These days a laptop are a necessity, but they also aren’t a cheap investment. You want to pick a mobile computer that not only lasts, but that has a wide range of features to keep you happy for years to come.
Lenovo was recently named the #1 overall mobile computer brand by Laptop Mag due to the company’s value, selection, and keyboard designs.
With Lenovo, you have several different options depending on whether you want a business machine, thin 2-in-1, or a gaming laptop. No matter what you choose, the main draw to picking Lenovo is in the keyboard comfort and build quality, with users reporting an average of 5 years of life from the ThinkPad line.
Not sure specifically what you need? We can show you the best Lenovo laptops 2023 this year for any kind of user and ensure you pick exactly the right machine!
Recommendations for March 2023
- Lenovo Flex 15 – Best For College
- Lenovo Thinkpad E590 – Large Storage Space
- Lenovo Legion Y540 – Best Gaming
- Lenovo ThinkPad P53 – Powerful Specs
- Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon – Best Overall
- Lenovo Yoga C940 – Flip And Fold Design
- Lenovo Yoga C930 – Cheap 4K
- Lenovo IdeaPad 3 – Affordable Pick
- Lenovo Ideapad 330S – Best for Business
- Lenovo 100E Chromebook – Best Budget
Reviews Of The Best Lenovo Laptop In 2023
Lenovo Flex 15 – Best For College
First of all, the Lenovo Flex 15 has a 10 Hour Battery Life. All other features aside, your main draw to the Lenovo Flex is easily the high battery life. You don’t want to be searching for a plug during a lecture or worrying about dying while writing a paper the night before its due.
For standard web browsing and word processing with the screen dimmed, you can expect up to 10 hours of life on a single charge.
That means you can effectively use the Flex 15 for a full day of classes and never have to be on the lookout for a wall outlet.
The laptop is a good example of a low cost but high performance machine.The last thing you want to worry about during finals week is a slow laptop that can’t keep up with your workload.
That will never be a problem here, as you’ll get instant boot ups with the solid state drive and high performance from the 8th gen Intel Core i7 processor.
We know that students like to play games in their downtime to unwind after studying, and you’re covered there as well. The Flex has a dedicated graphics card, so you can expect stable frame rates for rounds of Overwatch or Fortnite.
Best of all?
This model is very reasonably priced for all the performance and power you get here, so you’ll still have money left over for all those expensive college textbooks!
With a hybrid touch screen design, you are covered no matter how you plan on using your college laptop.
While that’s one of the most noticeable features, there are other extras to keep in mind here.
You also get a built-in fingerprint reader. Why is that important?
You don’t have to worry about other people in your dorm gaining access to your computer without your permission.
Students who reviewed the Flex 15 frequently mentioned loving the build quality of the hybrid design, and appreciated the extremely fast speed of the Intel i7 CPU.
The compact keyboard doesn’t feature a 10 key segment however, and some users prefer keys to be spaced out wider.
Recommended configuration for Lenovo Flex 15
CPU: Intel Core i7-8565U| Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce MX230 (2GB)| RAM: 8GB RAM | Screen: 15.6-inch Touchscreen LED-Backlit HD IPS display| Storage: 512GB SSD| Operating System: Windows 10| Battery Life: up to 8.5 hours | Weight: 4.4 lbs
Lenovo Thinkpad E590 – Large Storage Space
You can’t afford to put your business on hold because your laptop quit working after a bump or a stray cup of spilled coffee.
The ThinkPad Edge 570 has the durability to keep going as long as you need it to, with an ergonomic and spill-resistant keyboard.
Not only is the full size keyboard comfortable to use, but it features all the keys you’d find in a standard desktop unit so you won’t have to learn a bunch of macros.
If you need to browse through large numbers of work documents, the center TrackPoint button makes it very easy to scroll quickly without ever moving your fingers off the keyboard.
