Lenovo Thinkpad T16 Gen 1 review: A big-screened workstation for pros

Price When Reviewed

$1,458.72

Best Prices Today: Lenovo Thinkpad T16 Gen 1

Sometimes all you want is a big display screen. Whether it’s to get a greater take a look at a PowerPoint slide or blow up a dense Excel spreadsheet, it’s simpler to get numerous work finished once you’ve acquired a bigger canvas. In years previous, that may have meant springing for a cumbersome 17-inch class laptop computer. Thanks to slender bezels, Lenovo’s ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 has managed to cram a 16-inch show right into a body that might’ve housed a 15-inch only a few quick years in the past. With ultrabook thinness, loads of ports, and a meaty Intel i7 chip, this enterprise laptop computer is loads productive even with out exterior screens or desktop docks.

Lenovo ThinkPad T16: Specifications and options

Our overview unit options an Intel Core i7-1270P CPU, Intel Iris Xe graphics, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and 512GB of NVMe PCIe SSD storage. For extra particulars, take a look at the specs record under:

• CPU: Intel Core i7-1270P (12 cores, 16 threads: 4 efficiency, 8 effectivity) with vPro
• Memory: 16 GB DDR4 3200 MHz RAM soldered (as much as 48 GB with extra SODIMM)
• Graphics/GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics (Nvidia GeForce MX550 additionally accessible with i7-1260P)
• Display: 16-inch 16×10 WUXGA (1920×1200) matte IPS LCD
• Storage: 512 GB M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe strong state drive
• Webcam: 1080p with bodily shutter
• Connectivity:  2x Thunderbolt 4, 1x 3.5mm combo audio, 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 1x HDMI
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth, 5G WWAN (elective)
• Biometrics: Windows Hello facial recognition and fingerprint reader
• Battery capability: 86Wh
• Dimensions: 14.25 W x 10.06 L x 0.81 H inches
• Weight: 3.9 kilos, 4.95 kilos with AC adapter
• Price: $1,458.72

Lenovo ThinkPad T16: Design and construct high quality

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If we may give Lenovo factors for something, it’s consistency. If you get a ThinkPad, it acts like a ThinkPad. Rarely does a slinky, trendy laptop get the ThinkPad badge however as a substitute these are computer systems with few frills supposed for years of use. The ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 embodies this no-nonsense, function-over-form design. Its most distinctive options are its large display screen and broad keyboard, each of which make this large machine excellent for an all-in-one workstation.

Just about every thing else about this large, slim wedge is made for getting right down to your spreadsheets, emails, and Word docs. Its frivolously textured plastic provides it a sturdy feeling, prefer it’d be capable of maintain some bumps and jostles throughout its service lifetime. Since it’s such an expansive laptop computer, it has slightly little bit of flex, however little or no of that issues when you place the T16 the place you’d doubtless use it–on a desk. With its rubber toes sitting stably on a piece floor, the T16 stays planted very properly. In an workplace setting, I can see this working nicely by itself, or in a hotdesking state of affairs hooked as much as exterior screens with a Thunderbolt hub.

While I discovered it to be a bit large for a café desk (and also you most likely gained’t be utilizing it on an airplane’s tray desk), the slim profile makes it straightforward to suit right into a bag meant for a 15-inch laptop computer. If you’ve ever thought of getting a transportable USB-C powered show to your small ultrabook, you really is perhaps higher off toting certainly one of these big-screened workstations as a substitute.

Lenovo ThinkPad T16: Connectivity

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Although it’s as skinny as a smaller ultrabook, the Lenovo ThinkPad T16 manages to suit the ports you’d need in 2023. It has not one however two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a full-size USB 3 port, a full-size HDMI port, a 3.5mm headset jack, and even a full-size RJ45 ethernet jack all alongside the left aspect of the gadget. On the appropriate aspect, there’s a well-placed USB 3 port, excellent for a corded mouse for those who’re righthanded. Overall, for a tool in 2023, it represents all kinds of choices, that means when you’ve got few sufficient peripherals the T16 would possibly even be suited to desk obligation with no dock or dongle.

Wireless connectivity is strictly what we’d anticipate from a contemporary, Intel-based laptop computer that includes WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1. As some organizations would possibly need cellular wi-fi as nicely, Lenovo presents up mobile, though our mannequin didn’t include 4G or 5G. Finally, in case your org makes use of good playing cards, there’s a spot for an elective good card reader as nicely.

Lenovo ThinkPad T16: Keyboard and trackpad

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Keyboard high quality is a trademark of the ThinkPad model and the T16 is not any exception. It has a light-but-precise-feeling keyboard with snug keycaps and I used to be blissful to jot down nearly all of this overview on it. Given the large, 16-inch show contained in the T16, there’s further house on the appropriate aspect of the keyboard that’s given over to a numpad. While I’ve seen some laptop computer keypads crammed into smaller laptops with uncomfortable slender buttons, the numpad on the T16 seems to be and works like a pure extension of the keyboard.

The large touchpad is maybe much less as much as par right here, and I discovered it to be overly delicate and infrequently hijacked my cursor whereas I used to be making an attempt to work. The palm detection specifically wasn’t well-tuned by default and because the trackpad takes up a very good portion of the wrist relaxation, it’s a problem I bumped into often. Its floor is supposedly produced from a slippery mylar, which feels tremendous however it’s a particular downgrade from a glass materials.

