After a couple of weeks testing the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, I found its performance and screen impressive, but its battery life? Not so much

Perfect for a desktop replacement, just okay as a portable

A Lenovo Legion Pro 7i on a table playing a game

Verdict

Yes, the battery life is not great, but this is a gaming laptop, and a powerful one at that. It can handle just about anything gaming-wise, comes with a gorgeous OLED screen, and has more than enough ports for all your gaming needs. Just be ready to spend quite a good chunk of change on it.

Pros

  • +Excellent gaming performance overall
  • +Gorgeous OLED screen
  • +Has all the ports one could need

Cons

  • -Very pricey
  • -Battery life is not great

>>>L23B2PK0 Battery for Lenovo Legion Go 8APU1 83E100 AMD RyzenZ1

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i: Two-minute review

TheLenovoLegion Pro 7i is an ideal desktop replacement with more than enough power to take on just about everything in PC gaming spaces and at max settings for the most part.

While there are some situations you might need to bring some settings down a smidge (cough*Cyberpunk 2077*cough), that’s only really due to the higher resolutionOLEDpanel that only requires a bit of power.

Starting at$2,909.99/£2,700/AU$4,999, the Legion Pro 7i comes with anIntelCore Ultra 9 CPU,NvidiaRTX 50-series GPUs, a 16-inch 2560 x 1600p OLED display, and up to 64GB DDR5 RAM and 2TB PCIe SSD storage.

Along with the performance and OLED screen are a nice assortment of ports, a full keyboard, and a responsive touchpad that is, unfortunately, not ideally aligned.

For some, especially those who don’t take their gaming laptops on the road all that much, this might be among thebest gaming laptopsout there. But poor battery life might make one take pause if you plan on getting a laptop that you want to use regularly untethered.

Still, if you have the cash and don’t plan on transporting your gaming laptop often (or have a big backpack), the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is worth a look, especially if you want a larger 16-inch screen for your gaming experience.

>>>L23M2PK0 Battery for Lenovo Legion Go 8APU1 8.8 AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme Handheld Gaming PC

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i: Price and availability

A Lenovo Legion Pro 7i on a table
  • How much does it cost?Starting at$2,909.99/£2,700/AU$4,999
  • When is it available?Available now
  • Where can you get it?Available in the US, UK, and Australia

The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i might not be Lenovo’s most expensive gaming laptop – that honor goes to the Legion Pro 9i – but it’s still very expensive. Its most affordable price is a sizable$2,909.99/£2,700/AU$4,999.

Starting out with an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU, 32GB DDR5 RAM, and 1TB SSD, pricing goes up from there. The review unit I have, upgraded with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 and 2TB SSD, costs $3,559.99 / £2,990.00 / AU$6,839.00, while the maxed-out configuration of Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090, 64GB DDR5 RAM, and 2TB SSD is a jaw-dropping $4,424.49 / £3,900.00 / AU$7,079.00.

As expensive as the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is, larger gaming laptops tend to come with an even heftier price tag. TheOrigin EON17-X v2I reviewed last year started at $3,400.00 (about £2,610.00 / AU$5,120.00) for a configuration of Intel Core i9-14900HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080, 16GB of RAM, and a 17-inch 1440p@240Hz screen.

Of course, you can customize the lid on the EON17-X v2 with whatever design you want, but this does make the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i look affordable in comparison.

  • Price:4 / 5

>>>L23C4PC3 Battery for Lenovo Legion 7 16 IRX G9

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i: Specs

The underside of the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i

No matter which configuration you choose, the CPU you get is the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, a 24-core/24-thread processor with a peak frequency of 5.4GHz.

However, there is some wiggle room with the GPU where you can choose from an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080, or RTX 5090, 32GB or 64GB RAM, and between 1TB or 2TB SSD storage.

 Lenovo Legion Pro 7i base configurationLenovo Legion Pro 7i review configurationLenovo Legion Pro 7i max configuration
Price:$2,909.99 / £2,799.99 / AU$4,999.00$3,559.99 / £2,990.00 / AU$6,839.00$4,424.49 / £3,900.00 / AU$7,079.00
CPU:Intel Core Ultra 9 275HXIntel Core Ultra 9 275HXIntel Core Ultra 9 275HX
Graphics:NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPUNVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPUNVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU
RAM:32GB DDR532GB DDR564GB DDR5
Screen:16″ WQXGA (2560 x 1600), OLED, HDR 1000 True Black, 500 nits, 240Hz16″ WQXGA (2560 x 1600), OLED, HDR 1000 True Black, 500 nits, 240Hz16″ WQXGA (2560 x 1600), OLED, HDR 1000 True Black, 500 nits, 240Hz
Storage:1TB SSD2TB SSD2TB SSD
Ports:HDMI 2.1, Thunderbolt 4, USB-C (power delivery 140W), 3x USB-A, Headphone / mic Combo, RJ45HDMI 2.1, Thunderbolt 4, USB-C (power delivery 140W), 3x USB-A, Headphone / mic Combo, RJ45HDMI 2.1, Thunderbolt 4, USB-C (power delivery 140W), 3x USB-A, Headphone / mic Combo, RJ45
Wireless:Wi-Fi 7 / BlueTooth 5.4Wi-Fi 7 / BlueTooth 5.4Wi-Fi 7 / BlueTooth 5.4
Camera:720p with e-privacy shutter720p with e-privacy shutter720p with e-privacy shutter
Weight:Starting at < 2.72kg / 6lbsStarting at < 2.72kg / 6lbsStarting at < 2.72kg / 6lbs
Dimensions:21.9mm-26.6mm x 364mm x 275.9mm / 0.86″- 1.04″ x 14.33″ x 10.86″21.9mm-26.6mm x 364mm x 275.9mm / 0.86″- 1.04″ x 14.33″ x 10.86″21.9mm-26.6mm x 364mm x 275.9mm / 0.86″- 1.04″ x 14.33″ x 10.86″

Considering that the base configuration is still fairly expensive, it’s no wonder that all the configurations keep the more premium appointments. Specifically, no matter what you do, you’ll get that OLED 1600p @ 240Hz panel withHDR1000.

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i: Design

The right-side ports on the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i
  • This is a big computer
  • Large keyboard, touchpad aligned to the left
  • Lots of ports including Thunderbolt 4

The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is big. It is a 16-inch laptop, after all. It’s fairly imposing in its matte “Eclipse Black” finish with only Legion emblazoned on the back of the lid and Lenovo in silver on the top back as flourishes. It’s also a little over an inch at its thickest.

This is not the most portable of gaming laptops. So, while it makes for a great desktop replacement, leave plenty of space in your backpack if you plan on getting this.

The left-side ports on the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i

Almost all the venting is underneath and back, so you don’t have to worry about hot air being blown onto you when gaming, assuming you’re using a mouse situated next to the laptop.

Besides the large 16-inch OLED screen, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i comes with a full-size keyboard complete with a ten-key numpad. There aren’t any standalone hotkeys, but plenty of keys have secondary functions, so I didn’t really miss them.

The keyboard of the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i

The keycaps have a quality feel to them with a concave shape and textured feel that makes typing a relative pleasure. I do find the keyboard to feel a little big for some reason and find myself sometimes pressing the wrong button when reaching (mainly when gaming).

The touchpad is not oversized, but it’s set off to the left, which makes sense as the keyboard with the Numpad pushes the natural hand placement to the left as well. However, I’m not a fan of the touchpad’s placement – I would prefer it to be a bit more centered. At least, it’s accurate and responsive.

If you do want to use the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i as a desktop replacement, you’ll be happy to know that the port selection is fairly plentiful. It comes with an HDMI 2.1 port, a Thunderbolt 4 port, and a USB-C port, both of which support DisplayPort 2.1. There are also three USB-A ports and an Ethernet one, along with an eShutter button for privacy’s sake.

  • Design:4 / 5

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i: Performance

A Lenovo Legion Pro 7i on a table playing a game
  • Strong performance that’s limited somewhat by the power-hungry panel
  • Can run most games at max settings with speedy results
  • Sound quality is pretty good

Considering the powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU and higher-end Nvidia 5000-series GPUs – I tested the model with an RTX 5080 – not to mention a minimum of 32GB of RAM, the gaming performance here is going to be quite robust.

Now, all that hardware has to power the 16-inch OLED panel which has a 2560 x 1600p resolution with a refresh rate of 240Hz. That panel also manages 500 nits of brightness and has HDR 1000 True Black support.

So, that can knock off up to 20 or 30 fps from the Lenovo Legion 7i’s performance if you want to take full advantage of this laptop’s display. It’s worth noting that it also achieves a DCI-P3 of 100%, making this a sharp looking, vibrant display. I definitely preferred running games likeSouth of Midnight,Starfield, RoboCop: Rogue City,andCyberpunk 2077at that higher resolution.

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Synthetic Benchmarks

BenchmarkScore
Geekbench 6.4 Single Core3,103
Geekbench 6.4 Multi Core19,829
Crossmark Overall2,163
Crossmark Productivity1,998
Crossmark Creativity2,525
Crossmark Responsiveness1,727
25GB File Copy Transfer Rate (MB/s)2,030.38
3DMark Fire Strike34,434
3DMark Time Spy16,928
3DMark Fire Strike Ultra11,388
3DMark Time Spy Extreme8,337
3DMark Speed Way4,301
3DMark Steel Nomad3,999
3DMark Port Royal10,958

Speaking of, I was able to run all those games at basically max settings, including Ray Tracing where applicable, with smooth results and crisp, clear images. I didn’t experience any skipping, stuttering, or screen tearing. Any way you cut it, this is a powerful gaming laptop that will hold up.

