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Lenovo’s buttoned-up lineup of ThinkPad laptops has been the golden normal for enterprise. Youthful generations, nevertheless, have decried the long-lasting pocket book’s unchanging boxy black aesthetics. To seize the curiosity of Gen Z, Lenovo launched an entirely redesigned ThinkPad: The ThinkPad Z13.
In contrast to ThinkPads earlier than it, the Z13 embraces a brand new fake leatherette trim and copper-hued accents, making it fashionable and retro all on the identical time. Whereas the Z13 received a classy makeover on the skin, the true attraction is on the within. In contrast to different variations of Lenovo’s business-centric laptops, the ThinkPad Z13 is designed totally round AMD’s Ryzen processor structure, which guarantees energy, stamina, and efficiency in a light-weight bundle. However can Lenovo hold the ThinkPad line’s legacy attraction whereas modernizing its aesthetic with the Z13?
Lenovo ThinkPad Z13: Worth, availability, and specs
Clad in luxurious leather-based and with contrasting copper trim, Lenovo’s newest ThinkPad Z13 is just not your father’s ThinkPad. Lenovo’s modernized tackle its iconic business-class laptop computer begins at $1,355. On the base configuration, you may get an AMD Ryzren 5 Professional 6650U cell processor, Home windows 11 Residence, 16GB of LPDDR5 soldered reminiscence, 256GB solid-state PCIe Gen4 drive, and a 13.3-inch WUXGA non-touch show in an all-metal design.
Our upgraded evaluation unit is available in at $1,851 after Lenovo’s promotion. As an alternative of the all-metal design, the upgraded configuration features a vegan leather-based lid, Ryzen 7 6850U processor, Home windows 11 Professional, 16GB of soldered LPDDR5 6400MHz RAM, 512GB of PCIe Gen4 solid-state storage, and a 13.3-inch WUXGA touchscreen show. All fashions ship with included 1080p webcam and IR digicam for biometric safety, a fingerprint reader, and Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 assist.
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 Professional 6850U |
Graphics | Built-in AMD Radeon 680M |
Storage | 512GB PCIe SSD Gen4 |
Reminiscence | 16GB LPDDR6 6400MHz (soldered) |
Show | 13.3-inch WUXGA IPS touchscreen |
Digicam | IR & 1080p webcam |
Maxed-out configurations of this laptop computer retails for $2,267 after low cost, which boosts the reminiscence to 32GB and ups the storage to 1TB. Lenovo additionally presents an upgraded OLED touchscreen show with a 2.8K 2880 x 1800 decision.
All ThinkPad Z13s are backed by a one-year on-site restricted guarantee. As this can be a enterprise laptop computer, Lenovo presents numerous choices to develop your protection or lengthen your guarantee for added safety.
Lenovo ThinkPad Z13: Design and options
The ThinkPad Z13 is maybe Lenovo’s starkest departure from the ThinkPad heritage. Although this contemporary laptop computer retains the boxy aesthetic and straight edges, it trades within the clean black finishes and unassuming design in favor of a fashion-forward vegan leather-based trim with contrasting copper-hued tones. Those that need a extra understated end can choose as an alternative for the Arctic Grey aluminum lid as an alternative.
Our vegan leatherette lid feels extra distinctive and stands out towards Lenovo’s sea of black ThinkPads. Nonetheless, by embracing character, the Z13 provides up the ThinkPad’s heritage of stoic minimalism. That’s to not say that the brand new design is flashy – it retains parts of a conventional ThinkPad with straight edges, subtly curved corners, principally black end, and the long-lasting crimson gentle on the sunshine that’s constructed into the dot on the “i” of the ThinkPad emblem.
Except you’re a fan of custom, Lenovo’s fashionable tackle the basic ThinkPad may be very refined and polished – it seems like a laptop computer that’s made for the 2020s fairly than the Eighties. Equally trendy as it’s practical, the brand new design nonetheless embraces Lenovo’s design philosophy of very minimal prospers. Every little thing appears thought by way of, from the vegan leather-based to the digicam bar on the high.