For standard web browsing and word processing with the screen dimmed, you can expect up to 10 hours of life on a single charge.
That means you can effectively use the Flex 15 for a full day of classes and never have to be on the lookout for a wall outlet.
While the standard home user probably won’t need a disc drive anymore, some businesses still use installation discs or need to burn data to a physical backup DVD.
That can be a problem when computer shopping. Most laptops these days jettison the optical drive in order to save space and cull down on weight.
Lenovo gives you the best of both worlds with this model with a combined design. The Edge E570 is still only a mere 5 pounds even with a DVD-RW drive installed.
The E570 offers an excellent midway point between speed and storage with a 500GBS solid state drive.
That’s a huge bonus for business users, since you may need to keep a large number of documents on your laptop rather than in the cloud.
By ditching the dedicated graphics card but upping the amount of internal RAM, you get high end performance for any business applications and at a reasonable price as well.
Business users who reviewed the Edge E570 constantly mention how quiet the SSD runs, and love the ThinkPad keyboard design with the TrackPoint button.
This model doesn’t include a touch screen, as that isn’t typically as necessary for business or office operations.
Recommended configuration for Lenovo Thinkpad E590
CPU: Intel Quad Core i7-8565U, | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620| RAM: 32 GB RAM | Screen: 15.6-Inch IPS FHD(1920×1080) Display| Storage: 1 TB SSD + 1 TB HDD | Operating System: Windows 10 Pro | Battery Life: 10 hours | Weight: 4.7 lbs
Lenovo Legion Y540 – Best Gaming
Gaming computers are all about the visuals. What’s the point in getting a gaming laptop if you don’t have the best visual quality while playing your Steam library?
While this model features a standard 15 inch display, the Legion Y540 utilizes an ultra-thin bezel design.
What makes that so special?
Thin bezels means you get more viewing area than with a normal laptop of the same size. You effectively bump up to a larger screen without gaining any extra weight or losing portability.
The Y540 overall is fairly thin for a gaming laptop, at just over 1 inch thick and weighing 5.2 pounds.
Unless you are exclusively using external peripherals, a gaming laptop needs to have the best quality keyboard available.
The Y540 has those features covered, with raised keys featuring 1.7mm key travel. That combo means your keystrokes will be precise and you won’t accidentally hit the wrong key while taking on a difficult boss.
There is one potential downside to note here, however. The Y540 only features white backlighting. If you want multi-zone full RGB lighting on your keyboard, we’d recommend going with the Legion Y720 instead.
The whole reason to spend this amount of money on a gaming laptop is to get better performance than with a home or office machine.
The Y540 is pricier than many of our other contenders, but you get significantly better specs in exchange for that higher price point.
There’s no trade off between storage space or speed, as you get both an SSD and a large HDD for extra capacity.
In terms of graphics and speed, the combo of GTX 1650 video card and Core i7 CPU will keep you playing AAA titles at ultra settings without any problems.
Gaming laptops always have lower battery life than other models, but the Y540 boasts a surprisingly long life for this level of hardware at 5 hours.
Just keep in mind that the performance will be throttled while you aren’t plugged into an outlet!
Gamers who reviewed the Y540 nearly always mention loving the bright screen, large viewing area, and lighting fast gaming performance.
One feature frequently cited by reviewers that’s worth mentioning is how the power port is located on the back rather than the side.
Some gamers love that positioning and others hate it, depending on where their wall outlet is located.
Recommended configuration for Lenovo Legion Y540
CPU: Intel Core i7-9750H Up | Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5 | RAM: 24 GB RAM | Screen: 15. 6” FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS anti-glare display | Storage: 1TB HDD + 512 GB SDD | Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 5 hours | Weight: 9.38 lbs
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 – Budget Laptop
When looking for an affordable laptop on a budget, normally you have to deal with losing out on all the extra features of more expensive models.
That isn’t the case with this particular model, which boasts a surprising number of extra features that you don’t normally find at this price point.
