The best ThinkPads attract many professional users and enterprise IT departments with their solid build quality, state-of-the-art keyboards, super-precise pointing sticks and simple black aesthetics. The ThinkPad family has a number of pillars that Lenovo fans cannot do without, which is why the best ThinkPads are considered the best laptops on the market.
Even if you already have the heart and the budget for a ThinkPad, you have many choices. Lenovo currently sells more than a dozen ThinkPad models across several different lines. Laptops all have the same basic aesthetics, but vary widely in size, price, screen quality, performance, and battery life. Some even have sharper keyboards than others. There are options for the average business user, artists who need a work tablet, or even users who need a workhorse.
Once you’ve made a decision, check out our summary of the best ThinkPad accessories to boost your productivity, but if you’re more interested in the best Lenovo laptops in general, we also have a page for that.
What are the best ThinkPads?
In the notebook world, the Thinkpad X1 Carbon is a masterpiece. With a light but durable chassis, the X1 Carbon is a great option for professional users who are frequently on the go. But the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is not just a business laptop: we recommend this machine to everyday consumers as well, who will appreciate the bright and vivid 14-inch laptop screen , its long lifespan, its fast performance and its immaculate build quality.
Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Yoga proves that ThinkPads don’t need carbon fiber to compete. Made from CNC aluminum, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga chassis is now thinner and lighter while being as durable as ever. Combine this elegant setting with a beautiful 1080p screen, first-rate keyboard and all-day battery life, and the ThinkPad X1 Yoga is easily one of the best 2-in-1 laptops on the market.
Taking up a page from his mainstream laptop – the ThinkPad X1 Extreme – the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 workstation class offers powerful performance in a thin and light chassis. The optional 4K screen appears with rich, vibrant colors, and the P1’s wonderfully comfortable keyboard may just be Lenovo’s best to date. In addition to this, the Xeon CPU and the Nvidia Quadro P2000, available on the more expensive models, offer exceptional performance. It’s a great machine if you do more than just plug numbers into a spreadsheet.
Need something more portable? The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet is a durable and secure 2-in-1 detachable business that’s also powerful enough to let you dominate noobs in Overwatch on the device’s 13-inch 3-inch dynamic screen.
The best ThinkPads you can buy today
- Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (7th generation)
- Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (4th generation)
- Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 2)
- Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet
- Lenovo ThinkPad T480
- Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga
- Lenovo ThinkPad P1
- Lenovo ThinkPad E580
1. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (7th generation)
Best overall ThinkPad you can buy
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CPU: Intel Core i5 / Core i7 | GPU: Intel UHD 620 | RAM: 8 GB / 16 GB | Storage room: 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB SSD | Pin up: 14 inch (1080p / 4K) | Cut: 12.7 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches | Weight: 2.1 pounds
Attractive and lightweight design
Best keyboard in its class
Long battery life (on 1080p model)
Bright and vivid display options
The 4K model has a short battery life
Benefits: Lenovo has taken the best business laptop and enhanced it with improved speakers and new security features, including a webcam privacy cover and an infrared camera. You still get the attractive, slim and durable chassis of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon and the powerful 8th generation processors. Business users who travel frequently will appreciate the 9 hours and more of battery life offered by the 1080p version, but they may want to stay away from the 4K model. Speaking of which, the optional 4K panel on the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is absolutely beautiful, providing a bright and vivid image. The 1080p screen isn’t too shabby either. And like the typical ThinkPad, the latest 7th generation X1 Carbon has a first-rate keyboard that you’ll love to type on. It is easily at the top of the best ThinkPads.
The inconvenients: There are really only two things we don’t like about the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (aside from the high price). First, the 4K model has only 5 hours and 33 minutes of battery life, which is far below average. And finally, Lenovo abandoned the microSD card reader this year so that content creators will have to buy an adapter to download photos and videos.
See our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (7th Gen) review.
2. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (4th generation)
CPU: Intel Core i7 | GPU: Intel UHD 620 | RAM: 16 GB | Storage room: 1 TB | Pin up: 14 inch, 1080p | Cut: 12 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches | Weight: 3 pounds
Bright and vivid 1080p display
Thin and durable aluminum chassis
Best keyboard in its class
Not available in carbon fiber
No SD card reader
Benefits: Lenovo took the risk of making the X1 Yoga out of metal, but it paid off. X1 Yoga is the perfect alternative to X1 Carbon for people who want the versatility of a tablet but don’t feel the detachable thing. It even lasts longer on a charge, providing excellent battery life of 10 hours and 18 minutes on our battery test. The X1 Yoga is available with up to a 4K screen but we were perfectly happy with the 1080p panel, but it is both bright and vivid. You also get the classic ThinkPad keyboard, which is still better than anything else on the market. But what really sets Yoga X1 apart are all of the additional features it offers, including a pen garage, webcam cover, and pointing stick.
The inconvenients: As much as we like the new metal chassis, we still want the ThinkPad X1 Yoga to be available with the traditional carbon fiber finish. It also lacks a card reader of any kind, which could be a snap for photographers and videographers. Our biggest caveat, however, is that the ThinkPad X1 Yoga we reviewed is powered by the latest generation processors, so you can expect models with 10th generation chips.
See our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (4th Gen, 2019) review.
3. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 2)
The best multimedia laptop
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CPU: Intel Core i5 / Core i7 | GPU: Nvidia GTX 1650 | RAM: 8 GB / 16 GB / 32 GB / 64 GB | Storage room: 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB SSD | Pin up: 15.6 inch (1080p / 4K) | Cut: 14.2 x 9.7 x 0.7 inches | Weight: 3.8 pounds
Attractive and lightweight chassis
Stunning 4K HDR anti-glare screen
World class keyboard
Poor battery life (on 4K HDR model)
Storage limited to 1 TB
Benefits: Whether you are a video editor or even a gamer, the 15-inch ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 2 is a great professional multimedia laptop that meets your needs. Armed with a Core i7 processor and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPU, this beast can help you through rigorous programs as well as a few selected games. He ran the Hitman benchmark on Ultra at 1080p at 47 frames per second. At just 0.7 inches thick and about 4.5 pounds, the X1 Extreme is truly portable for a laptop this size. We were blown away by the system’s 4K display, which reproduced 163% of the sRGB color gamut and averaged 384 nits of brightness. It also has a soft keyboard and offers the same durability and security features as the Lenovo X1 Carbon. It’s one of the best ThinkPads for performance.
The inconvenients: Regardless of all this power and beauty, an autonomy of only 5 hours and 28 minutes is a major buzzkill. The fact that storage is limited to just 1 TB is also insane, given that laptops like the 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro offer up to 8 TB of storage.
See our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 2) review.
4. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet
CPU: Intel Core i5 / Core i7 | GPU: Intel UHD 620 | RAM: 8 GB / 16 GB | Storage room: 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB SSD | Pin up: 13 inch (3K) | Cut: 12 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches (0.6 with keyboard) | Weight: 2 books (2.8 w / keyboard)
Magnificent design
Durable, MIL-STD 810G tested
Super keyboard and stylus
Impressive webcams
Below average battery life
Benefits: If you need to be versatile in your field of work, the ThinkPad X1 tablet is an excellent 2-in-1 removable, durable and secure. Artists in particular will appreciate the ThinkPad Pen Pro, which has an all-metal body and an elastomeric pen tip that supports up to 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. Our review unit had a Core i5-8250U processor, which had achieved 12772 on the overall performance benchmark of Geekbench 4, exceeding the average of high-end laptops (10,586) at the time of the review. What is also unique about this machine is that its removable keyboard maintains Lenovo’s quality standards: its keys have a good stroke of 1.3 millimeters and require 61 grams of force to be actuated. In addition, its 13-inch 3-inch screen will put you to sleep, covering 118% of the sRGB spectrum and releasing a huge brightness of 415 nits. It has an impressive pair of cameras: the rear has a resolution of 8 megapixels while the front has a shooter of 2 MP. It adds a lot of variety to Lenovo’s best ThinkPads.
