Lenovo ThinkPad T480
Hacker ApprovedRanked 10 of 63 laptops by recommenders
Durable, repairable ThinkPad that many people still use for modern work, with cheap used prices and good Linux support. Critics point to a dated CPU and failing ports.
Durable, repairable ThinkPad that many people still use for modern work, with cheap used prices and good Linux support. Critics point to a dated CPU and failing ports.
51 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 40
- criticize it
- 11
- approval share
- 78%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 40 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 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
Still capable with enough RAM and storage
“still a very decent machine in 2026 even when used by a browser tab messy with a bunch of electron apps opened all the time”
Comment from 4 Mar 2026 in “Lenovo's New ThinkPads Score 10/10 for Repairability” “they run Linux so personally I don't see any reason to upgrade any time soon”
Comment from 18 Jan 2026 in “Spirit of ThinkPad” “it's incredibly repairable. I still use the t480 for modern workloads”
Comment from 26 Jul 2026 in “Using ThinkPad T480 as a mobile phone” - Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “Using ThinkPad T480 as a mobile phone”
- Comment from 18 Jan 2026 in “Spirit of ThinkPad”
Repairable with cheap, available parts
“I have 4 t480s...and I buy new ones to cannibalize rather than replace the parts as works out to be still cheaper.”
Comment from 26 Jul 2026 in “Using ThinkPad T480 as a mobile phone” “Lenovo has also done a great job with keeping their detailed service manuals online and available.”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “I'm a laptop weirdo and that's why I like my new Framework 13” “Thinkpads were really awesome, you could easily fix that thing by buying parts from eBay.”
Comment from 29 Oct 2026 in “MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display and Touch” - Comment from 4 Mar 2026 in “Lenovo's New ThinkPads Score 10/10 for Repairability”
- Comment from 3 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: I haven't had to buy a Windows computer in 20 years”
- Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Used ThinkPad Buyer's Guide (2019)”
- Comment from 30 Mar 2026 in “My MacBook Keyboard Is Broken and It's Insanely Expensive to Fix”
- Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “I'm a laptop weirdo and that's why I like my new Framework 13”
Affordable on the used market
“a lot of models almost a decade old such as 480s or 490s with IPS screens that are very affordable second-hand.”
Comment from 7 Sep 2026 in “Should You Buy a ThinkPad?” “just buying a Thinkpad t480 you can buy for 200$”
Comment from 13 Mar 2026 in “"This Is Not the Computer for You"” “Managed to get 2x16Gb sticks for not much money.”
Comment from 26 Oct 2026 in “The Curse of Soldered RAM” - Comment from 10 Jun 2026 in “Raspberry Pi 5 – 16 GB, $350”
Works well with Linux and FreeBSD
“they also support Coreboot and Libreboot so you no longer have to rely on Lenovo for firmware updates”
Comment from 4 Nov 2025 in “Dual-core ThinkPad owner, wondering about Black Friday trends?” “they run Linux so personally I don't see any reason to upgrade any time soon”
Comment from 18 Jan 2026 in “Spirit of ThinkPad” “I own these and they also work great with FreeBSD”
Comment from 9 Apr 2026 in “FreeBSD Laptop Compatibility: Top Laptops to Use with FreeBSD” - Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “I'm a laptop weirdo and that's why I like my new Framework 13”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
CPU feels dated for some tasks
“CPU is feeling a bit long in the tooth for some compiling tasks.”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Used ThinkPad Buyer's Guide (2019)” “I was let down by the Intel processor that would throttle very badly”
Comment from 18 Jan 2026 in “Spirit of ThinkPad” “Even a riced T480 can have all that, except the CPU.”
Comment from 22 Sep 2026 in “Used ThinkPad Buyer's Guide (2019)” Ports failing on many units
“sad to see my laptop from college die for a reason like the port dying”
Comment from 26 Jul 2026 in “Using ThinkPad T480 as a mobile phone” “ports physically failing on a lot of t480s”
Comment from 26 Jul 2026 in “Using ThinkPad T480 as a mobile phone” WWAN and wireless card restrictions
“I would have never imagined that the Lenovo WWAN approach would not even support audio calling”
Comment from 26 Jul 2026 in “Using ThinkPad T480 as a mobile phone” “It has whitelist for wireless cards ? That's just evil”
Comment from 26 Jul 2026 in “Using ThinkPad T480 as a mobile phone”
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 T480This page | 40 | 11 | 78% | 10 | — | Approved |
What people said
40 of the 64 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Thinkpads were really awesome, you could easily fix that thing by buying parts from eBay.”
“Managed to get 2x16Gb sticks for not much money.”
“everything except the keyboard is replaceable”
“CPU is feeling a bit long in the tooth for some compiling tasks.”
“Even a riced T480 can have all that, except the CPU.”
“There are however a lot of models almost a decade old such as 480s or 490s with IPS screens that are very affordable second-hand.”
“a lot of models almost a decade old such as 480s or 490s with IPS screens that are very affordable second-hand.”
“my T420 and T480 being great, despite not having consumer “looks””
“with no intention of retiring either anytime soon”
“with plenty of RAM and storage it's still very capable”
“ports physically failing on a lot of t480s”
“I have 4 t480s...and I buy new ones to cannibalize rather than replace the parts as works out to be still cheaper.”
“It has whitelist for wireless cards ? That's just evil”
“I would have never imagined that the Lenovo WWAN approach would not even support audio calling”
“sad to see my laptop from college die for a reason like the port dying”
“it's incredibly repairable. I still use the t480 for modern workloads”
“I love the hackability of Thinkpads circa that generation.”
“I got an i5 Thinkpad T480 for 100usd”
“will happily take any power provided voltage is high enough (15V+)”
“with dual battery was a really great idea”
“I own these and they also work great with FreeBSD”
“replacing it myself was a 2 minute job”
“I decided to optimize my computer instead.”
“just buying a Thinkpad t480 you can buy for 200$”
“still a very decent machine in 2026 even when used by a browser tab messy with a bunch of electron apps opened all the time”
“T480 has been pretty good and even supports an eGPU over Thunderbolt”
“maxing out a T440p, T430, or T480 is a fun exercise and not very difficult nor expensive”
“I was let down by the Intel processor that would throttle very badly”
“the machine is still capable for most use cases today”
“There are some design issues with the T480”
“they run Linux so personally I don't see any reason to upgrade any time soon”
“I was referring more to the classic T4XX line, like T480, T490 etc.”
“this appears to work but is less stable than Xorg”
“Lenovo has also done a great job with keeping their detailed service manuals online and available.”
“T480 is indeed superb (except for being on the heavy side)”
“easily fixable and Linux friendly HW”
“get an old enterprise machine off ebay and add more RAM”
“The Thinkpad was a major step up in quality compared to everything I had before”
“Screen has also been replaced with a low power usage screen which helps a lot in saving battery”
“they also support Coreboot and Libreboot so you no longer have to rely on Lenovo for firmware updates”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.