Despite the low price, you still get a security fingerprint scanner and a fully backlit keyboard, which are two features you don’t want to live without these days.
This machine also includes a plastic privacy shutter for the webcam, so you don’t need to get a sticker or piece of tape to put over the camera.
Although you get plenty of extra bells and whistles, this model doesn’t skimp on the important basic specs, either.
While it can’t match the speed or power of the gaming and business units listed above, you still get decent overall performance here with a AMD Ryzen 5 3500U Mobile Processor and 8GB of RAM.
That means you can expect to keep plenty of tabs open at the same time without any speed reduction. The solid state drive also offers extremely fast boot up and data retrieval.
Easily the biggest selling point here is the asking price that’s been steadily going down over the last year.
Currently, this model is available for just under $500 at Amazon, but if you shop smart, you can get it on sale even below that threshold.
The bottom line here is that you won’t find this combination of performance, portability, and extra features for a lower price anywhere else.
While you lose out on the quick boot up speed of a solid state drive and don’t get a fingerprint scanner, you can find that model for around $100 cheaper.
Recommended configuration for Lenovo IdeaPad 3
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3500U Mobile Processor | Graphics: AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics | RAM: 8 GB RAM | Screen: 14.0″ FHD (1920 x 1080) Display | Storage: 256 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 | Battery Life: 8 hours | Weight: 3.3 lbs
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon – Best Overall
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a bit like the Cadillac of Lenovo laptops. While of course you get high end performance and lots of storage space (at a premium price), the real draw is the design.
While you get a spacious 14” display with plenty of view area, this ultrabook only weighs two and a half pounds!
Even though the X1 is thin, it still manages to sport a complement of ports for connecting peripherals. Whether you want to plug in an SD card or use a Thunderbolt USB device, you’re still covered.
For this amount of money, you should expect more than just high performance and fast speeds. The main feature to consider with the Carbon is the top-notch display.
With a 2560 x 1440 WQHD screen, this model has nearly twice the resolution of every other contender in our list.
Although this isn’t a gaming machine, videophiles in particular will be very happy with the quality. When you want crisp and crystal clear visuals for video playback, this should be the Lenovo unit to pick up.
Besides portability, a fast processor, and a high quality screen, there are a few extra features to keep in mind here.
Your laptop is an investment, and it isn’t cheap to replace, which is why you want extra security features. You get two separate layers of security with the Carbon:
- An IR camera, which easily signs you in with facial recognition
- A fingerprint reader for an added layer of protection if you don’t want to remember a password
As with the other ThinkPad models, the Carbon also includes the iconic three button touchpad design, along with the extra red TrackPoint button on the keyboard.
Buyers who picked up the X1 Carbon most frequently cite the excellent battery life and facial recognition camera as their favorite features.
If you don’t mind a heavier model with a gaming design, you can get similar specs by picking the Y540 listed above. That machine obviously isn’t meant for carrying around at the office, however, like with the Carbon.
Recommended configuration for Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
CPU: 10th Gen Core i7-10510U processor | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620| RAM:16 GB | Screen: 14.0″ WQHD (2560 x 1440) IPS, 300 nits, anti-glare Display | Storage: 512 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 Pro | Battery Life: 10 hours | Weight: 2.6 lbs
Lenovo Yoga C930 – Cheap 4K
Lenovo Yoga C930 is not a budget laptop by all means. Just by looking at the prices you can tell that is an entry level premium grade laptop.
But the thing is a 4K display isn’t cheap and with the Lenovo Yoga C930 you’ll get one of the cheapest 4K displays on the market. Asides from the amazing display, the laptop has some nice specs as well.
Its Intel Core i7-8550U processor and an Intel HD Graphics 620 Graphics Card might be a little outdated but these specs are powerful and more than enough to play the latest AAA titles out there. Especially since most games focus efficiency in mind.