The inconvenients: Although it is physically portable, the slate’s battery lasts only 5 hours and 59 minutes (below the average of 8:18), so you will not be able to survive a typical working day. And if you usually listen to music while you work, it will be difficult to cope with the silent speakers of the X1 tablet.
See our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet Review.
5. Lenovo ThinkPad T480
The laptop with the best battery life
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CPU: Intel Core i3 / Core i5 / Core i7 | GPU: Intel UHD 620 / Nvidia MX150 | Storage room: 500 GB hard drive or 128 GB / 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB SSD | Pin up: 14 inch (768p / 1080p / 1440p) | Cut: 13.3 x 9.2 x 0.8 inches | Weight: 3.6 pounds (4 with battery)
Epic battery life (with extended battery)
Eye-catching keyboard
Good performance
Dull screen
Heavier than its competitors
Benefits: With the ThinkPad T480, you never have to worry about your laptop dying during your work day – or even two. Its six-cell, 72 watt-hour battery lasted 17 hours and 19 minutes on our battery test. You can top it off with a fast 8th generation Core i5 processor and an Nvidia MX150 graphics processor, which is solid enough to support some light games like Dirt 3 (117 fps). Plus, you get an eye-catching keyboard with 1.7 millimeters of stroke and 72 grams of actuation force. For a mainstream business laptop, the ThinkPad T480 sounded pretty good. When we played AC / DC’s Back in Black, the music was free of tinning.
The inconvenients: Unlike other ThinkPads, the T480’s 14-inch 1080p panel is not very colorful, reproducing a bland 77 percent of the sRGB color gamut and an average of 269 nits of brightness.
See our full Lenovo ThinkPad T480 review.
6. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga
CPU: Intel Core i5 / Core i7 | GPU: Intel UHD 620 | RAM: 8 GB / 16 GB | Storage room: 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB SSD | Pin up: 14 inch (1080p / 1440p) | Cut: 13.1 x 9 x 0.7 inches | Weight: 3.1 pounds
Beautiful 2K HDR screen
Fast performance
Webcam with built-in privacy slider
Durable and elegant design
Expensive
Benefits: If you need the versatility of a tablet but can’t feel everything coming off and reconnecting, then the ThinkPad X1 Yoga is a great choice. It is a thin and light 2-in-1 (3.1 pounds, 0.7 inches thick) with a dockable ThinkPad Pen Pro, which has 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity and two buttons shortcut. While other ThinkPads have nice screens, the X1 Yoga’s 14-inch 2K panel beats them all. This baby reproduced 201% of the sRGB range and shone with 477 nits of brightness. And in terms of speed, its 8th generation Core i7 processor recorded a solid 14,517 in the Geekbench 4 test. It is durable and has privacy features like the others, but what is remarkable is that it has a privacy slider built into the screen glass, which looks a lot more subtle than the giant shutter in competing systems.
The inconvenients: The X1 Yoga lasted 7 hours and 42 minutes during our battery test, and while it may not seem so bad, it still isn’t reliable enough to help you get through the work day, and it falls into below the average for premium notebooks at 8:32. And despite its keys measuring 1.4 millimeters in stroke and requiring 65 grams of actuation force, we didn’t find this keyboard so great at typing.
See our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga review.
7. Lenovo ThinkPad P1
CPU: Intel Core i5 / Core i7 / Xeon | GPU: Nvidia Quadro P1000 / P2000 | RAM: 8 GB / 16 GB / 32 GB / 64 GB | Storage room: 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB / 2 TB SSD | Pin up: 14 inch (1080p / 4K) | Cut: 14.2 x 9.7 x 0.7 inches | Weight: £ 4
Outstanding performance
Thin and light chassis
Vivid Dolby Vision 4K screen
Poor battery life
Runs warm
Benefits: The P1 is the absolute power of a ThinkPad. Our machine had a Xeon processor with 32 GB of RAM, which tore up Geekbench 4, scoring 17,893 and beating the average for workstations (17,172). On top of that, his Quadro P2000 GPU was running Dirt 3 at 190 fps. And all of that power is packaged in a thin 0.7 inch frame that weighs just 4 pounds. Its 15.6-inch Dolby Vision 4K screen covers 179% of the RGB spectrum. This speed demon also has an incredibly comfortable keyboard, with keys that have a deep stroke of 2.2 mm.
