GaN chargers accross the board and modular, repairable USB-C: Hands on with the new Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 8 and P16 Gen 3
IFA 2025Of the five new powerful Lenovo ThinkPad workstation laptops for CAD and AI usage launched at IFA, Lenovo showed three to the press: The Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 8, the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 3 and the Lenovo ThinkPad P16v Gen 3. We had the opportunity to take a look at all three in Berlin.
No more Slim tip charging: USB-C Power Delivery 3.1 takes over
The 2025 ThinkPad P series starts a new era for the mobile workstation series, as Lenovo ditches their proprietary Slim tip charging for all USB-C charging. According to Lenovo, the motivation was not just regulation in the EU, but also customer feedback. Corporate customers like having a single charging standard for all products, and the ThinkPads of the P series were the last holdout in the lineup.
Alongside the change to USB-C comes a new feature, which for now is only available on the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 8: The right side Thunderbolt 4 port is modular and thus easily replaceable without changing the motherboard. Lenovo says that this is something that may be implemented on more models in the future.
GPU performance: Lower TDP on the P16 Gen 3, but higher VRAM
The spotlight of the show was no doubt on the redesigned Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 3, which sheds the gray, rounded exterior of its predecessor for a more classic and boxy look, alongside a redesigned hinge that houses 5G antennas and the now ThinkPad typical camera bump. Another aspect was the move to a thinner and lighter design, for which Lenovo changed the construction from a dedicated Magnesium exoskeleton frame to a more modern integrated C cover frame. Overall, the new Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 3 is around 400 g more lightweight and a little bit more compact and thinner, too, while it still retains features like the modular GPU daughter board of its predecessor.
Due to the system being thinner, Lenovo had to lower the TGP of the GPU slightly. However, according to Lenovo, the chosen TGP is close to the optimum, as a higher power consumption would result in higher performance, but with diminishing returns. While the TGP of the Nvidia RTX Pro 5000 is lower than it was for the Nvidia RTX 5000 Ada on the P16 Gen 2, the VRAM is increasing, as the P16 Gen 3 now offers 24 GB instead of 16 GB.
GaN Chargers become standard on the Lenovo ThinkPad P series
When it comes to the ThinkPad P16v Gen 3 and ThinkPad P1 Gen 8, Lenovo maxes them out with the Nvidia RTX Pro 2000. On paper, this sounds like a downgrade, since earlier models featured the RTX 3000 Ada, but Lenovo says the newer chip is actually much faster than the RTX 3000 Ada - the reason for this change is that Nvidia bases the RTX Pro 3000 on the GeForce RTX 5070Ti, a much bigger GPU with a higher power consumption, making it more of a successor of the RTX 3500 Ada than the RTX 3000 Ada. It was thus deemed unsuitable for the thinner P series designs.
A change Lenovo is proud of is the new selection of chargers that will ship with the 2025 ThinkPad P series: All of them are GaN (Gallium Nitride), so they are much smaller compared with older ThinkPad workstations. There are some weight savings, too. The new 180 W charger should weigh 40 g less than the old charger of the ThinkPad P16 Gen 2 (available on Amazon).
Last but not least, the Lenovo ThinkPad P16v Gen 3 also comes with a new design. Noticeable is the change to a more modern-looking drop down hinge, as well as the textured plastic bottom cover. Apparently, Lenovo did this to make it feel a little nicer to the touch, as this less expensive model does not use a metal bottom plate.
Source(s)
Notebookcheck
Lenovo
