I bought this machine for my dad’s birthday. It took a couple of months to find a good laptop that suits his needs and that would have a ton of space for upgrades.
Lenovo Thinkbook ARE G2 was the newest model from Lenovo that came to market in beginning of 2021. Even though the CPU Ryzen 7 4700U is an older model (beginning of 2020), it is understandable that with the current market of semiconductors it was difficult to get laptops out with newer CPU’s.
Laptop market for some reason is still very complex (and it doesn’t have to be). All the vendors keep creating products that have specs from 5 years ago. This especially touches RAM – why is 8GB a standard for mid-range laptops? It should not be.
Who is this laptop for?
Out of all the choices I had, this laptop really stood out. Touch screen, unlimited upgrades, newest USB-C tech (USB 3.2), bright screen (300 nits), light aluminum body – this was a no-brainer. All this at a price of around $1200 CAD (with taxes).
I think this laptop would really be great for starting developers / university students / office work – it has everything you need.
Pictures
Here are some of the images and specs of the laptop itself.
Slim 14″ aluminum body. Opening the laptop requires two hands. USB ports are a bit tight, but not too bad. Screen has super tiny bezels. Camera has shutter and a ON light in case you are worried about your privacy.
The speakers point downwards, but it doesn’t really mute them. The sound is crisp and more than enough for casual watching. Screws hold on to the lower panel when you unscrew them, but there are also plastic tabs if you want to open the laptop up. Use credit card or guitar picks to open the case.
There is a lot of space for upgrades. Starting with RAM, WIFI card, NVME drive (which I did upgrade NVME from Samsung PM991 512GB to Sabrent Rocket Q 2TB) to adding a 2.5″ SSD in the additional caddy you can see next to the battery. Battery from basic use was holding up around 5-6 hours. It charges really fast and has multiple options for maintaining it via Lenovo software.
Ports on the left side. Both USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2) ports can be used for charging. There is an indicator of battery charge and HDMI port.
Ports on the right side. Card reader, USB 3.2 Gen 1, LAN port and a cable lock hole.
The keyboard and screen are very bright and more than enough for reading / programming / watching movies.
Keyboard is soft and very pleasant to use. Compared to 2012 Macbook Pro I have its much much better.
8 Cores / 8 Threads / 16GB RAM / 512GB NVME Drive
Specs:
CPU: Ryzen 7 4700U / 8 Cores / 8 Threads / 2.0 / 4.1GHz, 4MB L2 / 8MB L3
RAM: 16GB DDR4 / 8GB Soldered + 8GB in RAM slot
Drive: NVME 512GB Samsung
Screen: 14″ IPS Touchscreen / 300nits / Anti-glare / 1920 x 1080
Camera: 720p with ThinkShutter
Ports
HDMI: Yes
USB-C: 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Full Function Type-C (USB+DP+PD)
USB: 2 x USB 3.2 Type A
Network (RJ-45): Yes
Card Reader: 4-in-1
Networking
Wireless: IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (Intel AX200 11ax, 2×2 + BT5.1)
Ethernet: RJ45 100/1000M
Power
Badyttery: 3-cell / 45Wh
Power Supply: 65 W
Color / Size / Weight
Color: Mineral Gray
Height: 0.70″ (17.90 mm)
Width: 8.58″ (218 mm)
Depth: 12.75″ (323.90 mm)
Weight (Approximate): 1.50 kg
Body: Aluminum