If you look at our benchmarks, you can get a solid idea of what to expect.Cyberpunk 2077with everything maxed will look good and will be smooth enough, but won’t really take advantage of that high refresh rate as it gets just an okay 30 fps on average on 1600p, so if you plan on playing at the display’s native resolution, make sure to use DLSS for the best experience.

However, there are plenty of games where I can achieve up to and above 100 fps even before compromising on settings.

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gaming Benchmarks

Game & settingsFrames per second
Assassin’s Creed Shadows (Ultra High, 1080p)45 fps
Black Myth: Wukong (Cinematic, 1080p)45 fps
Cyberpunk 2077 (Ultra, 1080p)50 fps
Metro: Exodus (Extreme, 1080p)63 fps
Monster Hunter Wilds (Very High, 1080p)73 fps
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Very High, 1080p)163 fps
Total War: Warhammer III (Ultra, 1080p)144 fps
Web Surfing Battery Informant4:37
PCMark 10 Gaming Battery Test1:36

As mentioned before, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i has a four-speaker system. I didn’t mention that it supports Nahimic Audio, so you get some spatial audio support. Laptops often have mediocre audio at best, but this one sounds pretty good.

Besides the usual caveat that laptop speakers will never surpass dedicated headphones or speakers, the sound is full with plenty of clarity. There’s not a lot of rumble (to be expected, of course), but there’s not anything else missing from the frequency range.

Lastly, the webcam with its 5MP resolution looks good and is pretty smooth to boot. If you get this laptop to stream, you might not need to get a dedicated webcam. It’s also nice that it has a privacy eShutter button.

  • Performance:4.5 / 5

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i: Battery life

  • Suffers from the typical short battery life of a gaming laptop
  • Doesn’t do a great job of retaining charge while in sleep mode

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Battery Test Results

Web Surfing Battery Informant4:37 hours
PCMark 10 Gaming Battery Test1:36 hours

The battery life on gaming laptops is typically not all that great. There are some exceptions, but a powerhouse sporting a 16-inch OLED screen with a 1600p resolution is not going to be one of them.

For proof, just look at our benchmarks. In our web surfing test, it lasted a whopping four and a half hours. That’s not great, but this isn’t a new MacBook Air that lasts almost 15 hours, nor is it supposed to be.

It’s not surprising that in the PCMark 10 gaming benchmark, it lasts just over an hour and a half. If you want extended cordless gaming, you should probably get a Steam Deck (or one of its competitors).

A little more concerning and a little more unexpected is the fact that the battery runs down even when in sleep mode. Now, this is not atypical, but there are plenty of laptops that don’t drop down to 35% battery life after being unplugged for a day, even though they haven’t been used.

  • Battery life:3.5 / 5

Should you buy the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i?

A Lenovo Legion Pro 7i on a table

Buy the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i if…

You want a powerful desktop replacement
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is quite big, and it’s quite powerful. If you’re looking for something that can replace a gaming desktop, this model is more than capable.

You want an OLED screen
The OLED screen here comes with a higher resolution and frame rate, not to mention strong HDR support and DCI-P3 color coverage. If you want a good OLED screen with your gaming laptop, you’re certainly getting it here.

You can afford it
This laptop has the latest and greatest powerful components (at least for a laptop), so it comes with a hefty price tag. Consider this one if money is no object.

Don’t buy it if…

You have a limited budget
If you have limited cash for a gaming laptop, then the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is going to be out of your price range, considering its starting price is around 2K.

You want good battery life
Gaming laptops typically don’t have good battery life, and this laptop is no different. If you want one that can last a while without being plugged in, there’s a short list of options out there that don’t include this one.

Chromebooks are good laptops for many people — these are the 5 best Chromebooks of 2025

The best Chromebooks for students, businesses, and everyone else based on our testing and reviews.

Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 Gen 9

The best Chromebooks in 2025 are far more capable laptops than the basic machines that debuted in June of 2011. They started as simple, cheap laptops focusing on security and ease of use, but many have become some of thebest laptopsto buy. Competitively priced compared to thebest Windows laptopsandbest MacBooks, it’s now easy to find a Chromebook with an elegant, thin, and lightweight design and features like OLED displays.

Chromebooks boast a simple, user-friendly interface that integrates with the Google ecosystem, making them a solid choice for many people. Google announced the Chromebook Plus line in October 2023, which offers increased CPU performance from more powerfulIntelchips from Intel’s 13th Generation up through the Intel Core 100 series.

They also include several of Google’sAIfeatures, as well as the new Gemini AI assistant. Chromebook Plus devices receive additional features and access to the Advanced version of Gemini.

Whether you’re looking for a budget-friendly Chromebook, a powerful Plus Series model, or even a Chromebook for gaming, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading to find the best Chromebook for you.

also:AA-PBQN4TR Battery for Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 XE530Q

Best Overall

Angled shot of the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus facing away from the camera on a black mat against a blue backdrop.Close up of the Quick-Insert key on the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus, against a black and white mat.Top-down view of the cover of the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus against a black and white table mat.Close up of the webcam on the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus, against a white wall.

1. Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus

Best Chromebook overall

Specifications

CPU:Intel Core 3 100U

GPU:Intel integrated graphics

RAM:8GB

Storage:256GB SSD

Display:15.6-inch (1920 x 1080) AMOLED

Size:13.9 x 8.9 x 0.47 inches

Weight:2.58 pounds

Reasons to buy

+Solid performance
+All-day battery life
+Very thin and very light
+Bright, big, AMOLED screen

Reasons to avoid

-Still a bit on the pricey side for a Chromebook
-Thin and light but quite wide

TheSamsung GalaxyChromebook Plus is a premium Chromebook Plus built with Google’s Gemini AI in mind. With an Intel Core 3 100U 14th gen processor, Intel integrated graphics, 8GB of memory, 256GB of SSD storage, and a 15.6-inch FHD AMOLED display, the Galaxy Chromebook Plus has plenty to recommend.
Aria  writes in our review, “While Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook Plus isn’t the first premium Chromebook, it’s probably the best.”

While not the most powerful Chromebook ever, the Galaxy Book still has enough computing power to get the most out of theChromeOSsuite and Google Gemini AI. The Intel Core 3 100U CPU on the Galaxy Book can get more raw CPU power than mostChromeapps will ever need.

The gorgeous 15.6-inch AMOLED display is another high point for the Galaxy Chromebook. Measuring 108.5% on the DCI-P3 color gamut, the Galaxy Chromebook has a nicer display than some premiumWindowslaptops. With 377 nits of average peak brightness, you don’t have to worry about screen glare on the glossy AMOLED panel, either.

The Galaxy Chromebook Plus also offers full-day battery life, lasting 11 hours and 12 minutes on ourweb surfing battery test.

While $699 is a bit pricey for a Chromebook, the Galaxy Chromebook Plus earns its premium rating thanks to an unbeatable combination of performance, battery life, display quality, and portability.

Why is it our best pick overall?

TheSamsung Galaxy Chromebook Plusis a premium Chromebook with a solid combination of power, battery efficiency, and it comes with a large AMOLED display.

Buy it if

✔️You need a Chromebook that can last for more than a full day of work or school:The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus lasted for 11 hours and 30 minutes on our battery test, making it the longest-lasting Chromebook on this list. So if you need a Chromebook that can last a full day on a single charge, this is the one to choose.

✔️You want to get the best Google AI experience possible:The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus is the first Chromebook to featureGoogle’s new keyboard layout with the Quick Insertbutton. Whileall Chromebooks can use the Quick Insert feature, only the Galaxy Chromebook has a dedicated button.

Don’t buy it if

✖️You need a budget Chromebook:While the Galaxy Chromebook Plus retails for $649, which is far from the most expensive on this list if you need to stay within a small budget, there are definitely better bargains to make.

✖️You need a super portable Chromebook:The Galaxy Chromebook Plus is very light and very thin, but it can be a struggle to fit this 15.6-inch laptop into every bag. The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 Gen 9 may be the better choice if portability is your biggest concern.

also:C21N2003 Battery for Asus Chromebook Flip CM3 CM3200 CM3200FVA

Best for students

An open and powered on silver laptop with a black keyboard against a white background, showing a curvy green image on its screen.

A silver laptop against a white background, its lid halfway open with the brand logo facing the camera.A top-down view of the keyboard and trackpad area of a laptopA close up of a laptop screen showing a woman with black hair sitting in a cemeteryA close up of a silver, rectangular laptop display hingeA close up of ports on the side of a laptopA close up of ports on the side of a laptop

2. Acer Chromebook Spin 312

Best Chromebook for students

Specifications

CPU:Intel Core i3-N305

GPU:Intel UHD integrated graphics

RAM:8GB

Storage:128GB eMMC

Display:12.2-inch (1920 x 1200) 60Hz IPS touch

Size:11.41 x 8.10 x 0.78 inches

Weight:2.84 pounds

Reasons to buy

+Affordable price
+Sturdy build
+Smooth trackpad

Reasons to avoid

-Shallow audio
-Thin keycaps
-Grainy webcam

The Acer Chromebook Spin 312 is a stand-out example ofhow much Chromebooks have improvedin the last several years. From its design and portability to over 10 hours of battery life, it might be hard to believe this one costs just $450 — but it does, making this device one of the most well-rounded, budget-friendly Chromebooks for students.

