Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 review: All-new ThinkPad tries to think different

Price When Reviewed

$2,249.99

Best Prices Today: Lenovo ThinkPad Z16

The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is an all-new mannequin that makes an attempt to problem elements of ThinkPad design. It has a sleeker, extra elegant exterior than most fashions, goes all-in on USB4 and USB-C connectivity, and removes the bodily TrackPoint buttons in favor of a seamless haptic touchpad. The outcomes are sometimes constructive, however the Z16’s stays costly for what it provides. Read on to be taught extra.

Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 specs and options

The ThinkPad Z16 has a contemporary set of specs. This features a highly effective AMD Ryzen 7 6000-series processor, DDR5 reminiscence, and the most recent USB4 and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity. 

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 6850H
• Memory: 16GB LPDDR5 6400MHz
• Graphics/GPU: AMD Radeon Integrated 
• Display: 1920×1200 IPS non-touch show
• Storage: 512GB Samsung PM9A1 NVMe PCIe SSD
• Webcam: 1080p
• Connectivity: 2x USB4, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, SDcard slot, 3.5mm combo audio
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
• Biometrics: Fingerprint reader, facial recognition 
• Battery capability: 72 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 13.95 inches x 9.35 inches x .63 inches
• Weight: 4.3 kilos
• MSRP: $2,149.99

Yet the configuration I acquired is a bit uncommon, because it’s presently bought solely by way of just a few enterprise-focused retail channels and never on the Lenovo web site. As a outcome, it has a excessive MSRP that doesn’t signify shopper pricing. Most Z16 variants begin round $1,700 on-line and embody a number of upgrades not discovered within the laptop computer Lenovo despatched for evaluate. 

Design and construct high quality

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16’s exterior is fashionable, discarding any trace of ThinkPad’s conventional stodgy, matte black exterior for a extra elegant aluminum look. The result’s enticing however stays conservative. Logo apart, the Z16 doesn’t look all that completely different from a Dell XPS 15 or LG Gram 16 when closed.

There is one mark of distinction: the webcam bump. It juts out from the highest of the show and is a bit thicker than the encompassing show lid. This is now a typical tactic amongst Windows laptops that wish to home a greater webcam by sustaining slim show bezels. It’s bizarre at first however rapidly fades away. 

Opening the Z16 reveals an inside acquainted to ThinkPad loyalists. It has an inky matte black end that appears to actively suck gentle from its environment. The coloration is so deep it’s usually laborious to see the shiny black ThinkPad emblem, which solely stands out when it catches the sunshine.

Material high quality is a spotlight. The steel show lid is thick and inflexible, so flex is minimal when opening and shutting the laptop computer. More steel retains the laptop computer’s backside half safe. The inside is generally plastic, however this isn’t essentially a foul factor. The really feel is softer and hotter than steel, which might really feel chilly and sterile by comparability.

Keyboard and trackpad

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16’s opts for a spacious keyboard format that lacks a numpad. This supplies a ton of room for full-sized keys on either side, together with the Backspace and Enter keys, which are sometimes a bit small on laptops with a numpad. The keyboard can be centered above the touchpad, a format I discover extra comfy for lengthy typing classes.

Typing feels good, if not distinctive. Key journey is respectable for a slim laptop computer and bottoms with a agency, definitive motion. There’s not a lot tactile really feel, nonetheless, and the keyboard is quiet. This would possibly disappoint ThinkPad purists, although it holds up towards premium alternate options just like the Apple MacBook Pro 16 and Dell XPS 15. 

The touchpad is a distinct, and sophisticated, story. The touchpad itself is great: clean, responsive, and distinct from the encompassing palmrest. Multi-touch gestures work properly and the touchpad, although not huge, provides loads of room for a five-finger pinch or fast swipes left and proper. It’s higher than each different I’ve just lately tried besides the MacBook Pro 16.

Lenovo’s basic pink TrackPoint can be included, and that is the place it will get sophisticated. Most ThinkPads pair the TrackPoint with a set of three bodily keys above the touchpad. These are meant for use with the TrackPoint, but in addition scale back the dimensions of the touchpad. The Z16 ditches the bodily keys and depends on haptic contact enter. This is a nice thought however doesn’t work properly in apply. It’s laborious to discern the boundaries of the three contact surfaces that change the bodily keys. The lack of bodily keys additionally makes the TrackPoint scroll operate, which is activated by holding the center TrackPoint key and shifting up or down with the TrackPoint, laborious to make use of. 

Whether this issues is dependent upon whether or not you just like the TrackPoint. I’m a fan of the TrackPoint, so the dearth of bodily keys is an issue. If you don’t use the TrackPoint, nonetheless, the touchpad is great. It’s giant, responsive, and has an expensive glass floor. Even the haptics work properly. Most homeowners shall be proud of it. 

Display, audio

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 I acquired got here outfitted with a 16-inch 1920×1200 IPS non-touch show. This is essentially the most fundamental show provided for this mannequin. Shoppers can improve to a 1920×1200 IPS touchscreen or a spectacular 3840×2400 OLED touchscreen.

