Deutsch
Español
Français
Italiano
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Русский
Türkçe
Svenska
Chinese
MagyarLenovo ThinkPad Z13 G1 OLED Review - Business Laptop with an AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 6860Z ↺
With its ThinkPad Z series, Lenovo has had a dedicated product line for its AMD models for several months now. We have already extensively tested the entry-level model of the ThinkPad Z13 with a Ryzen 5 Pro and a normal Full HD IPS panel. The completely new design offers some new approaches and long-time ThinkPad users will have to get used to some changes (TrackPoint without dedicated keys, hinge only opens up to 135 degrees, repositioning of the Fn key, no Kensington Lock).
Today we take a look at the high-end model of the ThinkPad Z13 with its AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 6860Z which is offered exclusively in the ThinkPad Z13. This configuration has an OLED screen, an LTE module and a special design with an imitation leather screen lid with bronze-hued highlights. In this report, we focus primarily on the differences to the entry-level model and will not go over their similarities. Pertinent information is available in our detailed review of the ThinkPad Z13 with the Ryzen 5 Pro 6650U:
• Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 laptop review: AMD's premium ThinkPad with long battery life
• Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 laptop review: Powerful AMD flagship with a hiccup
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88.8 % | 10/2022 | Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 G1-21D20016GE R7 PRO 6860Z, Radeon 680M | 1.3 kg | 14 mm | 13.30" | 2880x1800 | |
| 90.1 % | 07/2022 | Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED R7 6800U, Radeon 680M | 1.1 kg | 14.9 mm | 13.30" | 2880x1800 | |
| 87.3 % | 09/2022 | Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i7-1280P OLED i7-1280P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.3 kg | 15.28 mm | 13.40" | 3456x2160 | |
| 92 % | 08/2022 | Apple MacBook Air M2 10C GPU M2, M2 10-Core GPU | 1.2 kg | 11.3 mm | 13.60" | 2560x1664 | |
| 90.5 % | 08/2022 | Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 21D2CTO1WW R5 PRO 6650U, Radeon 660M | 1.2 kg | 13.99 mm | 13.30" | 1920x1200 |
Case
The case is basically identical to the entry-level model of the ThinkPad Z13, but in the high-end version there is a screen lid with a black imitation leather surface with bronze-hued trim. It’s undoubtedly a question of personal taste and Lenovo does offer alternatives, but comparison with a handbag is hard to avoid. Whether the current Z13 has become more of a fashion item or visually still fits into a business setting, is a question of personal choice. From a quality perspective, however, there is nothing wrong with the case and the ThinkPad Z13 is indeed of extremely high-quality.
Connectivity - Z13 with Wi-Fi 6E and LTE
Our review unit was equipped with a Wi-Fi 6E module (Qualcomm WCN685x) and we were able to easily connect to the 6 GHz network on our Asus reference router. The transfer rates in the test were very high and also stable. A WWAN module from Quectel was also installed in the test device, which only supports LTE Cat.4. In addition to an eSIM, a nano-SIM card can also be inserted on the right edge. We were able to use a Telekom (Germany) SIM card in the LTE network without issue. However, a 5G module is not available.
| Networking | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 G1-21D20016GE | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz |
|
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz |
|
| Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 |
|
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 |
|
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 21D2CTO1WW | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz |
|
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz |
|
| Apple MacBook Air M2 Entry | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 |
|
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 |
|
| Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 4K | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 |
|
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 |
|
| Average Qualcomm WCN685x | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz |
|
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz |
|
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 |
|
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 |
|
Display - 2.8K OLED Touchscreen
Our test device uses the optional 13.3-inch OLED touchscreen with a resolution of 2,880 x 1,800 pixels. Subjectively, the image of the reflective panel makes a good impression in principle. Content is displayed very sharply, and colors are very strong. With bright content, however, a grid effect (moiré effect) is visible and requires that one sit relatively close to the display. Windows uses its dark color mode by default to save power, so in practice the effect is not noticeable.
