The Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 is to not be scoffed at, as its efficiency metrics are strong whereas bolstered by long-lasting battery life –– which is music to the ears of cellular professionals. I used to be additionally shocked by its crisp and loud audio system. The design, whereas muted, is sturdy making it ultimate for commuting and the keyboard upholds the corporate’s fame in that area. It additionally has a fairly good webcam and a bunch of security measures.
Nevertheless, $2,099 is a bit steep for a enterprise laptop computer. Particularly when the show lacks coloration depth and brightness. And the SSD is a bit sluggish.
Floor degree complaints apart, this can be a good enterprise laptop computer with long-lasting efficiency and efficiency that won’t disappoint. Learn on to see every little thing the Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 can provide.
Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 pricing and configuration choices
Our mannequin of the ThinkPad T16 has a retail worth of $2,099 (it’s accessible B&H (opens in new tab)) and is full of an Intel Core i7-1270P processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD storage, Intel Iris Xe Graphics and a 16-inch, 1920 x 1200 IPS show.
Lenovo has an alternate model of the ThinkPad T16 (opens in new tab) that cuts greater than $1000 off the worth tag. At the price of $1,056, this mannequin comes with an Intel Core i5-1235U processor, Intel UHD graphics, 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, 256GB of SSD storage and a 16-inch 1920 x 1200 IPS show.
Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 design
The ThinkPad T16’s design is as thrilling as every other ThinkPad, that includes its signature darkish grey coloration coat, an embedded ThinkPad brand within the lid’s nook, a plain deck with the occasional purple accent within the trackpad buttons, and one other ThinkPad brand within the backside proper of the deck. And naturally, ThinkPads are one of many few laptops that also embody a trackpoint in between the G, H and B keys.
In the event you just like the familiarity of this design, you’ll in all probability get pleasure from the way in which this ThinkPad seems to be as a lot as every other ThinkPad. Personally, it’s far too paying homage to the plain {hardware} I’d recall being assigned in center faculty and highschool. If I’m buying a private laptop computer, particularly one at this worth, I’d want getting one thing just a little sleeker or with precise character.
I wouldn’t need to spend $2,000 on a homogenous carbon copy of most ThinkPads, however in the event you don’t care about design (or simply merely like how these look), you’ll get by wonderful with the ThinkPad T16.
The ThinkPad T16 measures 14.2 x 10.1 x 0.8 inches and weighs 4.4 kilos, making it the biggest and heaviest when in comparison with the Samsung Galaxy E-book 3 Professional (3.4 kilos, 14.0 x 9.9 x 0.5 inches) and Acer Swift 5 (2022) (2.7 kilos, 12.2 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches).
Lenovo ThinkPad T16 sturdiness and safety
The Lenovo ThinkPad T16 boasts loads of safety and sturdiness options, together with MIL-STD 810H certification, which suggests it has been examined beneath rigorous circumstances all through numerous environments.
Security measures embody a TPM 2.0 chip, which protects your laptop computer from cybersecurity threats, alongside a fingerprint reader on the facility button. Different options embody human presence detection software program, a digital camera shutter, an IR digital camera and Look by Mirametrix (which might shield your show from prying people via eye-tracking expertise).
Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 ports
The ThinkPad T16 has a fairly first rate port choice, however you’ll typically discover one of many Thunderbolt 4 ports used up when wanted to cost the laptop computer, which is just a little inconvenient.
On the left facet, there’s a RJ45 port, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI, USB 3.2 Kind-A port, and an audio jack.
On the correct facet there’s just one USB 3.2 Kind A port.
Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 show
Contemplating the ThinkPad T16’s steep worth places it over $2,000, I used to be anticipating the 16-inch, IPS, 1920 x 1200-pixel show to be competent. Nevertheless, the display screen’s coloration depth is on a par with laptops I’ve examined for lower than half the worth. That is admittedly a enterprise laptop computer, so the main target is extra on efficiency somewhat than trying visually beautiful, however we’ve seen related laptops with a much more interesting display screen.
I watched the Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania trailer on the ThinkPad T16 and was swiftly delay by the shortage of depth. One second has actor Paul Rudd’s face trying as pale as milk because the darkness of the background seems a lightweight grey somewhat than black.
