ThinkPad T16 (Gen 1) Business Laptop Review

Hey, wat’s up. Today I have in my hands a business laptop. With a big screen, good performance and a lot of features useful for work. And most importantly, my first device with a 12th generation Intel processor. Which of course I will pay a lot of attention to. And as the cherry on the cake - this is the quietest laptop I have ever tested. Meet Lenovo ThinkPad T16.

[@b.c.2177]

I have ThinkPad P16s, which is the same, but the processor is i7-1270P. It's cool laptop, fast processor, thunderbolt 4 etc. As web developer I am using as local dev. environment - WSL2, Docker, Devilbox etc. and I would say, it works very fast on this, 12 gen. processor. The fillings are as I would work on a fast, real Linux server. My laptop is connected via thunderbolt 4 cable to a ThinkPad docking station, with 2 external monitors, external keyboard, mouse. The graphic card is Intel Iris Xe (if the the RAM is dual channel), integrated in processor. Watching a 2K video on KZbin the utilization is about 15%. It uses laptop's RAM, and my total RAM is 32 Gb. The problem is, that in one month since I purchased it, I had more problems then with all my laptops so far in my life. It often hangs during restart and I have to remove the RAM card in order to boot the system. It is not a problem of RAM, it is a problem of laptop or BIOS. A lot of people with T16 / P16s have this problem. Another problem is very slow OS booting. The laptop in my case came without heat spreader for SSD. I contacted many times the Lenovo support,. by all channels in order to get a heat spreader, like in this video, but all efforts are useless. Lenovo tech support is the worst tech support I have ever experienced :(

[@Oleg__]

What to do? I don't see any alternatives. Other laptops don't have such a keyboard. For me, this keyboard is a big trump card. Trackpoint is very good as an alternative option for cursor control. The camera shutter is also useful. The port set is perfect including its layout.

[@b.c.2177]

@@Oleg__ The main problem is the one with memory, and it could be related with BIOS firmware. I downgraded the BIOS from 1.29 to 1.24, as other people suggested and it is relatively better, the laptop anyway hangs sometimes, but if I wait about 2 minutes, it will continue the restart and will boot without removing the RAM. I hope, Lenovo will fix this problem in the next BIOS versions. The keyboard is not so good as on old ThinkPads! I am making a lot of mistakes typing on it. On my old ThinkPad W530 it is much better. But for me, the keyboard is not very important parameter. I am using external keyboard most of time, the keyboard on laptop is needed just during traveling, for short time works. It is not good also for health working long time on laptop keyboard, because of powerful EM fields in that area. For me, the big trump card on this laptop is: 1. 12th gen processor and general laptop performance (except, booting time). 2. Thunderbolt 4. 3. Mobility (lighter weight, small power adapter. My adapter is smaller then the one in this video) 4. 16" screen. 5. USB 4. 6. NVME, PCIe 4 SSD.

[@Oleg__]

@@b.c.2177 I was referring first and foremost to the key layout, not to the tactile feel. Even so, many people say that the current ThinkPad keyboards are still better than other laptops. Intel 12th generation is in many other laptops now, I don't even pay attention to that parameter. I work with an external keyboard most of the time too. For example, right now I type with a TrackPoint Keyboard II. But it's not my primary one on a regular basis because it doesn't have a number pad and the curse of the Fn and Ctrl keys can't be reassigned here, as in ThinkPad laptops. And if it weren't for the ThinkPad keyboard, and TrackPoint, I don't think I'd be paying attention to ThinkPads at all. These remain the only things that set them apart from other laptops. As is the noticeably higher price.

[@b.c.2177]

@@Oleg__ The most important parameter in any computer is the processor and overall performance. For me it is a tradition to have ThinkPads, so I was looking for powerful, low energy, 12 gen. i7 processor and other parameters which I specified, in a ThinkPad laptop, which is also not so expansive as X1 Carbon, X1 Extreme, P1. From this point of view, T16/P16s has no alternatives! :) If you are doing just basic work, then the processor could not be the main point, it can be even an i5. But if you are working with virtual machines, graphics, web servers for development, then a good processor is the crucial parameter. If I would buy now this laptop, I would order it with i7-1280P, which is the most powerful from 12 gen. P class. But i7-1270P makes me happy as well :)

[@Oleg__]

@@b.c.2177 For me there is nothing more boring than the performance test sections and processor descriptions. I always skip such sections in videos or articles. For me, laptop performance has never been an issue. I haven't played games in over 10 years. I don't use computer tasks that require a lot of CPU performance. I still work on a laptop I bought in January 2009. :) Although, when I was young, I was into the whole thing, being an enthusiastic reader of tests, performance, etc. And the 12th generation is said to be tuned to Windows 11. But Windows 11 for me personally is a total crap. I would have installed Windows 10 on my new laptop right away.