Recommended configuration for Lenovo Yoga C930
CPU: Intel Core i7-8550U | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620 | RAM: 16 GB RAM | Screen: 13.9 Inch Energy-efficient LED backlight 4K (3840 x 2160) Ultra HD Touchscreen | Storage: 512 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 Home | Battery Life: 10 hours| Weight: 3.00 lbs
Lenovo Yoga C940 – Flip And Fold Design
The Lenovo Yoga C940 is one hell of a laptop. It has a powerful 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H processor which takes care of all performance issues as well as a powerful NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card for both video editing and gaming.
Multitasking will also be easy with the Lenovo C940 since it has 16 GB of RAM as well. Now despite having specs for a gaming laptop, its ultra-low voltage configuration allows it to maximize its battery life up to 11 hours.
And its most notable features is its flip and fold design which mimics the Dell XPS 13 and 15’s 360-degree adjustability. What’s even better is that its display is touchscreen as well which makes it really convenient.
Recommended configuration for Lenovo Yoga C940
CPU: 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H (2.60GHz, up to 4.50GHz with Turbo Boost, 6 Cores, 12MB Cache) | Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB | RAM: 16 GB RAM | Screen: 15.6″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS, touchscreen, glossy, 500 nits Display| Storage: 512 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10| Battery Life: 11 hours | Weight: 6 lbs
Lenovo Ideapad 330S – Best For Business
The Lenovo Ideapad 330S is ideal for practical businessmen who prefer a functioning laptop over an expensive one with tons of features.
This laptop sports an i3 processor that can go up to 3.4 GHz which isn’t the top of the line but its functional and it will allow you to run most basic everyday programs. It also has 8 GB of RAM which greatle helps in multitasking as well.
You can even do basic video editing with the Lenovo Ideapad 330S since it has a Intel UHD Graphics 620 GPU which helps render files easily. So overall, it doesn’t have amazing specs but they’re funtional and they’re totally worth it considering the price its being sold at.
Recommended configuration for Lenovo Ideapad 330S
CPU: Intel Core i3-8130U Processor up to 3.40GHz | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 8 GB RAM| Screen: 15.6″ HD TN Narrow-bezel LED-backlit Widescreen (1366 x 768) Display | Storage: 256 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 | Battery Life: 4 hours| Weight: 4.12 lbs
Lenovo ThinkPad P53 – Powerful Specs
If you don’t mind a short battery life and a heavy weight, then you might like the Lenovo ThinkPad P53. Design wise, this laptop is big, bulky, but professional looking.
The laptop was designed to be a powerful business laptop means to do some high-end work. It features a 9th gen Intel Core i7-9750H that has over siz cores. This allows the laptop to handle resource intensive programc easily and smoothly.
It also has an amazing graphics card with the NVIDIA Quadro T1000. Although not as popular as the GTX or RTX series, the Quadro series is designed to be just as powerful than the GTX series in terms of power. This explains why the Lenovo ThinkPad P53 is very buiky.
Overall, the Lenovo ThinkPad P53 is an amazing workhorse of a laptop meant to do the heavy lifting for your business and in the office.
Recommended configuration for Lenovo ThinkPad P53
CPU: Intel Core i7-9750H | Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro T1000| RAM: 16 GB RAM | Screen: 15.6″ HDR 400 FHD IPS 500Nits Display | Storage: 512 GB SSD | Operating System: Windows 10 Pro | Battery Life: 2 hours| Weight: 5.50 lbs
Lenovo 100E Chromebook – Budget Chromebook
The Lenovo 100E Chromebook is an amazing chromebook that is meant to do basic tasks. It may not have the best specs and it certainly doesn’t have a lot of memory since it has a 32 GB storage, but this laptop is one of the cheapest laptops on this list.
So it perfectly reasonable. However despite having low-specs, this laptop has a remarkable battery life of 10 hours and its very portable to boot. Its only 11 inches in size and it weighs 2.7 pounds allowing you to bring the chromebook wherever you go.