One other scene has the digital camera coming near actor Michelle Pfeiffer as she overlooks surroundings with a fancy cave construction depicting distinct blues current within the background. The laptop computer turned each hue right into a homogenous nightmare, whereas swapping to my PC show utterly fixes this subject, bringing the colour again to her face and giving the background a deep satisfying darkness.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | DCI-P3 coloration gamut share |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 | 45.8% |
| Acer Swift 5 | 93.3% |
| Samsung Galaxy E-book 3 Professional | 87.3% |
We measured the ThinkPad T16’s show with a colorimeter, and it solely covers 45.8% of the DCI-P3 coloration gamut, which is shockingly low when in comparison with the 88.1% class common. Rivals just like the Samsung Galaxy E-book 3 Professional (87.3%) and Acer Swift 5 (93.3%) knock it out of the park.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Brightness |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 | 318 nits |
| Acer Swift 5 | 457 nits |
| Samsung Galaxy E-book 3 Professional | 377 nits |
The Lenovo laptop computer didn’t do a lot better on our brightness checks, scoring a median of 318 nits. That is fairly considerably worse than the 393-nit class common. Whereas it wasn’t as badly outclassed on this class, the Galaxy E-book 3 Professional (377 nits) and Swift 5 (457 nits) do beat it.
Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 audio
The ThinkPad T16’s up-firing audio system are phenomenal, providing loud, clear audio high quality while managing to stability the degrees of every particular person instrument to maintain the sound dynamic and immersive.
I began testing the audio system by enjoying “Haunted” by Laura Les, and was instantly enraptured by the chaotic synths and percussion of the hyperpop monitor earlier than Laura’s jumbled screaming overpowered the sound in a balanced, satisfying means. This was maybe an unfair monitor to place the ThinkPad T16 up in opposition to as its first check, however these audio system completely killed it, retaining the quieter hi-hats and synthesized melody intact even whereas the potent vocals envelop the foreground.
I moved onto “Hollywood Child” by 100 gecs and as quickly because the monitor opens, I used to be impressed by how loud the guitar within the introduction is with out the sound high quality faltering. It really made me contemplate reducing the amount, which isn’t one thing I’ve felt when testing a laptop computer’s speaker (this can be a good factor). Because the tune progresses, the refrain is continually at its utmost energy and not using a detriment to the sound and no crackling is audible.
I used to be equally impressed when watching the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania trailer because the voices of the narration didn’t sound flat, and the backing music intermingled effectively with the explosive sound results.
Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 keyboard and touchpad
The ThinkPad T16’s backlit edge-to-edge full keyboard is simply the correct dimension. And naturally, a staple of ThinkPad merchandise is the trackball stashed between the G, H and B keys. I’ll by no means perceive why this stuff exist, however the individuals who love them appear to actually love them, so I received’t complain.
I took the 10fastfingers typing check on the ThinkPad T16’s keyboard and achieved 104 phrases per minute with 93% accuracy. That’s fairly a bit decrease in comparison with the 122 phrases per minute and 97% accuracy I received on my mechanical keyboard. However even with these scores, I felt fairly comfy tapping away swiftly on the keys on the ThinkPad T16 due to their first rate dimension.
The ThinkPad T16’s high half of the trackpad isn’t totally clickable, which makes it tough to click on and drag from backside to high with out deregistering the motion. Exterior of this subject, the trackpad is silky easy and permits me to zoom throughout the display screen with out feeling held again by friction. There’s additionally a left, proper and center button above the trackpad that provides the person an alternate approach to click on with out utilizing the trackpad, so if that’s your pace, you’ll love this factor.
Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 efficiency
Our ThinkPad T16 options an Intel Core i7-1270P processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage, which is fairly good for working many packages directly and dealing with extreme duties corresponding to video and picture enhancing.
