You’re most likely extra prone to affiliate flax seeds with well being meals than excessive tech, however Lenovo is hoping that adjustments by utilizing the seeds to create an eco-friendly end in its newest ThinkPad Z13 laptop computer.
Introduced on the MWC commerce present in Barcelona, the up to date Z13 Gen 2 comes not solely with the standard choices for an aluminium chassis, but additionally a model that covers the steel within the lid with a woven flax fibre layer.
Flax seed stem (left), woven (proper), and bolstered with resin (rear)
Dominic Preston / Foundry
Comprised of the stems of flax seeds, then woven and bolstered with a pure resin, the quilt of every laptop computer will technically be distinctive because of the pure variations because it’s constructed, with slight variations within the grain.
In individual, the end feels clean and polished, and lightweight sufficient that it doesn’t add any noticeable weight. It’s additionally powerful sufficient that McLaren is exploring utilizing it to exchange carbon fibre in its Formulation 1 automotive seats, so that you shouldn’t be giving up any safety by making the swap.
Extra importantly from Lenovo’s perspective, the corporate says the pure materials is kinder on the planet than conventional laptop computer builds – although in fact it’s additionally fast to stress how a lot of its steel and plastic elements are post-consumer recycled.
Because the flax right here sits on prime of a steel lid anyway, it’s unlikely to be way more eco-friendly proper now, so the hope is basically that the fibre can substitute increasingly steel and plastic in future {hardware}, lowering their environmental impression in the long run.
Dominic Preston / Foundry
AMD’s newest Ryzen 7000 chips sit contained in the laptop computer, with built-in Radeon graphics, and the laptop computer may be configured with as much as 64GB RAM and 2TB storage, so it may be a little bit of a powerhouse in order for you it to.
A haptic trackpad, FHD webcam, Wi-Fi 6E, and selection of OLED or IPS show spherical out the spec sheet, and there’s even an optionally available improve to function 4G.
The Z13 Gen 2 is deliberate to launch from July this 12 months, with costs tipped to begin from €1,649 excluding VAT. A rep instructed us it’s best to anticipate to pay €100-150 additional for the flax end – just like the premium for its earlier eco-friendly Z13 Gen 1 version, which got here coated in vegan leather-based.
Alongside the Z13, Lenovo additionally unveiled a Z16 with a bigger 16in show and comparable spec choices, plus an optionally available improve to a discrete Radeon 6550M GPU. That mannequin is just transport in aluminium although, with no flax fibre choice for now, and arrives in August from €1,959.