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MagyarLenovo ThinkBook Plus Twist Gen 4 convertible review: E Ink and OLED hybrid ↺
The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 4, otherwise known as the ThinkBook Plus Twist, is now widely available after its initial unveiling at CES 2023. Despite what its name may suggest, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 4 does not directly replace the ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 due to their vastly different design philosophies and screen sizes. They do, however, share similar chassis materials and target similar semi-professional users who may be turned off by the consumer-centric IdeaPad series or office-heavy ThinkPad series.
Our unit in review is a higher-end SKU with the Core i7-1355U CPU and integrated E Ink display for just over $3000 USD. Lesser configurations come with the Core i5-1335U and no E Ink display for $2800, but all options ship with integrated graphics only, 16 GB of soldered RAM, and a primary 13.3-inch 2.8K OLED touchscreen.
Competitors include other high-end convertible subnotebooks like the Dell Latitude 9330, MSI Summit E14 Flip, Asus ZenBook Flip 14, or the HP Spectre 13.5 series. Of course, none offer E Ink touchscreen features as our Lenovo.
More Lenovo reviews:
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 87.4 % | 09/2023 | Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen4 IRU i7-1355U, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.4 kg | 17.7 mm | 13.30" | 2880x1800 | |
| 89.5 % | 08/2023 | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 i7-1360P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 989 g | 14.8 mm | 13.00" | 2160x1350 | |
| 91.9 % | 07/2023 | HP Dragonfly G4 i7-1365U, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.1 kg | 16.3 mm | 13.50" | 1920x1280 | |
| 85.4 % | 05/2023 | Asus ZenBook S13 OLED UX5304 i7-1355U, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1 kg | 11.8 mm | 13.30" | 2880x1800 | |
| 89 % | 11/2022 | Dell Latitude 9330 i7-1260U, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.2 kg | 14.1 mm | 13.30" | 2560x1600 | |
| 86.9 % | 04/2021 | MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT i7-1185G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.4 kg | 14.9 mm | 13.40" | 1920x1200 |
Case — The ThinkPad Twist Lives On In Spirit
Unlike other ThinkBook models like the ThinkBook 15 G3, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 4 utilizes more metal than plastic for a more luxurious feel that's more reflective of its high price range. The base, for example, is noticeably more resistant to twisting and creaking to be on par with the HP Spectre x360 13.5. The lid is also quite firm due to it having two panes of glass reinforcement for the OLED and E Ink displays compared to just one pane on most other laptops.
Aside from the 12-inch E Ink touchscreen on the outer lid, the twisting mechanism also helps to differentiate the Lenovo model from most other convertibles in the market. The small hinge can be rotated 180 degrees clockwise for tablet mode and then 180 degrees counterclockwise for laptop mode to contrast the standard 360-degree hinges on typical convertibles. It works well from a mechanical point of view, but the lid tends to teeter more readily when compared to traditionally larger hinges. Hopefully the unique rotating hinge can last for several years of daily abuse.
The twisting mechanism and secondary display add a bit of thickness and weight when compared to standard 13-inch subnotebooks. The Dragonfly G4, for example, is very nearly the same size in all three dimensions but it is noticeably lighter by 300 grams to be more travel-friendly. Thus, you'll have to really value the unique features of the ThinkBook Plus Gen 4 to justify the additional weight.
Connectivity
The model integrates just two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a 3.5 mm audio jack. The latter is notable as a few subnotebooks like the ZenBook 13 do not have headphone jacks at all. Be prepared to have adapters and docking stations ready if you plan on connecting USB-A or HDMI devices.
We appreciate that there is a USB-C port on each of the two sides of the laptop meaning you can charge the laptop from either side. This is in contrast to the Spectre x360 13.5 which can only charge via its right edge.
Communication
An Intel AX211 comes standard for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 support. Transfer rates are reliable and more or less steady when paired to our Asus AXE11000 6GHz test router.