With a silver colorway, a black keyboard, and a lightweight chassis, it also resembles a Windows laptop, but with a far better trackpad compared to most. It’s the smoothest I’ve ever felt on a budget laptop. Its keyboard quality is slightly reminiscent of yesteryear’s Chromebooks, with a clicky-squishy feel that highlights the thinness of the plastic keycaps. “It’s a bit like gently pressing into Jello,” as I wrote in my review, but it’s not the worst keyboard I’ve ever tried.

The IPS display produces vivid and clear images, likely due to its Corning Gorilla Glass coating, despite the low color gamut coverage batterymap’stests revealed. However, you’ll definitely need to watch horror movies in the dark (as they are meant to be watched). The coating makes the IPS display more reflective than average, and the Spin 312’s max display brightness of 277 nits isn’t always enough to prevent bright ambient lighting from completely washing out dimly lit scenes.

For students who like or want to experiment with ChromeOS, its ample 128GB of storage space is enough to run Linux and then some. However, this laptop comes with only 8GB of RAM. That’s fine for a light workload (a dozen or fewer open browser tabs and one or two applications), but a minimum of 16GB is ideal for any laptop, especially if you are a heavy multitasker.

Why is it our best pick for students?

TheAcer Chromebook Spin 312offers a better display, trackpad, and battery life than most Chromebooks — some budget Windows laptops, too — for under $500 in an awesomely portable form factor.

Buy it if

✔️You need a simple laptop for simple tasks.If your studies solely consist of reading and writing (and saving everything in the cloud), there’s no reason to spend more money on a laptop whether or not you’re on a budget.

✔️You prefer writing instead of typing notes.As long as you have a compatible stylus, this 2-in-1 touchscreen Chromebook can be both your laptop and notebook.

Don’t buy it if

✖️You need a larger screen.If you’re concerned about your eyesight or regularly use the magnifying tool, this Chromebook’s 12.2-inch display might not serve you well in the long-run.

✖️The majority of your classwork is writing essays.This Chromebook’s plastic keys feel thinner and feel softer to press compared to competing devices.

also:AA-PBRN4TR Battery for Samsung Galaxy Chromebook XE930QCA

Best for kids

The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 Gen 9 facing forward on a white desk and black mat, with a blue backdrop.
Close-up of the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 Gen 9 with a movie trailer playing on the display.
The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 Gen 9 facing away on a white desk and black mat, with a blue backdrop.
Side-on shote of the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 Gen 9, showing the design and overall thinness.
Top-down shot of the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 Gen 9's keyboard folio case with stylus notch.
Close up of the Welcome Recap screen on the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 Gen 9, against a black table mat and blue background.
Top-down angle of the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 Gen 9's keyboard folio case attachment, showing the keyboard and touchpad.
Angled shot of the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 Gen 9 playing a YouTube video.
Angled view of the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 Gen 9 facing forward on a white desk and black mat, with a blue backdrop.

3. Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 Gen 9

Best Chromebook for kids

Specifications

CPU:MediaTek Kompanio 838

RAM:4GB

Storage:128GB SSD

Display:10.9-inch, (1920 x 1200) IPS touch

Size:10.05 x 6.57 x 0.3 inches

Weight:2.08 pounds (with folio case)

Reasons to buy

+Solid battery life
+High-quality 5MP front-facing camera and 8MP rear camera
+Affordable price-point
+Ultra-light chassis
+Good performance for the price
+Slick stylus and gesture controls

Reasons to avoid

-Mushy keyboard on the attached folio
-Having 4GB memory does limit some applications

TheLenovoChromebook Duet 11 Gen 9 offers high portability, solid battery life, slick stylus controls, an ultralight chassis, high-quality 5MP and 8MP cameras, and dependable performance all at an incredibly affordable price point. The Chromebook Duet 11 features a MediaTek Kompanio 838 processor, 4GB of memory, 128GB of SSD storage, and a 10.9-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200) IPS touchscreen display.

“Chromebooks haven’t ever been my favorite laptops or tablets, as I’m exactly the type of person who needs the full application support of a Windows or macOS system. However, theLenovoChromebook Duet 11 Gen 9 may have changed my mind,” Aria wrote in her review.

Because it features a lower-spec, Aria processor, the Chromebook Duet lags behind other Chromebooks on CPU performance. However, it’s a well-optimized machine that can keep up with multiple Chrome apps running at once.

The Chromebook Duet 11 Gen 9 does have a quality display, covering 83% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. And the panel is bright, measuring 402 nits of average peak brightness.

The Duet 11 is a small tablet Chromebook, which makes its battery life even more impressive. The Duet 11 lasted 9 hours and 48 minutes on our web surfing battery test.

Because of its affordable $359 starting price and solid touchscreen controls, the Chromebook Duet 11 Gen 9 is a fantastic option if you need a tablet for your kids. It offers enough performance to run multiple applications and has the battery life to keep up with a busy schedule of school and playtime.

Why is it our best pick for kids?

TheLenovo Chromebook Duet 11 Gen 9is a light, affordable Chromebook with enough power and battery life to make it the ideal companion for keeping your kids entertained wherever they go.

Buy it if

✔️You want a light, affordable ChromeOS tablet:With the Folio case included in the base $359 price and solid performance, the Chromebook Duet 11 Gen 9 is a great option for kids.

✔️You need a tablet that can do more than just stream video:While Amazon’s Fire Tablets make great options for kids’ entertainment systems, sometimes they just don’t have enough power. But the MediaTek Kompanio 838 processor in the Duet 11 has more than enough juice for almost everything.

Don’t buy it if

✖️You need to multitask like a professional:While plenty of users can get away with just 4GB of memory on a ChromeOS tablet, if you’re going to be using this for work you may run into some bottlenecks due to the low RAM allowance.

✖️You need a high-quality keyboard:While the included folio case is thin and light, the attached keyboard is mushy and soft, making for an unsatisfying typing experience. If you’ll spend most of your time with a Chromebook typing, we recommend the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 instead.

Best keyboard

The Acer Chromebook Spin 714 review facing forward on a white desk against a white wall.
Close up of the Acer Chromebook Spin 714's convertible hinges against a pink background.
Side-view of the Acer Chromebook Spin 714, showing the ports on the right-hand side.
Side-on view of the Acer Chromebook Spin 714, showing the left-hand ports.
Acer Chromebook Spin 714 showing a movie trailer on the display, against a white background.
Acer Chromebook Spin 714 showing a television series trailer on the display, against a white background.
Close-up of a stylus resting on the Acer Chromebook Spin 714's keyboard.
Close up view of the keyboard and touchpad on the Acer Chromebook Spin 714.
Close up of the Acer Chromebook Spin 714's webcam against a pink background.

4. Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714

Best Chromebook for Keyboard Enthusiasts

Specifications

CPU:Intel Core Ultra 5 115U

GPU:Intel integrated graphics

RAM:8GB

Storage:256GB SSD

Display:14-inch (1920 x 1200) IPS touch

Size:12.35 x 8.84 x 0.71 inches

Weight:3.3 pounds

Reasons to buy

+Built-in AI tools
+Fantastic typing experience
+Top-firing speakers
+Bright, colorful display

Reasons to avoid

-Occasionally laggy touchpad
-Battery life could be better

The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 is one of the more powerful Chromebooks on this list, featuring an Intel Core Ultra 5 115U processor, 8GB of memory, a 256GB SSD, and a 14-inch WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) IPS display. However, the true star of this laptop is the keyboard, with a satisfying and smooth typing experience.

Aria noted in our review, “The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 keyboard is very satisfying to type on, but it has its quirks… The typing experience on the Spin 714 is smooth and comfortable. On theMonkeytypetyping test, I scored 92 wpm with 97 percent accuracy, higher than my desktop average of 84 wpm and 94.35 accuracy.”

The Intel Core Ultra 5 115U processor on the Spin 714 offers strong performance, making the Spin 714 one of the most powerful Chromebooks. The 14-inch IPS display is also on the nicer side, measuring 78.7% for DCI-P3 color gamut coverage with an average peak brightness of 355 nits.

The Spin 714 is no slouch for longevity either, offering all-day battery life. The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 lasted 9 hours and 30 minutes on ourweb surfing battery test.

Combined with the slick display and satisfying keyboard, the Spin 714 is nearly the whole package.

Why is it our best keyboard pick?

TheAcer Chromebook Plus Spin 714is an AI-powered Chromebook with solid performance and a bright, colorful display. But the typing experience on the Spin 714 is what truly blew us away.

Buy it if

✔️You want one of the most powerful Chromebooks for better AI performance.To get the most out of Google’s One AI plan, the Spin 714 has a powerful Intel Core Ultra 5 processor under the hood and won’t slow you down while using Gemini for text or image generation.

✔️You need a Chromebook with a great keyboard.Not all Chromebooks have good keyboards. Many have soft, mushy key activations that just feel bad under your fingers. But the Chromebook Plus Spin 714 has a crisp, satisfying key feel.

Don’t buy it if

✖️You need to stay under a tight budget.While Chromebooks are generally cheaper than Windows or Mac laptops, the Chromebook Plus series can get a little pricey. When not on sale, the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 starts at $749, which can be pricey for a Chromebook.

✖️You want a Chromebook designed for gaming.While it is part of the Chromebook Plus platform, the Spin 714 isn’t optimized for Cloud gaming and suffers in comparison to the Acer Chromebook 516 GE, which was built with Nvidia GeForce Now in mind.