The inconvenients: Although its display is colorful, it is not very bright, with an average of only 285 nits. Not to mention that you will basically be tied to your desk all day – the battery only lasted 4 hours and 16 minutes on a charge. It should also be mentioned that this machine heats up a bit. We measured the underside at 119 degrees Fahrenheit after playing a 15-minute full screen HD video, which is above our 95 degree comfort level.
See our full Lenovo ThinkPad P1 review.
8. Lenovo ThinkPad E580
CPU: Intel 7th generation Core i5 / 8th generation Core i5 | GPU: Intel HD 620 | RAM: 8 GB / 16 GB | Storage room: 256 GB / 512 GB SSD | Pin up: 15.6 inch (768p / 1080p) | Cut: 14.5 x 9.9 x 0.8 inches | Weight: 4.7 pounds
World class keyboard
Solid performance
Attractive design
Soft screen
Below average battery life
Benefits: Your average ThinkPad isn’t very wallet friendly, but the E580 goes against the grain. For less than $ 1,000, this machine offers fast 8th generation Core i5 performance, a sexy silver aluminum cover and even some security features like dTPM encryption and an optional fingerprint reader. Despite the price, Lenovo does not skimp on the keyboard. Its keys were super responsive, recording 1.8 mm of stroke and requiring a force of 72 grams to be actuated.
The inconvenients: The affordability of the E580 requires a few compromises: the display. Its 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 panel covers 80% of the sRGB spectrum and on average 243 nits, which is not optimal for any artistic design or photo editing. And even if its battery lasted 8 hours and 19 minutes, it fell below the average of high-end laptops of the time (8:51).
See our full Lenovo ThinkPad E580 review.
Choosing the best ThinkPad for you really depends on your needs. If you’re looking for a vanilla flip laptop, you’re more than likely to find everything you want in the Thinkpad X1 Carbon. However, if you’re looking for something more flexible, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga is the next best bet.
Artists may want to explore the ThinkPad X1 tablet, while users who need their laptops to get a little extra boost, whether it’s video editing or photo editing, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme is a great choice. If you want to go further, the most powerful ThinkPad you can buy is the Lenovo ThinkPad P1, which is ideal for all kinds of demanding work. If you want to prioritize battery life, you could probably find the Lenovo ThinkPad T480 still on sale, but keep in mind that it’s a bit old, using an 8th generation Intel processor.
We subject each laptop to extensive benchmark testing – both synthetic and real – before it ends up in the hands of our critics. We assess every aspect of the laptop, including its performance, battery life, display, speakers, and heat management.
In our benchmark tests, we use a Klein K10 colorimeter to detect the brightness and sRGB color gamut of the laptop screen. For performance testing, we run the laptop through a test glove, including Geekbench 4.3 and 5.0 and professional 3DMark graphics testing.
To determine real-world performance, we instruct the laptop to convert 4K video to 1080p resolution and duplicate a 4.97 GB multimedia file. Our real-world graphics test is reference Dirt 3 with medium parameters at 1080p resolution.
We’re also doing heat tests by playing a 15-minute full-screen video and measuring temperatures in different areas of the laptop. Last but not least, our battery test involves surfing the web continuously over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness. For MacBook and Windows 10 premium laptops, a battery life of more than 9 hours is considered a good result, while laptops and gaming workstations that can stay powered for more than 5 hours deserve praise.
These tests are supplemented by in-depth practical tests from our critics who criticize everything from laptop materials to the feel of its touchpad.
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