Lenovo advertises brightness of 400 cd/m², whereby one must distinguish here (as is the norm with OLED panels) between SDR and HDR content. In normal SDR mode, we determined a brightness of around 380 cd/m² and together with the extremely low black level, an extremely high contrast ratio is obtained. In HDR mode (which has to be activated manually), it reaches a maximum of 582 cd/m² for small image sections and around 470 cd/m² for an almost completely bright image. The viewing angle stability is very good and the response times are extremely fast. There are no halos on OLED panels.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 98 %
Center on Battery: 373 cd/m²
Contrast: 9275:1 (Black: 0.04 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 2.5 | 0.59-29.43 Ø5.2, calibrated: 1.9
ΔE Greyscale 2 | 0.57-98 Ø5.5
97.5% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
100% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
99.9% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.17
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 G1-21D20016GE ATNA33AA02-0, OLED, 2880x1800, 13.30 | Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED SDC4172, OLED, 2880x1800, 13.30 | Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i7-1280P OLED Samsung 134XK04, OLED, 3456x2160, 13.40 | Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 21D2CTO1WW NV133WUM-N63, IPS LED, 1920x1200, 13.30 | Apple MacBook Air M2 Entry IPS, 2560x1664, 13.60 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 0% | 0% | -21% | -4% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 99.9 | 99.8 0% | 99.5 0% | 67.7 -32% | 98.4 -2% |
| sRGB Coverage | 100 | 100 0% | 100 0% | 96.5 -3% | 99.9 0% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 97.5 | 97.8 0% | 98.4 1% | 69.7 -29% | 87.6 -10% |
| Response Times | -5% | -48% | -1909% | -1544% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 1.9 ? | 2.1 ? -11% | 2.6 ? -37% | 49 ? -2479% | 32.9 ? -1632% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 1.6 ? | 1.68 ? -5% | 2.1 ? -31% | 23 ? -1338% | 24.9 ? -1456% |
| PWM Frequency | 240 ? | 240.4 ? 0% | 59.5 -75% | ||
| Screen | 24% | -6% | -81% | -81% | |
| Brightness middle | 371 | 336 -9% | 371.8 0% | 418 13% | 526 42% |
| Brightness | 378 | 338 -11% | 374 -1% | 379 0% | 486 29% |
| Brightness Distribution | 98 | 99 1% | 98 0% | 81 -17% | 87 -11% |
| Black Level * | 0.04 | 0.02 50% | 0.33 -725% | 0.38 -850% | |
| Contrast | 9275 | 16800 81% | 1267 -86% | 1384 -85% | |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 2.5 | 1.8 28% | 2.37 5% | 1.7 32% | 1.3 48% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 4.4 | 3.8 14% | 6.1 -39% | 3.3 25% | 2.7 39% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 1.9 | 1.8 5% | 1.1 42% | 0.7 63% | |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 2 | 0.9 55% | 2 -0% | 2.3 -15% | 2 -0% |
| Gamma | 2.17 101% | 2.22 99% | 2.29 96% | 2.14 103% | 2.25 98% |
| CCT | 6228 104% | 6580 99% | 6261 104% | 6499 100% | 6858 95% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 6% /
13% | -18% /
-15% | -670% /
-329% | -543% /
-273% |
* ... smaller is better
Our analysis using professional CalMAN software (X-Rite i1 Pro 2) shows that the OLED screen as delivered is already properly calibrated. There is minimal color cast in true red in conjunction with a color temperature that is slightly too warm. We were able to further improve the display with our own calibration (profile is available for download above) and most of the colors are below the important limit of 3. The P3 color space is fully covered.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.8 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.8 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 0.4 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 2 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (22.7 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. » 2 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (35.8 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 240 Hz | ≤ 50 % brightness setting |  |
| ≤ 86 cd/m² brightness | |||
The display backlight flickers at 240 Hz (Likely utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 50 % (86 cd/m²) and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 240 Hz is relatively low, so sensitive users will likely notice flickering and experience eyestrain at the stated brightness setting and below. Flickering occurs at relatively low brightness settings, so extended use at this brightness setting or lower can cause eyestrain. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 19454 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
In the range of 51-90% brightness, DC dimming with a frequency of 60 Hz is deployed, but since the amplitude is very low here, there should be no issue. Starting at a brightness of 50 % (~86 cd/m²) and less we can detect the well-known PWM flickering at 240 Hz. Lenovo does not offer a software solution such as the Asus Zenbook S 13 to enable DC dimming even at lower brightness levels.
Reflections are of course an issue on the reflective display when they occur, but as long as you can avoid them, the screen content can be read properly outdoors thanks to the extremely high contrast ratio even on bright days.