4G LTE or 5G options are unfortunately not supported since this is not a ThinkPad.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
| MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT | |
| iperf3 receive AX12 | |
| MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| Asus ZenBook S13 OLED UX5304 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen4 IRU | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 | |
| HP Dragonfly G4 | |
| Dell Latitude 9330 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Asus ZenBook S13 OLED UX5304 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen4 IRU | |
| HP Dragonfly G4 | |
| Dell Latitude 9330 | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen4 IRU | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 | |
| HP Dragonfly G4 | |
| Dell Latitude 9330 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen4 IRU | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 | |
| HP Dragonfly G4 | |
| Dell Latitude 9330 | |
Webcam
A 2 MP webcam with sliding shutter and IR come standard. Competitors like HP have already begun shipping laptops with 5 MP and even 8 MP sensors for sharper images.
Maintenance
The bottom panel is secured by eight T5 Torx screws for relatively quick servicing. Even so, there isn't much to upgrade as only the M.2 SSD and battery are easily removable which is a common property of convertible laptops.
Accessories And Warranty
The retail box includes a Lenovo Digital Pen 2 and AAAA battery alongside the usual paperwork and AC adapter. There are unfortunately no magnets on the laptop for attaching or securing the stylus and so you'll have to keep it in your pocket or bag for safer transport.
A one-year limited manufacturer warranty applies if purchased in the US.
Input Devices — Could Be Better
Keyboard
The keyboard is a mixed bag as it almost feels like it has taken a backseat to the displays. More specifically, the keys are spongier than we are used to even when compared to other IdeaPad models. The Space key is especially frustrating as its right half would feel spongier than the left half when pressed. Meanwhile, the Enter and Backspace keys are shallower than we would like. Lenovo is generally very good when it comes to keyboards on ThinkPads and so it's a bit disappointing to see them drop the ball on the ThinkBook Plus Gen 4.
Touchpad
The clickpad (10.5 x 7 cm) is larger than the one on the ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 (10 x 5.6 cm) while being smaller than on the Dragonfly G4 (12 x 8 cm). It is very clicky when pressed for more satisfying feedback than the softer or spongier clickpads on most other laptops. Clatter is sharper and louder as a result, but the trade-off is well worth the clickier feedback.
Displays — The Main Attraction
The primary touchscreen has all the basic qualities we've come to expect from OLED including extremely fast response times, pitch perfect black levels, and full P3 color coverage. Perhaps the biggest sour spot of our panel is that its refresh rate is limited to just 60 Hz. The Asus ZenBook and VivoBook series have been shipping with 90 Hz or 120 Hz OLED panels for a while now which feel instantly smoother and more responsive when it comes to navigation and touchscreen controls. Hopefully such panels will become more widely available if Lenovo decides to update this model in the future.
| Display | Screen Size | Native Resolution | Native Refresh Rate | Rated Maximum Brightness |
| E Ink | 12-inch | 2560 x 1600 | 12 Hz | 100 nits |
| OLED | 13.3-inch | 2880 x 1800 | 60 Hz | 400 nits |
There are two notable drawbacks to the E Ink display. Firstly, its native resolution is smaller than the main OLED display which creates problems when Windows is switching between the two screens. All your content becomes resized and repositioned whenever you switch screens which you must then manually fix. A 1:1 resolution ratio between the two displays would have addressed this annoying issue.
