Lenovo is a Chinese company and one of the largest manufacturers of consumer electronics, including products like personal computers (desktops and laptops), tablets, monitors, computer peripherals, and smartphones, among many others. In 2005, they acquired IBM's personal computer division, where the ThinkPad and ThinkCentre lines of computers originated. Lenovo's current laptop lineup is vast and includes popular brands like IdeaPad, Legion, Yoga, and ThinkBook. Lenovo's laptops are often among the best value models you can get, whether you're looking for a cheap Chromebook, a high-performing gaming laptop, or a premium mobile workstation.
Updates
- 09/24/2024 Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 2 (2024) reviewed
- 08/20/2024 Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 (2024) reviewed
- 07/23/2024 Lenovo Yoga 6 13 (2023) reviewed
- 04/30/2024 Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15 (2023) updated
- 02/29/2024 Lenovo LOQ 15 (2023) reviewed
Best Lenovo Laptops
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Best Lenovo Laptop
School8.3Gaming8.3Multimedia7.7Workstation9.1Business8.5Build Quality8.5Portability7.1Maximum Brightness481 cd/m²Typing Quality8.0Touchpad9.0Webcam & Microphone8.7Battery9.0The best Lenovo laptop we've tested is the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 (2024), a premium workstation laptop. This model is configurable with Intel Meteor Lake CPUs, up to a Core ultra 9 185H, and various NVIDIA discreet GPUs, including GeForce and RTX Ada Generation models, giving you plenty of processing power to tackle demanding tasks like video editing, 3D graphic design, and simulations. You can get up to 64GB of RAM and 8TB of storage, and these components are user-upgradeable, so you can add more later if needed. Three display options are available: a 60Hz FHD+ IPS, a 165Hz QHD+ IPS, and a 60Hz 4k+ OLED panel—the latter has full DCI P3 coverage, making it suitable for color-critical work.
The user experience is great. You get a comfortable keyboard, a large haptic touchpad, Lenovo's iconic Trackpoint, and an excellent 1440p webcam. Port selection includes three USB-Cs (two Thunderbolt 4s), an HDMI 2.1, and a fast SD Express 7.0 card reader. Its battery life is outstanding at around 12 hours of light use, which is nearly on par with Apple silicon MacBook Pros. For the Linux users out there, you can also get this laptop with Ubuntu, Fedora, or Red Hat installed. The keyboard doesn't get very hot under load, but the fans are pretty loud.
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Best Upper Mid-Range Lenovo Laptop
School8.2Gaming6.2Multimedia7.4Workstation7.8Business8.3Build Quality9.0Portability8.6Maximum Brightness342 cd/m²Typing Quality8.5Touchpad7.6Webcam & Microphone9.6Battery7.9Our best upper mid-range pick is the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 (2023), a 14-inch ultraportable. With a mix of aluminum, magnesium, carbon fiber, and plastic, this thin and light laptop feels sturdily built. It has Lenovo's much-beloved keyboard as well as a tactile and responsive touchpad. There's also a Trackpoint nub—situated in the intersection between the H, G, and B keys—and dedicated buttons right below the Space bar, which some may find more convenient to use when typing, as you can keep your hand closer to the keyboard. You get an excellent 1080p webcam (with a privacy cover), tons of ports, and Wi-Fi 6E. Biometrics include a fingerprint sensor and a facial recognition camera.
Configuration-wise, this laptop is available with Intel 13th Gen U- or P-series CPUs. These processors can easily handle general productivity tasks like text processing, web browsing, video playback, spreadsheets, and presentations. You can even do more intensive tasks like programming on models with the high-end Core i7-1370P. Graphically intensive workloads are a no-go, as you can only get this laptop with integrated graphics. Multiple display options are available, including a 2.8k OLED panel with full DCI P3 coverage. The storage drive is user-upgradeable, but not the RAM.
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Best Mid-Range Lenovo Laptop
School7.9Gaming5.8Multimedia7.7Workstation7.3Business7.7Build Quality8.0Portability8.7Maximum Brightness280 cd/m²Typing Quality8.0Touchpad7.7Webcam & Microphone6.2Battery8.3If you want something a bit more affordable, check out the Lenovo Yoga 6 13 (2023). It's a 2-in-1 convertible with a 360-degree hinge, so you can flip the screen around and use it as a tablet. It has a sturdy build, an FHD+ display with full sRGB coverage (which isn't always the case with devices in this price range), a spacious keyboard, and a responsive glass touchpad. The screen supports pen input, though the stylus doesn't always come with the device, as it depends on the region and retailer. You get a wide port selection with two USB-As, two USB-Cs (not Thunderbolt or USB4, unfortunately), an HDMI, and an SD card reader. As for biometrics, there's both a fingerprint sensor and a facial recognition camera.
