If you ’re fit to make a13 - inch laptoptoday , you ’ll require to see it ’s fast , has groovy shelling life , and equips an excellent display . That ’s specially true if you ’re asking premium dollar , as Lenovo is with the ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 .

With competitor from a new class ofMicrosoft Copilot+ PCs , that ’s become even more vital . Those laptop computer are tight , have great stamp battery animation , and are even a number less expensive . All thing consider , the ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 is n’t a very strong alternative .

Specs and configurations

The ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 has one of the stranger configurations that I can remember . Its base example costs $ 1,580 for an Intel Core Ultra 5 125H chipset , 16 GB of RAM , a 512 GB SSD , and a 13.5 - in 2.8 K IPS display ( the only selection ) . For $ 432 more , you may upgrade all the way to an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H , which is a peculiar choice . The Core Ultra 9 185H is a much more power - hungry chipset that you wo n’t often find oneself in a 13 - inch laptop . If you choose the Core Ultra 9 , you’re able to also configure 32 GB of RAM — also potential overkill for this course of instruction of car . That will be you $ 2,220 with a 1 TB SSD .

The ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 is n’t an cheap laptop , but it ’s competitively price . The Intel - basedDell XPS 13starts at $ 1,299 for a Core Ultra 7 155H , 8 GB of RAM , a 512 GB SSD , and a FHD+ ( 1920 by 1200 ) IPS display . As you depart ramping up the XPS 13 ’s configuration , you ’ll spend around the same money . TheMacBook Air M3 , though , starts at a much low-toned $ 1,099 for 8 GB of RAM , a 256 GB SSD , and a 13.6 - inch 2560 - by-1664 IPS presentation , and it ’s not quite as expensive at the mellow remainder unless you prefer for a 2 TB SSD .

Design

The ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 is a well - made little laptop computer . It ’s all - aluminum and feel incredibly self-coloured , with no bending , flexing or twisting in the lid , keyboard pack of cards , or chassis . It ’s easily the equal of the Dell XPS 13 and even somewhat more inflexible than the MacBook Air M3 , which has a slightly pliable lid . It has a truly premium spirit , and that extend to the hinge that permit smoothly opening the hat with one hand .

The big advantage of a 13 - inch laptop is its portability , and here the ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 also does well . It has extremely sparse display bezel , maybe thin than even the XPS 13 , while receive a larger video display . It ’s slightly narrow and only a petite bit deeper , while being thin at 0.51 inch versus 0.58 inches . TheAsus Zenbook S 13 OLEDis diluent at 0.46 inch , but it ’s also wide and deep even with a belittled display . The MacBook Air M3 is the thinnest of all at 0.44 in , but it ’s also declamatory with a slightly larger show and bezel . The Zenbook is easy at 2.2 pound , with the others coming in at around 2.7 pound .

Lenovo also did a large line with the aesthetic . The overall color schema is a glowering grey , with a little stir of chrome in the logos on the lid . The keyboard is closely matched , giving everything a cohesive smell . And then the lid is two - tone , which add a bit of dash . It ’s just enough to make the ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 abide out a bit from its peers , but it ’s not enough to be gimcrack . The XPS 13 is more conservative on the outside while being ultramodern ( and controversial ) on the inside , and the MacBook Air M3 has Apple ’s usual fastidious intent that exudes excellence .

Keyboard and touchpad

The ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 has Lenovo ’s late non - ThinkPad keyboard , with sculpted keycaps that seem a minute smaller than I remember and with an impression of more spacing overall . The switches are light and snappy , and I find myself quickly getting up to hurrying . It ’s a different feel than Apple ’s Magic Keyboard , but I imagine many multitude will care it just as much . It ’s well more well-fixed than the zero - lattice keyboard on the XPS 13 .

My review unit had a mechanical keyboard that ’s OK . It ’s heavy enough and exact , but the button clicks are shrewd and too loud . you’re able to configure a haptic touchpad , which if it ’s like the one on the LenovoThinkPad Z13 , will be a lot more competitive with the tactual touchpads on some other recent premium laptops . It ’s a free switch in Lenovo ’s configurator , and I can guess of no good reason to go with the mechanically skillful interpretation .

Connectivity, expandability, and webcam

Standard connectivity is quite special , with just Thunderbolt 4 ports and no legacy link . The primary advantage over the XPS 13 is that there ’s one more Thunderbolt 4 port for send . The MacBook Air M3 also has just two Thunderbolt 4 ports , but it also has the MagSafe 3 connexion for appoint .

The ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 is unusual in that it has Lenovo ’s Magic Bay solution , which apply a set of pogo pins in the reverse notch that holds the webcam to add one of several accessories . Those include the Magic Bay Light ( included with my review unit of measurement ) , Magic Bay LTE for 4 G connectivity , Magic Bay 4 K webcam , and Magic Bay Studio that add together speaker to a 4 K webcam . I tested the Magic Bay Light and , when used with Lenovo ’s Smart Meeting app , allow for intense lighting that seems more than sufficient for any potential surround .

