Technology News, Reviews and Buying Guides review, monitor review, tablet review, laptop review, mobile review, smartphone review, buying guide,
For AMD processors in Lenovo’s ThinkPad series, the new ThinkPad Z16 G1 is a huge step – the 16-inch ThinkPad AMD laptop with the new Z-series design is the first high-end ThinkPad with a large display and AMD Ryzen H series.
In recent years, AMD laptops have steadily increased their share of Lenovo’s ThinkPad lineup, with more and more options. However, gaps remained, and one of them was the very high-end range – and especially the laptops with large (15-inch and up) screens. In addition, all AMD ThinkPads contained processors from the economical U series; the performance-oriented H series was not intended. Only the cheap ThinkPad E15 was available with a large display and AMD chip.
The new Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 relies on processors from AMD’s Ryzen H series and even exclusively. There are no Intel options for this ThinkPad laptop. In line with the business orientation of the ThinkPad series, Z16 is powered by Ryzen Pro chips. The CPU won’t be the only AMD component: For the first time in a long time, there will be a ThinkPad laptop with a dedicated AMD GPU. It optionally includes the AMD Radeon RX 6500M, a dedicated graphics chip with a TGP of up to 50 watts.
A maximum of 32 GB LPDDR5 is soldered on the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16; unusual for a ThinkPad laptop of this size and an advantage for the ThinkPad X1 Extreme, which is in a similar market segment. The rating for mass storage could be similar, because “maximum 2 TB” indicates only one M.2 2280 SSD.
With the ThinkPad Z series, Lenovo seems to want to take a step into the “laptop modern age” in every respect. The most important points include the significantly larger trackpad with integrated TrackPoint buttons, the noticeable camera hump with a 1080p webcam, and the metal case with a glass palm rest.
Lenovo houses either energy-saving IPS LCDs with WUXGA resolution (1,920 x 1,200) or a WQUXGA display (3,840 x 2,400), which is an OLED screen, in just under 16 millimeters thick case. However, you should consider your choice carefully when buying it, because the battery capacity is not ample for a laptop of this size: 70-watt hours should only be enough for average battery life.
The connectivity could be similarly problematic for some potential buyers because apart from the full-size SD card slot, the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 practically only has three USB-C ports, which at least support USB 4.0. At least the ThinkPad Z16 offers the business-typical WWAN option, but only 4G-LTE instead of 5G.
Price and availability
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 1 is available on Amazon.com and Newegg.com. Prices start at around $1,965.
Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 specifications
- CPU: Next Gen AMD Ryzen Pro H series
- GPU: Integrated AMD Radeon, AMD Radeon RX 6500M (optional)
- RAM: Up to 32GB LPDDR5 (onboard)
- Storage: Up to 2TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD
- OS: Windows 11
- Display: 16-inch 16:10, WUXGA (1920 x 1200) IPS 400 cd/m² low power (touch optional), matte / 16-inch 16:10, WQUXGA (3840 x 2400) OLED 400 cd/m², Touch, Dolby Vision, Low Blue Light, anti-reflective
- Camera: IR FHD f2.0, eShutter
- Security: Match-on-Chip FPR in keyboard, dTPM 2.0, Microsoft Pluton Security Processor
- Ports: 3x USB C 4.0, 3.5mm audio, SD card
- Input: Edge-to-Edge keyboard, 1.35mm travel, backlit, 120mm Haptic ForcePad
- Audio: Dolby Atmos Speaker System, Dolby Voice
- Connectivity: WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, 4G LTE CAT 16
- Battery: 70Wh, rapid charge
- Dimensions: 354.4 x 237.4 x 15.8mm
- Weight: 1.97kg
