Lenovo ThinkPad T series
Shares rank 23 of 63 laptops by recommenders
Recommended for a sturdy build, easy repairability and long life, with owners reporting around 10 years of use. Critics most often say recent models have cheaper builds.
Recommended for a sturdy build, easy repairability and long life, with owners reporting around 10 years of use. Critics most often say recent models have cheaper builds.
30 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 19
- criticize it
- 11
- approval share
- 63%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 10 years
Median of the 3 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 19 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Sturdy, well-built body
“Only the T and X series benefit from the Japanese design studios though and have the build quality to match.”
Comment from 12 Mar 2026 in “MacBook Neo Is a 'Shock' to the PC Industry: Asus Co-CEO” “rigidly built body using magnesium/aluminum alloys, good input devices and IO”
Comment from 1 Apr 2026 in “My MacBook Keyboard Is Broken and It's Insanely Expensive to Fix” “the latest Thinkpad T series is 10/10, so a better build is clearly possible”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “Jeff Geerling: The Framework 12 is dead. Apple killed it [video]” - Comment from 4 Mar 2026 in “Apple Introduces MacBook Neo”
Highly repairable design
“the new Lenovo T series Gen 7 (10/10 iFixit Repair Score) which has LPCAMM2 memory”
Comment from 4 Mar 2026 in “Apple Introduces MacBook Pro with All‑New M5 Pro and M5 Max” “the T series thinkpads tend to have a high repairability rating (9/10 on ifixit )”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “I'm a laptop weirdo and that's why I like my new Framework 13” “There are “repairable” laptops, and then there are ThinkPad T-series laptops”
Comment from 4 Mar 2026 in “Lenovo's New ThinkPads Score 10/10 for Repairability” Lasts many years
“I used a work provided thinkpad in 2000 and I really liked it at the time.”
Comment from 16 Mar 2026 in “MacBook Neo Is a 'Shock' to the PC Industry: Asus Co-CEO” “still going like new after 8 years”
Comment from 16 Nov 2025 in “Linux on the Fujitsu Lifebook U729” Reliable, just works
“Thinkpad T models (and other "professional" lines) are fine IME”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: Quality of recent gens of Dell/Lenovo laptops worse than 10 years ago?” “on right hardware (e.g. Thinkpad T series) also just works™”
Comment from 20 Mar 2026 in “Our Commitment to Windows Quality”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Dim, low-colour screens
“Despite being heavier, wider, taller, thicker, slower, dimmer, lower resolution, hotter, older”
Comment from 12 Mar 2026 in “MacBook Neo Review: No Other Budget Laptop Can Compete” “all ThinkPad T series screens are terrible with low brightness and 45% NTSC color range”
Comment from 21 Nov 2025 in “HP and Dell disable HEVC support built into their laptops' CPUs” Heavier, not slim or light
“Despite being heavier, wider, taller, thicker, slower, dimmer, lower resolution, hotter, older”
Comment from 12 Mar 2026 in “MacBook Neo Review: No Other Budget Laptop Can Compete” “it's neither slim nor light”
Comment from 7 Mar 2026 in “Apple Introduces MacBook Neo”
Other laptops people recommend
The four most recommended other laptops, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple MacBook Pro | 928 | 688 | 57% | 13 | 5 yrs248 owners | — |
| Apple MacBook Neo | 707 | 355 | 66% | 9 | 1 mo8 owners | — |
| MacBook Air | 633 | 209 | 75% | 12 | 5 yrs130 owners | Approved |
| Apple MacBook | 499 | 348 | 59% | 12 | 9 yrs77 owners | — |
| Lenovo ThinkPad T seriesThis page | 19 | 11 | 63% | 7 | 10 yrs3 owners | — |
What people said
34 of the 36 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the recent lenovo Ts just suck, cheap builds”
“the trackpoint nib had a reputation for causing a bright spot on the LCD within a year or two”
“the latest Thinkpad T series is 10/10, so a better build is clearly possible”
“Some lines are better than others. I buy T series”
“the x line and t line (I think?) have RAM soldered on so no upgrades”
“USB-C port stops charging and requires motherboard replacement, thermal issues, weak speakers”
“ThinkPad T (maybe P also) series is better for me (and it's not that close)”
“rigidly built body using magnesium/aluminum alloys, good input devices and IO”
“on right hardware (e.g. Thinkpad T series) also just works™”
“I used a work provided thinkpad in 2000 and I really liked it at the time.”
“Only the T and X series benefit from the Japanese design studios though and have the build quality to match.”
“Despite being heavier, wider, taller, thicker, slower, dimmer, lower resolution, hotter, older”
“The choice is really simple: it's a Thinkpad series T, with an AMD APU, the most powerful configuration you can afford”
“you've got a very competent device that is better specced for light use and friendlier for mom and pop”
“Even just within the Thinkpad lineup, their website is a mess.”
“the ThinkPad still is a much better pick than the MacBook Neo”
“I keep on buying T series because I'm honestly afraid of trying anything else.”
“it's neither slim nor light”
“the new Lenovo T series Gen 7 (10/10 iFixit Repair Score) which has LPCAMM2 memory”
“Ts-series are nice and slim.”
“The flagship T-series are still tough as nails, generally speaking”
“There are “repairable” laptops, and then there are ThinkPad T-series laptops”
“They must be the most overrated product I've used.”
“Lenovo are really running out of good will as far as I am concerned.”
“fiber reinforced plastic is arguably a more suitable laptop case material than aluminum”
“An ex lease Thinkpad T Series with Intel graphics is a good choice for value and compatibility.”
“the T series thinkpads tend to have a high repairability rating (9/10 on ifixit )”
“Even Lenovo Thinkpad T keyboards are terrible now due to it.”
“Not sure about anything else, have ONLY used those.”
“Upload a picture of your Framework 13 or Thinkpad T/X-series pre-T440”
“Thinkpad T models (and other "professional" lines) are fine IME”
“their near-complete shunning of AMD CPUs has been a FAIL”
“all ThinkPad T series screens are terrible with low brightness and 45% NTSC color range”
“still going like new after 8 years”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.