Best for gaming

The Acer Chromebook 516 GE facing forward on a desk with gaming accessories like a gamepad and headset.
The Acer Chromebook 516 GE facing forward on a desk, showing the streaming page for Cyberpunk 2077.
The Acer Chromebook 516 GE facing forward on a desk with gaming accessories like a gamepad and headset.
The Acer Chromebook 516 GE facing forward on a desk with gaming accessories like a gamepad and headset. The Chromebook display is showing Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay.
A close up shot of the Acer Chromebook 516 GE's display while viewing a movie or trailer.
A top-down angle of the Acer Chromebook 516 GE's RGB keyboard and touchpad.

5. Acer Chromebook 516 GE

Best Chromebook for gaming (seriously)

Specifications

CPU:Intel Core i5-1240P

GPU:Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics

RAM:8GB

Storage:256GB

Display:16-inch (2560 x 1600) 120Hz IPS

Size:14 x 9.8 x 0.84 inches

Weight:3.8 pounds

Reasons to buy

+Smooth 120Hz display
+Fast performance
+Decent 1080p webcam
+Great value for price

Reasons to avoid

-Tinny audio
-Mushy keyboard
-So-so battery life
-No touchscreen is awkward for Play Store games

Gamers might scoff at Chromebooks, but for cloud gaming services like GeForce Now, the Acer Chromebook 516 GE can offer decent gaming performance and gaming style at a much lower price than your average gaming laptop.

The Acer Chromebook 516 GE features a powerful Intel Core i5-1240P processor, Intel Iris Xe graphics, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a 16-inch 120Hz WQXGA (2560 x 1600) IPS display. So it can handle gaming and schoolwork without blowing your budget.

With an Intel Core i5 12th gen processor, the Chromebook 516 GE offers plenty of powerful performance to handle your day-to-day needs. Even with 8GB of RAM, “You shouldn’t find yourself dealing with any frustrating slowdowns — even if you drown it in tabs,” as Aria wrote in our review. But if you can afford to upgrade to the 16GB model, we recommend it.

The Chromebook 516 GE’s 16-inch display is a solid choice, and measures 75.8% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which is better than some Chromebooks on this list. It also hits a respectable 346 nits of average peak brightness to cut through glare so you don’t need to worry about missing a shot in your next FPS match due to screen glare.

The one drawback to this gaming Chromebook is its battery life, as the Chromebook 516 GE lasted just 7 hours and 40 minutes on ourbattery test.

While you can technically use cloud gaming services on any laptop or Chromebook, the Acer Chromebook 516 GE offers a 120Hz display for those who pay for the most expensive GeForce Now membership tier. So, it remains our best choice for gaming on a Chromebook.

Why is it our best pick for gamers?

TheAcer Chromebook 516 GEremains the only Chromebook dedicated to gaming enthusiasts, with RGB lighting on the keyboard and a sleek black Gaming laptop-style chassis with additional ports. If you want to game on any Chromebook, this is your best bet.

Buy it if

✔️You want the best gaming experience on a Chromebook.The Acer Chromebook 516 GE comes with more ports than you’ll usually see on a Chromebook, so you can attach all of your gaming accessories and also opt for a hard-wired Ethernet connection so your game stream doesn’t drop due to Wi-Fi shenanigans. You can run Nvidia GeForce Now on any Chromebook, but the 516 GE has all the additional bells and whistles to make it the best choice for gaming.

✔️You want a gaming laptop, but can’t afford the steep price tag.While a dedicated gaming laptop with a discrete GPU will always have better gaming performance than a Chromebook streaming Nvidia GeForce Now, you can get a close approximation with the Acer Chromebook 516 GE without spending gaming-laptop money.

Don’t buy it if

✖️You need battery life that will last for a full, intense day.If you need a Chromebook with more than 7 and a half hours of battery life for pulling an all-nighter, the Chromebook 516 GE is not the ideal option. The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus offers a better balance of performance, battery life, and CPU power.

✖️You want to play games from the Google Play Store.the Acer Chromebook 516 GE doesn’t have a touchscreen, so playing games from the Google Play Store can be difficult. This is particularly true of games that don’t have gamepad support.

How to choose the best Chromebook for you

Finding the perfect Chromebook isn’t a one-size-fits-all situation. Students, businesses, and schools all have different needs.

Students

For students who rely heavily on Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, prioritizing a Chromebook with a long-lasting battery and a comfortable keyboard is crucial.

If you’re a student who wants a gaming laptop that can also function as a great laptop for class (without spending a ton of money) there Chromebooks specfically designed for gaming in the cloud.

Professionals or businesses

Professionals or businesses seeking Chromebooks for their employees should focus on models with strong performance and features that make managing them easier, ensuring a smooth workflow.

Security is also important — Enterprise-edition Chromebooks have extra IT deployment features like real-time threat and data protection, endpoint security, and support integration with 3rd-party software like CrowdStrike.

Schools

If you’re a school looking to equip students with Chromebooks, durability, affordability, and features that support a dynamic classroom environment should be top priorities.

You won’t have to buy a bunch of expensive, business-focused Chromebooks to get the security you need, either. Education Chromebooks also support many of the same security features as business Chromebooks (via Google Workspace for Education), and won’t display ads in core services like Drive, Classroom and Gmail.

FAQs

Q: Who are Chromebooks for?

A: Overall, the best way to tell if someone will enjoy owning a Chromebook is if you know they already spend most of their time in the Chrome browser. Those users will take to the notebook naturally.

If you’re buying this Chromebook for someone else, you should take a few moments to consider how they’re going to use the device. Chromebooks are especially good for younger students, as they are easy to use and are fairly secure. It’s also quite easy toupdate your Chromebookmanually, assuming you don’t want to enable automatic updates.

Q: How well does a Chromebook perform?

A: Chromebooks are lightweight devices, meaning it doesn’t take a lot of CPU performance to run ChromeOS. So, Chromebooks often feature lower-spec processors. Many perform better at lower specs than low-budget Windows laptops, too.

They also generally have less storage space, since many ChromeOS applications run in the cloud. This means more free space for your laptop and speedier performance.

If you don’t need the full Windows or macOS experience to run all your favorite applications, there’s no reason not to opt for a Chromebook.

Q: How are Chromebooks for offline use?

A: Chromebooks are designed to rely heavily on the Internet, which means that many apps simply won’t work if you’re out of Wi-Fi range. But there are more than 200 Chrome apps that can work without internet connectivity, including Gmail, Google Drive, and tons ofAndroidapps like PlayerFM and Here WeGo.

Q: Can I use Android apps?

A: Yes! Most modern Chromebooks now have access to the Play Store. (If you’re unsure if your Chromebook supports Android apps,check out this list.)

However, there are some caveats: many Android apps run via an emulator and may or may not run well. Also, not all apps are optimized for a larger screen (they were built for mobile-first), so you might encounter some scaling issues, especially with mobile games. (Check out our guide to thebest Chromebook gamesfor specific gaming app recommendations.)

There are often formatting issues when importing third-party documents into Drive, too. Fortunately, Google Drive allows you to save documents in Microsoft formats, so you’ll still be able to share files with non-Chromebook users through Microsoft Word or other programs — though it may be best to stick with the Office Android apps or Office Online if you’re bringing a lot of files over to your Chromebook.

Q: Do Chromebooks have good battery life?

A: Chromebooks are known for their impressive battery life. Our in-houseweb surfing battery test shows that most Chromebooks can last an average of 10 hours on a single charge. This means you can comfortably power through a workday or school day without hunting for an outlet. This makes Chromebooks a great choice for those long stretches in class or meetings.

Q: Are Chromebooks secure?

A: Chromebooks are a great fit for businesses and institutions prioritizing security because their design makes them more resistant to malware, offering built-in protection for employees and students. Some Chromebooks go the extra mile with biometric authentication features like fingerprint scanners, adding another layer of security for sensitive data.

For businesses, the added security and IT deployment features of Chrome Enterprise can make Chromebooks a solid choice for kitting out an office. While enhanced features do require a subscription,Chrome Enterprise is available for free,which can make it a good solution for small businesses.

Q: Can you game on a Chromebook?

A: Chromebooks have access to Steam and can stream games from services like Nvidia GeForce Now. ChromeOS also works with some Android apps, but not every Android game will be available on a Chromebook. But for a game streaming device, Chromebooks work well as an affordable gaming option.

If you want to game without signing up for a streaming service, you may be better off with agaming handheldor adedicated gaming laptop.

Q: Are Chromebooks durable?

A: Similar to business notebooks made to survive drops and other minor disasters, Chromebooks are built to withstand falls, scrapes, and similar punishment.

We put the durability of top Chromebooks to the test by dropping 11 different models from heights of 2.5 feet and 4 feet, then scoring them on a scale of 0 to 10 based on how much damage was sustained. You can read ourfull report here.

 

Lenovo set to introduce white ThinkPad laptops with ambitious design – but I will miss the red trackpoint

White Moonlight model will be “precisely built, perfectly presented”

Lenovo White Moonlight ThinkPad laptop

(Image credit: Lenovo)


  • White Moonlight ThinkPad set to launch in China on July 11, according to intriguing teasers
  • Lenovo campaign draws quality parallels with watches and violins
  • Specs and pricing remain a mystery for now, but it’s likely buyers will pay a premium

Lenovois preparing to launch its first all-white ThinkPad laptop, breaking with the brand’s long-established tradition of matte black business machines.

The new model, teased onWeibounder the name “White Moonlight,” is set to be unveiled in China on July 11.

