I have similar config its one of the best laptops. I use ubuntu and doing low intensity tasks wattage can drop to around 6 - 7 watts ! Absolutely loving it. Also soldered ram has advantage of being faster and lower power usage than swappable ram.
@pijuspaulikas7220 help me please: I am glad you mentioned ubuntu, Please tell me about your experience so far (fingerprint, performance, power management...etc) mine is coming in two weeks and the only two positive reviews I can find are using archlinux and tumbleweed
@@zachkurdi3178 Sorry reading your message too late, but make sure to install latest updates. There was some issue with sound being tiny at first but it got solved maybe a month or two ago when I updated to latest kernel. Now I run kernel 6.1.1 on ubuntu 22.10 everything is perfect.
The argument for soldered ram is whitewash. The power savings over sodimm is utterly negligible. Heck we even have faster and thinner slots now with CAMM2 and LPCAMM2 capable of nearly 10,000Mbps. And even if the savings were appreciable, if you compare that "savings" to the cost of replacing the motherboard due to a bad chip it's just not worth it. The amount of e-waste being generated by this manipulative craze to solder everything to the board is simply inexcusable. Two words: planned obsolescence.
That microphone is either defective, or the person at Lenovo HQ who gave the green light for such a product has lost his mind. That microphone is simply not fit for purpose.
I own this an will attest it is simply awesome. The built quality is hands down better than other thinkpads. Other thinks had sort of a flexible plastic. This is rock solid. And the haptic trackpad is huge improvements. Never liked the hollow clunk of regular thinkpad trackpads.
Great machine. However, I am now wondering whether the product line is still alive or not. After all, the 2nd generation was supposed to be released this August, and it's already October and not a word from Lenovo...
Hi Notebookcheck, your review was pretty great, and I find your in-depth review on your website very useful, especially your display colour profile. I do have questions about your speakers measurements, as I am trying to adjust my Z16 speakers using Dolby Atmos custom EQ: 1. Was your device measured with any Dolby settings applied? (mine came with Dolby Access as part of the pre-installed apps) 2. If so, which sound profile was used for measuring the speakers? 3. Do you have any suggestions for EQ-ing it to match the Macbook Pro speakers? (As the Macbooks' speakers are just... kinda amazing) Thank you for your time! :D
Unfortunately, it is. It seems like there was processing going on that we couldn't deactivate. It is so bad I do not even want to rule out that it is a defect.
Thanks for the review. You think i can use this like a workstation (for CAD, Simulation etc...?), are there other AMD models, who are similar ? This device in in sale at the moment for 1600..... Thanks
Hey Paul, I would say yes, but I don't know your exact requirements. I tried the Z16 for video editing and some post-production in photoshop, and it worked pretty well. if you need more power, you could check out the Legion 7 slim. It comes with Intel + NVIDIA or all AMD.
Some reviewers have pointed out that there is an issue with the touchpad where the touch/click doesn't get registered when some pieces of clothing may be in contact with the touchpad. Have you encountered any of these issues?
Are they really that important? (I am asking as someone who never really actively used them or the TrackPoint) Do you own a ThinkPad with physical buttons? Did you try the new ones? I am genuinely curious!
@@NotebookcheckReviews Yes, important and yes, ThinkPad in daily use. I've owned about 16 ThinkPads over the years. All have been used with TrackPoint and buttons.
I am contemplating between this Z16 and the X1 Carbon. Which system has better battery life? Z16 with Ryzen 7 Pro 6850H or the X1 Carbon with Intel core I7 1260p?
X1 carbon really has a bad battery life this year due to the 12th gen Intel processor. Also the x1 carbon throttles while doing even simple tasks. I suggest you to stick with AMD processors this year. If you are not in hurry and want the x1 carbon form then I suggest you to wait for 3-4 months to see the next model as x1 carbon gen 10 released around 8-9 months ago and a new model is expected just in a few months. We will possibly see an introduction / pre reviews in January in CES.
