Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2 swaps metal for eco-friendly flax

The first-gen Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 already did its bit for the planet, being made from 75% recycled aluminium, but its successor goes even further. The ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2 adds a new natural fibre option made from woven flax, which should help it stand apart from other, more characterless business laptops.

Flax is an entirely plant-based material with a distinctive look and texture. Here it’s bonded to the laptop lid (which still uses recycled aluminium), helping keeping weight to a minimum at just 1.19kg and complimenting the pale gold colour scheme nicely. The ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2 is still a svelte machine with a 13.3in display, skinny screen bezels and a built-in Full HD webcam for clear videoconferencing.

Being such a skinny machine limits connectivity, with just a pair of USB4 ports and a 3.5mm headphone port, but it keeps the fingerprint sensor biometric security of the outgoing model.

It’s powered by AMD’s latest Ryzen 7000-series CPUs, and can be fitted with as much as 64GB of RAM and 2TB of PCIe SSD storage depending on your budget. Prices are set to start from €1649 (around £1450).

Lenovo reckons the first units should start shipping by July.

Also joining the ranks are the overhauled ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 and ThinkPad X13 Yoga Gen 4, a laptop and convertible which bring slimmer screen bezels, forward-facing speakers and an optional 5MP webcam with infrared for biometric login.

Both machines use the latest Intel 13th-gen Core processors and integrated Iris Xe graphics, while the laptop is also available with AMD power via a Ryzen 7000-series CPU.

The laptop can also be outfitted with a 2.8K resolution OLED display, which promises Dolby Vision support for enjoying HDR videos in your downtime, and low blue light tech to cut down on eyestrain.

Both machines will go on sale in July, with prices for the ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 starting at €1190 (around £1050) and the ThinkPad X13 Yoga Gen 4 costing €1290 (about £1150)

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A tech addict from about the age of three (seriously, he's got the VHS tapes to prove it), Tom's been writing about gadgets, games and everything in between for the past decade, with a slight diversion into the world of automotive in between. As Deputy Editor, Tom keeps the website ticking along, jam-packed with the hottest gadget news and reviews. When he's not on the road attending launch events, you can usually find him scouring the web for the latest news, to feed Stuff readers' insatiable appetite for tech.