Just received my T14s Gen 6 Intel 228V…

And I’m loving it. I scored it for just a thousand euros, with the 100% sRGB low power screen, 32 GB and 5G wiring ready.

I have been using different breeds of Thinkpads for a while, the first one being a T40p for my studies. That was a long long time ago, in 2003. I fondly remember X61 with the add-on battery, allowing me to go for a full day. Precious jobs had different T14 gen 1 to 3, Intel: crappy PCs. Intel did such a bad thermal management that even Lenovo went "well, whatever" and half-assed it, as there was literally no way to do something about it.

Fast forward to now.

Now I own an MBP M4 Pro for my personal tasks and enjoyment. It is a wonderful piece, I still think Apple make the best laptops overall (apart from their keyboards). It has been a long long way since my PowerBooks and first MacBooks. Work gave me an X13 Gen 3 Intel which has a crap battery life and seems on the brink of implosion when a few add-ons kick in. IT is quite lax here, so I just wondered, why not score a good deal, integrate the PC in the fleet, and see afterwards if I can have a part of it expensed? Not there yet. But I did find what I estimate a good deal, and it is much much much better. I hate when IT equipment gets in the way of working smoothly. I considered X1C, but way out of my budget in Lunar Lake.

Anyways. Back to my experience.

Positive: Battery life is sufficient, i.e, unlike with the X13, I can actually go for a day without charging. X13 lasts two hours at best. The webcam is orders of magnitude better. Not like my Logitech MX brio, but fairly sufficient, even in low light. IR is a nice feature. The keyboard is great. It is not as flattering as the most appealing TP keyboards, but is insanely efficient. I do far less fat finger mistakes and miss far less strokes. Sufficiently springy to overcompensate the reduced course, size and spacing are ideal. The screen is excellent for office tasks. Bright, clear, nice. I love it. For the multimedia/personal tasks, I have my MBP, whose screen is far far better but also a bit more tiring. The weight/volume ratio is optimal from my point of view. 32GB of RAM is quite appreciable, even in productivity workflows.

Now, downsides? Have to debloat the W11 installation. I can’t work on Linux unless MS issues a Linux Office version. Maybe lack of power, but my workflow is not that heavy. Fans kick in a bit too much, I have to find the source. But it does not bother me that much. I prefer fans running than PC stuttering.

No opinion: I don’t use trackpads generally so cannot comment.

Next steps: 5G modem.