Real ones know that ThinkPads additionally include a substitute for the trackpad, which is named a TrackPoint. This pink nub in the midst of the keyboard enables you to use the mouse with out transferring your fingers right down to the trackpad. It’s an acquired style, however the TrackPoint is fairly superior when you’ve mastered it. With three buttons (the center enables you to scroll when held down), it’s a much better choice for high-precision mouse use.

Lenovo ThinkPad T16: Display, audio system, and webcam

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The star of the present right here is the ThinkPad T16’s honkin’ large 16-inch widescreen IPS LCD. Although it’s not 4K or some other bananas high-resolution, at 1920×1200 and with a usefully-tall 16:10 side ratio, it’s nonetheless a wonderful default choice. The 300-nit peak brightness of this matte-finished panel was additionally excellent, making glare a non-issue in each location. Assuming you’re tackling strange enterprise duties and never video enhancing or graphic design jobs, the T16’s large display screen feels a lot extra expansive than a standard ultrabook than the additional 2 or 3 inches on paper could counsel.

While I hoped for spectacular audio efficiency from the ThinkPad T16 Gen 1, I got here away upset. While the dual 2W audio system are tremendous, they’re blown away by different, smaller laptops packing twice the audio system with a providing far “bigger” sound. It’s workable for those who’re largely listening to conferences on Microsoft Teams, however for those who wish to crank up some jams when you get right down to enterprise you would possibly need to seize a pleasant pair of headphones as a substitute.

The webcam is one other blended bag. Although I liked that it has a bodily shutter and helps Windows Hello face login, it’s not significantly nice at making faces look their finest or sharpest (it has a most decision of 1920×1080, and appears quite noisy). I discovered that in a café involving blended heat indoor and funky outside lighting, it was unable to make me appear like something however a ghost. Compared to different cameras I’ve tried recently, that is satisfactory however not preferrred.

Lenovo ThinkPad T16: Performance

In phrases of efficiency, the ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 is a little bit of a sleeper. Although it’s a plain-looking enterprise workstation, it’s quiet and highly effective. The 12 core, 16 thread Intel Core i7-1270P has a 28W TDP, and the larger laptop computer physique means it’s stored cool and quiet even at full tilt. We put the T16 by way of its paces with our suite of benchmarks and located it to be competent and able to ripping by way of typical enterprise duties, however most likely not graphically intense chores like 3D video games or inventive work. 

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

We use the PCMark 10 benchmark to get a repeatable, comparable take a look at a laptop computer’s skills in a spread of regular duties. With all its cores, the ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 handily beat different skinny enterprise notebooks, and bested lots of its smaller enterprise rivals. There’s little doubt that for advanced evaluation work, you shouldn’t find yourself ready lengthy in any respect.

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In this efficiency check, we use Cinebench R15 to get a way for the way nicely all a laptop computer’s processors work collectively to render 3D graphics. With its dozen cores, the ThinkPad T16 held up fairly nicely. It’s clear that the additional threads in addition to the bonus efficiency cores within the Intel P chips make a distinction in a majority of these eventualities.

IDG / Brendan Nystedt

Your boss would love figuring out that you’ve a ThinkPad T16 just because it’s quite mediocre at graphically-challenging duties like gaming. The i7 chip inside has Intel’s newest Xe Graphics onboard, however examined behind another fashions with extra graphics cores after we threw an the 3DMark Time Spy check at it. Rest assured that for those who aren’t planning to secretly play Halo Infinite at work, the T16 ought to deal with business-oriented duties with out battle.

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Our final efficiency comparability takes a take a look at video encoding, utilizing a high-definition file ripped from a Blu-ray disk. Using Handbrake, we time how lengthy it takes to show the film right into a tablet-friendly file that’s closely compressed. In this check, the T16 was crushed by the high-powered Asus Zenbook Pro 14 Duo with its highly effective i7-12700H chip, however bested the U-class processor seen in machines just like the HP Dragonfly Folio G3.

Lenovo ThinkPad T16: Battery Life

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Even although it’s a slim pocket book, the ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 has a pretty big battery inside, clocking in at 86Wh. In our looping video check, we measured just below seven hours of runtime.

This means it might probably final an honest period of time whereas away from a charger, though its large display screen and better efficiency P-class chip appear to suck down extra battery. ARM-based just like the Surface Pro 9, with the SQ3 chip, proceed to supply one of the best battery life round, however we do surprise if there’ll ever be a big-screened laptop computer with that type of processor inside.

Lenovo ThinkPad T16: Conclusion

It isn’t stunning that the Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 is a succesful workhorse. After all, the ThinkPad identify nonetheless stands for one thing and that one thing is getting work finished. While I wouldn’t suggest it for heavy graphics duties or intensive enhancing in Adobe Premiere, it is a single machine that bridges the worlds of workplace desktop and laptop computer roles with aplomb and as little nonsense as potential.

If you’re contemplating the T16 for your self or folks in your group, you’ll recognize the standard keyboard, full-sized numpad, succesful processor, and large show. For individuals who handle databases, sort out a ton of electronic mail, or hardcore spreadsheet jockeying, that is the moveable, highly effective work laptop computer that may enable you keep within the zone at a desk or on the jobsite.