The Magic Bay expandability is an interesting characteristic for sure . The biggest trouble is that it ’s almost unacceptable to choose a specific Magic Bay accessory . You ca n’t purchase them on an individual basis , but rather they ’re include with specific model . However , you ca n’t currently select a model when configure the machine . So , it would take a great deal of employment to actually buy the ThinkBook with a specific accessory . Lenovo want to fix that .

The integrated webcam is a 1080p version with an infrared camera for Windows 11 Hello facial realisation . The Intel Meteor Lake chipset include a neuronal processing whole ( NPU ) that ’s not tight enough for Microsoft ’s new Copilot+ lineament but does support the standard Microsoft Studio Effects . That utility tally AI ironware assist for things like background blurring .

Performance

In a foreign winding , Lenovo is offering two chipsets for the ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 . My followup whole come with the 28 - James Watt Intel Core Ultra 5 125H with 14 cores ( four Performance , eight Efficient , and two Low Power Efficient ) and 18 threads , run at up to 4.5GHz . That ’s less common than the Core Ultra 7 155H with two extra kernel and threads , but not a bad choice for a 13 - column inch laptop computer .

The other option , though , is the 45 - watt Core Ultra 9 185H with 16 nitty-gritty ( six Performance , eight Efficient , and two Low Power Efficient ) and 22 cores run at up to 5.1GHz . That chipset need a portion more power to run at full public presentation , and it gets spicy . It ’s a confutative choice for a 13 - in laptop .

Simply put , most people are proceed to buy the ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 principally for productivity chore . For these users , the laptop was a decent performing artist in our benchmark but it lagged behind several other 13 - inch machines in most of our benchmarks . Interestingly , it did much better in the PCMark 10 Complete benchmark that course through a more real - world workflow . It was n’t telling in 3DMark , so play is n’t really an pick here .

Overall , if you ’re looking for a laptop that will be fast enough for web browsing , email , office apps , and media using up , then ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 will be a great option . If your needs are more demanding , however , you might retrieve it a scrap limiting . Upgrading to the Core Ultra 9 185H is a in question proposition in that it might not supply that much more carrying out but will certainly run hotter and louder .

Battery life

The ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 has a rather large battery for a 13 - in laptop computer , at 74 watt - hours . By comparison , the XPS 13 has just 55 watt - 60 minutes and the MacBook Air M3 52.6 watt - time of day . The ThinkBook also has a 2.8 K IPS display that should burn less power than an OLED panel , but wo n’t be as efficient as the FHD+ panels you ’ll regain in some option .

In our benchmarks , the ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 was n’t awfully impressive . It hold up for just 6.25 hours in our web browse test and 12.3 hours in our video iteration test . The XPS 13 with an IPS display made it to 14 hour of web browsing , and the MacBook Air M3 with a high - atomic number 75 IPS panel last for 19 hours of both web browse and picture .

With the Parousia of Microsoft ’s Modern Copilot+ PC initiative with Windows on Arm laptop running Qualcomm ’s very effective Snapdragon X Elite chipsets , laptops like the ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 are even less telling . Especially for distinctive productiveness workflows , the Qualcomm machines will provide hr more battery living . And the MacBook Air M3 retain its spot at the top .

Display and audio

Most premium laptop today declare oneself an OLED video display option , but the ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 bucks that trend . It has one panel , a 2.8 K ( 2880 by 1800 ) IPS running at 120Hz . throw the laptop ’s longevity , that ’s not a bad via media . An OLED show would get even spoilt assault and battery spirit . Subjectivity , the display was plenty penetrating and very bright , and it has precise color and enough line to be big for productiveness work .

My tintometer measure luminousness at 563 nit , which is splendid . Contrast issue forth in at 1,340:1 , which is very good for IPS ( but well under a video display like the XPS 13 OLED at 16,500:1 ) . Color truth was excellent at a Delta - E of 0.90 ( less than 1.0 is indistinguishable to the human eye ) . The only glaring failing , at least equate to OLED , was colour gamut support at 99 % of sRGB , 73 % of AdobeRGB , and 73 % of DCI - P3 . Those are average for IPS , although many competing laptop computer are better , and well under the 100 % , 95 % , and 100 % , severally , that organic light-emitting diode normally produces .

Once again , these are dear enough results for a productiveness user , but Creator and media consumers wo n’t love this exhibit .

Audio duties are execute by four utterer : two tweeters and two woofers . The system was loud enough and very clear , with good mids , highs , and even some bass voice . I ’d order audio recording as very good and good than that on the XPS 13 and MacBook Air M3 .

A 13-inch laptop that fails to stand out

The ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 ticks some of the significant loge . It ’s very well - build , attractive , and has a great keyboard with an optional haptic touchpad . It ’s highly portable , and its Magic Bay setup is unique .

But it ’s not terribly fast , it does n’t have great battery life , and its exhibit is undecomposed but not great . If it were less expensive , then it would be easier to recommend . But if you ’re drop more than $ 1,500 for a laptop , you should n’t have to accept so many compromises .