Lenovo announces ThinkPad 13 Chromebook, high-end notebook with two Type-C ports arriving in June for $399

Prepare for an influx of announcements from all the major tech companies over the coming days, CES 2016 is well and truly upon us. First out of the blocks is Lenovo who showed off a brand new 13-inch ThinkPad. The ThinkPad 13 will come in both Windows and Chrome OS flavors, and is priced right in the middle of the market…

This marks the first time (at least in my memory) that any big-name PC maker has offered a Chrome and Windows version of the same product. Although saying that, they’re not completely identical.

Lenovo’s Chrome-powered ThinkPad will be without the traditional red dot, or TrackPoint, found in the middle of the keyboard on Windows-based ThinkPads. What’s more, the trackpad will just be one single flat multitouch panel, rather than a multitouch trackpad with accompanying right/left click buttons on the more traditional Windows model. That’s because Google has pretty strict rules about hardware on Chromebooks. All Chromebooks share the same keyboard layout, meaning, Lenovo couldn’t just load it with the same keyboard/trackpad found on the Windows model.

Other differences are in the choice of I/O ports. The Chromebook comes with only one traditional USB Type-A port, but has two Type-C ports while the Windows model has three regular USB ports, one Type-C and an HDMI out.

The Verge got their hands on the Chromebook, you can see the keyboard layout and trackpad below:

Hardware and specifications on the Chrome ThinkPad 13 competes directly with the Dell Chromebook 13 we love so much. It has a 13-inch 1080p resolution display, and you have the option of up to 32GB internal storage and 8GB RAM. You also get to choose between Celeron, Core i3 or Core i5 processor-equipped models. Pricing starts at $399, similar to the Dell, and will increase based on your chosen internal upgrades. It’ll be available on the market from June, while the Windows-based model launches in April and costs from $449.