The second problem relates to how clunky the E Ink touchscreen feels even after taking into account the slow response times. This is mostly due to how unoptimized Windows OS can be for eReader purposes. Automatic rotation, for example, doesn't work reliably in eReader mode and the screens would take several seconds to load when switching between the screens. The transition phase is therefore not as smooth or seamless as simply switching between laptop and tablet modes on traditional convertible models with just one screen.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 98 %
Center on Battery: 367.5 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.61 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.1, calibrated: 0.66
ΔE Greyscale 2.7 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
97.1% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
100% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
99.6% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.17
| Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen4 IRU SDC ATNA33AA06-0, OLED, 2880x1800, 13.30 | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 MND007ZA1-3, IPS, 2160x1350, 13.00 | HP Dragonfly G4 Chi Mei CMN13C0, IPS, 1920x1280, 13.50 | Asus ZenBook S13 OLED UX5304 SDC417B, OLED, 2880x1800, 13.30 | Dell Latitude 9330 AU Optronics B133QAA, IPS, 2560x1600, 13.30 | MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT Sharp LQ134N1JW53, IPS, 1920x1200, 13.40 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -20% | -20% | 0% | -14% | -19% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 99.6 | 68.5 -31% | 68.4 -31% | 99.7 0% | 77.8 -22% | 69.8 -30% |
| sRGB Coverage | 100 | 99.5 0% | 98.3 -2% | 100 0% | 99.9 0% | 98.8 -1% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 97.1 | 69.7 -28% | 70.4 -27% | 96.9 0% | 77.5 -20% | 70.6 -27% |
| Response Times | -1565% | -1929% | 106% | -2879% | -2632% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 1.9 ? | 39.9 ? -2000% | 48.8 ? -2468% | 2 ? -5% | 67.6 ? -3458% | 64 ? -3268% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 2.1 ? | 25.8 ? -1129% | 31.3 ? -1390% | 1.6 ? 24% | 50.4 ? -2300% | 44 ? -1995% |
| PWM Frequency | 60 ? | 240 ? 300% | ||||
| Screen | 30% | 20% | 34% | 16% | 16% | |
| Brightness middle | 367.5 | 461.2 25% | 408.8 11% | 361 -2% | 542.3 48% | 551.3 50% |
| Brightness | 370 | 428 16% | 399 8% | 365 -1% | 516 39% | 517 40% |
| Brightness Distribution | 98 | 86 -12% | 90 -8% | 98 0% | 85 -13% | 91 -7% |
| Black Level * | 0.29 | 0.32 | 0.38 | 0.37 | ||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.61 | 1.79 61% | 2.02 56% | 1.2 74% | 3.18 31% | 1.45 69% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 7.68 | 3.3 57% | 3.84 50% | 1.9 75% | 6.05 21% | 2.86 63% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 0.66 | 0.47 29% | 0.61 8% | 0.67 -2% | 1.7 -158% | |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 2.7 | 1.8 33% | 2.3 15% | 1.2 56% | 3.1 -15% | 1.3 52% |
| Gamma | 2.17 101% | 2.24 98% | 2.2 100% | 2.27 97% | 2.08 106% | 2.14 103% |
| CCT | 6079 107% | 6588 99% | 6203 105% | 6486 100% | 6140 106% | 6580 99% |
| Contrast | 1590 | 1278 | 1427 | 1490 | ||
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 65 | |||||
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 99 | |||||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -518% /
-248% | -643% /
-315% | 47% /
43% | -959% /
-474% | -878% /
-434% |
* ... smaller is better
The OLED display is decently calibrated against the P3 standard with average grayscale and color deltaE values of 2.7 and 4.61, respectively. Graphics editors benefit the most from the deeper colors of OLED where P3 colors are common. Our calibrated ICM profile is available to download above for free.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2.1 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.9 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 1.2 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 5 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.9 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 1.9 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 1 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.9 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.25 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 3 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (34.5 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 60 Hz | ≤ 100 % brightness setting |  |
The display backlight flickers at 60 Hz (Likely utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 100 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 60 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use. In comparison: 54 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18982 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
Pulse-width modulation is present on all brightness levels much like on other OLED panels. We're able to record a frequency of 238 Hz from 0 to 57 percent brightness and 60 Hz from 58 to 100 percent brightness.