I had 20 YouTube tabs open alongside half a dozen Twitch pages and different tabs on Spotify, Metacritic and HDMovieTrailers, but the laptop computer didn’t falter. I didn’t discover any efficiency stuttering or lag, which isn’t shocking contemplating this laptop computer’s specs. I used to be particularly shocked that the fan didn’t kick in and every little thing remained utterly quiet.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Mutli-core rating |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 | 7,068 |
| Acer Swift 5 | 9,859 |
| Samsung Galaxy E-book 3 Professional | 9,746 |
Throughout our Geekbench 5.4 total efficiency check, the ThinkPad T16 managed a multi-core rating of seven,815, which is reasonably higher than our 7,068 common. Whereas that is positively good efficiency, opponents just like the Galaxy E-book 3 Professional (Intel Core i5-1340P, 9,746) and Swift 5 (Intel Core i7-1260P, 9,859) are undeniably superior.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Time (min:sec) |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 | 8:33 |
| Acer Swift 5 | 7:36 |
| Samsung Galaxy E-book 3 Professional | 6:41 |
On the Handbrake video transcoding check, our Lenovo took 8 minutes and 33 seconds to transform a 4K video to 1080p. In some weird coincidence, that is similar to the present 8:33 class common. Congrats, Lenovo! This laptop computer’s transcoding efficiency is completely middling! Rivals Galaxy E-book 3 Professional (6:41) and Swift 5 (7:36) dominate Lenovo’s common makes an attempt.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Switch Velocity MBps |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 | 825MBps |
| Acer Swift 5 | 1,673MBps |
| Samsung Galaxy E-book 3 Professional | 436MBps |
The ThinkPad T16 in our file-transfer check by duplicating a 25GB multimedia file in 33 seconds at a fee of 825.4 megabytes per second. That is fairly a bit slower than the class common (1,194.7MBps), however competitor Galaxy E-book 3 Professional (436MBps) utterly missed on this class. The Swift 5 left every little thing else within the mud with 1,673MBps, managing a pace greater than twice our Lenovo.
Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 battery life
The ThinkPad T16’s battery life is stellar, which is nice information in the event you plan to take this factor on the go. On the Laptop computer Magazine battery check, which includes steady net browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness, it lasted 11 hours and 46 minutes. That is almost two hours over than the 9:54 class common. Though the Swift 5 (11:24) didn’t final fairly as lengthy, it received fairly shut. Sadly, nevertheless, the Galaxy E-book Professional 3’s battery life is extremely disappointing at 6:51.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Hours:Minutes |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 | 11:46 |
| Acer Swift 5 | 11:24 |
| Samsung Galaxy E-book 3 Professional | 6:51 |
Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 warmth
The Lenovo ThinkPad T16 didn’t do terribly in our warmth check, which includes enjoying a 1080p video for quarter-hour, retaining its touchpad at a cool 76 levels Fahrenheit. The G and H key stayed at 88 levels, however the rear underside hit 106 levels, which is much above our 95-degree consolation threshold.
Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 webcam
Shock! Shock! The ThinkPad T16 has a 1080p digital camera, which immediately places it leagues above most webcams on the market. And maybe even extra surprising is that the colours really pop, with the darkish inexperienced of my shirt and deep pink of my room coming throughout decently. It’s removed from excellent, as a devoted webcam will look means higher, however this can be a fairly first rate various.
Not like most built-in laptop computer webcams on the market, you received’t want to purchase one of many greatest webcams on the market so as to get essentially the most out of your laptop computer expertise.
Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 software program and guarantee
The ThinkPad T16 options the bloatware you’d count on from Home windows 11, however alongside it comes a slew of devoted Lenovo and Intel software program. Intel affords functions like Administration and Safety Standing, Connectivity Efficiency Suite, and Graphics Command Heart.
Lenovo Business Vantage is the corporate’s hub congregating loads of info and settings in a single place. Right here you possibly can see the laptop computer’s serial quantity, product quantity, guarantee info, test for system updates, clear up the machine, change settings for energy, microphone, show and enter, make the most of Wi-Fi safety, and scan the {hardware}.
The ThinkPad T16 comes with a one-year restricted guarantee. See how Lenovo did in our 2022 Tech Help Showdown!
Backside line
In the event you want a high quality productiveness laptop computer you can convey with you on lengthy journeys, the Lenovo Thinkpad T16 Gen 1 will completely fulfill you. Because of its twelfth Gen processor and built-in graphics, the laptop computer delivers wonderful total efficiency outdoors of a sluggish SSD. And the excellence continues on the battery life with nearly 12 hours of battery life. The audio system are spectacular particularly for a enterprise system and a cushty keyboard and a bunch of security measures are simply icing on the cake.
However for the $2,099 Lenovo is asking, I count on higher from the show and the SSD. In the event you’re in search of a system that brings these to the desk with comparable battery life and efficiency, I like to recommend the Acer Swift 5 (2022). However in the event you’re in search of strong enterprise laptops for cellular professionals, the Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 deserves a better look.
