Or: "World's grumpiest laptop user complains about laptops"
Many many words about laptops below. Read at your own peril.
Context and background information.
So, context. These are thinkpads. The T series has generally been the "high end normal business laptop" model, with 4 being the screen size (4=14", 5=15") and the numbers after noting the generation. The T420 was the 2012 model year (probably released in 2011?), T480 was the 2018. In 2020 they ran out of numbers and started doing "T14 Gen #" instead. I think there's some Gen 5s out there for non T models because laptops are not allowed to make logical sense. Anyway, basically this is talking about the 2018 MY and 2022 MY T series laptops.
It should be noted that there are some close variations of these models. The "s" variants, i.e. T480s, are the "slim" versions, and typically scarified chassis size to sacrifice chassis size. These historically should always be avoided because they're too damn slim for their own good. Formerly there were "p" variations to notate models with a discrete GPU, i.e. T440p, but by the T480 the discrete GPU models just used the same name and had a different spec. There are also, in the traditional thinkpad line, P series (performance/workstation-y models), L series (cheaper than T; typically a bit larger chassis and less features), E series (Is to L what L is to T), and X series (ultraportables).
The T470 and T480 share a very similar chassis, but the T480 was the first one to come with the newer Intel quad core mobile CPUs (thanks AMD) and thus the first quad core "normal thinkpad"1 you could get since the T430 with a CPU swap. These are still plenty fast for most non gaming use today. The T490 introduced an all new chassis which, according to NotebookCheck, "Although the ThinkPad T490 is the direct successor of the Lenovo ThinkPad T480 by name, judging from its design, the T490 has almost more similarities to the ThinkPad T480s." The T490 chassis was carried through to the T14 gen 1 and gen 2, the latter of which is my model.
Quick aside here, I hate the whole "gen" thing that marketing does now so I'm just going to keep calling it a T14. It's a T14 Gen 2 AMD, but it's also just a T14.
So what's wrong about the T14?
Well, that depends on who you ask. As a functional computer, nothing really. It's faster than the T480. Even the slower AMD models have a quad core Zen 2 part that will outperform my T480, but my T14 has a 6 core. The GPU is a massive step up too, actually being able to play most games unlike basically any Intel on die GPU ever. Neither of these have discrete GPUs and I really Do Not Like Those with regards to laptops. Tends to tank battery life and historically (read: many years ago) they were quite buggy under linux.
But, in my opinion, you buy a laptop for the chassis and then worry about the parts. And the T14 suffers from a lot of "modern laptop trends"2 that I absolutely loathe. Almost all of these stem from just wanting to make the laptop slimmer, so I'm first going to tell you why I think that's an absolute red herring in laptop design.
Portability
So here's the way I look at it. The portability of things is determined by how you carry them around. Quite simple, if it's meant to be portable then how portable it is depends on how you move it. The example I like to use for this would be comparing a 3DS, Switch, and Steam Deck. The 3DS fits in your pocket (or a small purse if you're suffering for a skirt), so it's as portable as one could reasonably ask for. Neither the Switch nor the Steam Deck will fit in a reasonably sized pocket (or my small purse), they both require a larger bag of some sort and thus are effectively the same as far as portability goes. Now in that case, since it's a device you hold in your hands the weight is still important, but the size isn't too relevant at that point. I do not think the majority of people get those small custom made bags for either device to carry them around in directly. i.e., if you have a steam deck bag, you probably put that in a backpack first. By extension, most normal size laptops are also, functionally, just as portable as a Steam Deck or Switch.
Laptops are very rarely used in any hand or arm held fashion in use3, and they will never fit in a reasonably sized pocket/purse, so the thickness of them isn't very relevant to portability anymore. It used to be, yes. Laptops used to be textbook size and weight. My old T61 (circa 2009) felt like having another small book in my bag. Old ibooks and powerbooks are HUGE. But anything modern enough to want to use is plenty small. I would be very surprised if anyone could notice the difference between a T14 and T480 in transport. Hell my old T420 probably wouldn't be too bad sans extended battery, and it's thicc.
This is all to explain why the race for trying to turn everything into a macbook air is a waste of time. No one carries their laptop around in a fucking manilla folder. You probably put it in a backpack or shoulder bag. Thus, shaving a few millimeters of total thickness off of the design is a waste. I do think that overall weight is still important to a point, but I'd be willing to speculate that it's easier to obtain structural strength with less weight if a bit more space can be used.
Ok so what's actually wrong with it?
Now that we've gone through all that backstory, I will go down the list.
Keyboard
Every thinkpad owner talks about keyboards. The T14 keys are fine, not terrible, but going back to the T480 made me realize how much better it is. I get a similar feeling going from the T480 to the T420, and I really wish the "25th anniversary" keyboard could be swapped onto the T480 (if only for the extra row). What irks me most is not the keys but rather the trackpoint. The slimmer the keyboard is, the slimmer the nub has to be. I've found it a lot harder to get the sensitivity dialed in right on the T14, and the middle click (used for scroll) is always just a bit harder to keep locked in compared to the T480. For what it's worth I use third party "bowl" style replacement nubs, since Lenovo stopped making those for new models ages ago. Again like with the keys, the older models still feel better still, but the T480 isn't a chore to use at all. The T14 is ever so slightly annoying.
