Lenovo introduces Android as a Windows alternative on some of its desktop PCs
Lenovo announced a partnership with Esper Device Management this week that brings Esper's custom Android operating system to some Lenovo PCs.
The Lenovo ThinkCentre M70a 3rd Gen desktop is the first device that is classified by Lenovo as ready to run Esper Foundation for Android. The company plans to add support to three additional PCs, Lenovo ThinkCentre M70q, M90n-1 IoT and ThinkEdge SE30 v2, by the end of the calendar year.
All four devices run an Enterprise-grade version of Android and include dedicated device management from Esper. This makes it easier for organizations to "deploy, manage, and update dedicated PCs across their operations" according to Lenovo.
The four products are designed for specific Enterprise use cases. Lenovo mentions retail, hospitality and healthcare specifically, but the products are not limited to those industries. Customers still have the option to purchase the PCs with Windows or Linux, as Android is added as another option.
Lenovo believes that Android offers advantages to certain industries. These may include improved "flexibility, global familiarity, cost-efficiency" and a large developer pool.
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Android is an operating system that was initially designed for smartphones. But we’ve seen it adapted to support tablets, smart TVs, and even laptop and desktop computers from time to time. The latest example? Lenovo has announced a partnership with Esper to offer business customers the option of buying select Lenovo desktops with a managed version of Android pre-installed rather than a more traditional desktop operating system like Windows, Ubuntu, or Fedora.
The first such computer is an existing all-in-one PC called the ThinkCentre M70a Gen 3, which is powered by a 12th-gen Intel Core processor and currently sells for $889 and up with Windows 11 Pro. There’s no word on how much an Android version will cost, but the idea is that it will be bundled with Esper’s “enterprise grade Android Device Management platform,” indicating that’s it’s really designed for business customers rather than home users.