[Anticipation] Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 8 — the one I’ve been waiting for

General Off-Topic
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Key specs (short & sweet)

  • 16" 3.2K Tandem OLED (3200×2000) with VRR (40–120 Hz)
  • Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) H-series
  • NVIDIA RTX Pro 2000 (8 GB) option
  • LPCAMM2 memory (up to 64 GB)
  • 2× M.2 2280 NVMe (RAID 0/1)
  • 90 Wh battery + Rapid Charge
  • Haptic glass touchpad + classic ThinkPad keyboard/TrackPoint
  • Wi-Fi 7 + Bluetooth 5.4
  • 2× Thunderbolt 5 + 1× Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, SD Express

Why I’m excited

  • The haptic trackpad on a ThinkPad chassis
  • RTX pro graphics in a thin, travel-friendly build
  • Big 90 Wh pack for real mobility
  • Tandem OLED for high refresh + rich color
  • LPCAMM2 + dual NVMe = easy, fast upgrades
  • TB5 bandwidth and Wi-Fi 7 for next-gen I/O

Reality check

  • It’s bound to be expensive.
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[Follow-up] Dell Pro Max 16 Premium — the real ThinkPad P1 Gen 8 rival

Why it’s the competitor

  • Similar creator/workstation focus, RTX Pro (Blackwell) dGPU options, Wi-Fi 7, next-gen I/O (TB5), and premium build—directly overlaps the ThinkPad P1 Gen 8 target user.

Dell Pro Max 16 Premium (MA16250) — headline specs

  • CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7/9 (45W). (Dell)
  • GPU: RTX Pro 1000/2000/3000 (Blackwell), up to 12GB; Intel Arc 140T/Arc Pro 140T iGPU. (Dell)
  • Display: 16" 4K UHD+ Tandem OLED, 120 Hz VRR (or FHD+ 120 Hz). (Dell)
  • Memory: LPDDR5x-8400 up to 64GB (onboard). (Dell)
  • Storage: Up to 8TB (dual NVMe), RAID 0/1 capable. (Dell)
  • Ports: 2× TB5 + 1× TB4, HDMI 2.1, SD slot, headset. (Dell)
  • Wireless: Wi-Fi 7 (BE201) + BT 5.4. (Dell)
  • Battery: 96 Wh, ExpressCharge (LLC option). (Dell)
  • Input & Cam: Haptic touchpad, Zero-Lattice kb (mini-LED), 8 MP + IR. (Dell)
  • Weight: starts ~4.82 lb / 2.19 kg. (Dell)

ThinkPad P1 Gen 8 — quick mirror

  • CPU: Intel Core Ultra Series 2 (up to 16C).
  • GPU: RTX Pro 1000/2000 (Blackwell), 60 W (75 W boost).
  • Memory: LPCAMM2 up to 64GB.
  • Storage: 2× M.2 2280, PCIe 4.0 slots, RAID 0/1, up to 8TB; supports Gen5 “Performance” SSDs (runs at Gen4 in these slots).
  • Ports/Wireless: 2× TB5 + 1× TB4, HDMI 2.1, SD Express 7.0, Wi-Fi 7; no WWAN.

Pricing

  • Dell configs shown at $2.3k–$3.3k+ on Dell US today (varies by build). (Dell)
  • ThinkPad P1 Gen 8 is positioned as a premium mobile workstation and has been reported starting around $2.8k. (The Verge)

Bottom line: specs are neck-and-neck—and the prices are crazy.

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Looks like the product pages are live for the Thinkpad P1 gen8

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpadp/lenovo-thinkpad-p1-gen-8-16-inch-intel-mobile-workstation/len101t0149?sortBy=priceDown

and for the Dell Pro Max 16 Premium

Looks like early reviews re out

@JustJosh will you be reviewing these workstations?

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Der8auer just unboxed his.