Lenovo ThinkPad T480s Series
The Lenovo ThinkPad T480s is the latest model in the high-quality T series of 14-inch ThinkPads. Usually, Lenovo Thinkpad laptops are not associated with gaming. Yet it is a tradition for models of the ThinkPad T series to be equipped with GeForce graphics chips. Every ThinkPad laptop undergoes stringent testing for reliability and durability, including the ability to survive in hazardous physical and environmental conditions. By default, the ThinkPad T480s has a match-on-chip fingerprint reader, anti-spoofing technology that authenticates log-in credentials and helps safeguard user data, and ThinkShutter, a webcam cover that users can open and close. This slim yet full-fledged 14" laptop also has an integrated global LTE-A feature that keeps the user connected. Furthermore, to help save time setting up and deploying each T480s, Microsoft AutoPilot is on board. This cloud-based solution lets users preconfigure every laptop, so that they are ready to use right out of the box. Even with the MX150, the office laptop T480s is not a gaming system. It could nevertheless be an interesting choice for many casual gamers, since the combination of “thin, light, ThinkPad design, MX150” has its charm, and it enables playing modern games, too. However, users should not expect to be able to play at maximum settings, and a reduction in resolution may be necessary for newer titles. The first “real” gaming GeForce for laptops is the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050, which is about twice as fast.
As for the processor, the device features an Intel Core i7-8550U, a modern quad-core processor based on the Kaby Lake Refresh generation. It has a turbo boost frequency of 4 GHz and a base frequency of 1.8 GHz. All T480s variants come with at least 8 GB of soldered-on RAM. Since the T480s has an additional SODIMM slot, a maximum of 24 GB of DDR4-2400 RAM is possible. The ThinkPad has a single M.2-2280 slot that is compatible with fast PCIe-NVMe SSDs as well as SATA III SSDs. The highest capacity Lenovo offers at this time is 1 TB. Inspired by ThinkPad customers, this latest T-Series ThinkPad has a USB-C docking connector on the side rather than underneath, enabling the T480s to be just 18.45 mm / 0.73 inches thin and weigh only 1.31 kg / 2.9 lb. It also has a range of convenient ports, including the lightning-quick Intel® Thunderbolt™ 3. In addition, if a user needs to work on the go or in low-light conditions, the renowned ThinkPad ergonomic keyboard has a convenient backlight. The T480s gives users up to 15.6 hours of battery life. When running low, the laptop's rapid charging feature delivers an 80% charge in just one hour. Over a lunch break or meeting, the battery can therefore be easily boosted to provide over 12 hours of power.
Hands-on article by Jagadisa Rajarathnam
Processor: Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i5-8250U, Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i5-8550U, Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i7-8650U
Graphics Adapter: Intel UHD Graphics 620, NVIDIA GeForce MX150
Display: 14.00 inch
Weight: 1.3kg, 1.347kg, 1.35kg, 1.367kg, 1.39kg
Price: 1259, 1500, 1800, 1900 euro
Average of 14 scores (from 17 reviews)
Lenovo ThinkPad T480s-20L8S02D00
Specifications
Notebook: Lenovo ThinkPad T480s-20L8S02D00Processor: Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i5-8250U
Graphics Adapter: Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display: 14.00 inch, 16:9, 2560 x 1440 pixels
Weight: 1.367kg
Price: 1259 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage
Price comparison
Average Score:
Reviews
New revision. Lenovo equips the ThinkPad T480s with a new chassis and closes the gap towards its own ThinkPad X1 Carbon. Intel's latest quad-core processors are obviously included as well. We checked the SKU with the high-resolution WQHD IPS panel.