Palm rest
I had completely forgotten how good this was until I pulled my T480 back out. The T14 chassis has a kind of "pointy" front lip, with a non tapered edge leading onto the palm rest. This means at some angles it will just dig into your wrist a tiny bit. Not a lot, not painfully, but just a bit. The T480's palm rest is curved a tiny bit and it makes a world of difference.
Battery
The T470 and T480 have an uncommon dual battery layout. There's a 24Wh battery inside the chassis of the laptop, as well as an external battery pack. The smallest external pack size is 24Wh, but you can also get larger ones that stick out a bit. I'm a bit mixed on this because if your OS doesn't handle the batteries correctly you do still have the downside of needing to replace the internal battery, but the upside is you can replace or upgrade the other battery without opening anything up. Unfortunately both of these models were after Lenovo gave up the more accessible chassis style in favor of the "entire bottom cover complete w/ plastic clips" nonsense, so the internal accessibility is about the same on both. But I really like the extended battery packs of yore, so the T480 is was better in this regard to me.
Lid close detection
"What?"
Yeah. The T14 has a magnetic sensor in the palm rest, while the T480 has something back at the hinges.
"Why does this matter?"
Because if I put my phone on the palm rest, it detects the lid being closed. And that's where I like to put my phone. It's a small thing but it's Exceptionally Annoying.
Chassis flex
I'm an absolute monster that just grabs my laptop by the corner of the palm rest when I want to move it. The T14 has Noticeable Flex when doing this, the T480 does not. Now I can't say what correlation this has to actual durability, as I had a T420 that after many years of this kind of treatment developed a crack in the palm rest, and it even had a whole internal frame. And the T14 isn't as bad as some lesser laptops I've used which could flex so bad if on an uneven surface that they would shut down, but it's still annoying.
Cooling
I assume part of this problem is because the dinky little Intel chip just doesn't put out it's full TDP's worth of heat, but one of the results of the T14 being slimmer is there's just not as much room for cooling. The fan has to be narrower, the heatsink fins have to be smaller. It gets noticeably louder under common load scenarios and it's got a lot less headroom for things like, being put on a bed directly on top of the sheets. Annoyingly, this is mostly a noise problem rather than a temperature problem. The T480, even at full tilt, has a dramatically better noise profile. The T14 is very high pitched and easy to notice when the fan has kicked in.
And I feel like this is made worse by the fact that the feet are noticeably shorter on the T14 compared to the T480. The rear feet in the T480 are a bit larger than the front and help give it extra space beneath for airflow, whereas the feet on the T14 are minimal. I haven't actually sat down to test if adding a few mil helps temps but I'd assume it wouldn't hurt.
And of course if you get an extended battery on the T480, it props the rear up even more for you.
Upgradability
Only a quick mention here, The T14 has a single ram slot + soldered onboard compared to the T480's fully slotted. Newer T models are hit and miss for having upgradable memory at all, depending on if it's AMD/Intel and which exact gen. L and E series tend to still have at least one slot but it's very much the kind of thing you need to go to notebookcheck to verify first. Having at least one slot is good for making sure the laptop remains usable in the longer term, but I really hate this trend in general.
That's a lot of nitpicking, huh?
Yeah, it is. Any one of these things on it's own wouldn't be a big deal. The reason it bugs me so much is twofold. Firstly, because it's all of these little things combined. The second is that every single one of them is unnecessary. None of these issues were created in sacrifice of an important feature or to reach a new lower price target or whatever. All of them were caused because they just wanted to copy everyone else's laptops and make something thinner, which I've already explained why that's completely useless. They've basically just made everything a little bit worse for no good reason.
For what it's worth I still enjoy using my T480. And my T420 on the occasions I need it. I wish I could put the 7 row keyboard on my T480 without extensive fuckery (and paying out the nose for the keyboard module). I really wish I could just get a modern AMD CPU in a T420 or, even better, a X41, but at the end of the day I do not need any of these things. They're just nice to think about. I have an abundance of computers and do not want for compute power. I'm very fortunate.
For what it's worth, there's a new chassis starting with the T14 Gen 3. I've no interest in buying another new laptop for some time but I'd like to get my hands on one to see if it's better or worse.
Also, based on all of the above, if you want a thinkpad then stick to E or L series models. You can get them with zen 3 CPUs for dirt cheap now. In a few years that will instead be zen 4 with the newer GPU cores too. I'm talking like, $250-400 cheap. If you live in the US and have access to electronic bay, anyhow.
- Yes I'm sure they offered that in workstation models, I'm ignoring those. I know the W series and P series exist.
- Although most of these can be "credited" to Apple, the blame is 50/50 to me. 50% blaming Apple for making laptops fucking unusable in pursuit of making them thin, and 50% everyone else for seeing fully realized products, flaws and all, and going "yeah let's copy that". Apple does not make Lenovo ThinkPads, Lenovo does.
- I do that, actually. I like to hold a laptop in one arm and use it with the other. Trackpoints help with this, as do the older style extended battery that would stick out the back of the laptop and make for a nice handle. Weight matters for this use case, but not thickness. The ideal laptop for this kind of use is my old X41, which was plenty small and lightweight for 2005. It's actually the perfect laptop chassis, just needs a 1440x1080 panel and new guts...