This laptop is available with AMD Ryzen CPUs, which are fast enough to handle most general productivity tasks, like text processing, web browsing, spreadsheets, and presentations. You can get up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage; only the SSD is user-upgradeable. Its battery life is great at around 10 hours of light use or nine hours of video playback, so you don't have to worry about plugging it in to get through a typical day. There are two notable downsides with this device: the screen doesn't get very bright, so it's best suited for indoor use only, and the webcam is passable at best, as the image looks soft and underexposed.
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Best Budget Lenovo Laptop
School7.3Gaming5.9Multimedia6.9Workstation7.3Business7.5Build Quality7.5Portability8.0Maximum Brightness281 cd/m²Typing Quality7.5Touchpad7.2Webcam & Microphone7.9Battery6.3The best budget Lenovo laptop we've tested is the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15 (2023). This 15.6-inch Windows ultraportable is available with various Intel 13th Gen CPUs, from a Core i3 to i7, and up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The Intel CPUs are low-power processors, so while they're fast enough to handle light productivity tasks like text processing and web browsing, they aren't ideal for demanding workloads like video editing. For the display, the cheaper configurations come with a low-quality TN panel—you'll have to spend more if you want to upgrade to an IPS display.
The keyboard feels comfortable to type on, and the touchpad is small but responsive. Ports include two USB-As, a USB-C, an HDMI, and an SD card reader. The USB-C supports video output and charging but not Thunderbolt 4, which is unfortunate but expected for a budget-friendly model. It has a fingerprint sensor built into the power button for quick logins. Its biggest flaw is its short battery life of around six to seven hours of light use.
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Best Cheap Lenovo Laptop
School7.6Gaming4.1Multimedia7.6Workstation5.3Business7.1Build Quality7.0Portability7.8Maximum Brightness362 cd/m²Typing Quality6.5Touchpad6.1Webcam & Microphone8.7Battery9.3Our best cheap pick is the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i Chromebook 14 (2023). This 14-inch model is a great option for younger students or anyone needing a simple device for light productivity tasks. In many ways, this model provides a better user experience than the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15 (2023) above. It's more portable since it's a smaller 14-inch device, and it has a brighter display to combat glare. Its battery life is also better at around 13 hours of light use. However, the keyboard feels mushier and causes some fatigue over an extended period, and the touchpad isn't quite as responsive.
The most notable difference is that it runs Chrome OS, which is more limited than Windows, as you can only use web-based and Android apps (and Linux apps with some tweaking). As such, it isn't ideal if your work or school program requires specific Windows software. You can configure this laptop with an Intel N100, N200, or a Core i3-N305 CPU; we recommend the latter, as the N100 and N200 are much slower and only suitable for those with an extremely light workload. Unfortunately, there's no fingerprint sensor or facial recognition camera.
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Best Lenovo Gaming Laptop
School6.6Gaming8.8Multimedia6.8Workstation9.3Business7.7Build Quality8.0Portability4.7Maximum Brightness310 cd/m²Typing Quality8.0Touchpad7.8Webcam & Microphone7.8Battery4.8The best Lenovo gaming laptop we've tested is the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 Gen 8 16 (2023). This 16-inch model is available with AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40-series GPUs, up to a 4070 running at a whopping 140W TGP (Total Graphics Power) with Dynamic Boost. You can choose between a 165Hz or a 240Hz display; both have a QHD+ resolution and support VRR to reduce screen tearing. Every CPU and GPU configuration can push high frame rates, but if you want to play all your games at 1440p, getting a model with an RTX 4060 or 4070 is best. RAM and storage max out at 32GB and 1TB, respectively, though both are user-upgradeable.
As for the build, it isn't the most premium-feeling laptop since it's a mid-range model, but it still feels sturdy and well-built with a mix of metal and plastic. Its bulky design makes it hard to carry around, and the battery lasts less than five hours of light use. It has a tactile keyboard, Wi-Fi 6E wireless connectivity, and a wide port selection, including an HDMI 2.1 and Ethernet. Neither the CPU nor the GPU throttles under load, but the fans get pretty loud. Unfortunately, there are no biometrics for quick logins.
Compared To Other Brands
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Wide selection of laptops.
