MWC 2024 | The real ThinkPad T480 successor: New ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 is iFixit approved
When Lenovo replaced the ThinkPad T480 with the ThinkPad T490 in 2019, many long time ThinkPad fans were shocked. The ThinkPad T480 had featured two SO-DIMM slots, making the memory completely repairable and modular, as well as the PowerBridge battery system, where at least half of the battery capacity was user-replacable. The new ThinkPad T490 did away with those features, opting for a more compact, thinner design with an internal battery and half-soldered RAM. Ever since, the ThinkPad T series has stuck with that formula.
Until now. The new Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 released at this years MWC marks a turning point when it comes to Lenovo's approach to the modularity and repairability of the ThinkPad T series.
The new model returns to the two SO-DIMM ways of the ThinkPad T480, featuring up to 64 GB of completely replaceable DDR5 memory. As importantly, the new Lenovo ThinkPad T14 G5 has a new battery design, where the battery is still internal, but now classified as a Customer Replaceable Unit (CRU). This means that customers are allowed to replace this part them self and that the battery is more easily available than before. To enable this, Lenovo changed the internal design, opting for a click-in connector instead of a normal cable.
Other than those internal design changes, Lenovo also massively touched up the outer design. The new ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 has a redesigned keyboard with swapped FN/Ctrl keys, a new Windows Co-Pilot key / menu key, tactile markings on the keyboard and the speakers have been moved from the top of the keyboard to the sides. Also, the new 14 inch business laptop has smaller bezels as well as the reverse notch and debossed black ThinkPad logo, echoing similar changes to the ThinkPad X1 Carbon G12.
Returning to the inside, the ThinkPad T14 G5 features both Intel Core Ultra with Meteor Lake H as an option as well as Ryzen 8040U. The dedicated Nvidia GPU option that the preceding model (available from Amazon for $943) offers is longer present. Also new are optional WiFi 7 and Sub6 5G/LTE, as well as the optional 120 Hz OLED screen. For the standard WUXGA displays, Lenovo is increasing the brightness to 400 cd/m² and decreasing the power consumption, thanks to a new 3M optical film.
Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5: Pricing and availability
The new Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 will be available starting in April for $1,200 - at least the Intel version. The AMD model will take slightly longer to come to market, only becoming available in May for $950.
Source(s)
Lenovo
