ThinkPad T450sby Lenovo

TECHWALLA
VERDICT
Clearly above average. Only a couple of issues keep this from being best in class.
84 %
TECHWALLA SCORE
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PROS

  • You won't find a better laptop keyboard than on this ThinkPad.
  • This little machine can take a beating. It passed MIL-SPEC 810G.
  • In case 11+ hours isn't enough juice for you, you can swap in a new battery without shutting down.

CONS

  • With upgrades, this laptop easily becomes overpriced.
  • It lacks discrete graphics--unusual for a work-oriented machine.
  • The base model's display is dim.
Business users swear by the classic and iconic ThinkPad T-series: It's tough enough for the road, powerful enough for work, and has enough battery life to last for an international flight. Lenovo knows better than to mess with its bread-and-butter, so this 14-inch T450s shares the same understated carbon fiber and magnesium body as its predecessor with the return of physical mouse buttons to complement the red TrackPoint. Not many other laptops feature an internal and external battery system like the T450s these days, which lets users swap out dead batteries without skipping a beat.
Name ThinkPad T450s XPS 13 (2015) Chromebook Pixel (2015) LaVie Z (HZ550) ATIV Book 9 (2015)
Manufacturer Lenovo Dell Google Lenovo Samsung
Techwalla Score
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List Price $1500 $800 $999 $1200 $1100
100%

The Lenovo ThinkPad T450s is bulletproof.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T450s is bulletproof.

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90%

The system can also famously shrug off a can of soda poured directly on the keyboard.

The system can also famously shrug off a can of soda poured directly on the keyboard.

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90%

The spacing of the keys is perfect, and we found it possible to type as fast on this keyboard as on any we've used.

The spacing of the keys is perfect, and we found it possible to type as fast on this keyboard as on any we've used.

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90%

The screen could be a bit brighter, but that's literally picking nits.

The screen could be a bit brighter, but that's literally picking nits.

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89%

None of its competitors bring such a rich mechanical feedback to each stroke, which is especially due to the pressure point being firm and t…

None of its competitors bring such a rich mechanical feedback to each stroke, which is especially due to the pressure point being firm and the key travel longer than usual.

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82%

This is enough memory for most software programs today, but 6GB or 8GB of memory is better because it prepares you for more data-intensive p…

This is enough memory for most software programs today, but 6GB or 8GB of memory is better because it prepares you for more data-intensive programs in the future

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80%

If you want enough juice to make it through an international flight (with Wi-Fi on), get the ThinkPad T450s, pop in Lenovo's high-capacity b…

If you want enough juice to make it through an international flight (with Wi-Fi on), get the ThinkPad T450s, pop in Lenovo's high-capacity battery and prepare yourself for epic endurance.

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80%

A larger 6-cell removable battery that is available for purchase separately, but that is a blessing and a curse.

A larger 6-cell removable battery that is available for purchase separately, but that is a blessing and a curse.

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70%

The T450s feels more like a rectangular brick than an Ultrabook.

The T450s feels more like a rectangular brick than an Ultrabook.

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70%

Next to an all-new Core M Ultrabook, like the Asus Zenbook UX305, the T450s looks like a dinosaur.

Next to an all-new Core M Ultrabook, like the Asus Zenbook UX305, the T450s looks like a dinosaur.

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Unlike so many of its Ultrabook peers, the T450s is quite boxy. Although the edges are beveled, it retains a broadly rectangular profile, wi…

Unlike so many of its Ultrabook peers, the T450s is quite boxy. Although the edges are beveled, it retains a broadly rectangular profile, with none of the tapering or curves of slimmer devices.

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