Lenovo isn’t the primary firm to make use of leather-based or vegan leather-based in its design, neither is it the primary to deal with sustainability, however its efforts appear extra genuine than a lot of its rivals. HP’s 2018 Spectre Folio, for instance, was one of many first laptops to debut with a leather-based folio, however using actual leather-based raised some eyebrows amongst vegans and those that are involved with the environmental influence of the meat trade. The usage of vegan leather-based right here solves that drawback, and the pebbled leather-based grain seems premium and feels good – it’s positively much more inviting to have a look at and really feel than the chilly aluminum that clads Apple’s MacBook laptops.
Equally, the sustainable strategy has been very nicely executed. From the recycled aluminum backside plate to the recycled plastics within the leather-based lid to the compostable packaging made out of bamboo and sugarcane fibers, you actually can’t accuse Lenovo of greenwashing.
The ThinkPad Z13 is offered in two trims – an all-metal variant and the leather-clad model with copper accents. Our evaluation unit is the latter, and it’s the extra attention-grabbing laptop computer to have a look at. The usage of vegan leather-based right here provides the Z13 an expensive really feel – just like the inside of a luxurious automobile – and the hallmark Lenovo and ThinkPad logos have been “branded” into the vegan leather-based, giving it all of the branding parts of a conventional ThinkPad.
In comparison with the basic ThinkPad X1 lineup, I want the leather-based, because it’s much less of a fingerprint magnet than the glass fiber-laced lid, and it simply seems higher. And the accented copper-toned rails that go across the Z13’s aspect add a pleasant little bit of distinction. And inlaid into the metallic copper-colored rails are strips of plastic that assist the laptop computer hook up with Wi-Fi 6E networks and Bluetooth gadgets. The design isn’t not like what Apple is doing for the perimeters of its newest iPhone fashions.
Regardless of the mobile-inspired design with antennas positioned across the fringe of the laptop computer, cell broadband, sadly, doesn’t come built-in contained in the physique.
Though the Z13 caught to a boxier, squared-off aesthetic – gone is the marginally slant wedge-shaped profile from Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon line – this laptop computer feels extremely compact and transportable. At 294 x 199mm, the footprint of the Z13 is extra compact than the MacBook Air M2, the XPS 13 Plus, and the ThinkPad X1 Nano, making it an important companion for enterprise vacationers.
The Z13’s slim profile of 0.55 inches makes it thicker than the 0.44-inch MacBook Air, however nonetheless slimmer than the 0.66-inch X1 Nano and the 0.6-inch X1 Carbon. And at simply 2.76 kilos, it is gentle sufficient for street warriors to journey with. The slim silhouette of this Ryzen-powered laptop computer provides Intel’s Ultrabooks a run for his or her cash.
There’s a small copper band on the high, which homes the laptop computer’s FHD and IR cameras, that serves as a lip to make opening and shutting the lid simpler. In actuality, the expanded portion permits Lenovo to cram digicam tech into the Z13’s compact physique with out having to extend the dimensions of the minimal show bezels or resort to having a high notch like on Apple’s newest laptop computer fashions. The slender bezels give the Z13 a 92% screen-to-body ratio.
The draw back with the Z13 is that in some areas, Lenovo seems extra centered on kind than perform. With the webcam, for instance, the corporate moved from a bodily webcam shutter for privateness to an digital one.
And in contrast to bulkier enterprise notebooks, Lenovo is taking a cloud-first strategy with the Z13. Concentrating on the Gen Z demographics, the ThinkPad Z13 sheds a number of its bulk and the ports that go along with it, in favor of a slimmer profile. Right here, you’ll get two USB-C 4 ports – one on both aspect of the laptop computer – together with an influence button on the best aspect and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Doubtless, most customers will seemingly join the laptop computer to cloud companies, use Bluetooth peripherals, or depend on the pocket book’s spacious 512GB of Gen4 NVMe solid-state drive for storage, mitigating the necessity for extra ports.