Performance - AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 6860Z
Test conditions
In addition to the normal Windows performance settings, the AMD ThinkPad offers intelligent cooling, which can be deactivated via the key combination Fn+T. In our tests with the Ryzen 7 Pro we got slightly better results when the function was activated. Basically, the processor is allocated 51 watts for a short period and then settles down to 27 watts.
Processor
Lenovo equips the top model of the ThinkPad Z13 with an AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 6860Z, which is exclusive to this model. Very little documentation about adjustments for this chip is available and even following our test we are not much the wiser. In principle, it is a standard Ryzen 7 Pro 6850U (which is also available for the Z13), only the maximum boost clock is set 50 MHz higher at 4.75 GHz. Both Ryzen 7 Pro models can be configured with up to 32GB of RAM.
CPU performance is very good, especially in the first few minutes, as power consumption does not drop immediately. Under permanent load, however, the Ryzen 7 Pro 6860Z is on par with the Ryzen 7 Pro 6850U and also the consumer Ryzen 7 6800U, if they are operated at the same/similar TDP (generally 25 watts). The Ryzen 5 Pro 6650U in the ThinkPad Z13 is 19% slower on average across all our CPU benchmarks.
Cinebench R15 score
On battery power, multi-core performance is about 30% lower, but single-core performance remains stable. More CPU benchmarks are available in our tech section.
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 5.4: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
| HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 G1-21D20016GE | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6860Z | |
| Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i7-1280P OLED | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 G3-21CF004NGE | |
| Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 21D2CTO1WW | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (1.02 - 14.8, n=84, last 2 years) | |
| LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 21D2CTO1WW | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (40.1 - 157, n=88, last 2 years) | |
| Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 G3-21CF004NGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 G1-21D20016GE | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6860Z | |
| Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i7-1280P OLED | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (0.4587 - 1.649, n=88, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 21D2CTO1WW | |
| Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 G3-21CF004NGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 G1-21D20016GE | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6860Z | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i7-1280P OLED | |
* ... smaller is better
However, the high power consumption values also have a negative effect on efficiency, and you can clearly see that the Ryzen 7 CPUs run much more efficiently in the range of 25-30 watts. In the following analysis, we look at efficiency in the two CPU benchmarks Cinebench R15 & Cinebench R23 Multi each running on an external monitor. That way we can exclude the varying monitor performance as influence factors. Here you can clearly see that the Ryzen 7 Pro 6860Z falls behind the Asus Zenbook S 13 (Ryzen 7 6800U) and the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 G3 (Ryzen 7 Pro 6850U).
| Power Consumption / Cinebench R23 Multi Power Efficiency - external Monitor | |
| Apple MacBook Air M2 10C GPU | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 G3-21CF004NGE | |
| Lenovo Yoga 7-14ARB G7 | |
| Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Carbon 13IAP7-82U9005FGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 G1-21D20016GE | |
| Schenker Vision 14 2022 RTX 3050 Ti | |
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
System Performance
The ThinkPad Z13 is a very responsive device and the synthetic benchmark results are also very good. We could not detect any issues while running the test.
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 G1-21D20016GE | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6860Z, AMD Radeon 680M | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 G3-21CF004NGE | |
| Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED | |
| Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i7-1280P OLED | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 21D2CTO1WW | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (973 - 8855, n=83, last 2 years) | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 6240 points | |
Help | ||
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
In our standardized latency test (web browsing, 4K YouTube playback, CPU load), the test device performed very well on the current BIOS version and showed no evidence of technical performance deficiency.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 21D2CTO1WW | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T14 G3-21CF004NGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 G1-21D20016GE | |
| Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED | |
| Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i7-1280P OLED | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
The ThinkPad Z13 only has space for a compact M.2-2242 SSD, which is at least connected via a current PCIe 4.0 interface. The Micron 2450, allows for the install of a PCIe 4.0 SSD with maximum transfer rates of around 3.3 GB/s. This may waste some potential capacity, but at least performance remains constant even under permanent load. Of the 1 TB, around 900 GB are still freely available to the user on first use of the laptop. More SSD benchmarks can be found here.
| AS SSD | |
| Score Total | |
| Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED | |
| Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 i7-1280P OLED | |
| Average Micron 2450 1TB MTFDKCD1T0TFK (3758 - 4750, n=2) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (545 - 8363, n=84, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 G1-21D20016GE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 21D2CTO1WW | |