Windows-based laptops and desktop computers, particularly those intended for business use, are frequently criticised for being dull. With a high-definition display, potent performance, and a vegan leather shell, the Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 Gen 1 Touchscreen Notebook hopes to alter that impression. The Black & Bronze with Black Vegan Leather is the main eye-catcher in terms of appearance, even though it is also available in the more conventional Arctic Grey & Black. This small laptop’s physical design shows that Lenovo put a lot of thought into it, but did it neglect to provide the performance elements that business users demand? The answer is generally yes, with a few exceptions, like its lack of ports. This laptop gives you a lot to think about over other consumer-oriented models, even if you’re not a businessperson. also you can read our article on Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 review.
Design
Compared to the X1, the Z13 seems far less utilitarian. Its aesthetic is much more similar to that of Apple’s MacBook Pro and Dell’s XPS laptops because it is mostly made of recyclable aluminium and has a clean, contemporary appearance. Our review unit has an aluminium lid made of brushed “Arctic Grey,” but Lenovo also offers soft-touch faux leather that it refers to as “vegan leather” (it’s actually plastic). The sides of that model are bronze rather than silver, and it does look very fashionable. Additionally, the palm rest is made of a piece of tempered glass with a matte finish. The Z13 feels extremely robust and like nothing will break even under severe abuse. It weighs 1.26 kg, which is slightly heavier than the MacBook Air but also 150 g lighter than the MacBook Pro 13. Additionally, the Dell XPS 13 has a slightly larger display at 13.4 inches, but it is thinner at 14mm. The big lip on the top of the display, which makes opening it with one finger quite simple, is one of the ThinkPad design cues that has thankfully been preserved. Additionally, the lid of the ThinkPad has a red dot above the letter we that glows when the computer is turned on. The Z13’s lid stops rotating at 145 degrees, therefore the 180-degree screen rotation hasn’t been carried over. The only design element we found problematic is the placement of the power button, which is adjacent to the Type-C connector on the right side of the body and doesn’t naturally fall to hand. The Z13’s back can be easily removed, but once you’re inside, your only option is to swap out the SSD. The rest has been soldered in place.
Keyboard and touchpad
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano’s two-stage illuminated keyboard is comparable, but not identical. The 1.35 mm key travel is the defining characteristic. The keyboard is different in terms of size; Lenovo equipped the ThinkPad Z13 with a standard-width keyboard, leaving the keypad’s side borders hardly visible. This is a welcome change because the larger keys make typing more comfortable. The only ThinkPad in its size range with a full-sized keyboard is the Z13. Less welcome are the redesigned arrow keys and the absence of dedicated Page Up/Down keys on the Z13. These keys belong on a laptop used for business. In addition, Lenovo changed the location of the Ctrl key, which is now standard across nearly all laptops and is now placed to the left of the Fn key for the first time on a ThinkPad. Long-time ThinkPad users will undoubtedly need to get used to this, but the BIOS offers the option of changing the key layout. The modifications to the keyboard are not quite as revolutionary as the new trackpad. Since the X1 Carbon Gen 2 and the release of the ThinkPad in 2014, Lenovo has not released a ThinkPad with dedicated TrackPoint buttons. The ClickPad doesn’t move, and the click is only simulated, unlike back then when we didn’t have a haptic solution. Lenovo accomplishes one thing in particular by doing this: expanding the touchpad’s surface area. Because the glass touchpad is superior to the touchpads of other ThinkPads, the modifications are good for the glass touchpad’s user experience. Excellent gliding characteristics are used, and pinch-to-zoom movements are easily accomplished. It is also less likely that your finger will run out of room to move the pointer due to the larger surface. Additionally, the touchpad can now be used anywhere.
Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 review: Display
Three different 16:10-themed Z13 models are available; two of them have 170dpi, 1,920 x 1,200 IPS displays (one of which supports touch, the other does not), and the third has a 250dpi, 2,880 x 1,800 OLED touch panel. The OLED variant has a gloss surface, while the IPS screens have a matte appearance. On our test unit, the entry-level display performed admirably, measuring a maximum brightness of 430cd/m2 and a contrast ratio of 1582:1. Additionally, the colour metrics are in perfect order, with a sRGB colour gamut volume of 98.6% and a Delta E colour variance of 1.92. That’s right at the magic 2 threshold, past which even a skilled eye will have trouble detecting any colour variation. The display has very wide viewing angles and effectively reduces reflections both inside and outside. Due to the panel’s Eyesafe certification, less blue light is emitted without altering the visible colour of the screen.
Audio
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z13’s two strong, downward-firing speakers produce unexpectedly excellent sounds. We were happy to hear De Niro, Pesci, and Liotta’s chat while watching Goodfellas as they were burying a body. The sound quality was comparable to that of a television once the driver shut the trunk and “Rags To Riches” began to play. The Z13’s speakers worked well with the included Dolby Atmos software when we played Spotify music. But without it, things didn’t seem as promising. you will check our article on Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 review.