An included 65W USB-C charger is included within the field, and utilizing the charger will occupy one of many two ports on this laptop computer. In the event you do want extra ports, be ready to reside the dongle life in the event you select this mannequin.
One other departure from normal Lenovo ThinkPad fashions is that the underside of the Z13 is made out of recycled aluminum, fairly than glass fiber. The underside panel serves as a passive cooler for the laptop computer – the interior followers present energetic cooling – and vents alongside the underside full the pocket book’s thermal system.
Provided that the aluminum backside plate is used as a part of the thermal system, warmth could be a difficulty. The Z13 runs sizzling, particularly when the CPU is taxed, making this a less-than-ideal pocket book to be used in your lap. When used on a desk or stable floor, warmth is not as large of a priority.
Like most enterprise laptops, the underside panel could be eliminated, providing you with entry to the internals to interchange or improve parts over time. Unscrewing the 5 screws – that are stored secured to the lid – gives you entry to the M.2 SSD. The Wi-Fi card and RAM are each soldered to the principle board and can’t be upgraded. Serviceable parts embrace the followers and battery.
And provided that this can be a ThinkPad, the Z13 passes Lenovo’s MIL-STD 810H testing, guaranteeing that it has the sturdiness for use in harder environments.
Lenovo ThinkPad Z13: Keyboard and trackpad
With its signature crimson nub that’s an iconic mainstay on all ThinkPad fashions, the keyboard maybe is the one space that Lenovo found with the Z13. In the event you’re new to the ThinkPad model, you seemingly gained’t discover, however the barely degraded efficiency of the keyboard in comparison with different members of the ThinkPad household dilutes the model.
Like most ThinkPads earlier than it, the Z13’s keyboard delivers an important typing expertise with a full-size keyboard and an edge-to-edge design to suit the compact area. The keys keep a smile-shaped design with a delicate curve alongside the underside edge to assist with typing velocity and accuracy, based on lenovo’s analysis, and also you additionally get a full row of perform keys on the high.
Essentially the most speedy change you’ll spot is that Lenovo inverted the Ctrl and Fn keys on this keyboard. Relatively than inserting the Fn key on the left-most edge like on different ThinkPad laptops, the Z13 maintains a extra conventional format with the Ctrl key on the left. It took me a couple of hours to regulate to the brand new association having come from the ThinkPad X1 carbon, and long-time ThinkPad followers who improve to the Z13 can swap the important thing mapping in software program.
And given how slim the Z13 is, Lenovo additionally modified key journey on this laptop computer, choosing a extra shallow distance to save lots of area. Relatively than the extra conventional ThinkPad 1.5mm of key journey, the Z13 reduces this to about 1.35mm. To steadiness factor, the Z13 has stiffer keys that require larger actuation power, giving the phantasm of deeper key journey.
In my use, the Z13’s keys really feel good to sort on – they’ve deeper journey than the keys on my MacBook Professional, nevertheless it’s nonetheless nowhere close to as snug because the keyboard on my X1 Carbon. New customers to the ThinkPad line will discover the keyboard wonderful in the event that they haven’t skilled a few of Lenovo’s greatest laptops. The keys re backlit, and the perform keys could be remapped utilizing Lenovo’s software program. I appreciated having devoted perform keys to mute and umute the microphone for my video calls, a function that’s typically lacking from client laptops. The arrow keys have additionally been altered on the Z13, and also you’ll discover a fingerprint scanner as a secondary biometric authentication technique on this laptop computer along with the IR digicam.
When typing, I discovered the keys to be a bit louder than that on the X1 Carbon, however nonetheless much more quiet than the keys on my MacBook Professional. The Z13’s keyboard is superb, and the extra acquainted association with the management key to the left of the perform key’s a welcomed change for brand new customers to the ThinkPad household.
