Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 G1 OLED Review - Business-Laptop with an AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 6860Z

[Redaktion]

Lenovo's new AMD ThinkPad Z13 comes with an exclusive AMD processor and the high-end version also gets an OLED screen and a leatherette lid that flaunts bronze-hued accents. It looks stylish, but is it still a 'business laptop'?

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-Z13-G1-OLED-Review-Business-Laptop-with-an-AMD-Ryzen-7-Pro-6860Z.665205.0.html

[SZQ]

Thank you for the in-depth review. I'm looking for a 13" ultra portable.

I think you are the only ones who have reviewed both the IPS non-touch and the OLED with touch. May I ask, is the OLED touch panel much more reflective than the IPS panel? I don't really have a preference between IPS and OLED but would like the hi-res option. Shame there is not a hi-res IPS version.

That battery life hit over the IPS base model is substantial, almost cut in half!

Thanks.

[Dorby]

@SQZ:

OLED vs IPS is not the major factor in battery life differences. For instance, a 4K IPS glossy touchscreen will draw a lot more battery than a 2.8K OLED touchscreen. That is just the result of using higher resolution.
In this case, having Ryzen 6860Z (6800U) instead of 6650U on the OLED Z13 model also contributes to the shorter battery.

If you want all-day battery life on a high-res IPS, look into laptops with 2.5K display + >70Wh battery + U-series CPU.

[Russell]

Is there a z13 with 6800u, ips lcd and 1TB+ with at least 32GB RAM?

[KeyserSoze]

Hi,

Are you going to review the Lenovo T14S Gen3 with and AMD processor?

FYI: It is time to replace my X1 Carbon and reading the reviews and Reddit comments, if I want to avoid the Intel models with thermal issues, I would need to go with AMD.

Thanks in advance.

[Andreas Osthoff]

Yes, the T14s AMD is currently in review.

[SZQ]

@SQZ:

OLED vs IPS is not the major factor in battery life differences. For instance, a 4K IPS glossy touchscreen will draw a lot more battery than a 2.8K OLED touchscreen. That is just the result of using higher resolution.
In this case, having Ryzen 6860Z (6800U) instead of 6650U on the OLED Z13 model also contributes to the shorter battery.

If want all-day battery life on a high-res IPS, you want to look at laptops with 2.5K Non-touch IPS display + >70Wh battery.

Yeah, I guess it's unfair to put the reduced battery life on the OLED tech itself. As you say, it's more from the higher resolution.

I don't really have a preference between OLED and IPS. I just want a higher resolution display with non-touch. In my limited experience, the touch panel makes the display look plasticky and adds even more reflections to a glossy panel. If it was a work only machine then I would go for a matte FullHD display. But for a general purpose machine then I prefer a glossy hi-res non touch. Preferably with no PWM detection.

The Asus ZenBook S 13 OLED has a nice 2.8K display and still has great battery life. There should be a non touch version somewhere but I cannot find it.

[Dorby]

@SQZ:

MacBook Pro 13 - 2.5K non-touch, 60Wh battery, M1 chip
Lenovo Slim 7 ProX 14 - 3K non-touch, 70Wh battery, Ryzen HS-series
Lenovo Yoga 7 14 - 2.2K touch, 71Wh battery, Ryzen U-series / Intel P-series
HP Envy x360 13 - 2.5K touch, 66Wh battery, Intel U-series
Asus ZenBook 14 UM3402 - 2.8K non-touch, 75Wh battery, Ryzen U-series
Asus ZenBook 14 UX3402 - 2.8K non-touch, 75Wh battery, Intel P-series
Asus VivoBook S 14 / 14X - 2.8K non-touch, 70Wh battery, Ryzen H-series

That's about it for the list of 2022 high-res ultrabooks with long battery life. The most affordable option being VivoBook S 14, which starts at ~$600 in Asia.

Actually touchscreen doesn't affect battery life as much as being high-resolution or OLED, a good example is Lenovo Yoga 7 14 (2022) which lasts over 10 hours configured with 2.2K IPS touchscreen.

[SZQ]

@Dorby
Thanks for the list!

I don't need a huge amount of performance so I'm leaning towards the MacBook Air M2. I don't upgrade often, maybe every 3-5 years, so I don't mind paying more for quality and long battery life knowing that it will degrade over time. That's why I am considering the Thinkpad Z13 and the MacBook Air. Don't know much about Asus but they seem ok.

It's not urgent so I'll do some more research. Hopefully availability will improve soon and prices may come down.

Cheers!

[Nathan S]

If the 6860Z is simlar to the 6850U, and the OLED is a battery killer, it seems to me the Lenovo Z13 6850U with 680M and an IPS screen is the best of both worlds!  Strange that this version has not been reviewed! Similar battery life to Macbook M2, and better performance than other ultrabooks.

[SZQ]

@Nathan S
They reviewed the Z13 6650U with matte FullHD IPS. I am guessing the results will be similar except the performance will be better with the 6850U.

I have pretty much decided to go for a M2 MacBook Air (16GB RAM and 512GB storage). In my region (Japan) it is cheaper than the equivalent Z13 and as a bonus I can get it with the keyboard layout of my choice. The display is well balanced between hi dpi and glossy with anti-reflective coating. Much better than the glossy touchscreens or low-res matte displays. Also, the SSD in the Z13 is poor. Some reviews say the boot time is quite long.

[Ciccio]

Could you please add color banding/posterization and black crush tests for displays. It is a very important aspect to analyze for many buyers and one that very few care to discuss in laptop reviews.
Thanks for the great reviews!

[Natalatan]

If you want all-day battery life on a high-res IPS, look into laptops with 2.5K display + >70Wh battery + U-series CPU.
[/quote]

Does this laptop exist? I've been searching! Yoga 9i comes close but I can't find AMD in Canada