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Earlier this year Lenovo announced that it had partnered with online repair shop iFixit to design new Lenovo ThinkPad T-series laptops that are easier to repair than most of the company’s other recent notebook computers.
Now the new Lenovo Thinkpad T14 Gen 5 is available to purchase, featuring a user-replaceable battery and keyboard as well as memory and storage. But you might want to wait a little while before spending money on one.
That’s because, like most Lenovo ThinkPad-branded laptops, the new ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 has a sky-high suggested retail price. Lenovo is charging $2,559 for an entry-level Thinkpad T14 Gen 5 with an Intel Core Ultra 5 125U processor, 16GB of DDR5-5600 RAM and a 512GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD.
And that’s just the base model. The system is currently available with up to an Intel Core Ultra 7 155U processor, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. But a model with those specs sells for $3,409.
The good news is that Lenovo has a habit of running deals on laptops like these, regularly slashing the prices substantially. So it’s probably worth keeping an eye out for an upcoming sale.
The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 measures 316 x 224 x 18mm (12.4″ x 8.8″ x 0.7″) and weighs 1.31 kg (just under 3 pounds), and the notebook features a set of ports that includes:
- 2 x Thunderbolt 4
- 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
- 1 x Ethernet
- 1 x 3.5mm audio
It also has stereo 2W speakers, a 5MP webcam with an infrared sensor for face recognition, support for WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, and support for an optional 5G modem (which is user replaceable). The laptop has a backlit spill-resistant keyboard, and comes with a choice of touch or non-touch displays.
At the moment it looks like Lenovo is only selling models with Intel Meteor Lake processors, 52.5 Wh batteries, and 1920 x 1200 pixel displays, but the company says the 14 inch notebook will also be available in the future with up to a 2.8K OLED, 120 Hz display, a 39.3 Wh battery option, and and optional support for AMD Ryzen 8040 processor options.
But the most unusual thing about the laptop may be its repairable design: according to iFixit, “the entire laptop can be disassembled and reassembled with basic tools,” because “adhesive is scarce.” All of the replaceable components are easily accessible once the case is open, and there are even labels showing which two screws need to be removed in order to replace the keyboard.
While you can’t swap out batteries without opening the case the way you could on older, bulkier laptops, iFixit says it’s easy to disconnect and replace the battery. That means most users are unlikely to swap batteries for extra run time during the day. But if your battery starts to degrade over time, you may be able to buy a replacement and extend the lifespan of your laptop by a few years.
The laptop gets a 9 out of 10 score for repairability from iFixit. Some reasons it’s not a perfect score? Some components, including the wireless module and both Thunderbolt ports, are soldered to the mainboard which means that in order to replace one port you’d need an entirely new motherboard. And the fan cannot be removed without also taking off the heat sink, which means that if you need to replace a fan, you’ll also need to re-apply thermal compound to the CPU and heat sink.
via NotebookCheck
I can see these as a win for corporate tech support that might be able to extend the life of their deployed laptops in the field. Keyboards and batteries are usually the first things to cause a ‘top to get swapped out. Lenovo has a dedicated business desk for support and shipping.
@Jill Chen what have Lenovo done that Framework couldn’t?
ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 (14” Intel) Laptop Starting at $2,559.00 USD. Ah – the cost of repairability is high indeed! Wait five years when the corporate leases run out and buy one refurbished dirt cheap.
The display is underwhelming at this price, but it repairables should drop with more competition. Repairability is still somewhat vague to me, how repairable is repairable? There is no obvious definition on what it means to be repairable. What if my device is dropped into a volcano? To what degree is being repairable still beneficial.
Leave it to Lenovo to do what Framework can’t.
What the heck are you on about?
The latest Framework-14 and the new-16 are still superior options.
The ports on this Lenovo are still soldered, as are a few other components. There’s still some adhesive around. And the fans being difficult to clean or replace is annoying. Also some components are slightly changed, so parts availablity will be a thing. No where close to Frameworks 11/10 rating.
This ThinkPad is more of an 8/10 score for repairability. Not sure where iFixit goes off to give them an extra point, especially since they’re partners, they really should have taken an extra point off.
So if we round-down and we take the above into consideration with its price, well, it is more of a 4/10 device. If they fixed those few things, and slashed the price by -34% then I think this would easily be a 7/10 product. But they really need better components in there like an easily replaceable OLED display, budget 7840u option, and a pricier 8040h with RTX-4080 option.
Nailed it, @Kangal…
Is Chen a Lenovo employee?
Charge nearly double the price for comparable specs while being far less repairable?
Not even close. Lenovo is far behind Framework in this regard. Lenovo still has lots of anti-consumer features, like whitelisting Wifi adapters, etc. Lenovo is not upgrade-friendly.
All of these Things can be changed on my E14 Gen4, except for the Ram, one slot is a soldered 8GB. This also limits max capacity to 40GB (32+8). I regret buying it because Virtualization in School needs all the Ram it can get, and my schoolmate got an HP with 64GB now.
TLDR avoid soldered Ram, you may want to add more in the Future.