The teasers, featuring a watch and a violin, hint (I would say) at legacy design and mechanical accuracy. Lenovo is clearly suggesting that the craftsmanship and level of detail in its White Moonlight ThinkPads are on par with those two finely crafted objects.

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Thousands of refinements

Lenovo mentions 0.1mm tolerances and 0.1-degree precision in the teasers, positioning the laptop as both technically refined and aesthetically distinctive.

Full specifications are still under wraps for now, but it’s likely the white ThinkPad will mirror other recent 2025 models.

That suggests support forIntel’s Core Ultra 200 series processors, including vPro and Evo platform options.AMDvariants featuring Ryzen AI PRO 300 Series chips are also a possibility.

This shift in color is rare for the ThinkPad line, which has mostly avoided lighter finishes aside from a few silver editions.

While some longtime fans, myself included, may miss the traditional red TrackPoint that traditionally anchors the ThinkPad identity, the launch appears to signal a shift in the company’s approach to design.

Lenovo’s teaser posters speak of “thousands of refinements,” “unique craftsmanship,” and a device that’s “precisely built, perfectly presented.”

The marketing is clearly designed to evoke feelings typically associated with quality heirloom-items rather than laptops. Wording like “±1 second error over a thousand years” and “±1.0μm assembly deviation” blur the line between engineering metaphor and laptop specs.

also:L23M3P70 Battery for Lenovo ThinkPad L16 Gen 1

It remains to be seen whether the final product will offer a full departure from standard ThinkPad designs or simply wrap a familiar build in white. It will also be interesting to see whether Lenovo charges a premium for its fresh coat of moonlight.

Either way, it will be worth watching to see exactly what Lenovo unveils in the coming days.

ViaVideocardz

I tested the most advanced Chromebook yet — Google and Lenovo have built the ultimate AI laptop that beats Windows and Mac

Miles ahead of Copilot+ and Apple IntelligenceLenovo Chromebook Plus 14

Picking thebest laptop for collegeis a tricky decision to make — what OS to go for, how much power you actually need for your studies, any actually useful AI features and what about the battery life? All questions form a finely tuned balance you need to find for your course.

Well, if you’re looking for a recommendation that cuts through all the marketing noise (includingApple’s rather hilarious PowerPoint presentation), I’d like to put one in front of you. The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is a serious shout for the best back-to-school buy you can make.

With a gorgeous OLED screen, the most powerful Arm chip I’ve seen in a Chromebook, an OLED display and up to 17 hours of battery life, the hardware has a lot going for it. But the real beauty lies in the software and its logical AI implementations.

And while comparatively, this is quite pricey for a Chromebook starting at $649, I believe for what you get, it’s absolutely worthwhile. Let’s get into it.

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Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14: Specs

PriceFrom $649 / £599
Display14-inch OLED 1920 x 1200-pixels — 400 nits (touchscreen optional)
CPUMediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910
MemoryUp to 16GB LPDDR5
StorageUp to 256GB
Ports2x USB-C, 1x USB-A, 1x 3.5mm audio jack
ConnectivityWi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
Dimensions12.4 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches
Weight2.6 pounds

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An AI productivity powerhouse

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14

Before I go into all the “just laptop things,” I want to hone in on that MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 chip. You see, up until this point, AI on a Chromebook has been very much reliant on the cloud — given the lower-end chips used to keep costs down.

For most of us always being surrounded by Wi-Fi, that’s fine, but it does cause latency in the features that matter. But with a new chip that sports an NPU capable of 50 trillion AI operations per second (TOPS), Google and Lenovo are moving over to a hybrid approach.Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14

This brings on-device AI features that are sensibly implemented and actually useful! First thing’s first, Smart Grouping — perfect for a multi-tab Chrome browsing monster like me.

If you’re working across multiple projects and need to bring some structure to what you do, the on-board AI is able to analyze all your tabs and separate them into different desktops by task.

Chrome OS

(Image credit: Google)

The speed of doing this is a cinch, too, as you just swipe up with three fingers on the touchpad and you’ll see the suggestion appear at the bottom. Then Chrome OS works it all out for you. It’s a level of smart organization that you just can’t find on a Windows laptop or a MacBook at the moment.Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14

Then there’s AI image editing directly in the gallery app. This is more of a “fun to have” than a real useful tool, but it does drastically reduce the amount of time it takes to remove a background and create a PNG sticker of the subject.

Up to the cloud

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14

But the AI features don’t stop there. I could go on about the 12 months of Google AI Pro that you get for free — giving you access to 2TB of cloud storage,Gemini 2.5 Proand Deep Research,Veo 3video generation platform and the incredibleNotebookLM(perfect for notetaking in lectures).

But what caught my eye the most is the intelligent Text capture that plugs into all your Google services. Essentially, this is the company’s circle to search feature on speed, as it is able to capture text from any image and take contextual action on it.

Chrome OS

(Image credit: Google)

So, beyond the usual capture a picture and shop for the thing via Google Search, you could highlight a text entry and get it as editable text in Google Docs, capture an event promo image and add it as a Google Calendar event.

In my testing, I wrote out a table by hand, highlighted the picture of it, and it was still able to intelligently recognize and turn it into a spreadsheet. This could be huge for people who work out by doodling to digitize their work.Chrome OS(Image credit: Google)

Also, shoutout to the Simplify expansion to help me read, which can take complex subject matter and dumb down the language a bit. Now I can finally sound as clued up on deep psychological studies as my fiancée!

Not forgetting the fundamentals

Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14

For all the things I do like about using a Chromebook, one thing that can get lost along the way is actually being a good laptop. I’ve faced a minefield of mushy keyboards, bad speakers, poor displays and battery life that drops to zero if you even look at it funny.

With the Chromebook Plus 14, I think Lenovo’s cracked it. First of all, I can’t ignore that dazzling OLED screen, which Google has gone ahead and paired with NASA to make some custom wallpapers of Jupiter to really make it sing.

This makes it an ideal panel that’s easy on the eyes for getting work done, which is further backed up by a properly tactile-feeling keyboard (that same comfortable thump to each key that you know and love from Lenovo) and a smooth, clicky touchpad.

It also comes in clutch for those moments when you’re so over your studies for the evening, as the Dolby Atmos setup of two woofers and two tweeters sounds fantastic (even in the busy room I was in). That’s sure to make this a binge-watching beast or a great laptop to turn to for firing up the playlist in your student dorms.

That Arm chip doesn’t stutter when opening any programs. With 12-16GB of RAM, I didn’t feel any slowdown or hitching when I took the Plus 14 up over 20 tabs. And Lenovo is stepping up to the mighty stamina of MacBooks with a claimed 17-hour battery life.

And all of this in a premium aluminum shell with a playful ribbed plastic underside and a 5MP webcam for catching up with your family at home. Everything has been considered here, and when it comes to the typical Chromebook compromises, none of them have been made.

Outlook

For some of these claims (like battery life), I’ll leave that for our full review (coming soon), but early impressions are strong. The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is a shoo-in for thebest ChromebookI’ve ever tested, and possibly one of thebest laptopsof 2025, too.

It’s easy to count out Chrome OS as the third-place option in favor of Windows 11 and macOS. However, with system-level AI implementations across the board that actually make sense and an incredibly easy-to-use UI.

Of course, there are the big question marks here, like dedicated app support. Google does say that more are coming, but we’ll wait and see on that. But in terms of a solidly powerful system with a great screen, zippy internals, a great screen for binge watching and a stellar OS for getting stuff done, this has everything a student needs.

Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 business laptop review

A robust business laptop with solid overall performance and fantastic battery life

Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5

Verdict

The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 is a reliable business laptop that excels in battery life and durability. Despite a less impressive display, it offers a great typing experience and sufficient performance for everyday tasks.

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Pros

  • +Thin, lightweight, and durable
  • +Solid performance
  • +Great battery life
  • +Excellent keyboard

Cons

  • -Dull display
  • -Not as powerful as competing systems

The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 continues the trusted and loved ThinkPad lineup of laptops that Lenovo continues to create with business users in mind. It is yet another durable and reliable business laptop with a robust build, impressive battery, and great ports for connectivity.

While this laptop is designed for business professionals, it also focuses on more than use in the office. Like so many of the best business laptops we’ve reviewed – particularly the best Lenovo ThinkPads out there, the T14 Gen 5 is light and portable, perfect for remote and hybrid workers and those constantly moving within a large corporate building. Despite some drawbacks, such as a less vibrant display, the ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 proves to be a solid performer that can handle everyday tasks with ease.

Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5: Unboxing & first impressions

The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 comes well packaged in eco-friendly packaging. The laptop, a 65W USB-C charger, and the documentation that Lenovo sends with all laptops are in the box. Right away, setup throughWindows 11on this laptop was easy, and thanks to the SSD, booting up to the start screen was quick and painless.

Moving the laptop around, I quickly realized that Lenovo had built this laptop very well. Finding the balance between thin and durable is lovely—which is always hard to do with laptops. Some super thin devices are incredibly light but snap if you type too hard. The T14 Gen 5 strikes the balance quite nicely. It’s slim, but it has a slightly thicker plastic casing that gives a sense that it can take a hit or two and be fine. It makes it feel less premium.

The laptop’s design stays true to the classic ThinkPad aesthetics I’ve seen with laptops such as the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11. It’s simple, functional, minimal, and sleek—excellent design. The keyboard offers a familiar ThinkPad experience with tactile feedback, and the trackpad is large and responsive. The signature red TrackPoint is also present for those who prefer it, paired with the easy-click buttons at the top of the trackpad.

My ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 is grey, but the black colorway would be perfect if you want a sleeker, more minimalist design that blends in a bit more.

Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5: Design & build quality

Specs

as tested

Processor: Intel Core Ultra 7 155U
Memory: 16GB
Battery: 52.5Whr
Ports: 2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB-A, 1x RJ45, 1x HDMI,

The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 is lightweight and compact, especially for the ports and power. This laptop weighs 2.96 pounds and is less than an inch thick, at 0.70 inches, making it easy to move around and use as a portable machine. The casing comprises recycled plastic and aluminum to help provide a durable yet eco-friendly computer.

The ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 has a wide range of ports, including 2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB-A, 1x HDMI, and 1x RJ45 Ethernet. A headphone/mic combo jack ensures versatile connectivity. There is also a smart card reader for those who need an extra level of security.

The keyboard is standard for Thinkpads. It feels the same as all of the other ThinkPads I have used, and it has the same TrackPoint in the middle for easy, quick navigation while keeping your hands on the keyboard. The only change in this model and some of the newer models, in general, is the presence of theMicrosoftCopilot key for easily integrated enhanced AI productivity. No matter what you are doing, if you press that key, you launch your AI assistant, which can help with anything from changing settings on your computer to helping create content.

Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5: In use

This laptop has been a powerhouse over the last few months. I’ve worked with it for the previous 90 days, and I am pretty impressed. The keyboard is fantastic, especially for long typing sessions (such as this review). The audio is solid. While it won’t blow anyone away, it is suitable for a laptop. The T14 Gen 5 balances durability and a sleek, lightweight design. It’s easy to carry, throw into my bag, and carry on its own, yet I don’t feel like I need to baby it. I will admit that the plastic casing can give a “less than premium” false narrative by looks alone. Still, as soon as I open the laptop and start working, that narrative is immediately dismissed because this computer is powerful enough for day-to-day work.

One other important aspect of the design is the fantastic battery life. I have been able to go to coffee shops, attend offsite meetings, and work around the house without worrying about finding a power cable. It’s been fantastic.

Part of the reason this laptop has a great battery probably has to do with the fact that the display could be more impressive; however, while using this laptop for business uses, I never really felt like I was missing out. I could get everything without feeling held back, limited, or even noticing that it wasn’t a great display.

I have been able to knock out all admin tasks and heavy tracking spreadsheets; I’ve used this to render 3D models for my 3D printers; it’s helped test and drive some of the best business monitors I have tested, helped set up and program some of the other gear I am testing, and has been an all-around fantastic computer. What has been great, too, is utilizing Microsoft Copilot (albeit tastefully) to modify settings so I don’t have to go through pages of clicks to give me ideas, answer questions, research, and do conversions, all started with a simple click of a button. It’s been super powerful and a massive asset for getting work done efficiently.

AttributesNotesRating
DesignSimple and minimal design⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ease of useEasy to set up and use⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
PracticalityHighly practical for professionals⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
PriceWell priced⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5: Final verdict
The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 is a reliable choice for business professionals who prioritize durability and battery life over high-end performance and display quality. Its robust build and extensive connectivity options make it a practical tool for productivity on the move. If you’re looking for a dependable workhorse with a great keyboard and long battery life, the ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 is worth considering — especially if you want Copilot baked in.

Lenovo ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6, Snapdragon) review: 21 hours of battery life

First ThinkPad with a Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite X sticks the landing.

Verdict

With 21 hours of battery life, the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s will last you all day and then some while also providing strong productivity performance and great usability in a lightweight package.

Pros
+Extraordinary battery life
+Bright screen
+Great keyboard and navigation
+Solid performance
Cons
-Expensive
-Slower SSD than competitors
-Windows on Arm still not compatible with all software

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With the release of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X series processors earlier this year, a new crop of laptops have focused on power efficiency and AI features. Lenovo’s ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6 with Snapdragon) is the first ThinkPad powered by the chip and it specifically runs on a 12-core, Snapdragon Elite X1E-78-100 with a powerful NPU with 45 TOPS.

Starting at $1,666 (current street price and the price of our review unit), the ThinkPad T14s is not only one of the best Snapdragon-powered laptops on the market, but one of the best ultraportable laptops you can buy with any processor. It lasted an incredible 21 hours on our battery test – one of the longest marks of any system we’ve ever tested – and yet it offers all the best features you can find on a ThinkPad. It has a world class keyboard, an accurate pointing stick, a bright and colorful screen, good performance and a sturdy, sub-3 pound chassis. So, though it’s not cheap, if you’re willing to commit to an Arm-powered laptop, the T14s is a fantastic system.

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Design of the the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6, Snapdragon)


The ThinkPad T14s is thin, light and very consistent with Lenovo’s time-tested ThinkPad aesthetic. Like most other ThinkPads, it has a matte, raven black color with a red pointing stick in the middle of the keyboard, a red status light on the lid and some red accents on the TrackPoint buttons.
The lid and deck have a luxurious soft-touch feel that’s really pleasant, particularly when I put my wrists on the palmrest. Many other ThinkPads, including the X1 Carbon (Gen 12) don’t have a finish that feels quite this soft so it’s a real plus. The lid itself is made of 50 percent recycled carbon-reinforced plastic while the deck is made from 90 percent recycled magnesium alloy.
At 2.72 pounds, the T14s is really light, but some competitors are even svelter. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 12) is just 2.42 pounds (1.24 kg) and the Dell XPS 13 (9345), which has a 13-inch display, is 2.62 pounds. The T14s is 12.35 x 8.64 x 0.67 inches (313.6 x 219.4 x 16.9 mm), but the X1 Carbon (Gen 12) is just a tad smaller at 12.31 x 8.45 x 0.59 inches and the HP OmniBook X (12.32 x 8.8 x 0.56 inches) and Dell XPS 13 (11.63 x 7.84 x 0.60 inches) are also quite a bit smaller.

The T14s manages to pack in all the ports you’ll need, including two Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C ports, two USB 3.2 Type-A Ports (5 Gbps), a 3.5-inch audio jack and a full-size HDMI 2.1 port.

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Lenovo ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6, Snapdragon) Specs

CPUQualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100
GraphicsQualcomm Adreno GPU
Memory32GB LPDDR5x-8448
Storage1TB M.2 2242 SSD
Display14-inch, 1920 x 1200 IPS
NetworkingQualcomm Wi-Fi 7 NCM825A, Bluetooth 5.3
Ports2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB Type-A (5 Gbps), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5 audio
CameraFHD 1080p + IR
Battery58 Whr
Power Adapter65-watt USB-C
OSWindows 11 Pro
Dimensions (WxDxH)12.35 x 8.64 x 0.67 inches (313.6 x 219.4 x 16.9 mm)
Weight2.72 pounds (1.24 kg)
Price (as configured)$1,666.56

Keyboard, Touchpad and Trackpoint on the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6, Snapdragon)

Lenovo ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6, Snapdragon)
Like most other ThinkPads, the T14s has a world-class typing experience, complete snappy keys have curved keycaps that make them easier to locate by feel. There are also raised lines on the Enter, Fn, Down Arrow and F + J keys so you find these markers in the dark (or if you’re visually impaired). The F + J keys have had these marks on prior ThinkPads but the others are new additions.

Tapping away on the T14’s keyboard was a pleasure as I managed a strong 100 words-per-minute on the 10 Fast Fingers typing test, along with a 3 percent error rate. Those are both good marks for me on any laptop, and I was able to achieve them because I was comfortable typing.

Using the built-in Lenovo Commercial Vantage control panel software, you can configure the F12 key to launch any program, open a website or enter any text you want. Unfortunately, you can’t use the app to remap F12 into another key such as Print Screen, but you can do that with a third-party utility such as SharpKeys.

For navigation, the T14s has both a TrackPoint pointing stick and a 2.4 x 4.53-inch glass (non-haptic) touchpad. I always prefer the TrackPoint because it gives me the most accurate navigation around the desktop and I don’t have to lift my hands off of the home row and disrupt my typing position to use it. Double-tapping the TrackPoint brings up the TrackPoint Quick Menu, which gives you easy access to Microphone, Audio Playback and Camera settings.

If you don’t like pointing sticks – and really, you should give them a try – the touchpad has a lot to offer. In my tests, it offered smooth navigation with just the right amount of friction. It also responded flawlessly to multitouch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom and three-finger swipe.

Audio on the ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6, Snapdragon)
The ThinkPad T14s’s dual speakers, located on either side of the keyboard, provide sound output that’s loud enough to fill a small conference room and is accurate, though not rich. When I played AC/DC’s “Back in Black,” there was some separation of sound between the drums on the right side and the vocals / guitar on the left. And the percussion, while not layered, was mostly free from tinniness.

Using the included Dolby Access app, I was able to choose among different sound output profiles for Music, Movies, Games and Dynamic. I found that Dynamic, which automatically predicts the kind of output you need, to be not only the best but the loudest choice.

Upgradeability of the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6, Snapdragon)

Lenovo ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6, Snapdragon)
While you can’t upgrade the RAM, which is soldered to the motherboard, you can change out the SSD, but you’ll pay a premium for the replacement. While most computers and laptops use 2280 length SSDs, the T14s requires a 2242 drive, which is less common and costs more. 
To upgrade the laptop, you need to loosen the five captive Philip’s head screws and pry open the rear panel, an easy process that takes just a couple of minutes. The SSD is located underneath a copper heatsink in the upper right corner of the motherboard.