A reasonably extensive – however not fairly as tall – trackpad sits beneath the keyboard deck. To extend the general floor space for the trackpad this yr, Lenovo employs a haptic space on the highest space of the trackpad, which might double as click on buttons for the trackpoint. As an alternative of bodily left and proper click on buttons, you’ll be able to press down and really feel a haptic click on on the left or proper high fringe of the trackpad if you’re utilizing the crimson trackpoint, and this works not not like Apple’s 3D Contact or Drive Contact on the MacBook. The digital buttons could be configured, and customers can change how a lot power is required to activate these buttons in addition to the audibility of the press noise.
In the event you depend on the trackpoint, the draw back with this association is that you could’t blindly really feel the place the buttons are, and you may inadvertently press on the flawed factor. This may very well be a dealbreaker for long-time ThinkPad homeowners, however provided that the Z13 is made for Gen Z audiences, I doubt this variation will impede the pocket book’s usability.
And by altering to this new design, Lenovo has expoanded the touchpad space. The glass-covered touchpad is a pleasure to make use of, offering an correct solution to management the cursor and carry out gestures.
Lenovo ThinkPad Z13: Show
Among the best show options of the ThinkPad X1 collection was eliminated to get the Z13 all the way down to a extra inexpensive value level that may attraction to Gen Z. On most ThinkPad fashions, the display can recline a full 180 levels, laying flat on the desk alongside the keyboard deck. Whereas this yoga gesture might not appear vital, it makes collaborating with close by colleagues simpler – a group can huddle across the show and consider content material on the identical time. The Z13’s extra discrete and hid hinge implies that the display can’t recline fairly as far, going from closed to about 145 levels. In use, it reclines about so far as the show on my Intel-powered MacBook Professional.
The Z13’s 13.3-inch show is available in quite a few resolutions and configurations, all supporting a barely taller 16:10 side ratio. I discover the taller 16:10 higher for multitasking and productiveness than the usual 16:9 on most client notebooks, although it’s nonetheless not fairly as tall as Microsoft’s 3:2 show on the Floor Professional 8. Our mannequin comes with a 1920 X 1200 decision IPS panel that helps contact and comes with a coating to cut back glare and smudging. There are additionally choices for a matte display with out contact assist in addition to an upgraded 2.8K decision OLED touchscreen panel with 2880 x 1800 pixels.
The slender borders on the show makes engaged on content material really feel very immersive. For journey, the extra compact body makes the Z13 really feel much more compact than it truly is, however if you’re engaged on this laptop computer, the immersive high quality of the show makes it appear to be you’re engaged on a bigger 14-inch display.
The usual IPS contact show that was configured on our evaluation unit is attractive, rendering wealthy, shiny colours with even backlighting. The display can be very shiny. Lenovo charges the show at 400 nits, which is 100 greater than the typical laptop computer on this class. In use, I used to be capable of rise up to 435 nits with the Z13.
Typically, I discovered that I didn’t must go above 75% brightness in most conditions, and outdoor underneath the blazing solar, the show continues to be very readable when cranked as much as 100% brightness. Reflectivity continues to be an issue, regardless of the anti-reflection coating, when working underneath shiny ambient lighting. The display additionally benefited from extensive viewing angles.
The display is also nice for inventive work, with 100% protection of the extensive sRGB shade area.
Lenovo ThinkPad Z13: Efficiency
Though the Z13’s design might make it much less acquainted as a ThinkPad, the efficiency of this laptop computer is nothing wanting the model’s normal. AMD’s Ryzen 6000 Professional processor is the star of the present and the brains behind the Z13’s magnificence.
The Ryzen 7 6850U cell processor on our evaluation unit packs in eight processing cores, and the CPu additionally combine AMD’s Radeon 680M graphics with 12 GPU cores. Efficiency of the Ryzen 6000 Professional processor may be very aggressive. With the Ryzn 6000, AMD largely delivers on its promise of with the ability to ship environment friendly efficiency to a compact laptop computer that can be utilized for productiveness, creativity, and gaming.