Source: Zdnet.com Archive.org version
Lenovo's ThinkPad T480s has many plus points, and the upgrade to 8th Generation Intel processors is welcome. It's a pity that you have to go rather well beyond the entry-level price to get more than 128GB of storage, and further still if you need integrated mobile broadband. Touch-screen support is only available in one off-the-shelf configuration too. The T480s is highly configurable, but of course every tweak will add to the overall cost.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/23/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Zdnet.com Archive.org version
Lenovo's ThinkPad T480s has many plus points, and the upgrade to 8th Generation Intel processors is welcome. It's a pity that you have to go rather well beyond the entry-level price to get more than 128GB of storage, and further still if you need integrated mobile broadband. Touch-screen support is only available in one off-the-shelf configuration too. The T480s is highly configurable, but of course every tweak will add to the overall cost.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/23/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Neowin Archive.org version
The Lenovo ThinkPad T480 is an excellent machine for a specific type of use case. It's designed to be a workhorse, to do what you need it to do when you need to do it. It's clearly more of a rugged design than other ThinkPads, and it offers a different feature set. For example, the ThinkPad T480s offers similar features in a slimmer body, and the X1 Carbon is meant to be super thin and light.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/26/2018
Rating: Total score: 85%
Source: Neowin Archive.org version
The Lenovo ThinkPad T480 is an excellent machine for a specific type of use case. It's designed to be a workhorse, to do what you need it to do when you need to do it. It's clearly more of a rugged design than other ThinkPads, and it offers a different feature set. For example, the ThinkPad T480s offers similar features in a slimmer body, and the X1 Carbon is meant to be super thin and light.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 04/26/2018
Rating: Total score: 85%
Source: Laptop Mag Archive.org version
The ThinkPad T480s is a speedy and long-lasting business laptop with a camera cover for the privacy conscious, but its display could be better.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 03/20/2018
Rating: Total score: 70%
Source: Laptop Mag Archive.org version
The ThinkPad T480s is a speedy and long-lasting business laptop with a camera cover for the privacy conscious, but its display could be better.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 03/20/2018
Rating: Total score: 70%
Foreign Reviews
Source: Golem DE→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 09/12/2018
Source: Golem DE→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 09/12/2018
Lenovo ThinkPad T480s-20L8S02E00
The Lenovo ThinkPad T480s-20L8S02E00 is the perfect ThinkPad for the mobile user and working through daily work. It's light, thin and delivers decent performance thanks to Intel Core i7 processors. A user can turn the world into their office with a fingerprint scanner, Windows Hello with infrared camera and a mechanical camera cover (ThinkShutter) for maximum protection. This Lenovo ThinkPad T480s, too, is equipped with an IPS WQHD (2.560 x 1.440), the most expensive display option in the series. All displays used in T series notebooks are matte. However, the T480s has a slightly dull color and relatively low maximum brightness which can be problematic especially in bright environments. As for hardware specifications, it features an Intel Core i7-8550U 1.8 GHZ - 4.0 GHz (Turbo Boost), 16 GB PC4-19200 DDR4 2,400 MHz RAM, a 512 GB M.2 PCIe SSD and an Nvidia GeForce MX150 with 2 GB GDDR5 VRAM. Even with the MX150, the office laptop T480s is not a gaming system. Yet it could be an interesting choice for many casual gamers nevertheless. Lenovo places the stereo speakers on the bottom, causing their performance to be heavily impacted by the surface. The quality of the speakers tends to be poor, being in line with typical laptop speakers: too quiet and no bass. In order to enjoy music, it is recommended to use the combo audio jack on the left side of the laptop. The battery runtime results are mostly in line with the T480s without MX150 and the X1 Carbon 2018. This is unsurprising since all three of them are fitted with a 57 Wh battery. Lenovo advertises RapidCharge, a fast charging solution new to the T480s compared to the ThinkPad T470s. The battery actually charges faster. The charging time has decreased from about 190 to about 150 minutes. Lenovo has traditionally packed lots of ports on ThinkPad, and the company's designers felt that they could get plenty of new-generation and classic peripherals. Thus, the T480s have virtually any meaningful port that could be needed today. There is USB 3.0 on both sides, on the left side it is two USB-C, which can be used to connect one of the Lenovo docks. There is also full-size Ethernet, HDMI, an audio port and an SD card reader. Inspired by ThinkPad customers, this ThinkPad has a USB-C docking connector on the side rather than underneath, enabling the T480s to be just 18.45 mm / 0.73 inch thin and weigh only 1.31 kg / 2.9 lb. Thanks to its comfortable input devices, premium chassis, well-rounded port selection, good battery life and matte, bright and color accurate WQHD IPS display, most users can wholeheartedly do well with the T480s with MX150. Hands-on article by Jagadisa RajarathnamSpecifications
Notebook: Lenovo ThinkPad T480s-20L8S02E00Processor: Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i5-8550U
Graphics Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce MX150 2048 MB
Display: 14.00 inch, 16:9, 2560 x 1440 pixels
Weight: 1.347kg
Price: 1500 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage
Price comparison
Reviews
Even more versatile thanks to GeForce. We just recently tested the ThinkPad T480s, the latest model in a long series of high-quality 14 inch T series ThinkPads. Now we’re testing the same model – this time with a stronger CPU and the GeForce MX150 Max-Q. Can it confirm the strong results of the lower priced T480s? Find out in the following detailed test update. Update: Stress test with BIOS 1.11
Foreign Reviews
Source: HWSW HU→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Attractive design; light weight; compact size; powerful hardware.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/17/2018
Source: HWSW HU→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Attractive design; light weight; compact size; powerful hardware.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 05/17/2018
Source: Notebook.cz CZ→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Comfortable keyboard; nice connectivity; beautiful design; good double batteries. Negative: Noisy under loads; poor display.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 05/31/2018
Source: Notebook.cz CZ→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Comfortable keyboard; nice connectivity; beautiful design; good double batteries. Negative: Noisy under loads; poor display.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 05/31/2018
Lenovo ThinkPad T480s-20L7002AUS
Specifications
Notebook: Lenovo ThinkPad T480s-20L7002AUSProcessor: Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i5-8250U
Graphics Adapter: Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display: 14.00 inch, 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixels
Weight: 1.39kg
Links: Lenovo homepage
Price comparison
Average Score:
Reviews
Hard to beat. Not everyone needs an i7, dedicated GPU, and WQHD display. Even without those assets, the T480s is still a dependable office companion whose formidable performance exceeds that of many competitors. At around $1,600, is today’s Core i5-8250U + FHD configuration the one the majority would appreciate?
