Toshiba and Lenovo are established names in the laptops manufacturing industry. However, the former has been quite dormant in the recent past, since 2016. Lenovo, on the other hand, has been launching new laptops one after the another under its different sub-brands. As a result, Toshiba is no longer the force to reckon with in the laptop space anymore. Does that mean it’s completely gone and out and that it’s not coming back again? Are Toshiba computers no match to Lenovo’s offerings? Let’s do a Toshiba vs Lenovo laptops showdown, briefly looking at the past and present of both these companies and find out how they are faring now.
Lenovo and Toshiba Company Overviews
Compared to Lenovo, Toshiba has a much longer history, having started in 1875 through a merger deal. Lenovo, on the other hand, was launched in 1984 as Legend in Beijing, China. Both Toshiba and Lenovo make more than just laptops. Toshiba is a Japanese conglomerate that offers an array of products and services, such as communications systems and equipment, information technology, power systems, electronic components, social infrastructure systems, household appliances, and consumer electronics.
Current Business
As implied earlier, Toshiba has not been making laptops in recent years. In 2016, the company decided to focus more on business buyers, which means it ditched the consumer notebooks industry altogether. Consumers in Japan may still manage to get their hands on a new Toshiba laptop. As far as buyers outside Japan go, the company continues to sell its computers to companies in the US and Europe.
The major reason Toshiba is not actively selling laptops anymore is the $1.2 billion accounting scandal that came to light in 2015. It rocked the company entirely, with several executives quitting the company and employees laid off in packs. And the intense competition in the consumer laptop space was not helping either, particularly with brands like Lenovo and HP reaching new heights. For some time, Toshiba has been finding it extremely difficult to generate profits from its consumer laptops.
As far as Lenovo is concerned, it wouldn’t be completely inaccurate to say that the company is at its peak now (2019). And it has been doing this great for years. The credit for the company’s growth should go to the frequency and consistency with which it makes new laptops. Lenovo caters to different types of laptop buyers and makes quite a few of them. To ensure their laptops do not crowd the space too much, Lenovo intelligently categorizes its offerings so that buyers don’t have to sift through all their models before buying one that suits their requirements.
For instance, since Lenovo sells its business laptops under the ThinkPad brand, business buyers know they need not check Lenovo’s entire laptop portfolio to get their hands on the right machine. For non-business buyers or people who want a laptop for regular use, Lenovo sells laptops under the IdeaPad, Yoga, Legion, and Lenovo V series. Reiterating on the frequency with which Lenovo launches a new variant of an existing model, Lenovo has been coming out with a new ThinkPad X1 Carbon almost every year since 2012. And there are different variants of them. Most notably, the X1 Carbon isn’t the only ThinkPad that the company makes. In short, Lenovo launches anywhere between 30 to 40 new laptops every year. Apple hardly makes a couple a year.
How Durable are Toshiba and Lenovo Laptops?
Modern manufacturing setups are churning out great designs. However, on the durability front, they are trailing goods that were made a decade or even a few years ago. For instance, a Toshiba laptop that was made in 2011 would be a lot more durable and solidly built than a Lenovo laptop made in 2018 or 2019. This is because laptops are getting thinner and lighter. More than a few years ago, thin and light was considered premium. Now they have become the norm.
Even ThinkPads that were known for their robust build and heft are becoming thinner and lighter. Though they have not turned into fragile beings by any means, modern-day ThinkPads are certainly not up there in the durability department when pitched against older ThinkPads. Lenovo is continuously striving to strike the right balance between design and structural integrity in their ThinkPads, however. If Toshiba were actively making laptops now, it would have been the victim of these new manufacturing trends too.
Does Buying Toshiba Laptops Now Make Sense?
As an individual, the Toshiba laptops you’ll most likely get your hands on now are the ones that are leftovers from a few years ago. These may be brand-new laptops but not necessarily cutting-edge. However, if you do not mind buying a laptop that’s a few generations old, you may go ahead and buy them as Toshiba would still cover them under full warranty. Toshiba is considering re-entering the American business laptop market as Dynabook. If you have an older Toshiba laptop, Dynabook would honor warranties on those computers. However, if you have the option, it’s recommended you buy a Lenovo laptop as the company’s repair services and warranty aren’t under dark clouds, unlike Toshiba.
How is Toshiba Doing Under the Dynabook Brand Name?
In 2019, Toshiba will be entering the American consumer laptop space again, following the colossal scandal that took place in 2015. The latest Toshiba laptops would not be called Toshiba anymore because Sharp owns Toshiba partly. The company is expected to a launch a slew of laptops under the Dynabook brand. To be specific, there would be around 11 different laptops launched.
From the looks of it, these Dynabook laptops do not necessarily look 2019. They look like the laptops Toshiba that were made in 2016, with big honking bezels, non-attractive dual-tone color schemes, serial ports, DVD drives, etc. These laptops will be primarily sold as enterprise devices, which kind of explains their looks. But even companies have humans using these laptops, which should have prompted Toshiba to have spent more time and energy on the designs of their Dynabook laptops.
What Does Lenovo Has in Store for its Buyers in 2019?
Being the biggest PC manufacturer of the world, Lenovo computers can be found pretty much everywhere. Some of Lenovo’s most popular laptops are its ThinkPad laptops, which are preferred by businesses across the globe; and the Yoga hybrids that are ideal for varying computing requirements. Whatever your budget and needs may be, you will most certainly find a Lenovo laptop fitting the bill.
From the least expensive to the most expensive, Lenovo covers them all. For instance, the Lenovo IdeaPad 320 is among the company’s most affordable laptops. It offers the right blend of performance and features. If your computing requirements are basic, there’s no reason why you should be overlooking this model.
If you’d like to spend a bit more, close to the $1000 mark, the Yoga 720 is a good option. It is a hybrid that marries raw laptop power and tablet versatility. It packs in all high-end laptop specs and tops them up with some unique capabilities, such as a lid that rotates 360 degrees, JBL stereo speakers, and a fingerprint scanner for improved security.
If you want a laptop that means business and is devoid of the glitz and “gimmicks”, check out Lenovo’s ThinkPad laptops. When it comes to reliability and sturdiness, there are very few laptops that can match or even come close to a ThinkPad. Kindly note, the ThinkPad was initially an IBM offering. It was bought by Lenovo in 2005, and since then, the sub-brand has only flourished and brought itself and its parent more repute.
ThinkPads offer the best performance and security, sport the best keyboard on a laptop, class-leading battery life and a slew of ports that both business and home users would appreciate. Though business users are more likely to buy a ThinkPad, if you want a laptop that is great to type on and can be durable despite looking extremely modern, you should lean toward a ThinkPad too.
If you are in the mood to splurge, the Lenovo Yoga 920 is what you precisely need. Priced at $2,599, the 920 is not cheap. But it does justify that cost by a sleek and stylish looking exterior and packing in all the high-end hardware you can ask for in a laptop. It’s a convertible, has a touch-friendly display, offers multiple memory and storage configuration options, has all the ports you need, etc.
If you like to game on your laptop, Lenovo offers you Legion Y720. It has all the typical attributes of a gaming laptop: raw horsepower, funky-looking design, and a weight that inspires confidence and makes it stand out from traditional affairs.
In short, it would be incorrect to do a Toshiba vs Lenovo laptops comparison now, as the former is bruised and down for quite some time.
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