No. For content creator. No. It has no encoders with RX 6500M. And once that card is in, sorry, no encoders. Disable it it device manager, and you can run davinci render faster on 680M iGPU. ))) If you content creator buy with no RX 6500M, get eGPU for it. If you are a gamer, get 6500M, and it will give 1.5 times perfomance compared to iGPU. But only 1.5 times, and you can't use both as i understand. Mixed feeling. But i was able to upgrade to LTE ;)
It wasn't mentioned, but if you still happen to use it how long is the bootup from a cold start to the Windows login? I am curious is all compared to mine and just wanted to see if it's any faster or slower.
@@NotebookcheckReviews Ah, fair enough. Mine is about a 22 or so second boot from Cold and 32 with fast boot disabled so I just wanted to compare was all. But thank you for the review regardless. It is an excellent machine.
@@WaterlessWine they are all saying XPS 15 has a very bad cooling system cause Dell didn't update it and now run with the hotter 13th gen Intel processors.....I can't belive your comment. Show proof
It should work with a smaller one, but you will get reduced performance or battery drain while doing anything demanding. But since we haven't tested it, I can't be sure!
"Lightest and thinest notebooks in comparison to the competition".... This is not correct. 2kg is anything but light. Even the X1 Extreme is lighter. The MacBook Pro 16 is about the same weight. The LG Gram 16 with 1.2kg is almost half the weight. I wouldn't consider this laptop because it is way to expensive.
The ones we compared it to in this test and the written review are heavier. The X1 from last, the Dell XPS 17, and the Macbook Pro (even if it is just tiny bit) are heavier. Only the XPS 15 is the same weight. We measured weight all by ourselves and did not rely on manufacturer info.
The design is horrible that, this is not a ThinkPad at. It's more like one of the random idea pads, even if it's a well-performing laptop they should have just not used to thinkpad logo on this, they have lost all of the styling and the brand solidarity they built up with thinkpad , in this silly model
fair enough and glad ur happy with it, but its not a proper thinkpad design. they should have branded this something else. it would never stand up to the wear and tear and abuse a thinkpad could@@wlord-lr3mp
This keyboard is simply atrocious, by comparison to the best laptop keyboards in history, aka classic thinkpads (last one in T420/X220 series). Pure shit by comparison, ever since. The mere fact you have to refer to the LOOKS of the keyboard, not it's ergonomics, gives the game away.
you guys are very dedicated with responding to so many comments
We are trying 😅
I have similar config its one of the best laptops. I use ubuntu and doing low intensity tasks wattage can drop to around 6 - 7 watts ! Absolutely loving it. Also soldered ram has advantage of being faster and lower power usage than swappable ram.
I also enjoyed it a lot as a daily "productivity" laptop. Good point about the benefits of soldered RAM.
@pijuspaulikas7220 help me please:
I am glad you mentioned ubuntu, Please tell me about your experience so far (fingerprint, performance, power management...etc) mine is coming in two weeks and the only two positive reviews I can find are using archlinux and tumbleweed
@@zachkurdi3178 Sorry reading your message too late, but make sure to install latest updates. There was some issue with sound being tiny at first but it got solved maybe a month or two ago when I updated to latest kernel. Now I run kernel 6.1.1 on ubuntu 22.10 everything is perfect.
@mmadevgame how is the battery life on ubuntu and do you have the oled screen?
The argument for soldered ram is whitewash. The power savings over sodimm is utterly negligible. Heck we even have faster and thinner slots now with CAMM2 and LPCAMM2 capable of nearly 10,000Mbps. And even if the savings were appreciable, if you compare that "savings" to the cost of replacing the motherboard due to a bad chip it's just not worth it. The amount of e-waste being generated by this manipulative craze to solder everything to the board is simply inexcusable. Two words: planned obsolescence.
That microphone is either defective, or the person at Lenovo HQ who gave the green light for such a product has lost his mind. That microphone is simply not fit for purpose.
Absolutely. Everything else about the Z16 is quite premium until we tried that microphone.
I own this an will attest it is simply awesome. The built quality is hands down better than other thinkpads. Other thinks had sort of a flexible plastic. This is rock solid. And the haptic trackpad is huge improvements. Never liked the hollow clunk of regular thinkpad trackpads.
