Lenovo ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 review: An affordable, capable business laptop
Expert Ratings
Pros
Large display
Spacey keyboard
Strong productivity performance
Cons
Flimsy plastic build
No support for Copilot+ features
Poor battery life
Our VerdictThe affordable Lenovo ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 has enough oomph to crank out spreadsheets and video meetings, but it may not withstand the rigors of travel.
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Today’s most capable laptops have powerful AI-powered chips, pixel-perfect OLED displays, and stunning graphics — the Lenovo ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 has none of those things, but there’s one other thing it doesn’t: a high price. It’s powered by a latest-generation Intel Core Ultra 5 125U processor and a 16-inch IPS display with up to 32GB of RAM. You also get some unexpected extras at this price point, like Thunderbolt 4 and an infrared webcam for biometric logins.
This business-oriented machine starts at under $800, and while I wouldn’t suggest the cheaper ThinkBook 16, this laptop can be a great value. The Lenovo ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 certainly cuts some corners to keep the price down, but is it cutting the right corners?
Lenovo ThinkBook 16 Gen 7: Specs and features
Lenovo has released several different models of the ThinkBook 16 Gen 7, but you should ignore the base model. At under $800, this machine only has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage. For about $100 more (when it’s not on sale), you can get the version I’ve been testing, with 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and a Core Ultra 5 CPU.
The two cheaper models run the Core Ultra 5 125U, but you can upgrade to the Core Ultra 7 155U for an additional $200. The ThinkBook is also available in an AMD flavor. The laptop is available with up to 1TB of storage and 32GB of RAM. Even fully equipped, the ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 costs just over $1,000.
CPU: Intel Core i5 125U
Memory: 16GB LPDDR5
Graphics: Intel Arc
Display: 16-inch 1920 x 1080 LCD
Storage: 512GB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD
Webcam: 1080p IR webcam
Connectivity: 1x USB-C (Thunderbolt 4, 40Gbps), 1x USB-C (10Gbps), 2x USB-A (5Gbps), 3.5mm audio jack, HDMI 2.1, Ethernet, SD card reader
Networking: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
Battery capacity: 45Wh
Dimensions: 356 x 253.5 x 17.5mm (14.01 x 9.98 x 0.69 inches)
Weight: 1.7 kg (3.75 lbs)
MSRP as tested: $829
Lenovo’s ThinkBook lineup isn’t supposed to wow you with raw power, these machines are aimed at value, and the ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 is the true expression of that tradition.
The ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 makes a good first impression with its sleek metal lid, which features the signature two-tone finish of most current ThinkBooks. This line falls below Lenovo’s ThinkPads, so the rest of the materials aren’t as impressive. Most of the body is plastic, but the lid adds some much-needed rigidity when the machine is closed.
You’ll find most of your ports on the left edge, including two USB-C ports, one of which supports Thunderbolt 4. There’s also a USB-A, HDMI, and a 3.5mm jack. The ThinkBook, by contrast, has another USB-A, Ethernet, an SD card slot, and a Kensington lock.
The bezel around the display is relatively narrow, but it’s not what you’d see on a high-end laptop. There’s plenty of room at the top for the webcam, which doesn’t extend too far into Lenovo’s trademark lid handle. The 1080p camera offers solid video quality for meetings, and it supports Windows Hello biometric IR login. I also appreciate the inclusion of a privacy shutter for the camera.
At 16 inches, it’s the largest size you’ll see for a ThinkBook. That means you get a spacious display and plenty of room for a keyboard. The hinge is a bit stiff, making it difficult to open the Lenovo ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 with one hand. However, the display stays in place even if you move the machine around while in use.
The bottom half of the ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 is made of plastic, and there’s not much internal structure to support it. The case flexes noticeably when you press on the plastic chassis, and it loosens when you pick it up by the side. Still, there’s no creaking or cracking, and the body should hold up well as long as you don’t stuff it in a messy bag all day. The build feels decent for a computer that costs well under $1,000.
Despite all that plastic, the ThinkBook is no lightweight. It weighs in at 3.75 pounds, which is about the same as many premium laptops in the same size range.
Lenovo ThinkBook 16 Gen 7: Display and Speakers
Having a 16-inch display on a laptop can be refreshing if you’re used to a smaller machine. The ThinkBook 16’s touchscreen is wide enough that you can split up apps on the screen without feeling too cramped. Those with visual impairments can also increase the text size and still have plenty of screen real estate.
The screen’s resolution is just 1080p, which is low for a 16-inch laptop. However, it won’t consume as much power as higher-resolution displays, and clarity is acceptable at normal viewing distances.
