Lenovo’s ThinkPad team would like to move to 3:2 right now but are having trouble finding suppliers

[Puppy]

Link to Reddit discussion, the original article is paywalled: Paul Thurrott: "[...]Lenovo’s ThinkPad team[...]would like to move to 3:2 right now but are having trouble finding suppliers" (thurrott.com)

[unix_joe]

Virtue signaling.

You are the biggest computer manufacturer in the world. Ask Microsoft, Google, or Huawei where to find the panels.

[Cigarguy]

I agree jdk, sounds like a politician. Lies lies lies. Can't tell me that Lenovo can't talk to a Chinese manufacturer and get it done if the will is there.

[Thinkpad4by3]

Also, apple sources their own 16:10. Lenovo is the laegest Pc manufacturer, I doubt it would be that hard to source their own panels.

[Self_Propelled_Crane]

Why not go back to having 4:3 screens then? 3:2 is practically the same as 4:3 right?

[Ibthink]

3:2 is practically the same as 4:3 right?

No. 3:2 / 15:10 is actually closer to 16:10 than to 4:3 / 16:12.

[exTPfan]

This site is very useful for comparing different shapes:
http://www.displaywars.com/14,1-inch-4x ... 1-inch-3x2

I think 3:2 is the best we can hope for since the manufacturers have spent the last decade pushing 16:9 as !!!new!!! and 4:3 as obsolete. Perhaps 3:2 will become the !!!newnew!!!.

[unix_joe]

Oh noes! Lenovo can’t source enough 3:2 displays because they sell orders of magnitudes more laptops than Microsoft, Huawei, etc. !!!

God, that sub-reddit is a Lenovo controlled safe space.

Here’s a suggestion: Lenovo can come up with a limited production run or something to test the waters. Maybe a special edition emphasizing the retro squarish display that is limited to 5000 devices and is sold at a premium. Oh wait...

[axur-delmeria]

Here’s a suggestion: Lenovo can come up with a limited production run or something to test the waters. Maybe a special edition emphasizing the retro squarish display that is limited to 5000 devices and is sold at a premium. Oh wait...

Good one there.

Reminds me of 51nb's X210, with a 12.3" 3:2 display shoehorned into the lid.

[ThinkRob]

My guess is that the rest of that sentence is: "... that can provide screens at prices that won't send Fortune 500 CTOs running for the hills."

The days of the $2000 laptop are over. If a 3:2 screen makes ThinkPads cost what the Surface Book Pro did, then it ain't gonna happen.

Annoying for us enthusiasts, but that's the world we live in now.

[Summilux]

Here’s a suggestion: Lenovo can come up with a limited production run or something to test the waters. Maybe a special edition emphasizing the retro squarish display that is limited to 5000 devices and is sold at a premium. Oh wait...

Yeah, about that... remember what happened the last time a laptop was supposed to be a special edition ? It ended up being a mere rebranded T470 with a legacy-ish keyboard

[RealBlackStuff]

And more folks who puke on the 16:9 screen: Widescreen laptops are dumb

[Summilux]

Wow, that's an article from 2018. I'd have expected journalists to wake up to this reality, like, 10 years ago - when it was still time.

[penartur]

My guess is that the rest of that sentence is: "... that can provide screens at prices that won't send Fortune 500 CTOs running for the hills."

The days of the $2000 laptop are over. If a 3:2 screen makes ThinkPads cost what the Surface Book Pro did, then it ain't gonna happen.

Surface Laptop with 3:2 high-DPI screen starts at $800 (IIRC it was on sale for $700 recently), and is now $1100 for i5/8GB/256GB configuration (was on sale for $1000 a couple days ago).
X280 starts at $1060, for a basic configuration with a crappy TN 1366x768 screen. You'll need to add another $150 for IPS FHD screen (which is still worse than Surface Laptop one), bringing the total to $1200; and that's with 128GB SSD. Granted X280 is a newer model, and comes with 8th gen quad-core CPU, but still.
If I understand it correctly, by paying just $100-$200 more, you'll get Huawei Matebook X Pro (once it becomes available in US), which in the same weight and dimensions as X280 packs 13.9" 3:2 high-DPI screen (with slim bezels), same 8th gen CPU, MX150 and a larger battery.


Other points of reference among chinese "noname" manufacturers:
Cube thinker, with its 13.5" 3000x2000 screen, at $600 for Core m3/8GB/128GB, is exactly half the price of X280 with 12.5" FHD screen and Core i5/8GB/128GB.
Chuwi Lapbook, with its 12.3" 2736x1824 (3:2), at $300 for Atom/6GB/64GB, is one-fourth the price.
Then there are Chuwi hi13 (13.5" 3000x2000, $350 for Atom/4GB/64GB), Chuwi Surbook (12.3" 2736x1824, $450 for Atom/6GB/128GB) and other similar cheap devices.

But of course Lenovo, being the world's largest PC manufacturer, finds it impossible to source these panels for a decent price. That's why they charge for x280 screen upgrade half the retail price of the entire Lapbook laptop (and once you substract RAM and SSD price off that Lapbook, you'll get an entire barebone laptop with a nice 3:2 screen for the same money Lenovo makes you to pay for upgrade to IPS FHD).

[Summilux]

Meanwhile, MS announces a 50" 4K 3:2 screen for next year.

https://i.imgur.com/ZsZ2BLN.png

I wonder how they did this If even Lenovo has trouble finding regular 3:2 screen suppliers, there's absolutely no way MS can pull an XXL 3:2 panel out of its hat ! It must be vapourware, there's no other possible explanation

[penartur]

Meanwhile, MS announces a 50" 4K 3:2 screen for next year.

If current Surface Hub prices are any indication, it's going to cost around $10,000...

[Summilux]

But it'll be worth every penny ! Unlike what you get with a certain manufacturer

[edik]

What I would give for a T43p upgraded to 3:2 QHD, fast modern CPU, 32GB and dual drives... I mean the exact form factor of T43p.
I loved that machine so much I can't think of any other (than perhaps my old 760XL) that ever exceeded it.

Widescreen (like glossy) the less said the better.

[pianowizard]

But of course Lenovo, being the world's largest PC manufacturer

Lenovo has been #2 for several quarters now, since HP reclaimed the #1 spot. But of course Lenovo is still a very large PC manufacturer.

[penartur]

Cube thinker, with its 13.5" 3000x2000 screen, at $600 for Core m3/8GB/128GB, is exactly half the price of X280 with 12.5" FHD screen and Core i5/8GB/128GB.

By the way, it is now on its final sale (I guess they're clearing out their stock to release new models), for $393, which is IMHO dirt cheap. Of course it's no thinkpad, but at this price and with such a screen I would not be especially picky.

If anyone is interested in that offer, just google for "alldocube thinker gearbest" (I'm not affiliated with them in any way).

Edit: https://us.gearbest.com/laptops/pp_620996.html