Lenovo has launched what seems to be the world’s first 1kg laptop with a 16in form factor, powered by a high-resolution screen and last-gen Intel processor. With its low weight, 10mm-thick chassis, and reasonable price target, the Lecoo Air 16 is positioned as a strong option for students and travellers.
The Air 16 is a budget-oriented laptop released under Lenovo’s sub-brand Lecoo. It features Intel’s Core Ultra 5 125H CPU, packing 4 P-cores, 8 E-cores, plus 2 LPE-cores clocked up to 4.5GHz, alongside 32GB of LPDDR5-6400 memory. The choice for this two-year-old mid-range chip from the Meteor Lake family seems to be a result of the price targeted by the brand. That said, this shouldn’t be an issue for the Lecoo Air 16 as it isn’t trying to supplant gaming and workstation laptops. On the contrary, the chosen CPU should drain its battery slower… which is important for those working outside.
The rest of the specs include a built-in NPU tailored for basic AI tasks, a 7 Xe-core integrated Arc Alchemist GPU, and 1TB of SSD storage. Aside from its weight, the highlight of this device is the 16in 2.5K (2560×1600) display capable of refreshing up to 120Hz. A surprising choice for a budget-friendly laptop. All of this is fed via a 60Wh batter that should last for a good duration, especially under light loads.
Connectivity-wise, we find two USB Type-A ports, two USB Type-C, one HDMI, and one 3.5mm audio jack. It also features a full-size keyboard complete with a numpad, making it ideal for accounting professionals and STEM students.
The Lecoo Air 16 will have to fight against Acer’s Swift Air 16 which is set to launch next month at €999. The latter is also racing to become the first sub-1kg laptop to hit the market, but Lenovo seems to be well positioned to claim the title this month. For its part, the Lecoo Air 16 is available for preorder from Chinese retail platform JD at ¥4,999, which represents around $700 / £522.
If you gloss over its older internal hardware, the Lecoo Air 16 could be a valuable travel companion, offering a lightweight work and entertainment PC, ideal for document editing and media consumption thanks to its full keyboard and large high-resolution screen. All of that at a quite competitive price.