Brightness is similarly unimpressive, at 300 nits. That’s plenty bright enough for most indoor conditions, aided by the display’s matte finish. Reflections won’t be a big issue, but bright ambient lighting in some offices or outdoors will make the screen hard to read. You will, however, notice uneven dimming when viewing the LCD from an angle.
The Lenovo ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 has speakers positioned below the left and right edges of the laptop, similar to most other 2024 laptops. Some machines manage to have consistent audio despite firing downward, but the ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 is on one of them. It’s fine for occasional YouTube videos, but music gets muddy before the volume hits 50 percent. It also causes the plastic case to vibrate even at low volumes.
Some 16-inch laptops leave large swaths of potential keyboard space unused, but the ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 leaves nothing on the table. It has a full keyboard layout, featuring bit arrows, page up/down keys, and a number pad. The number pad is pushed to the right, with keys that are about half the width of the rest of the keyboard. Still, it’s nice to have that on a laptop at all.
The keyboard itself gets the job done, but the keys aren’t very tactile, and there’s a lot of squishiness at the bottom of each keystroke. You can feel and see the laptop’s plastic surface flex as you type, making for a mediocre typing experience despite the well-designed layout.
The trackpad is moved to the left to align with the keyboard’s space bar. I prefer trackpads to be centered on the frame of a laptop, but that’s a minor gripe. The trackpad is made of plastic, and offers average sensitivity and responsiveness. The click mechanism is fairly loud, almost echoey, and the trackpad could be larger, considering the large footprint on a 16-inch laptop.
Lenovo ThinkBook 16 7th Gen: Performance
PCMark 10 is designed to test the device across a variety of benchmarks, including web browsing, video chat, and photo editing. The ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 shows off the back of this test, but not by much. Overall productivity performance is strong, though devices with newer chips can score much higher on this test.
Cinebench is a CPU-focused test that shows how a PC handles heavy but short multi-core workloads. More CPU cores give higher Cinebench scores, and cooling doesn’t matter as much. Cinebench shows another lagging result for the ThinkBook 16 Gen 7. This was in the middle of the pack just a year ago, but the latest designs from Intel and AMD have focused on multi-threaded performance.
The Handbrake test is similar to Cinebench in that it shows how well a computer handles multi-threaded tasks, but this is a longer test where temperatures matter more. Here, the ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 gains a bit of power, outperforming many similarly specced machines. Lenovo’s cooling setup seems to work well, keeping the Core 5 Ultra chip running faster under load.
Our first gaming test is 3DMark Time Spy, a graphics benchmark that focuses on GPU performance. This is by no means a gaming machine, and this benchmark proves it. AMD processors, as well as newer Intel chips, have more capable integrated GPUs. Intel’s latest CPUs are getting closer to the performance of discrete GPUs from a few generations ago. However, the Core 5 Ultra struggles with even simple games.
The laptop is plenty fast enough to handle the tasks you’re likely to ask of it in a work environment. However, it’s not great for content creation and editing or gaming. A faster machine will pay off if you’re planning on doing heavier workloads.
The ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 has two USB-C ports, one of which can be used to charge the laptop. It comes with a hefty 65W charger, but you don’t have to use that. It also charges at full speed with any third-party USB-PD charger that’s 65W or higher.
With a 45Wh cell, this machine wasn’t able to set any longevity records. Our battery rundown test consists of looping a 4K video at a set brightness until the machine shuts down. The ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 managed about nine hours (532 minutes) on this test, which isn’t an impressive showing. Still, it makes a lot of sense given the tiny 45Wh battery, which is pretty small by 2024 standards. In fact, it makes a lot more sense with the plastic body. This laptop is designed to stay plugged into a solid power source on a desk most of the time. Sure, you can take it to a meeting, but it won’t take as much abuse as a more powerful, more expensive laptop.
Lenovo ThinkBook 16 Gen 7: Conclusion
Lenovo’s ThinkBook lineup isn’t meant to wow you with raw power—they’re all about value, and the ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 is the true expression of that tradition. It would be easy to dismiss Lenovo’s new ThinkBook based on its mediocre performance and build quality, but the price makes this notebook worth considering. This is a solid productivity machine at a much lower price.
You should keep its drawbacks in mind, though. It’s powered by a last-gen processor, and the base model doesn’t have enough RAM. The small battery and sloppy build quality are also sticking points.
Lenovo’s pricing is constantly changing, and its “value-added” discounts are clearly misleading. Still, the price is solid, especially if you’re buying in bulk for businesses. I wouldn’t recommend the base model or the fully specced-out version. With 8GB of RAM, the cheaper ThinkBook 16 Gen 7 isn’t powerful enough outside of basic office work.
The 16GB version is currently on sale for $749, which is a great deal. Meanwhile, the upgraded version still has the same middling display and build quality—there are better options if you’re going to spend $1,000 on a laptop. The middling I tested is the sweet spot.