Outdoor visibility is good but not great for an OLED panel. At about 350 nits maximum, the display is dimmer than some alternatives with IPS panels like the MSI Summit E13 or Dell Latitude 9330 which can each reach 550 nits. Glare is therefore difficult to avoid unless if you're working under shade.
On the other hand, the E Ink display remains readable even when under sunlight. There is still a bit of glare as the glass overlay isn't completely matte, but it's minor and can be easily ignored.
Performance — Intel 13th Gen Raptor Lake-U
Testing Conditions
We set the unit to Performance mode via Windows and the Lenovo Vantage software prior to running the benchmarks below. We recommend becoming familiar with Vantage as it is the hub for Lenovo-specific settings and software updates.
Processor
CPU performance is only about 5 percent slower than the average laptop in our database equipped with the same Core i7-1355U CPU. The slight performance deficit can be attributed to the limited Turbo Boost of the Lenovo as performance would dip by up to 18 percent after the initial run of our CineBench R15 xT loop test.
Downgrading to the Core i5-1335U configuration will only impact CPU performance by just 10 to 15 percent. If you don't need the graphics performance benefits of the Core i7-1355U, then it may be worth considering the cheaper Core i5-1335U instead since it is not noticeably slower for common usage scenarios like web browsing, moderate multi-tasking, or video streaming.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.2 - 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.2 - 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
| Performance Rating | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1355U | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen4 IRU | |
| MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT | |
| HP Dragonfly G4 | |
| Dell Latitude 9330 | |
| Asus ZenBook S13 OLED UX5304 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen4 IRU | |
| MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT | |
| Asus ZenBook S13 OLED UX5304 | |
| HP Dragonfly G4 | |
| Dell Latitude 9330 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1355U (21816 - 44217, n=10) | |
System Performance
PCMark scores are slightly above most other laptops powered by similar Intel Core-U series CPUs. Subnotebooks powered by AMD Zen 3+ or Zen 4 CPUs like the Lenovo Yoga 7-14 or HP EliteBook 845 G10 tend to score higher due to their much faster integrated GPUs when compared to our aging Iris Xe.
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 | |
| HP Dragonfly G4 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen4 IRU | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1355U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (5770 - 6663, n=8) | |
| Asus ZenBook S13 OLED UX5304 | |
| Dell Latitude 9330 | |
| MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT | |
| CrossMark / Productivity | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 | |
| HP Dragonfly G4 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen4 IRU | |
| Asus ZenBook S13 OLED UX5304 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1355U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1444 - 1625, n=8) | |
| CrossMark / Creativity | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 | |
| HP Dragonfly G4 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen4 IRU | |
| Asus ZenBook S13 OLED UX5304 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1355U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1584 - 1732, n=8) | |
| CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen4 IRU | |
| Asus ZenBook S13 OLED UX5304 | |
| HP Dragonfly G4 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1355U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1230 - 1525, n=8) | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 5747 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Dell Latitude 9330 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen4 IRU | |
| MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1355U (73.7 - 106.8, n=10) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 | |
| HP Dragonfly G4 | |
| Asus ZenBook S13 OLED UX5304 | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
LatencyMon reveals minor-moderate DPC issues when opening multiple browser tabs of our homepage. 4K video playback at 60 FPS is nearly perfect with just 2 dropped frames during a 60-second window.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Dell Latitude 9330 | |
| MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 | |
| Asus ZenBook S13 OLED UX5304 | |
| HP Dragonfly G4 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen4 IRU | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices — Just One SSD Only
Our test unit ships with a high-end SK hynix PC801 PCIe4 x4 NVMe SSD which competes directly with the popular Samsung PM9A1. Performance is excellent and maximum read rates are sustainable at a high 6200 MB/s despite the small and thin form factor of the ThinkBook Plus Gen 4.
| Drive Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Asus ZenBook S13 OLED UX5304 | |
| MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo A11MT | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen4 IRU | |
| HP Dragonfly G4 | |
| Dell Latitude 9330 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 | |