration that starts with a 7th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, 4GB to 12GB of RAM, and 128GB to 512GB SSD storage.

The Miix 520 is another 12.2-inch two-in-one device with a detachable keyboard. Powered by an 8th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, it has the power of a typical laptop but the versatility of a tablet. The Miix 520 comes with a wide variety of configurations – from a 7th-gen Intel Core i3 to an 8th-gen Core i5 and Core i7 processor, paired with 4GB to 16GB of RAM and 128GB to 1TB of SSD storage.

The Miix 520 also comes with LTE connectivity and an optional fingerprint scanner for added security. At only 880 grams (tablet only), the Miix 520 is very portable and can last almost the whole day with a battery rating of up to 7.5 hours.

Star Wars Jedi Challenges

Perhaps the most interesting device and the one that attracted a lot of crowd at the exhibition floor is the Star Wars Jedi Challenges.

The Jedi Challenges is an app-enabled augmented reality game that utilizes a realistic Jedi Lightsaber controller that looks like an exact replica of the one they used in the movies.

There are four main components for the game to work – the Lenovo Mirage AR Headset, Lightsaber Controller, Tracking Beacon, a compatible smartphone.

The Lenovo Mirage AR Headset is responsible for the AR environment that a user will be experiencing. The Lightsaber Controller will be the user’s controller for the game. Tracking Beacon allows tracking of user’s movements when inside the game.

You can pick from several  Lightsaber Battles against Kylo Ren or Darth Vader, Strategic Combats by leading Rebel forces against the Empire in large-scale ground combats or playing the Holochess.

Pre-orders for the Star Wars Jedi Challenges is ongoing with an estimated price of €249 (P15,265) and an expected release later in November. You can learn more about it on www.jedichallenges.com.

Motorola Moto X (4TH-gen)

The only smartphone launched by Lenovo in IFA is the 4th-gen Motorola Moto X. This premium mid-range Android phone is a huge departure from the previous three generations of the Moto X.

The new Moto X4 has a premium build with an all-metal chassis covered with Gorilla Glass at the front and back. It has a 5.2-inch full HD AMOLED display with a large 16-megapixel camera at the front paired with a Led flash for great selfies even in low light.

There’s a twin 12-megapixel camera at the back with the second one having a wide angle field of view for shooting wide landscape scenes.

The Moto X4 runs on a Snapdragon 630 chip, which is an octa-core processor, paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB internal storage. With stock Android 7.1.2 Nougat running right out of the box, expect the Moto X4 to be snappy and responsive.

One of the more unique features of the Moto X4 is the use of Bluetooth 5.0 to connect up to four Bluetooth speakers or headphones all at the same time.

Lenovo is positioning the Motorola Moto X4 as a well-rounded mid-range offering – nice design and materials, good performance, great camera setup both at the back and IP68 rating for water resistance. It will start shipping by end-September with an MSRP of €399 (P24,429).