Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 Series

Processor: AMD Rembrandt (Zen 3+) R5 7535HS, Intel Meteor Lake-H Ultra 7 155H
Graphics Adapter: AMD Radeon 660M, Intel Arc 8-Core
Display: 16.00 inch
Weight: 1.81kg, 1.916kg
Price: 935, 1150 euro

Average Score: 83.8% - good
Average of 1 scores (from 5 reviews)

performance: 56%, features: 63%, display: 77%, mobility: 73%, workmanship: 87%, ergonomy: 87%, emissions: 92%

Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 21M5002VGE

Specifications

Notebook: Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 21M5002VGE
Processor: AMD Rembrandt (Zen 3+) R5 7535HS
Graphics Adapter: AMD Radeon 660M
Display: 16.00 inch, 16:10, 1920 x 1200 pixels
Weight: 1.916kg
Price: 935 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage

Price comparison

Reviews

83.8% Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 AMD laptop review: Cuts corners (mostly) in the right places | Notebookcheck
The second edition of the no-frills ThinkPad E16 now offers decent graphics performance. Apart from that, everything looks like a ThinkPad from the premium and, as you would expect, more expensive series - with a few crucial cuts.

How to open Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 (Intel) - disassembly and upgrade options
Source: Laptop Media English

Support, online available, Short, Date: 09/28/2024

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How to open Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 (Intel) - disassembly and upgrade options
Source: Laptop Media English

Support, online available, Short, Date: 09/28/2024

▶ load Youtube video

Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 2

The latest ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 combines durability and elegance through its blend of plastic and aluminium, giving it a robust feel while appearing slimmer than its actual 21 millimetres. This laptop is impressively rigid, particularly its display, which is a notable improvement over plastic-framed models. However, its rough surface tends to collect fingerprints, which can be difficult to clean. With a compact design and a screen-to-case ratio of 84%, this 16-inch display provides ample workspace without being bulky. The extra space at the top accommodates a Full HD webcam and dual-array microphones, enhancing video conferencing capabilities. While the display’s tight hinges makes one-handed opening a challenge, they still secure the screen effectively at a maximum angle of 180 degrees, preventing wobble during use. The E16 Gen 2 offers a range of ports, but their speeds are somewhat outdated. It features one USB-A and one USB-C port that support the older USB 3.0 standard (5 Gbit/s), while two additional ports provide faster transfer speeds suitable for external SSDs. The LAN port supports standard 1 Gbit/s bandwidth, which is typical for laptops in this category. However, it lacks advanced connectivity options like card slots or SIM card slots, which may limit its versatility. The Full HD camera performs adequately, delivering bright and clear images even in low light. It quickly adapts to sudden changes in lighting, but colour accuracy suffers, resulting in some deviations in image quality. This could be a concern for users who prioritize precise colour reproduction.

The keyboard, TrackPoint, and touchpad present some shortcomings as compared to higher-end ThinkPad models. While typing is generally comfortable, users may find the key pressure a bit harder, leading to quicker fatigue during long sessions. The TrackPoint buttons feel less tactile, lacking a distinct pressure point. However, the touchpad is precise, though its surface can become dirty quickly, complicating cleaning. The E16 Gen 2’s display is designed primarily for productivity, featuring a 16:10 aspect ratio that enhances the viewing experience for office applications and browsing. Its resolution, slightly above Full HD, ensures clear text and sharp details, while above-average brightness and good black levels make it suitable for use in brighter environments. However, the display is not ideal for graphic-intensive tasks, as colour reproduction remains subpar even after calibration. Powering the ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 is the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, a reliable mid-range processor that handles typical computing tasks effectively. The laptop supports RAM configurations of 8, 16, or 32 GB DDR5-4800, with the option to upgrade up to 64 GB, providing flexibility for users who need more memory. In summary, the ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 is a well-built, compact laptop that excels in productivity tasks. While it has its limitations in graphics performance and port speeds, its solid construction and thoughtful design make it a strong choice for professionals seeking reliability and elegance in their devices.