Yet there’s a lot to be stated in favor of this straightforward, 1920×1200 IPS non-touch display screen. It lacks the shiny coat of different fashions, but delivers a wonderful most brightness of 473 nits. That’s a really excessive degree of brightness for any laptop computer, making the Z16 a good selection to be used in a brilliant, open workplace and in addition nice for journey.

It’s a gorgeous show, as properly, with good coloration efficiency and accuracy. 1920×1200 decision doesn’t stand out on paper however works out to 141 pixels-per-inch, which is lots sharp in day-to-day use. 

The show’s weak level is its low distinction ratio and lackluster darkish scene efficiency, traits frequent to most IPS shows. Movies and video games can appear flat and uninteresting, particularly when seen in a darkish room. Shoppers who need a fantastic leisure expertise ought to improve to the 4K OLED touchscreen present in dearer configurations.

While the 1920×1200 show is sensible, rivals can provide a greater worth. Asus’ Vivobook Pro 15 and Pro 16X OLED fashions are sometimes priced equally to the 1200p IPS ThinkPad Z16, and even Dell’s XPS 15 OLED dips as little as $1,800 on sale. You can discover a higher visible expertise for much less.

Audio high quality is sweet, however not wonderful. Maximum quantity is excessive and the audio system, which face upwards, not often sound muffled or muddy. The audio system provide some bass oomph however are harsh when presenting the melody of a high-pitched vocalist or the jingle and sizzle of bells or cymbals. This high quality can turn out to be grating at excessive volumes however, fortunately, is much less of a difficulty at extra modest output.

Webcam, microphone, biometrics

A 1080p webcam is housed within the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16’s giant prime bezel bump-out, embellished with a label that proudly boasts of its decision. As is usually true of laptops, although, picture high quality expectations must be stored in examine. 

The webcam is a step up from a typical 720p laptop computer webcam however nonetheless seems grainy, particularly in reasonable lighting. It’s nice for Zoom calls however behind a great exterior webcam like the Logitech C920.

An digital privateness shutter is included and activated by way of a keyboard shortcut. A bodily privateness shutter can be higher, however the digital shutter is healthier than nothing. The keyboard shortcut glows when the shutter is engaged.

The microphones are stable. They recorded my voice at a suitable quantity even when a number of ft away from the laptop computer and didn’t permit repetitive background noise to enter the recording. 

The Z16 has two choices for biometric login: a fingerprint reader and facial recognition. The fingerprint reader is positioned subsequent to the right-side management key. It’s moderately dependable however can typically take just a few makes an attempt. The IR digicam is extra dependable, providing fast and simple login the second you sit down in entrance of the pc. 

Connectivity

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 continues its fashionable method with a broad vary of USB-C connectivity. This contains two USB4 ports and one USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port. There’s no USB-A right here, and no Ethernet, so that you’ll have to make use of an adapter for these connections.

Going USB-C solely has its execs and cons after all: some readers will have already got a powerful opinion a technique or one other. But I’ll give credit score to Lenovo for its totally fashionable USB-C connectivity. Even the USB-C 3.2 port is Gen 2, which has double the info bandwidth of Gen 1 (10Gbps vs. 5Gbps). 

All three USB-C ports have DisplayPort Alternate for video output to exterior shows. All three assist Power Delivery and so they all work with the included energy adapter. That’s a helpful bonus. It must be famous, nonetheless, that the bundled adapter delivers 135 watts, which is kind of excessive. Most USB-C energy bricks on this planet ship much less and so do most displays with USB-C Power Delivery. You would possibly run right into a state of affairs the place a third-party energy supply doesn’t totally energy the laptop computer.

The ThinkPad Z16’s fashionable connectivity doesn’t prolong to Thunderbolt 4. This is a limitation of AMD’s present cellular platforms. Intel-powered alternate options just like the Dell XPS 15 might provide higher knowledge switch speeds to exterior drives (although, to be clear, our testing doesn’t embody switch speeds).

There’s additionally a full-sized SDcard reader and a 3.5mm audio jack to spherical out bodily connectivity. Both are frequent amongst premium laptops of this measurement.

Wireless connectivity contains Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, offering entry to the most recent wi-fi requirements. Wi-Fi efficiency is robust and, must you occur to personal a Wi-Fi 6E router, you might not miss the Ethernet port. Lenovo additionally provides non-compulsory LTE cellular knowledge, a helpful and unusual possibility, however this wasn’t included with my evaluate pattern.

Performance

The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 I examined got here with an AMD Ryzen 6850H Pro processor. It’s an eight-core, 16-thread chip with a most enhance clock of 4.7GHz. This was paired with 16GB of LPDDR5 6400Hz reminiscence and a 512GB Samsung PM9A1 stable state drive. Graphics had been served by AMD’s integrated Radeon 680M graphics.

