Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 Laptop Review

The Lenovo ThinkPad T16 is the newest addition to the company’s ThinkPad T series, offering a beautiful display, an enjoyable overall feel, and a sleek design. The T16 features a 16-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, allowing the content on the screen to feel much larger due to having more space vertically than those with a 16:9 aspect ratio. Overall, we were quite pleased with the general performance of this laptop and enjoyed using it as our daily driver over several weeks. 

Unboxing and First Impressions

Right out of the box, the ThinkPad T16 felt slightly bulky, but not necessarily in a bad way. This laptop could be carried around and worked on heavily without concern of being too frail for a day of tasks. Upon signing in and setting preferences, we noticed the keyboard was responsive and enjoyable to type on.

Design and Build Quality

Starting with the screen, the 16:10 aspect ratio was unusual, but proved a winner. Having that minimal change from the standard 16:9 aspect ratio immediately makes you feel like you're using a different type of machine due to the extended vertical visibility. 

Furthermore, we noticed that the materials chosen for the ThinkPad T16 were not just smooth plastic, but offered some more rigidity. Whether you select Storm Grey or Thunder Black for the laptop's color, both are made with durable materials, but what's interesting is that the materials slightly change from color to color. The Storm Grey color has an aluminum top and a bottom cover made of Polyphenylene sulfide, whereas Thunder Black adds Carbon Fiber and Glass-fiber to make up the bottom cover. Lenovo told us that the ThinkPad T16 is tested according to 12 military-grade certifications and uses more than 20 procedures to gain its badging (MIL-STD 810G). In short, this laptop is durable, and designed for work in the real world, not just on a couch or office space.

The ThinkPad T16 Gen 1 utilizes a security protocol called ThinkShield, which uses software and hardware to create a secure working environment. For the latter, a built-in camera shutter and a fingerprint scanner provide security protections, and for software, the Thinkpad T16 includes Windows Hello for facial recognition and Self-Healing BIOS. 

Another feature worth mentioning about the laptop’s design is its full-size keyboard and numpad. Most laptops we see default to not including the numpad. However, thanks to the large 16" screen included here, Lenovo had the width to add it in - therefore, if you are working with data, spreadsheets, or anything involving many numbers, you can fly through the entry with the standard numpad.

In Use

While using the ThinkPad T16, it was a pretty good size overall. 16-inch laptops would only sometimes be our choice when looking for a portable and light laptop, though this one stands out. It holds a fine line between large-screen real estate and easy-to-transport, and if we were to be commuting daily and using this laptop on that journey, we might lean towards wanting a smaller size. But, for those who take transit to an office or workspace as the primary location for work, or if you work from home, this laptop is a great choice size-wise. The larger screen gives easy visibility for even smaller content, while the weight and overall footprint are an easy compromise.

As briefly mentioned, the keyboard is full-size with a numpad to the right. After using this laptop, we found the keyboard comfortable to type on, even for extended work sessions. The keys are responsive and satisfying to press while not feeling too shallow like some laptops can.

The trackpad is a good size, easy to use, and responsive. Sadly, only the bottom portion of the trackpad is clickable, though three buttons above the trackpad are also entirely usable to interact with.

Whether we were working on spreadsheets, writing this review, responding to emails, editing photos, or in virtual meetings, this laptop never skipped a beat. Our daily workflow does not require ridiculously high-powered applications, so we threw benchmark tests at the T16 to see how it would handle more demanding tasks. We scored just above 7,500 for the standard multi-core test - lower than higher-end laptops for video editing, engineering, or other high-powered programs. However, this fares pretty well as a business laptop and performs excellently for everyday business needs.

Last but not least, the battery on this laptop is, without a doubt, worth mentioning, easily lasting through a day’s work without worrying about the battery. Our day in the life we chose to test this on included emails, review writing, two virtual meetings, and some light photo editing - and by the end of the day, we still had around 30% battery remaining and did not feel like we had to throttle the laptop to make it last that long. Knowing that a battery can last an entire workday without a problem is a considerable asset, primarily if you work away from a cubicle, workstation, or any of the best standing desks we've tried.

Final Verdict

Lenovo’s newest addition release to its T lineup is one that we are certainly impressed with. The Lenovo Thinkpad T16 is a phenomenal laptop for productivity, traveling, and general business use, and an all-day battery. The performance is more than adequate for a business professional and will only begin to fall short for intensive creative tasks or complex modeling programs. The price is a little high, but a solid all-around device that is well worth considering if you are in the market.

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