Yet another Windows alternative to the MacBook Neo lands this fall.
Announced today at IFA, an annual tech trade show in Berlin, Lenovo’s IdeaPad Vibe is a new premium-built budget laptop with a full rainbow of colorways and a plethora of configuration and customization options. The new laptop also comes in two screen sizes, multiple processor flavors, and has upgradable RAM and storage. Its reveal confirms a leak from mid-August.
The IdeaPad Vibe measures 0.59 inches thin, making it less than a tenth of an inch thicker than a MacBook Neo.
Credit: Lenovo
The IdeaPad Vibe launches this October with AMD Ryzen AI 400 series processors and in November with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chips starting at $699.99, according to a company press release. More models with Intel processors are in the works.
In its release, Lenovo billed the IdeaPad Vibe as “an AI PC that is ready to perform and designed to stand out, no matter what a person’s vibe is.”
Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe specs and features
The IdeaPad Vibe has customizable keycaps (sold separately).
Credit: Lenovo
The IdeaPad Vibe will come in 14- and 15-inch sizes that start at 2.87 pounds and 3.31 pounds, respectively, making it slightly bigger than the 13-inch, 2.7-pound MacBook Neo, Apple’s mega-popular $699 notebook. Both sizes will be available with AMD or Qualcomm CPU offerings at the $700 price point; there’s no upcharge for a bigger screen.
The IdeaPad Vibe will come in seven hues that Lenovo developed with the help of the Pantone Color Institute: Chill Blue, Moody Blue, Dreamy Violet, Lowkey Grey, Radiant Coral, Spicy Gold, and Zen Green. Lenovo will sell swappable keycaps that make it even more personalizable.
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Credit: Joseph Maldonado / CNET Group
Most configurations of the IdeaPad Vibe will have a fully metal chassis in the vein of the Neo, though some AMD models will have metal housing with ridged plastic bottom covers. When asked whether there were any pricing or spec differences between each build type, a Lenovo spokesperson told Mashable that “a lot of that is hard to determine right now.” We should get more details at launch.
Left:
The bottom cover of the IdeaPad Vibe in metal…
Credit: Lenovo
Right:
… versus plastic.
Credit: Lenovo
The IdeaPad Vibe will come standard with a 120Hz IPS display. Both sizes of the Lowkey Grey and Moody Blue variants will have OLED upgrade options, including an OLED touchscreen option for the 15-inchers.
Like the Neo, the IdeaPad Vibe will start with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage. Unlike the Neo, you can max it out with up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage — single-handedly, if you have the means. Qualcomm-powered IdeaPad Vibes will have user-upgradable SSDs, while AMD models will have expandable SSDs and RAM. If equipped with at least 16GB of memory, they can run Windows’ Copilot+ PC AI features.
The IdeaPad Vibe has expandable storage and (on AMD models) upgradable RAM.
Credit: Lenovo
Here’s a quick rundown of the rest of the IdeaPad Vibe’s specs and features. Note how it’s packed with ports:
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Integrated graphics
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5MP webcam with privacy shutter
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Two 2W speakers with Dolby Audio
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Island-style keyboard with optional backlighting
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Mylar touchpad
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Two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, one HDMI port, a microSD card reader, and a headphone jack
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WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
The IdeaPad Vibe marks the latest in a series of premium-feeling budget laptop launches amid the global memory crisis, starting with the MacBook Neo’s market-rattling debut in March. Before the colorful, all-aluminum Neo arrived, cheap laptops were known for having bland plastic builds.
Other new MacBook Neo competitors include the Dell XPS 13 and Acer Swift Air 14. They have the same starting price as the Neo (and now the IdeaPad Vibe), but double the starting storage.
The IdeaPad Vibe is just one of many new devices Lenovo showcased at IFA, among them its first two Nvidia RTX Spark-powered laptops. See the full lineup on Lenovo’s news site.