Foreign Reviews
Source: Alt om Data DA→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 10/31/2018
Rating: Total score: 80% price: 70% performance: 80%
Source: Alt om Data DA→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 10/31/2018
Rating: Total score: 80% price: 70% performance: 80%
Lenovo ThinkPad T480s-20L7001NGE
Specifications
Notebook: Lenovo ThinkPad T480s-20L7001NGEProcessor: Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i5-8550U
Graphics Adapter: Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display: 14.00 inch, 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixels
Weight: 1.35kg
Price: 1800 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage
Price comparison
Average Score:
Reviews
Source: Ubergizmo English Archive.org version
The Lenovo ThinkPad T480s is a business laptop pitched to be “designed for mobile power” while being IT-friendly, secure and very lightweight (~2.9 lbs). This caught our attention, and we wanted to see how far we could push it, and if it would deliver.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 07/13/2018
Rating: Total score: 90%
Lenovo ThinkPad T480s-20L7001YUS
Specifications
Notebook: Lenovo ThinkPad T480s-20L7001YUSProcessor: Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i7-8650U
Graphics Adapter: Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display: 14.00 inch, 16:9, 2560 x 1440 pixels
Weight: 1.35kg
Price: 1900 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage
Price comparison
Average Score:
Reviews
Source: Ultrabook Review Archive.org version
This Lenovo ThinkPad T480s is a darn good laptop. It’s not necessarily the prettiest, the smallest or the most affordable, but if you’re after a solid computer with little compromises in still a fairly portable package, this has to be be on your list. There are some aspects that I wasn’t completely satisfied with, and you'll find all about them in the article below, but they are rather small quirks in the grand scheme of things, and I'd expect most of you to be happy with this device. You might have to win the QC raffle though, and it won't come cheap.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 08/14/2018
Rating: Total score: 85%
Lenovo ThinkPad T480s-20L7001LMH
Specifications
Notebook: Lenovo ThinkPad T480s-20L7001LMHProcessor: Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i5-8550U
Graphics Adapter: Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display: 14.00 inch, 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixels
Weight: 1.3kg
Links: Lenovo homepage
Price comparison
Average Score:
Foreign Reviews
Source: Tweakers NL→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 04/06/2020
Rating: Total score: 80%
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.
Intel UHD Graphics 620: Integrated GPU (GT2, 24 EUs) found on some Kaby-Lake-Refresh CPU models (15 W ULV series). Technically identical to the previous Kaby-Lake GPU called HD Graphics 620.
NVIDIA GeForce MX150: Pascal GP108 based laptop graphics card and mobile version of the desktop GeForce GT 1030. Offers 384 shader cores and usually 2 GB GDDR5 with a 64 Bit memory bus. Manufactured in 14nm.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
Intel Kaby Lake Refresh:
i5-8250U: Kaby-Lake-Refresh based low power quad-core processor. The four cores are clocked between 1.6 and 3.4 GHz (Turbo Boost) and support HyperThreading. The integrated GPU is clocked between 300 and 1,100 MHz. The SoC is manufactured in a 14nm+ FinFET process.
i5-8550U: Kaby-Lake-Refresh based low power quad-core processor. The four cores are clocked between 1.8 and 4 GHz (Turbo Boost) and support HyperThreading. The integrated GPU is clocked between 300 and 1,150 MHz. The SoC is manufactured in a 14nm+ FinFET process.
i7-8650U: Kaby-Lake-Refresh based low power quad-core processor. The four cores are clocked between 1.9 and 4.2 GHz (Turbo Boost) and support HyperThreading. The integrated GPU is clocked between 300 and 1,150 MHz. The SoC is manufactured in a 14nm+ FinFET process.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
14.00:
14 inch display size represents a middle ground between the small subnotebook formats and the screens of the standard 15 inch laptops.
The reason for the popularity of mid-sized displays is that this size is reasonably easy on the eyes, provides good resolutions with usable detail sizes, yet does not consume too much power and the devices can still be reasonably compact.
In the past, 14-inch devices were very rare, but now they are the standard for laptops after the 15-inchers.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.
No weight comment found (one expected)!
82.67%: 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.