Lenovo has a large selection of laptops, from cheap Chromebooks to premium mobile workstations. -
Linux options.
Lenovo is one of the few manufacturers that offer laptops with Linux (Ubuntu) installed. -
Online database.
Lenovo has an online database with detailed specifications for most of its laptops. -
Well-built budget models.
Lenovo's budget models tend to have a sturdier build than those of its competitors.
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Model names can be confusing.
Lenovo sometimes uses different names for the same product, confusing consumers. -
Large number of configuration options can be overwhelming.
Although the choice is good, the large number of available configurations for a single laptop can make purchasing decisions harder.
Lenovo vs Dell
Lenovo and Dell offer similar types of laptops. However, Lenovo is more competitive in the budget and mid-range tiers, while Dell focuses more on their premium brands like XPS and Alienware. See our best Dell laptop recommendations here.
Lenovo vs Apple
Lenovo and Apple are very different laptop companies. Lenovo offers models in every price tier, while Apple only makes premium models. Also, Lenovo makes laptops for various operating systems like Windows, Chrome OS, and Linux, while Apple only makes laptops with macOS. See our best Apple laptop recommendations here.
Lenovo vs Microsoft
Lenovo and Microsoft are very different companies. Lenovo has a much larger portfolio, including productivity laptops, gaming laptops, and Chromebooks, while Microsoft only makes Windows productivity laptops. Microsoft's laptops feel more sturdy but are also more expensive.
Like Dell, ASUS, Acer, and HP, Lenovo makes a wide variety of laptops. Although some of their high-end models are among the best on the market, their mid-range and budget models tend to stand out more, as they typically have a sturdier build and offer a better overall user experience than the competition. However, shopping for a Lenovo laptop is sometimes hard, as they tend to use different names to refer to the same product or have many configuration options, some of which are only available in select regions.
Lineup
Although some Lenovo laptop brands are clearly defined, like ThinkPad and Legion, the company uses names to denote a particular feature or price tier. Lenovo sometimes uses different names to refer to the same product, confusing customers. For example, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet is also called the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet. Below are some of Lenovo's laptop brands:
- ThinkPad: High-end business-oriented laptops and mobile workstations.
- ThinkBook: General productivity laptops.
- Yoga: Mid-range and high-end 2-in-1 convertibles.
- Flex: Budget 2-in-1 convertibles.
- Slim: A slimmer version of an existing model, like Lenovo Legion Slim 7i.
- IdeaPad: Mid-range and budget models.
- Legion: Mid-range and high-end gaming laptops.
- LOQ: Cheap gaming laptops.
Lenovo tends to make laptops with multiple configuration options. While choice is good, knowing which features are present in a particular SKU is sometimes difficult. If you need more information on a Lenovo laptop, you can find it via Lenovo's online database.
Recent Updates
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Aug 20, 2024: Added the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 (2024) as the 'Best Laptop' and moved the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2023) to the 'Best Upper Mid-Range' category. Replaced the Lenovo Yoga 7i 16 (2023) with the Lenovo Yoga 6 13 (2023) because the 7i 16 is discontinued.
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May 23, 2024: Added description of LOQ series to the Lineup section. Confirmed that all picks are still available and represent the best option.
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Mar 25, 2024: Replaced the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 (2023) with the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 (2023) because the Slim Pro 7 14 is discontinued and harder to find.
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Jan 25, 2024: Replaced the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 (2021) with the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15 (2023) because the Slim 3i performs better and is cheaper. Replaced the Lenovo Chromebook C340 15 (2020) with the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i Chromebook 14 (2023) because the C340 is near the end of its OS support.
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Sep 25, 2023: Replaced the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 4 (2021) with the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 (2023) because the Slim Pro 7 has a sturdier build, faster CPUs, and better performance over time. Removed the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 (2023) because the Slim Pro is better and cheaper overall. Added the Lenovo Yoga 7i 16 (2023) as the 'Best Mid-Range' pick. Moved the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15 (2021) to the 'Best Budget' category and the Lenovo Chromebook C340 15 (2020) to the 'Best Cheap' category. Replaced the Legion 5 Gen 6 15 (2021) with the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 Gen 8 16 (2023) because the Pro 5 performs better.
Conclusion
Lenovo makes many laptops every year, so whether you're looking for something for school, work, gaming, or media consumption, you can find something that suits your needs and budget. Their laptops are often among the best value models, offering a good user experience while remaining affordable. However, finding the right model is sometimes hard, as Lenovo isn't always consistent in their laptop naming scheme.