Battery LIfe on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 6, Snapdragon)
We need only one word to describe ThinkPad T14s’s battery life: wow.

On our battery test, which involves surfing the web and streaming videos with the screen set at 150 nits of brightness, the T14s endured for 21 hours and 3 minutes. That time is the longest we’ve seen on a laptop. The Dell XPS 13 (9345), which uses the same Snapdragon Elite X CPU, came close to matching this mark, hitting a time of 19 hours and 31 minutes, though that’s with a smaller display.

Heat on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 6, Snapdragon)
The ThinkPad T14s stayed cool throughout our testing . It never got particularly warm, even when we pushed it to its limits.

When I ran Cinebench 2024 and took the temperatures after 15 minutes, the middle of the keyboard was a mere 92 degrees Fahrenheit and barely felt warm to the touch. The touchpad was a cool 77 F, which is barely room temperature. However, like most laptops under load, the bottom got toasty, hitting 114 F.

Software and Warranty on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 6, Snapdragon)

Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 lid

The ThinkPad T14s comes blissfully free of unwanted bloatware and has just a bare minimum number of utilities. Lenovo Commercial Vantage is the company’s major control panel software and it allows you to do everything from downloading updated drivers to configuring the power settings from one place. However, for many of the settings – Camera and Display settings for example – Commercial Vantage simply links you to the appropriate part of Windows 11’s Settings app. That’s probably for the best, because in most cases, you don’t need a proprietary settings panel in lieu of the one that’s built into the operating system.

However, Vantage does provide some extra settings such as the ability to configure whether the USB ports can still charge devices even when the computer is asleep or powered off. In addition to Vantage, there’s the Dolby Access app which lets you change sound profiles, choosing among Movie, Music Game or Dynamic settings. On the Start Menu, there’s also User Guide which is nothing more than a link to an online manual for the T14s, located at Lenovo.com.

It almost goes without saying that Microsoft has some Windows 11 preloaded apps on here such as Clipchamp and Spotify.

This is a Copilot+ PC, so Windows comes with a few extra local AI features you can’t get on older PCs, but will soon come to on Ryzen AI-powered and Intel Lunar Lake-powered laptops. These include Cocreate, a feature of Windows Paint that draws AI images locally and Windows Studio Effects, which allow you to get background blur and a few other webcam special effects. There’s also Live captions with real-time translation and, in the near future, Recall, which will allow you to query all your past screen activity to remember things you’ve done.

Because the T14s has an Arm processor, there are a few Windows programs, including Adobe After Effects, Google Drive for Desktop and many games that won’t run on it. And there are many other apps such as Discord and Audacity that will run but only in emulation mode, which makes them slower. A site called windowsonarm.org tracks which apps are and are not compatible with Arm and it’s clear that most of the key productivity programs do work on Arm. So, while it’s possible you could find an app that won’t work, most knowledge workers will find that their most-used apps, including Microsoft Office, Chrome browser and Visual Studio, all run well.

Bottom Line

Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 front view
There’s a lot to love about the ThinkPad T14s (Snapdragon, Gen 6). It has incredible battery life, which is useful when you have a 2.72-pound system and want to spend a long time away from power outlets while you get things done. And, with this system, you will get a lot done. It has the awesome ThinkPad keyboard we’ve come to expect from Lenovo, it has all the ports you might want and a screen that’s bright enough to help you work near a window with sunlight streaming in.

The ThinkPad T14s has solid performance and the promise of even more help when local AI workloads become even more useful and pervasive than the gimmicky Copilot+ features Windows has today. Its only serious drawbacks are its relatively high price) and the unlikely possibility that you’ll want to use a program that doesn’t run or run well on Arm processors. If you’re concerned about compatibility, consider waiting for the ThinkPad T14s with AMD Ryzen AI processor that will be out in a few weeks or the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 13) that will be out in November. However, if you’re willing to get an Arm-powered laptop, the T14s (Gen 6) is a fantastic choice.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 review:2-in-1 convertible versatility at a price you can afford

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 review

2-in-1 convertible versatility at a price you can afford

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5

Verdict

Lenovo’s latest 2-in-1 convertible laptop is hugely versatile and has good battery life, but it’s a little short on memory.

Pros

  • +Great 2-in-1 feature set
  • +Strong battery life
  • +USB-C charging support

Cons

  • -Screen is a bit dim
  • -Only 4GB RAM
  • -Portability is marginal

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Two-minute review

Lenovo’s ‘Flex’ series of laptops are affordable 2-in-1 convertible systems that offer claimed all-day battery life. That’s a simple and appealing proposition.

In practice, it’s all a bit more complicated. You see, the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5, to give it its full name, is available in both 14-inch and 15-inch variants and with both AMD and Intel CPUs. And with various iterations of those CPUs.

It’s all a bit baffling if you’re buying, but the specific model showcased here is the 15-inch Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 powered by Intel’s latest 10th Gen processors, in this case an Intel Core i3-1005G1 chip.

Arguably, AMD’s laptop CPUs offer both better value and more performance right now. But given the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 remains pretty keenly priced and isn’t being pitched primarily on performance, that needn’t be an automatic deal-breaker.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5

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Indeed, this laptop offers a very compelling all-round proposition. Along with that Intel CPU, the highlights kick off with a 15.6-inch touchscreen. It offers a FullHD 1,920 by 1,080 pixel resolution and IPS panel technology. As a ‘Flex’ model, that screen is hooked up to the IdeaPad’s chassis via a full 360-degree hinge and thus supports operation in full Tablet mode. Next up is a 128GB SSD. OK, that’s not a huge amount of storage, but it is a M.2 drive supporting the latest NVMe control protocol.

Other details include a decent 65 watt charger and claimed battery life of over 10 hours. You get it all at a great price on an attractive chassis with a high quality feel from one of the biggest brands in the industry, which is impressive. But inevitably, it’s not the whole story.

At this price point something inevitably has to give and as reviewed the most obvious weakness is the meagre 4GB of RAM. It doesn’t have a huge impact on your benchmark numbers. But if you’re partial, say, to running loads of browser tabs while you edit images – or some other typical multitasking scenario – you’ll quickly run out of system memory with only 4GB at your disposal, especially as some of that is pinched by the integrated graphics.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5

That’s a pity because in most other regards, this is a pretty nice portable. It’s good for that 10 hours-plus of claimed battery life, for instance. And the screen is accurate and pleasant to use, if a little dim. The keyboard is firm, crisp and pleasant to use.

Yes, there are a few tell tales of corning curing beyond the 4GB of RAM. The trackpad is a little small for this class of portable. The sound quality from the integrated speakers is fairly poor. The supplied charger is a barrel type rather than USB-C despite the fact that the Flex 5 has a USB-C port that supports charging (further connectivity includes two USB-A ports, HDMI and a full-size SD card reader). That’s sort of both a plus and a minus, but you get the broader point. This is a nice machine for the money.

Spec Sheet

CPU:1.2GHz Intel Core i3-1005G1 (dual-core, 4MB cache, up to 3.5GHz with Turbo Boost)
Graphics:Intel UHD Graphics
RAM:4GB DDR4
Screen:15.6-inch, 1,920 x 1,080, IPS, touch
Storage:128GB M.2 NVMe SSD
Ports:USB-C, 2x USB-A, HDMI, SD Card
Connectivity:Lenovo AC Wifi, Bluetooth
Camera:720p webcam
Weight:4.4 pounds (2 kg)
Size:14.08 x 9.37 x 0.7-0.8 inches (357.6 x 237.9 x 17.9-20.35 mm; W x D x H)

Design and features

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5

Entry-level systems from the bigger brands have stepped up their game in design and quality terms in recent years and the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 is no exception. Granted, it’s not going to put the frighteners on an Apple MacBook Pro for sheer material class.

The 15.6-inch 1080p touch-enabled display, for instance, sports IPS panel technology and is housed in a high-quality metal enclosure with slim side bezels and a shuttered 720p webcam up top.The 360-degree hinge feels robust and the keyboard is stable and firm with only traces of flex and bounce.

Ports wise, Lenovo likewise has you well covered. On the left side of the chassis, you’ll find a full-sized HDMI socket, a barrel-type power connector, headphone jack and a USB-C port. The latter supports charging the laptop itself, mitigating the slight disappointment of the barrel connector. While we’d prefer the Flex 5 came bundled with a USB-C charger, support for USB-C charging at least means you can carry a single charger to keep multiple devices juiced up.

On the right, a pair of USB-A ports and situated next to a 4-in-1 card reader that supports full sized SD cards, plus MMC, SDHC and SDXC cards. That’s one less plug-in adapter you’ll need to carry, in other words. Other features worthy of mention are the 720p webcam located on the top bezel and complete with a physical shutter and support for an optional digital input pen.

It’s also worth noting that the Flex 5 ships as standard configured withWindows 10Home in S Mode. The sales pitch for S Mode is that it boosts performance and improves security. The latter is almost certainly true given it only allows software from theMicrosoftapp store to be installed. The downside, of course, is that it only allows software from the app store to be installed, excluding the vast majority of the huge ecosystem of Windows compatible apps and software that’s accrued over the years. That includes noAdobesoftware, no Apple apps, no non-Microsoft video conferencing apps, none of those handy little legacy apps.

S Mode is also streamlined to reduce CPU and memory usage, the latter being especially relevant for a laptop with just 4GB. Long story short, S Mode can make a lot of sense for schools and businesses, but is probably too restrictive for more general home and business users. However, it is the work of around five minutes to turn S Mode off via the Microsoft Store, so it shouldn’t be an impediment to anyone considering this system.