I would have loved to see the OLED version for this one, that would have made it perfect!
You have a great, positive-vibed speaking technique which makes these thorough and concise reviews a pleasure to watch. Sub’d.
Thanks a ton for the kind words!
Great review of a nice laptop but that mic is painful
Thank you!
And yes, no way to sugarcoat that :D
Great machine. However, I am now wondering whether the product line is still alive or not. After all, the 2nd generation was supposed to be released this August, and it's already October and not a word from Lenovo...
They just posted their pdf manual yesterday for the Z16 2nd Gen.. I too am waiting for it to drop
Hi Notebookcheck, your review was pretty great, and I find your in-depth review on your website very useful, especially your display colour profile.
I do have questions about your speakers measurements, as I am trying to adjust my Z16 speakers using Dolby Atmos custom EQ:
1. Was your device measured with any Dolby settings applied? (mine came with Dolby Access as part of the pre-installed apps)
2. If so, which sound profile was used for measuring the speakers?
3. Do you have any suggestions for EQ-ing it to match the Macbook Pro speakers? (As the Macbooks' speakers are just... kinda amazing)
Thank you for your time! :D
Mic is surprisingly terrible
Unfortunately, it is. It seems like there was processing going on that we couldn't deactivate.
It is so bad I do not even want to rule out that it is a defect.
It's the physical manifestation of "💀"
Thanks for the review. You think i can use this like a workstation (for CAD, Simulation etc...?), are there other AMD models, who are similar ?
This device in in sale at the moment for 1600..... Thanks
Hey Paul, I would say yes, but I don't know your exact requirements. I tried the Z16 for video editing and some post-production in photoshop, and it worked pretty well.
if you need more power, you could check out the Legion 7 slim. It comes with Intel + NVIDIA or all AMD.
Some reviewers have pointed out that there is an issue with the touchpad where the touch/click doesn't get registered when some pieces of clothing may be in contact with the touchpad. Have you encountered any of these issues?
Interesting, we had no problems with the touchpad whatsoever during our time with th Z16.
For TrackPoint users the lack of physical buttons is a deal-breaker.
Are they really that important? (I am asking as someone who never really actively used them or the TrackPoint)
Do you own a ThinkPad with physical buttons? Did you try the new ones?
I am genuinely curious!
@@NotebookcheckReviews Yes, important and yes, ThinkPad in daily use. I've owned about 16 ThinkPads over the years. All have been used with TrackPoint and buttons.
Interesting. Have you tried the new non-physical buttons? I would love to hear your thoughts if you have properly used them.
@@NotebookcheckReviews No, and I have not found *any* haptic feedback buttons that match or exceed the user experience of physical buttons.
@@NotebookcheckReviews Lenovo did away with the buttons on the T540 they quickly came back for the T550
I am contemplating between this Z16 and the X1 Carbon. Which system has better battery life? Z16 with Ryzen 7 Pro 6850H or the X1 Carbon with Intel core I7 1260p?
We are currently working on our X1 review, as soon as we have that one done, I can answer your question! :)
@@NotebookcheckReviews Awesome! Thank you.
X1 carbon really has a bad battery life this year due to the 12th gen Intel processor. Also the x1 carbon throttles while doing even simple tasks. I suggest you to stick with AMD processors this year. If you are not in hurry and want the x1 carbon form then I suggest you to wait for 3-4 months to see the next model as x1 carbon gen 10 released around 8-9 months ago and a new model is expected just in a few months. We will possibly see an introduction / pre reviews in January in CES.
This is the Irish Wolfhound puppy!🐕🦺 It would have been the perfect professional laptop with HDMI and a decent microphone array.
I hope the second Generation uses a 120hz display ;w;
That would be great!
No. For content creator. No. It has no encoders with RX 6500M. And once that card is in, sorry, no encoders. Disable it it device manager, and you can run davinci render faster on 680M iGPU. ))) If you content creator buy with no RX 6500M, get eGPU for it. If you are a gamer, get 6500M, and it will give 1.5 times perfomance compared to iGPU. But only 1.5 times, and you can't use both as i understand.
