Consequence of the RAM crisis: Lenovo's screen downgrade on the ThinkPad T14 Gen 7

Prices are rising throughout the tech sector, due to the boom of datacenters and the connected supply crisis for components like memory chips, SSDs and lately also processors. The higher prices pose huge challenges to the PC manufacturers. After all, who wants to buy a laptop that is much more expensive than it would have been a year ago?

One strategy to "lessen the blow": manufacturers can safe money by choosing cheaper components - less powerful CPUs, smaller SSDs and less RAM - but also, worse screens.

A device where this strategy is clearly followed is the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 7 we recently reviewed. We tested the most entry level configuration of this model available in Germany, which starts around €1,600. This is around €450 more than the last generation base-model ThinkPad T14 Gen 6 Intel.

The screen our device contains is a 14-inch panel with WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) resolution and 400 cd/m² of brightness. What outs it as a cheap screen is the color gamut: It just covers around 60 percent of the sRGB gamut, which means colors will be less vibrant and more color inaccurate.

To be clear: Lenovo offered the same screen with the last generation, too. But it was much less frequently used on configurations for consumers. Almost all configurations of the T14 Gen 6 you could buy in Germany would contain a higher quality 500 cd/m² panel with 100 % sRGB. Almost all configurations under €2000 have the lower end screen as the standard.

A frustrating situation for customers - there is basically no great solution without compromises, except maybe for buying an older Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 6 while it is stil available.