Hands-on article by Jagadisa Rajarathnam

Specifications

Notebook: Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 2
Processor: Intel Meteor Lake-H Ultra 7 155H
Graphics Adapter: Intel Arc 8-Core
Display: 16.00 inch, 16:10, 2560 x 1600 pixels
Weight: 1.81kg
Price: 1150 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage

Price comparison

Reviews

How to open Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 (Intel) - disassembly and upgrade options
Source: Laptop Media English

Support, online available, Short, Date: 09/28/2024

Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 (Intel) review – Great Value for a Quiet Performer
Source: Laptop Media English

The Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 (Intel) offers a lot for its price. This includes a decently solid build, good input devices, and a surprisingly quiet fan during heavy CPU stress. Yes, that’s possible even when the Core Ultra 7 155H is under the bonnet. Just a quick reminder that this chip is the most potent option for this Lenovo series. Here, the processor clocks aren’t impressive but the device still feels fast and the comfort under full loads is great because the keyboard becomes just warm, not toasty as hell. We have no complaints about the upgradability or the port selection because of the two SODIMMs, the pair of Gen 4 SSD slots, and the two Type-Cs on the left side of the machine.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 09/27/2024

Foreign Reviews

联想 ThinkPad E16 Gen 2（英特尔）评测–超值的静音性能
Source: Laptopmedia CN

zh-CN→EN
Positive: Great built quality; high performance; silent system; bright display; decent speakers; nice cameras; comfortable keyboard; modern connectivity; easy to upgrade; high security. Negative: Weak processor; low sRGB color coverage.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 09/27/2024

Comment

Lenovo: Lenovo ("Le" from English legend, novo (Latin) for new) was founded in 1984 as a Chinese computer trading company. As of 2004, the company was the largest laptop manufacturer in China and, after acquiring IBM's PC division in 2005, the fourth largest in the world. In addition to desktops and notebooks, the company manufactures monitors, projectors, servers, etc, and specializes in developing, manufacturing and marketing consumer electronics, personal computers, software, enterprise solutions and related services.

In 2016, the company ranked first in the world in computer sales. It still held it in 2023 with about 23% global market share. Important product lines are Thinkpad, Legion and Ideapad.

In 2011, it acquired a majority stake in Medion AG, a European computer hardware manufacturer. In 2014, Motorola Mobility was purchased, which gave Lenovo a boost in the smartphone market.

Modern games should be playable with these graphics cards at low settings and resolutions. Casual gamers may be happy with these cards.

AMD Radeon 660M: Integrated graphics card in the Ryzen 6000 mobile series APUs based on the RDNA2 architecture with 6 of the 12 CUs (= 384 shaders) and a clock speed of up to 1.9 GHz.

With these GPUs you are able to play modern and demanding games fluently at medium detail settings and HD resolution.

Intel Arc 8-Core: Integrated graphics adapter based on the Xe LPG architecture (similar to the dedicated Arc GPUs, but with a focus on efficiency). Provides all 8 Xe cores (128 Xe vector engines) and 8 ray tracing units.

» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.

AMD Rembrandt (Zen 3+):

R5 7535HS: Mobile Hexa-Core APU using six Zen 3+ cores clocked at 3.3 to 4.55 GHz and a RDNA2 graphics card with 6 CUs clocked at up to 1,900 MHz. Refresh of the old Ryzen 5 6600HS with a 50 MHz higher boost clock speed.

Intel Meteor Lake-H:

Ultra 7 155H: A high-end Meteor Lake chip that debuted in December 2023. This 1st Gen Core Ultra processor has come to replace 13th generation Core chips; it has 16 cores (6 + 8 + 2) and 22 threads at its disposal. Its Performance cores, of which there are 6, run at up to 4.8 GHz while its Efficient cores, of which there are 10 (8 main cores plus 2 extra ones found in the Low Power Island) run at up to 3.8 GHz. The integrated AI Boost NPU offers two Gen 3 engines for hardware AI workload acceleration. This laptop processor's Base power consumption is 28 W while its Turbo power consumption is supposed to stay within 115 W.

» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.

16.00:

This range for display formats was and is a rarity. It is larger than the general standard of 15 inches, but not yet in the range of large workstations. One usually has higher screen resolutions available, but portability suffers from that.

» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.

No weight comment found (one expected)!

83.8%: This rating is slightly above average, there are somewhat more devices with worse ratings. However, clear purchase recommendations look different.

» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.