Additionally, being a chromebook, the Lenovo 100E Chromebook has less bloatware than windows so you’ll be surprised to see these low-specs run smoothly on this cheap but reliable laptop.
In short, if you’re looking for something cheap, portable, and reliable, then the Lenovo 100E Chromebook is the laptop for you.
Recommended configuration for Lenovo 100E Chromebook
CPU: MediaTek MT8173C Processor | Graphics: Powervr GX6250 | RAM: 4GB RAM | Screen: 11.6″ HD (1366 X 768) Display | Storage: 32GB eMMC | Operating System: Chrome OS | Battery Life: 10 hours| Weight: 2.7 lbs
Picking The Best Lenovo laptops In 2023
Keyboard design
You want a comfortable experience when typing all day long.
The keyboard and touchpad are what you will interact with most when using a laptop, so make sure they meet your needs. You don’t want to end up with a powerful computer that you hate using! Always check what size keyboard is featured, and make sure it has the specific buttons you need in a comfortable placement.
Travel friendly
You want a laptop for portability, so you should pick a model that’s as light as possible.
Are you carrying your computer to class, taking it to and from work, or playing games at the coffee shop? We recommended finding a lightweight and thin model, as these are two of the most important features to consider when picking a new laptop.
Screen quality
You’ll spend hundreds or even thousands of hours looking at your laptop screen, so it had better offer a great visual experience!
Don’t overlook the display quality a a major purchasing decision. Whether you are gaming or just typing up work documents all day, you want a bright screen and high resolution to reduce eye strain. We recommend IPS panels with anti-glare features for the best viewing.
Overall performance
You should expect quick speeds and no lag when using multiple tabs or running different programs.
For most users, we recommend Intel i5 or i7 CPUs and 8 – 16GB of RAM to ensure you don’t have a slow, laggy machine. Gamers will also want to make sure they find a decent dedicated graphics card to run games at high frame rates.
Durability
Accidents happen and tech wears down over time, so make sure you pick a model with features that will last longer.
It’s all too easy for a simple drop or spilled cup to render your laptop unusable if you buy a cheaply made machine! We recommend you pick a durable model with a spill-resistant keyboards and aluminum chassis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Lenovo Is Best For Me?
In general, you can break down your laptop buying needs along these product lines:
Pick a ThinkPad for functionality, durability, and excellent keyboard quality.
Pick a Flex or Yoga if you need a 2-in-1 model with a touch screen display.
Pick a Legion if you plan on serious gaming that needs high end graphical power.
Pick a Carbon if you want an elite, lightweight model with a quality display.
Within those product lines, you can then break down your options based on your budget and usage.
What Specs Do I Really Need To Look At With A Lenovo Laptop?
Besides keyboard size and touchpad design, a critical feature that’s often overlooked by buyers is battery life.
Unless you will be near an outlet with your laptop at all times, the higher the battery life, the better. There’s no point in going with a portable computer if it can’t last the entire day before the battery dies.
In particular, the Lenovo Flex 15 and X1 Carbon are known for offering all day life on a single charge. If you absolutely must go 8+ hours without charging, those are the models to look at first.
On the bottom end of the spectrum is the Legion Y7000, as gaming models will always drain the battery significantly faster than office machines.
Aside from battery life, don’t forget about extras like keyboard backlighting or key placement!
These seemingly minor features can make or break your laptop experience. Most laptops will have similar speeds, so ensuring you have a well-lit keyboard with all the keys you need is often more important than RAM or processor types.
Resources
- Lenovo Tech Team, How To Pick The IdeaPad That’s Right For You, Lenovo Support
- Avram Pilitch, Which ThinkPad Is Right For You?, Laptop Mag
- Jack Schofield, Which ThinkPad Should I Buy To Replace My MacBook Air?, The Guardian