Lenovo launches new Legion gaming notebooks and Alexa-powered speaker

LAS VEGAS—Lenovo prepared a few surprises for its CES lineup. Instead of all-new Yogas or two-in-ones, the company is embracing gaming hardware and smart home, while refreshing some of its existing products. Most notably, Lenovo launched a new gaming sub-category in its laptop family called Legion—the new Legion Y520 and Y720 are notebooks aimed at both hardcore and occasional gamers alike. In an interesting move, Lenovo also debuted a smart home speaker called Smart Assistant that uses Amazon's Alexa voice assistant.

Let's start with the Legion Y720, which is clearly the laptop meant for serious gamers. You have a choice between a 15.6-inch FHD IPS display or the higher-res 4K IPS, anti-glare panel. This model comes with Dolby Atmos sound as well, which should amplify even the smallest sound effects in games for a more immersive experience. It comes standard with Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1060 GPU, making it ready to go for whatever VR headset you have on hand. In addition to VR, you can get some Xbox capabilities on this notebook: there's an optional integrated Xbox One wireless receiver add-on that will support up to four controllers at once, letting you play multiplayer games with your friends.

Along with the latest Nvidia graphics are the newest Kaby Lake processors from Intel: you have the choice of the Core i5-7300HQ or the Core i7-7700HQ CPU in the Y720. There are also a number of storage options, including up to 2TB SATA HDD or up to 512GB PCIe SSD, and the model comes standard with 16GB of RAM. Thankfully the Y720 does include a Thunderbolt 3-capable USB Type-C port, in addition to three USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port, a VGA port, a DisplayPort, and an audio jack. Inside is a 60Whr battery as well, so the Y720 should get up to 5 hours on a single charge.

The Y520 appears most in line with devices like Dell's Inspiron 15 7000 gaming notebook, which is built for casual gamers who want a solid device that won't empty their bank account. Both it and the Y720 have a similar design, but the Y520 has fewer features and spec options. It does still support the latest Kaby Lake processors and Nvidia GPUs, but you can only get the Y520 with a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics chip. It has the same 16GB of RAM and plethora of storage choices, but you'll have to make do with an FHD panel since it doesn't have a 4K display option.

A minor cosmetic difference lies in the backlit keyboard: while the Y720 glows with the full RGB range of color, the Y520 only glows in red. There's also no Thunderbolt 3 support on the Y520, however it does have one USB Type C port. There are big trade-offs between the Y720 and the Y520, but they are choices that would have divided the two target audiences anyway. Serious mobile gamers will want the option to play VR games, have a 4K display, and utilize Thunderbolt 3, whereas most occasional gamers will not need those features.

Taking on smart home, with some help

Every major company is trying to compete with Amazon's Echo and Alexa assistant. If we haven't already seen a clone of the home assistant like Google's Home, there are rumors of new products to come from the likes of Microsoft and Apple. Lenovo is also getting in the mix, but it's not trying to compete with Amazon—it's working with the online retailer. Lenovo's first dive into the smart home space comes in the form of its new Smart Assistant home speaker, equipped with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant.

The $129 device looks strikingly like the Echo with its cylindrical shape, half of which is a speaker grill that comes in gray, black, green, and orange colors. Inside the device are eight 360-degree, far-field microphones with noise suppression and acoustic echo cancellation. That means it can hear a command from up to 16 feet away, which will undoubtably cover the width of your living room at least. There's nothing particularly noteworthy about the Smart Assistant's speakers, aside from the fact that you can get a Harman Kardon model of the device for $50 more that should produce even better sound.

Otherwise, the tube is just another home for Amazon's Alexa, allowing you to get news briefings, create lists, shop online, and more by using your voice. Lenovo does note that its Smart Assistant is "designed to run Lenovo smart home devices" as well as third-party devices that can be controlled via Alexa. Currently things like Philips' Hue smart light bulbs can be controlled with voice commands, but it seems that Lenovo may introduce some more smart home devices of its own that will be compatible with the Smart Assistant and Alexa.

Updates galore to Miix and Thinkpad X1

Lenovo didn't just focus on new products for CES; its Miix detachable and Thinkpad X1 line are getting updates, too. Nearly a year after the Miix 700 came out, Lenovo now has an update for it in the Miix 720. This device is billed as an all-in-one detachable that features the new Active Pen 2, now with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, a 2880 x 1920 resolution display, a Windows Hello-capable IR camera, a Thunderbolt 3 port, and an improved eight-hour battery life. You'll also have the option to outfit the Miix 720 Kaby Lake processor if you want and need that much power in a device as versatile as this. However the Miix 720 still has the same type of design, with a removable keyboard and flip-out kickstand, that the ThinkPad X1 has, and we were disappointed at the unsteadiness of that device.

Some of the machines under the Thinkpad X1 line are getting minor updates as well. Lenovo debuted the fifth-generation Thinkpad X1 Carbon, which will now be available in black and a new silver color and includes a Thunderbolt 3 port, an IR camera and fingerprint sensor that support Windows Hello biometrics, and an improved 14.5 hour battery life. Lenovo also improved the antenna placement in the new X1 Carbon so it can support both Snapdragon X7 LTE-A Wireless WAN and WiGig. The Thinkpad X1 Yoga gets some display enhancements with a 14-inch OLED panel, Intel Iris graphics, a new keyboard design that lets it lie completely flat in tablet mode, and a new Pro Pen that has a soft elastomer tip for a more natural writing feel.

These are all fairly small updates that could make a big difference if you're thinking of purchasing one of these workstations in the next year. It may be worth it to wait until the newest models are available. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon and X1 Yoga will be available starting in February starting at $1,349 and $1,499, respectively. Lenovo's new Legion Y720 laptop will be available in April starting at $1,399; the Y520 notebook will be ready in February starting at $899; and Lenovo's Smart Assistant will be coming in May starting at $129.