Typically productiveness duties the place the CPU is principally used, efficiency of the AMD Ryzen 7 6850U was largely just like Intel’s twelfth Gen Core i7 cell processors. The efficiency similarities between these two competing chipsets had been confirmed in our PCMark 10, Geekbench 5, and Cinebench exams.
Benchmark | Single-core | Multi-core |
Geekbench 5 | 1,565 | 8,911 |
Cinebench R23 | 1,543 | 12,350 |
PCMark 10 | 5,962 |
Whereas the single- and multi-core scores on the Geekbench 5 normal had been just like competing Intel fashions, the Ryzen’s multi-core efficiency blows previous the rival twelfth Gen Intel by 2,000 factors. Efficiency of the Ryzen 6000 Professional processor throughout numerous power modes was very comparable on the Z13, whereas Intel’s processor turns into throttled in additional energy-efficient modes.
In comparison with Apple’s M2 processor on the current MacBook Air, the Ryzen 6000 on the Z13 carried out barely worse on single-core processor benchmarks however blew away the Mac’s customized Arm-based silicon in multi-core efficiency on the Cinebench benchmark.
In use, the ThinkPad Z13 by no means felt sluggish when launching apps, multitasking with a number of home windows opened, or net shopping with a number of tabs opened. For many productiveness duties, the laptop computer’s efficiency is buttery clean.
Effectivity is an space the place the Ryzen shines in comparison with the Intel rival, and this reveals in battery life. In my blended use of the ThinkPad Z13, I used to be capable of common between 12 and 15 hours with blended utilization and show set to round 50% brightness, which implies that the Z13 ought to be capable to go for as much as two work days with out requiring a recharge. Battery saver mode did kick in in the direction of the top of the second day to stretch battery life additional. This locations the Ryzen-powered Z13 in Arm territory with regards to effectivity, however the profit right here is you are still getting an x86 processor that is tuned for enterprise computing.
Extra CPU and GPU intensive duties, like enhancing movies or gentle gaming, would draw extra energy, however normally, the Ryzen’s energy effectivity may be very competent. Related utilization would lead to battery life between six and eight hours on a comparable Intel twelfth Gen CPU, which means that the Z13’s AMD chipset delivered twice the battery longevity on a single cost.
With the built-in AMD Radeon processor, the ThinkPad Z13 rating 2,567 factors on the 3DMark Time Spy benchmark, which is to be anticipated on a laptop computer with out discrete graphics. I did not discover any sluggish downs when performing gentle photograph edits. Video encoding is a bit slower than a laptop computer with discrete graphics, so in the event you’re a inventive, the Z13 will not be an excellent match.
When it comes to gaming efficiency, the Ryzen 6000’s built-in Radeon graphics is a good resolution for informal players who sometimes play at 1080p decision. Although you will not get near 60 frames per second on notebooks with entry-level discrete laptop computer graphics, the Ryzen 6000 delivers playable 30fps on a wide range of fashionable titles with decrease sport settings. This stage of efficiency, particularly with built-in graphics, is fairly spectacular for a laptop computer this compact and skinny.
Lenovo was sensible going with AMD’s silicon over the everyday use of Intel on different ThinkPad fashions provided that the Ryzen/Radeon mixture delivers stellar efficiency whereas retaining stable battery life. The followers kick in underneath heavy stress. In the event you’re gaming with the sound on, you seemingly will not discover the whirling fan blades, however noise is clear in additional quiet environments.
Lenovo ThinkPad Z13: Webcam and audio
The ThinkPad Z13 serves as an excellent machine for consuming content material. Along with watching these workplace coaching movies, the 2 downward-firing audio system on the backside are loud and highly effective, delivering a wealthy and immersive audio expertise that is nice for watching movies and films. The audio system are tuned for Dolby’s Atmos expertise, delivering a simulated encompass sound expertise.
Along with a terrific audio expertise, the ThinkPad Z13 additionally advantages from a stable 1080p webcam. Although the efficiency of the webcam will not match that of a few of our high 4K fashions, the digicam delivers stable efficiency, however in decrease gentle, it muddles out a number of element and definition out of your pores and skin.