Performance

As a content consumption device, the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 usually gets the job done. The combination of the dual-core Intel Core i3-1005G1 chip, 128GB M.2 SSD and 4GB of RAM delivers a responsive experience within certain confines. With a few tabs open in a browser and editing a text document, for instance, all is well.

Up the tab count and run some image editing in parallel, however, and you can run out of memory and into relative trouble. Of course, having a modern M.2 SSD helps enormously when that happens and files are being swapped to main storage. But we’d still prefer to have 8GB in this class of device.

By other metrics, performance is about as mixed as you might expect given the market positioning. The 15.6-inch 1080p IPS display has good colours and viewing angles, but lacks brightness. The dual 2 watt Dolby-powered speakers, meanwhile, deliver weak, thin audio lacking in much by way of dynamic range. And for the record, don’t expect to go gaming with the entry-level Intel integrated graphics.

Benchmarks

Here’s how the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 performed inour suite of benchmark tests:
3DMark: Sky Diver:3,761;Fire Strike:919;Time Spy:N/A
Cinebench CPU: 743 points
GeekBench 5:1,058 (single-core); 2097 (multi-core)
PCMark 10 (Home Test):3237 points
PCMark 10 Battery Life:9 hours and 43 minutes
Battery Life (TechRadar movie test):11 hours and 50 minutes

Battery life

At this price point, battery life can often fall victim of cost cutting. Happily, the Flex 5 is configured with a fairly hefty 52.5Wh battery. 

That translates into nearly 12 hours of video playback and nearly 10 hours in the more demanding PCMark battery test. That’s enough for all-day operation at school or the office or plenty of movies on a long-haul flight. Support for charging via USB-C also makes it easy to ‘borrow’ some power should you find yourself running low.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5

Buy it if…

You want a versatile all-rounder at a reasonable price
The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 offers a very wide range of features and functionality, including USB-C connectivity and multi-format memory card reading, at an attractive price point.

You want touchscreen, 2-in-1 functionality on a large screen
The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 combines touchscreen and 2-in-1 tablet convertible functionality with a large 15.6-inch screen. It truly is a jack of all trades that does it all, albeit with a few compromises.

You need all-day battery life
At nearly 12 hours of video playback, the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 certainly has long legs. Even running more demanding applications, you can expect nine to 10 hours of battery life.

Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 AMD laptop : Compact Ryzen machine

Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 - 1345U · Xe Graphics G7 80 EU · 13.3”, WUXGA  (1920 x 1200), IPS · 256GB SSD · 16GB LPDDR5 · Windows 11 Pro | LaptopMedia  中国

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Ryzen and Lenovo ThinkPad laptops – not an easy relationship when it comes to the 2024 generation of ThinkPad laptops. Many of the newest ThinkPad laptops are not available with AMD CPU. In previous years, things very different. An example is the Lenovo ThinkPad X13. The smallest variant of the mainstream Lenovo business series ditched AMD this year, the new ThinkPad X13 Gen 5 features Intel’s Core Ultra Series 1 exclusively.

  That is the reason why we are taking a look at the Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 AMD with Ryzen 7000 today, the newest model with an AMD processor.

Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 21J3001VGE (ThinkPad X13 G4 Series)

Processor

AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 7840U8 x 3.3 – 5.1 GHz, 30 W PL2 / Short Burst, 20 W PL1 / Sustained, Phoenix (Zen 4)

Graphics adapter

AMD Radeon 780M

Memory

32 GB , LPDDR5X-6400, on-board, quad channel

Display

13.30 inch 16:10, 1920 x 1200 pixel 170 PPI, R133NW4K R0, IPS LED, glossy: no, 60 Hz

Mainboard

AMD Promontory/Bixby FCH

Storage

Samsung PM9B1 512GB MZVL4512HBLU, 512 GB 

, M.2 2280, NVMe PCIe 4.0, 410 GB free

Weight

1.25 kg ( = 44.09 oz / 2.76 pounds), Power Supply: 301 g ( = 10.62 oz / 0.66 pounds)

Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

Chassis: Compact carbon/magnesium construction

With the ThinkPad X13 Gen 4, Lenovo has introduced a new design last year that already foreshadowed many new features of the 2024 ThinkPads. An example is the webcam bump, a rather controversial design choice. In any case, it makes opening the screen easier. Other design elements still follow the more classic ThinkPad design ethos, such as the silver hinges. With the 2024 ThinkPads, Lenovo has changed the hinge color to black – same for the ThinkPad logo.

Typical for the X13 series are the materials used here: Magnesium and aluminum for the lower half of the laptop, plastic with carbon-fiber reinforcement for the screen. Stability is great, as the whole device is well-made and almost completely painted black.

The two small drop down hinges do not allow for one-handed opening, but they securely hold the screen. There is no display-wobble. The maximum opening angle is 180 degrees.

The 13.3-inch business laptops in our comparison are all similarly heavy and have a similar footprint. Only the Dell Latitude 7350is smaller and a little bit more lightweight than the competition.

    The 13.3-inch business laptops in our comparison are all similarly heavy and have a similar footprint. Only the Dell Latitude 7350is smaller and a little bit more lightweight than the competition.

     Size comparison

      Lenovo ThinkPad X13 G3 21CM002UGE  1.3 kg 2.86 lbs

      Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 21J3001VGE  1.3 kg 2.76 lbs

      HP EliteBook x360 830 G10 7L7U1ET  1.3 kg 2.97 lbs  

      Lenovo ThinkPad X13 G4 21EX004QGE    1.2 kg 2.69 lbs

      Dell Latitude 13 7350         DIN A4  1.1 kg 2.37 lbs

     Security

Despite the ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 being so small, Lenovo manages to put in quite a few security features into this compact ThinkPad laptop. The subnotebook has a Kensington lock slot for theft protection, a fingerprint reader and an infrared camera for Windows Hello as well as a Smartcard reader – a secure log-in option for enterprise customers. Additionally, the ThinkPad has a dedicated TPM security chip and a mechanical privacy shutter for the webcam.

    Accessories

Aside from the 65 W GaN charger with a USB-C connector, Lenovo does not include any other accessories with the ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 AMD.

   Maintenance

Lenovo makes it for the user: Five screws and a few clips at the back edge of the system have to be loosened to remove the bottom cover and uncover the internals. Unfortunately, the ThinkPad laptop does not provide many upgrade options, as the RAM and Wi-Fi module are soldered down. At least, the 4G/LTE module can be added later, and the SSD is modular too. Positive: The internal battery is secured with a few screws and the fan is easily accessible too. On the other hand, changing the keyboard necessitates removing all other components – this used to be easier with theThinkPad X13 Gen 3 AMD.

   Sustainability

Some chassis parts of the Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 consist out of recycled materials. The keyboard frame, for example, is made out of 90 percent recycled magnesium. Completely compostable are the packaging materials that Lenovo uses for newer ThinkPads like the X13 Gen 4. As usual for business laptops, Lenovo produces spare parts for a few years, same is true for software updates. Also, Lenovo supplies video tutorials and the hardware maintenance manual that explain how the device can be disassembled and reassembled.

   Warranty

As with most ThinkPads above the cheaper E and L models, Lenovo gives the X13 Gen 4 a three-year warranty that also applies world-wide. If the device stops working, it has to be sent in. Optionally, the warranty can be upgraded to on-site service as well as prolonged for an up to five-year period.

  Input devices: ThinkPad X13 G4 with a 95 % keyboard
Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4: Keyboard

As usual with 13.3 inch ThinkPads, Lenovo integrates a smaller keyboard. The key size is equal to a 95 percent keyboard, meaning each key is times 0.95 as big as on a full-size keyboard. The difference: Roughly one millimeter in both length and width. Also, some keys on the right side of the keyboard are additionally squished, and the dedicated insert key is nowhere to be found. The F keys are also shorter than with bigger ThinkPads. Otherwise, the backlit keyboard (two levels) does not differ too much from a typical ThinkPad keyboard. Key travel sits at 1.5mm, with the typing feel being very comfortable – typing on this keyboard is a nice feeling. One change on newer 2024 ThinkPads that did not hit the X13 series yet: The FN key still has its “normal” position here, to the left of the Ctrl key. The newer designs switch those keys around.

The touchpad and TrackPoint are similar to what Lenovo uses in other recent ThinkPads, with the touchpad being a little bit smaller here. The surface is made out of Mylar plastic, as with most ThinkPad laptops. It offers smooth gliding, but it gets dirty fast and does not feel as nice as a comparable glass surface. Usability is very good despite that. Other than the fact that its size is limited, it is a good touchpad. For some tasks, like drag and drop or when using the laptop in a tight space, the TrackPoint can be the better option for moving the cursor. In the X13 Gen 4, the TrackPoint worked flawlessly. The same is true for the dedicated TrackPoint buttons between the keyboard and touchpad.

  Connectivity: WWAN is upgradeable

As an enterprise laptop, the Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 sports a good amount of ports, despite its small size. Among the connectors are two USB-A ports and full-size HDMI. Compared with Dell’s offering, the ThinkPad has one USB-A port more.

left: 2x USB4, USB A 3.2 Gen 1, 3.5mm Audio, Smartcard reader

left: 2x USB4, USB A 3.2 Gen 1, 3.5mm Audio, Smartcard reader

right: nanoSIM slot, USB A 3.2 Gen 1, HDMI, Kensington Lock Slot

right: nanoSIM slot, USB A 3.2 Gen 1, HDMI, Kensington Lock Slot