Flagship ‘Arrow Lake’ mobile workstation updated alongside updated ThinkPad P1, P16v, P14s i and P16s i models.
Lenovo has redesigned its flagship mobile workstation, the ThinkPad P16, with a new Gen 3 edition that is thinner, lighter and draws less power than its Gen 2 predecessor, now with a 180W PSU.
The 16-inch pro laptop features the latest ‘Arrow Lake’ Intel Core Ultra 200HX series processors (up to 24 cores and 5.5 GHz) and a choice of Nvidia graphics up to the RTX Pro 5000 Blackwell Generation (24 GB) Laptop GPU.
Lenovo has also rolled out updates across its wider Intel-based mobile workstation portfolio, including the ThinkPad P1 Gen 8, ThinkPad P16v Gen 3, ThinkPad P14s i Gen 6, and ThinkPad P16s i Gen 4.
While lowering power improves portability and energy efficiency, it currently looks to put Lenovo at a performance disadvantage against rivals.
All four models are powered by more energy-efficient Intel Core Ultra 200H processors (up to 16 cores, 5.4 GHz) and feature less powerful Nvidia RTX Pro Blackwell GPUs — up to the RTX Pro 2000 Blackwell (8 GB) in the P16v and P1, and up to the RTX Pro 1000 Blackwell (8 GB) in the P14s and P16s.
While they share core components, the models are differentiated by design and positioning: the ThinkPad P1 Gen 8 is Lenovo’s premium thin-and-light mobile workstation, the ThinkPad P16v Gen 3 is pitched as a more affordable alternative, while the ThinkPad P14s i Gen 6 and ThinkPad P16s i Gen 4 combine thin-and-light designs with a GPU best suited to mainstream CAD and BIM workflows.
These updates follow the launch earlier this year of Lenovo’s AMD Ryzen ‘Strix Point’ pro laptops – the ThinkPad P14s Gen 6 AMD and ThinkPad P16s Gen 4 AMD.
What AEC Magazine thinks
Lenovo’s flagship ThinkPad P16 Gen 3 may come with a top-end mobile CPU and GPU, but its smaller 180W power supply — down from 230W in the previous generation — suggests that some performance may be left on the table. This would be particularly true when configured with the RTX Pro 5000 Blackwell, which alone has a max power consumption of up to 175W.
While lowering power improves portability and energy efficiency, it currently looks to put Lenovo at a performance disadvantage against rivals. At the top end, the Dell Pro Max 16 Plus and HP ZBook Fury G1i (16-inch) both offer the exact same processors but have 280W adapters, while the larger 18-inch ZBook Fury G1i pushes that even further to 330W.
Against this backdrop, Lenovo’s move could be seen as paving the way for a beefier 16-inch or 18-inch model — that might ultimately surpass the ThinkPad P16 Gen 3 as the company’s most powerful mobile workstation.