Graphic and gaming
Two DirectX 12 gaming simulations from UL’s 3DMark, Night Raid (more subdued, ideal for laptops with integrated graphics) and Time Spy, are used to assess the visual performance of Windows PCs (more demanding, suitable for gaming rigs with discrete GPUs). Additionally, we run two tests from the cross-platform GPU benchmark GFXBench 5, which puts a lot of strain on both high-level, game-like image rendering and low-level tasks like texturing. The 1080p Car Chase and 1440p Aztec Ruins tests put graphics and compute shaders to the test using hardware tessellation and OpenGL, respectively. These tests are rendered offscreen to support different display resolutions. The better, the higher the frames per second (fps). The Lenovo Z13’s graphics performance was fairly high thanks to AMD’s superior integrated graphics, which outperformed Intel-based rivals from Dell and HP. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, which competes with a discrete Nvidia GPU, outperformed the Apple MacBook Air in a few tests using the integrated GPU of the M2 processor, which is interesting. Despite this, the AMD-powered Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 outperformed the majority of its rivals in the majority of our graphics tests. Keep in mind, however, that these tests are more focused on general productivity than gaming.
Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 review: Performance
AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 6650U is the chip that powers the entry-level Z13. This 28W, 6-core, 12-thread component has a 4.5GHz maximum boost clock speed. Along with that, you also get AMD’s integrated Radeon 600M integrated graphics processor and 16GB of quad-channel RAM. When it comes to performance and endurance, that level of cooperation between the chip maker and OEM seems to have paid off. The Z13 achieved 208 points in the internal ITPro multi-media benchmark, which is a very respectable result for a laptop without a discrete GPU. To put that into perspective, the MSI Prestige 14, which has a 12th generation Core i5-1240P processor and an Nvidia RTX3050 GPU, scored 247 points while the new M2 MacBook Air scored 215 points. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon, which only scored 130 and is powered by a 10-core Core i7-1255U, is easily defeated by the Z13. The 6650U is a particularly capable 6-core processor, and the Z13 will swiftly complete any productivity task thrown its way. The Z13’s quietness is equally striking. You need to place your ear fairly close to the action, even when you’re under pressure, in order to hear the fans. The Z13’s rear underside did get a little warm during hard acceleration, but not significantly.
Battery life
In our battery test, where the thin laptop lasted over 18 hours on a single charge, the Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 stood out the most. That outlasts even the most battery-efficient rivals, such as the HP Spectre x360 13.5 and Apple MacBook Air (16:49). (15:10). Additionally, the battery supports quick charging, allowing you to quickly recharge it when you do finally need to plug in.Surprisingly, the display has excellent overall brightness, outshining several of our comparison models. Given that the device we tested isn’t even Lenovo’s top display option, that is quite impressive. The Z13’s three-cell 51.5Wh battery lasted 12 hours and 45 minutes on a full charge, which was a nice surprise. That’s a fantastic outcome and far superior to any of the obvious Intel-powered alternatives we’ve seen. As usual, a MacBook will provide more performance, but the Z13 will allow you to work diligently for a full day and then some before you need to use the small 65W USB charger.
Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 review: Heat
During our stress tests, the ThinkPad Z13 became a little warm. The keyboard ended up being the machine’s hot spot when we performed Cinebench R23. The temperature between the G and H keys was hot to the touch at 122.9 degrees Fahrenheit, but the touchpad was the coolest as usual at 95.9 degrees. At 118.22 degrees Fahrenheit, the bottom of the laptop, which is typically its hottest area, was only slightly warmer than the keyboard. The system does, however, maintain a respectable level of cooling while not in use. After 15 minutes of streaming a video, the bottom of the keyboard registered 95.5 degrees, the touchpad only reached 83 degrees, and the middle of the keyboard registered 91.5 degrees. There is a vapour chamber thermal solution inside that AMD co-developed to keep the device cool and maintain performance under demanding workloads, but there is undoubtedly room for improvement. It would be best to place the Z13 on a desk if you were working intensively on it.
Configuration options
The ThinkPad Z13 currently has a starting price of $1,355.40 on Lenovo.com, though this price is subject to change. The business is constantly engaged in deals of some kind. We truly mean it when we say “always.” Although the indicated typical price is $2,259, you won’t be requested to pay that amount. AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 6650U, 16GB LPDDR5, a 256GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD, and a 1,920×1,200 display are included in the base model. The Lenovo model we received for review has a 512GB SSD, Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U, and 16GB RAM, but it also has the same FHD+ display. Costco will charge you $2,099 for this one, though, to be fair, it is currently $1,754 on Lenovo.com. It helps to shop around for ThinkPads and any other business laptop for that matter.
Conclusion
A fantastic ultra-portable notebook with an emphasis on reducing the footprint without compromising power is the Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 Gen 1. It has a nice screen, a reliable keyboard, and a battery life that outperforms that of an Intel-powered competitor. The main problem is that, while it does include the series’ iconic nipple mouse, it’s not really a “ThinkPad” more than for display purposes. Simply said, you can’t expect the more substantial-feeling touchpad and keyboard of an older ThinkPad model. you will learn from our article on the Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 review.