The place the Z13 excels is with the IR digicam, which can be utilized for facial authentication with Home windows Hi there and for presence detection. Lenovo’s clever software program can detect in the event you’re in entrance of the pc to maintain the display on and lock the PC if you step away from the digicam’s vary. An digital shutter rounds out the digicam expertise, however we might have beloved to see a bodily shutter as an alternative.
Lenovo ThinkPad Z13: The competitors
There’s loads of competitors within the pocket book area, and we’d have beloved to see the ThinkPad Z13 begin at a good lower cost level to remain aggressive. Instant challengers to the Z13’s crown embrace Apple’s MacBook Air, which was not too long ago refreshed with the corporate’s customized M2 processor, Dell’s wonderful client XPS 13 laptop computer, and Microsoft’s Floor Laptop computer. Within the enterprise area, the ThinkPad Z13 competes largely towards Dell’s Vostro and Latitude lineup of notebooks. The Latitude 9330 begins at greater than $2,000.
The largest risk to the Z13 comes from Lenovo’s circle of relatives of ThinkPad. The bigger 14-inch ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a well-liked mannequin throughout the model, and it is a superb various for ThinkPad loyalists preferring the basic design over the Gen Z-inspired aesthetics.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon, now in its tenth Gen, begins at simply over $1,300 after reductions.
The compact ThinkPad X1 Nano can be an important competitor to the Z13 given the previous’s compact footprint and comparable show measurement. Although the Nano is available in a extra conventional ThinkPad design that Gen Z customers might dismiss as boring, it has a extra inexpensive $1,250 beginning value that makes it extra inexpensive.
Lenovo ThinkPad Z13: Must you purchase it?
You should purchase this if …
- You need a rugged laptop computer with a MIL-STD 810H score that is trendy and sturdy.
- You admire Lenovo’s ThinkPad heritage and search a laptop computer with a trackpoint.
- You need a performance-pack cell system in a compact, transportable design.
- You need a distinctive design with premium supplies that is not flashy or garish.
- You want business-class service and guarantee choices.
- You need a snug keyboard to sort on.
You should not purchase this if …
- You want a cell workstation with a discrete GPU for gaming or inventive work.
- You favor a extra conventional ThinkPad design with the basic ThinkPad keyboard format.
- You want built-in 4G/5G cell broadband modem for ubiquitous connectivity to the Web.
By redesigning the Z13 from the bottom up, Lenovo largely solved the long-lasting model’s existential disaster. The ThinkPad Z13 advantages from the identical options that make a ThinkPad nice, together with an important keyboard, terrific audio expertise, and sensible software program that improve the {hardware} expertise. Whereas the Z13 trades within the black bento box-inspired design for a extra elevated look that embraces luxurious vegan leather-based, trendy contrasting copper accents, and an all-AMD Ryzen configuration, the guts of this laptop computer stays true to the ThinkPad heritage.
Whereas older customers who might have expertise with the ThinkPad line, which have lengthy been the gold normal in enterprise circles, might really feel that Z13 delivers a watered-down function set provided that the keyboard is sweet however not nice, youthful Gen Z customers who’ve by no means picked up a ThinkPad earlier than will discover lots to like. Gone is the boring stodgy buttoned-up aesthetic for a fashion-forward design. You may nonetheless get loads of enterprise options that make the Z13 nice, together with a devoted row of perform keys with fast entry to communication buttons, remappable keys, and a terrific keyboard with good key journey. For its value, nevertheless, we wished Lenovo did a greater job of melding new design pondering with old-world ThinkPad sensibility.
Lenovo’s ThinkPad Z13 is a contemporary tackle the normal ThinkPad design. Made to attraction to Gen Z, the ThinkPad Z13 comes with a classy vegan leather-based end, Ryzen 6000 efficiency, and an environment friendly battery that takes you thru the work day.
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