The super rugged Motorola ThinkPhone combines carbon fiber with your daily 9-to-5
Leave it to Lenovo to bring some mobile weirdness toCES 2023. While the wild west of smartphones is undoubtedly behind us — and the lack of LG and other OEMs isn’t helping — we still see a few surprises every year that make us turn our heads and stare. Lenovo and Motorola’s ThinkPhone isn’t as weird as, say,a concept rollable that never sees the light of day, but compared to theusual lineup of phones from Samsung and Google, there’s plenty here that might catch the attention of die-hard Android fans.
6.6" FHD+ pOLED
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1
Storage and RAM
128/256/512GB, 8GB or 12GB RAM
Rear cameras
50MP f/1.8 main + 13MP f/2.2 ultra-wide + depth sensor
Front camera
32MP f/2.45
5,000mAh w/ 68W fast-charging, 15W wireless charging
Connectivity
5G, dual SIM, Wi-Fi 6, NFC
Peripherals
USB-C, dual stereo speakers
158.76mm x 74.38mm x 8.26mm / 188.5g
As you might expect, the ThinkPhone by Motorola is a new smartphone based on Lenovo’s business-focused lineup of laptops and tablets, right down to the large branding on the back of the device. With squared edges and a carbon fiber finish, it’s bound to be a controversial design. It’s a style that went out of favor as glass-and-metal slabs came into play, appearing more like a Blackberry device than anything else on the market right now.
Thankfully, the front of the phone is a much more familiar sight, thanks in no small part to a massive 6.6" pOLED FHD+ display. It doesn’t compare to the likes of Samsung’s best screens, but it’s a far cry from the phones Lenovo is emulating with this device — especially for business-focused markets. The internals are also fairly impressive; although theSnapdragon 8+ Gen 1is no longer Qualcomm’s latest and greatest, it’s still powering many of our favorite Android phones currently on the market. Factor in 8GB or 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage, and you’re looking at a fairly powerful device.
Of course, it’s not all about specs. Savvy readers have likely spotted that mysterious red button alongside the frame of the ThinkPhone. No, it’s not an uncomfortably high power button, nor is it a shutter key for the 50MP wide lens on the back (paired with a 13MP ultra-wide). Motorola partnered with Microsoft to add instant push-to-talk communication via Teams. Just click and hold the button to directly communicate with fellow employees and team members, just like you’re back in the days of Nextel.
Meanwhile, Lenovo’s “Think 2 Think” program links the ThinkPhone with any ThinkPad on the market, providing several methods of syncing the two devices together. Unified clipboards and notifications, automated file transfers, app streaming, webcams, and even an instant hotspot are all available if you buy into the Think ecosystem. It might not be enough to sway potential Galaxy S23 buyers, but if you’re constantly jumping from boardroom to boardroom — virtual or otherwise — this could be the phone for you.
Lenovo and Motorola are launching the ThinkPhone in the US, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, Australia and select Asian countries sometime in 2023, but we’ll have to keep waiting on exact availability and pricing. It might just be Motorola’s most interesting non-foldable in years, but we’ll have to wait a little longer to see if it’s worth buying outside of the business world.
The first-gen ThinkPhone is a rugged take on a business-friendly smartphone. It syncs directly with any modern Lenovo ThinkPad laptop to bring your devices closer together than ever, all while offering flagship-level performance for productivity, gaming, and more.
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