[@123dweaver]

I have the P16 gen 1 and love it. It is the most quiet and powerful laptop I've ever had. I've always wanted someone to manufacture a thicker laptop so that way thermals wouldn't be an issue. I'm not sure why everyone is obsessed with thinness. I'd rather sacrifice thinness for performance. I used to have a Thinkpad P1 and it would have been the perfect laptop if it weren't for thermals and battery life. My P16 with the 12th generation CPU runs extremely well when on battery. It seems to use the efficiency cores and therefore my battery life is amazing as compared to my old P1 gen1. The only thing I hate is that there is no ethernet connection. I hate having to bring an adapter everywhere and a few times I have forgotten it. I also wish it would have came in the same black as my P1. Not a fan of the grey because it looks like every other laptop. If Lenovo offered a black version with an ethernet connection, then it would be the perfect laptop.

[@leplane_]

I have a P1. How's the latency on this model? On the P1 is so bad my old Thinkpad W530 beats it down calculating simulations in Phoenixfd (3dsmax). Sometimes the old workhorse is 15-20 frames ahead of the P1. The P1 is set to max performance, and undervolted and W10 optimized, and still can't get it to run a sim fast. I like it that it's got a thicker case too. Thicker case = better cooling.

[@papagen00]

how long is battery life and do you like the shallow keyboard?

[@akin242002]

Great laptop for semi-high level CPU work. Many managers, project leads, C++ programmers love it at my job. Especially if they work from home. Edit: They use the i7 1270P CPU.

[@Oleg__]

Cool laptop! Thanks for the first quality review of this model in English! :D

[@MnemonicCarrier]

I'm thinking about getting the AMD version of this. There seems to be quite a price drop at the moment.

[@davidarchangels6500]

T16 vs P17...which would u choose

[@huntwiller8231]

Comparing the T16 with the 865 Gen 9, which one should I choose for learning and pursuing a backend development job, with the option of including devops responsibilities?

[@MrSunnyMatharu]

Can someone please tell what the top cover is made of and what does it feel like? My last ThinkPad (a P50) has an almost rubber feel and got marked and scratched very easily

[@tutosolve]

Your review is good . I like it

[@872nishant]

How about e14 gen 5? And is it advisable to buy Lenovo extended warranty on e series ThinkPad laptops?

[@papagen00]

What's the diff between P16 and T16? P is a lot heavier but otherwise similar specs.

[@jamesrichardson645]

It actually has quite different specs. It's processor is also called i7, however in the P16 it has a HX series processor, instead of a P series processor. This means it has a significantly higher maximum power draw. Idle power draw should be similar. The P16 also has options of up to an RTX A5500 ADA which has 16gb of dedicated video ram, while the T16 is limited to the A500 with I believe 4GB of video ram. The P16 has a 94WH battery, and the T16 has either 54 or 84WH battery. The T16 supports up to 64GB of ram depending on configurations, one soldered and one socketed, whilst the P16 has 4 sockets which allow for up to 192GB ram, or 64GB error correcting ram, which is useful for doing academic research, or mission critical, heavy calculations such as running software simulations of airflow. It also is much thicker and heavier, to accommodate for extra cooling.

[@margonalisna4391]

Дякую за огляд, пішла купувати😊

[@alshuwaiee27]

How about the battery life ?

[@Walo-007]

8 H

[@danhle7999]

I'm wondering there's any version with a 120 Hz screen?

[@techbearbro]

Maybe next generation will have

[@Ricky87654]

Are you sure that the Microphone is not defect? It sounds horrible and I would consider it as almost unusable if it’s really like that. But I can‘t imagine that because I just tested the microphone of my T580 and it sounds much better and is definitely usable for calls. And T16 G1 should be an upgrade

[@techbearbro]

It can be some hardware or software defect. But I haven’t other samples to check it 🤷‍♂️

[@Jojo-rz9vz]

@techbear bro i have t16 as well amd version. The battery life of my laptop is about 6hrs i dont see 14hrs or all day as they say. Is this normal mine is average 6hrs only?

[@techbearbro]

It’s normal if you have small battery version

[@jamesrichardson645]

Companies always exaggerate battery life claims. None are worse than Microsoft which report 17 hour battery life and you get 4 hours - if you read into how Microsoft test their surface laptop studios, it includes like 8 hours of sleep. Lenovo would likely test it without wifi or Bluetooth, with just Microsoft Word or something open.

[@romabu2041]

На середині відео зрозумів чого відео автоозвучене, але найс огляд.

[@techbearbro]

В мене англійська лише проста розмовна. Зачитати текст з усіма термінами, цифрами… легше одразу вмерти. Тому готовлю текст, а далі штучний голос )

[@MikeKabaWike]

Those bezels. This looks so dated.

[@gabonesmith4750]

Video made with chat gpt

[@techbearbro]

Comment from ChatGPT? 🤔

[@RalphL.Guzman]

Huita