Mixed feeling. But i was able to upgrade to LTE ;)
so bizarre to see such a premium product paired with such a potato gpu
*nice "hell on earth" wallpaper!*
haha, sure is!
It wasn't mentioned, but if you still happen to use it how long is the bootup from a cold start to the Windows login? I am curious is all compared to mine and just wanted to see if it's any faster or slower.
Hi there, unfortunately we have not timed this. It was very snappy tho, nothing out of the ordinary.
@@NotebookcheckReviews Ah, fair enough. Mine is about a 22 or so second boot from Cold and 32 with fast boot disabled so I just wanted to compare was all. But thank you for the review regardless. It is an excellent machine.
I’m really contemplating between this and Dell XPS 15. Can you tell me if there has been any issues recently ?
While my colleagues had some initial problems, as mentioned in the review. It worked flawlessly during my time with it (about three weeks)
I have tried both and prefer the Thinkpad for my usecase as a 3D animator. The XPS though has the advantage of running cooler and quieter.
@@WaterlessWine they are all saying XPS 15 has a very bad cooling system cause Dell didn't update it and now run with the hotter 13th gen Intel processors.....I can't belive your comment. Show proof
I was talking about the one with the 12th gen intel
@@sebcastilho me too, same problem....with 13th worst then ever
One big issue IMO with this laptop is that there is no HDMI 2.1 port.
+1, and a poor microphone array. Strange omissions.
Does it work with smaller 65 or 45 W USB-C charger? or it requires 135 W?
It should work with a smaller one, but you will get reduced performance or battery drain while doing anything demanding. But since we haven't tested it, I can't be sure!
do you think i should upgrade my t480s
That is something only you can decide for yourself!
I like that wallpaper
I found it on unsplash!
gimme the wallpaper pls
You can find it on unsplash.com
Just look for "abstract wallpaper"
I'm sorry but can the SSD and RAM be updated later?
the microphone sounds worse than in 20 year old laptops lol
Very true, but I really think there was something wrong with our sample.
The only thing I don't like is the hand grip on top of the screen. It's super ugly.
Its actually pretty hands, and I must admit I do not mind it. At least it is something different!
Fanabol adapter 😂
"Lightest and thinest notebooks in comparison to the competition".... This is not correct. 2kg is anything but light. Even the X1 Extreme is lighter. The MacBook Pro 16 is about the same weight. The LG Gram 16 with 1.2kg is almost half the weight. I wouldn't consider this laptop because it is way to expensive.
The ones we compared it to in this test and the written review are heavier. The X1 from last, the Dell XPS 17, and the Macbook Pro (even if it is just tiny bit) are heavier. Only the XPS 15 is the same weight.
We measured weight all by ourselves and did not rely on manufacturer info.
@@NotebookcheckReviews I am sure you got the weight correct. I guess "light" is subjective. But personally I would not call a 2kg light.
@@bart9522 I’d agree mostly, but i just picked up this laptop for 1699AUD(1100USD) which i think is a bargain!
Your wallpaper is bone crack?
Just something I have found on unsplash! :)
Can just make out accent.
haha, oops ;)
The design is horrible that, this is not a ThinkPad at. It's more like one of the random idea pads, even if it's a well-performing laptop they should have just not used to thinkpad logo on this, they have lost all of the styling and the brand solidarity they built up with thinkpad , in this silly model
@@wlord-lr3mp incorrect
fair enough and glad ur happy with it, but its not a proper thinkpad design. they should have branded this something else. it would never stand up to the wear and tear and abuse a thinkpad could@@wlord-lr3mp
This keyboard is simply atrocious, by comparison to the best laptop keyboards in history, aka classic thinkpads (last one in T420/X220 series). Pure shit by comparison, ever since.
The mere fact you have to refer to the LOOKS of the keyboard, not it's ergonomics, gives the game away.
Keyboards are a very subjective thing. What might be atrocious for you might be more than adequate for someone else.
I enjoyed the Z16s quite a bit.
trashbook
Why is that?