IDG / Matthew Smith

PCMark 10 kicks issues off with a modest rating of 5,974. This places the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 a bit behind the Dell XPS 15 with Core i7-12700H. With that stated, most laptops on this aggressive set have related PCMark 10 scores. Only the HP Spectre x360 16, which I final examined with Intel’s older Core i7-11390H processor, falls behind. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Cinebench R15 multi-threaded benchmark turns in a weaker results of 1,660, which places the AMD Ryzen 7 6850H behind a number of related laptops. What leaps out is the hole between Intel’s new 12th-Gen Core processors and AMD’s Ryzen chips. This is because of the larger variety of cores within the Intel Core i7-12700H, which has six efficiency cores, eight environment friendly cores, and 20 whole threads. Cinebench R15 is a burst take a look at, as properly, lasting underneath a minute on these methods, so sustained efficiency doesn’t come into the image.

IDG / Matthew Smith

Handbrake flips the script, inserting the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 extra mid-pack and offering a transparent lead over the Dell XPS 15 and Asus Vivobook X16 with older AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX processor. The Z16’s victory of the XPS 15 doubtless has as a lot to do with cooling and it does with potential efficiency: this can be a lengthy take a look at, extending past 10 minutes, so sustained efficiency issues. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 I examined had AMD Radeon built-in graphics. This is a key level. Most Z16 variants have AMD Radeon RX 6500M discrete graphics, however the pocket book I used to be despatched didn’t. 

3DMark makes the results apparent. The Z16 finally ends up far behind rivals outfitted with discrete graphics—and most on this worth vary are. The RDNA2-powered built-in graphics in AMD’s Ryzen 6000 collection is spectacular however finally can’t hold as much as, say, an Nvidia RTX 3050. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

This additionally comes throughout in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the place the Z16 achieved a mean of 30 frames per second. That result’s, from one perspective, slightly spectacular: that is built-in graphics, in any case, and our take a look at is run at 1080p and Highest element. But this result’s behind any laptop computer with Nvidia RTX 3050 or 3050 Ti graphics.

As talked about, the Z16 is offered with Radeon RX 6500M graphics—and, in actual fact, this seems to be extra frequent than not. AMD’s Radeon RX 6500M discrete graphics would little question enhance efficiency, however don’t anticipate it to clobber the competitors. The RX 6500M is a modest discrete graphics chip with simply 16 Compute Units (by comparability, the Radeon RX 6600M has 28) and a modest graphics energy cap of 50 watts. Its performance in other laptops suggests it’s roughly aggressive with, although maybe a tad behind, Nvidia’s RTX 3050 for cellular. 

The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 I examined is actually behind the pack. This is generally as a consequence of its lack of discrete graphics, which makes my analysis awkward: the Z16 I acquired didn’t maintain up in graphics exams, however I additionally know most individuals will purchase a configuration that has superior RX 6500M discrete graphics.

I do wish to point out a bonus to this much less performant configuration: it’s not loud. Fan noise is usually not apparent and solely turns into noticeable when operating a really demanding workload, resembling Shadow of the Tomb Raider—and it was tolerable even then. This is a refreshing change from different premium Windows laptops, most of which howl underneath heavy load.

Battery life

The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has a 72 watt-hour battery. That’s modest for a 16-inch laptop computer that equips a strong processor, however the Z16 nonetheless managed to ship good battery life outcomes. It achieved 11 hours and 5 minutes of endurance. That places it forward of many different Windows laptops.

IDG / Matthew Smith

There’s just a few causes for this efficiency. First, the fundamental 1920×1200 show doubtless consumes much less energy than would dearer, higher-resolution choices. The Z16 I reviewed additionally lacks discrete graphics. 

Shoppers ought to notice these traits. More costly, higher outfitted ThinkPad Z16 fashions might not degree as much as the battery life I skilled. A 4K OLED show and Radeon 6500M graphics, each non-compulsory upgrades, will doubtless draw extra energy

If you persist with this fundamental mannequin, nonetheless, you have to be happy by the outcomes. The ThinkPad Z16 can deal with an eight-hour workday of sunshine to combined use.

Conclusion

Lenovo’s ThinkPad Z16 tries has some success in its effort to tweak the ThinkPad system. The laptop computer is enticing, but nonetheless tame, and materials high quality is on par with one of the best Windows competitors. I additionally like the graceful, responsive haptic touchpad and the big selection of contemporary connectivity.

Yet the Z16 doesn’t repair ThinkPad’s typical weak point: worth. Starting round $1,550, and extra sometimes close to $1,700, the Z16 finds itself dealing with alternate options which have higher efficiency or an improved show for a similar worth, or much less. Lenovo’s personal competitors highlights this subject. The firm’s new Slim 7, Yoga 7i, and Yoga 9i are a greater worth (and, sure, Lenovo has a 16-inch Slim 7). Competitor laptops just like the Asus Vivobook Pro 16X additionally present significantly better efficiency on this worth vary. 

Those in search of a sublime, sturdy laptop computer with an enormous display screen and lengthy battery life will just like the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16. It is an efficient alternative for day-to-day use. But if you wish to run demanding apps, or get pleasure from leisure, the Z16 falls behind the curve.