Lenovo ThinkBook x13 Gen 4 ZDNET's key takeaways The Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 starts at $1,580 for an Intel Core Ultra 5 Processor and 16GB of RAM.
It's surprisingly versatile for its 13-inch size and comes with a powerful processor and impressive battery
However, its ultraportable form factor limits it to means it only has USB-C ports. View now at Lenovo
Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.
Despite its bite-sized form factor, the ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 is a powerhouse. Lenovo first showcased this ultraportable at CES 2024, and initial impressions centered on the return of Magic Bay, a modular family of peripherals that connect to the laptop via magnetic pogo pins (think MagSafe, but for laptops).
Also: Laptop battery dying too soon? How to check its health in one click
But even though the Magic Bay products might be the most attention-grabbing, this Lenovo laptop has a lot more going for it under the hood. In fact, this laptop is surprisingly versatile.
The ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 comes with the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H processor (2.4 GHz) but can be supercharged with the Intel Core Ultra 9 -- an option I was surprised to see for this laptop -- which propels it to be in line with other performant enterprise machines (raising the price over $400 in the process).
The review unit I tested was snappy enough with the Ultra 5 and had absolutely no problems multitasking with a handful of productivity apps and multiple browser tabs across two displays. Additionally, this laptop is compact enough to make transporting to and from the office a breeze, which makes me question why I chose a 16-inch laptop as my primary device.
But then I started working on the 13.5-inch display, and I remembered. Don't get me wrong, the display on the ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 looks good -- really good, actually, with 500-nit brightness and a 120Hz variable refresh rate. But its size, even at max resolution, results in a screen that can seem a little cramped if you're used to more real estate. Ultimately, it comes down to a personal preference tradeoff.
... continue reading