Lenovo’s ThinkPad T-series is the company’s most popular ThinkPad, and it’s meant to be the workhorse of the lineup. It’s 20 years old now, and the newest variants still won’t let you down.
The T-series is meant to be the workhorse of the ThinkPad lineup. I’ve got my hands on the T14s Gen 1, which is the successor to the T490s, as there’s some new branding. This one is meant to be thin and light, where as the full-size T14 (the successor to the T490) is a bit beefier. Still, the T-series is the most popular of the entire ThinkPad lineup. And this is a milestone year for the T-series, and it’s now 20 years old. In that time, it’s grown to be one of the most trusted laptops for businesses. Indeed, if you ask around, you’re bound to find someone who was given a ThinkPad T-something for work. The ThinkPad T14s weighs in at just 2.81 pounds, making it super thin and light for something that’s designed to be the workhorse of the family. This model includes AMD’s Ryzen 7 PRO processor, although it’s available in Intel Comet Lake if that floats your boat. Personally, I’d pick AMD Ryzen PRO over Intel’s Comet Lake vPro, as it’s just better in a number of ways. Unfortunately, there are some compromises, such as that the USB Type-C ports are Thunderbolt 3 on the Intel model. There are also more display options with the Intel variant, as it can come with a 4K UHD display. The Lenovo ThinkPad T14s comes in any color you want, as long as it’s black. Yes, I review a lot of ThinkPads, and yes, that Henry Ford quote has gotten a lot of miles in my reviews. Some ThinkPads do come in silver, but I don’t believe I’ve ever seen one in person. The common color for the brand is black. The top-down shot of the ThinkPad T14s could be of about a dozen other models. It’s got the silver ThinkPad logo stamped in the top-left corner, with the light-up dot in the ‚i‘. This is as opposed to the black logo on premium ThinkPads, or the silver logo that’s not stamped on entry-level SKUs. The T-series is mainstream, which is one of the reasons it sells so well; that, and the fact that customers keep coming back when the PC doesn’t let them down. As I mentioned earlier,this year’s model weighs in at 2.81 pounds, which is exactly the same as last year’s T490s. In fact, there’s not a whole lot that’s different this year, as it has the same magnesium alloy base and carbon fiber lid. There is a new carbon fiber weave option, although that’s exclusive to the UHD model. You’ll notice that a lot of my complaints have to do with the AMD Ryzen 4000 processors being superior to Intel Comet Lake, but the AMD SKUs having fewer options. The fact that little has changed since last year isn’t a bad thing. This isn’t the type of product where people upgrade year-over-year, and it’s not like it was lacking. The left side of the PC is where you’ll find the bulk of the ports. This is actually where you do get one benefit over Intel, as this model has HDMI 2.0, whereas the Intel model is HDMI 1.4b. You’ll also find a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port and a 3.5mm combo audio jack. And of course, there are two USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C ports, which would be Thunderbolt 3 on the Intel model. Thunderbolt is still very much an Intel thing, and will be until USB 4.0 comes along. It’s not that it’s impossible for an AMD PC to exist with Thunderbolt.
