Lenovo ThinkPad T14 G4 AMD Laptop Review: Ryzen power in the compact ThinkPad

Bread and butter business with AMD. The ThinkPad T series is one of the most important parts of Lenovo’s enterprise PC portfolio. Corporate purchasers get the choice: AMD or Intel for their client. There are arguments for both – with efficiency being on the side of the ThinkPad T14 Gen 4 AMD.

Benjamin Herzig 👁 (translated by Benjamin Herzig), Published 12/27/2023 🇩🇪

Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

Lenovo uses the design of the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 without change. Quality wise, the dark-grey ThinkPad T14 G4 is positioned below the ThinkPad T14s G4, but above the ThinkPad L14 G4. The entire outer casing is made out of plastic with a matte black coating; there is an internal magnesium frame. This makes the ThinkPad laptop tough, but the chassis is less stiff compared with full-metal laptops.

One very annoying facet of this unit: The device creaks a little in the front right corner. The identical build of the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 G4 Intel did not exhibit this. Lenovo should be able to control such variances in quality better. 

Of high-quality are the drop down hinges with their silver metal caps, they allow no wiggling. Opening the screen with one hand is not possible. Typical for ThinkPads is the maximum opening angle of 180 degrees. 

The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 G4 plays in the same weight class as HP’s EliteBook 845 G10. Compared with the Dell Latitude 7440 and the ThinkPad T14s G4, it is slightly heavier. In terms of size, all four business models are comparable, only the Dell is slightly more compact.

      HP EliteBook 845 G10 5Z4X0ES       Lenovo ThinkPad T14 G4 21K4S02000       Lenovo ThinkPad T14s G4-21F8002TGE       Dell Latitude 7440       DIN A4 323.6 mm / 12.7 inch 214.7 mm / 8.45 inch 17.9 mm / 0.705 inch 1.5 kg3.24 lbs317.7 mm / 12.5 inch 226.9 mm / 8.93 inch 17.9 mm / 0.705 inch 1.5 kg3.23 lbs317.5 mm / 12.5 inch 226.9 mm / 8.93 inch 16.9 mm / 0.665 inch 1.4 kg2.98 lbs313 mm / 12.3 inch 220.2 mm / 8.67 inch 17.95 mm / 0.707 inch 1.2 kg2.69 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch 210 mm / 8.27 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 5.7 g0.01257 lbs

One defining feature of the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 is the RJ45 Ethernet port, a now rare standard on a laptop. This differentiates this model from the ThinkPad T14s G4 as well. Compared to this line, the ThinkPad T14 G4 AMD only sports a single USB4 port. This is a difference compared with the ThinkPad T14 G4 Intel as well, which has two Thunderbolt 4 ports.

Lenovo uses the Qualcomm WCN685x as the main communication solution of the AMD ThinkPads. This 2×2 module supports the WiFi 6E standard and delivers great transfer rates in the 6 GHz spectrum as well.

As an alternative to WiFi, the Gigabit Ethernet port is available. In addition, the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 G4 is optionally available with 4G LTE. The review unit is WWAN upgradable.

Lenovo has upgraded its webcams from 1080p to a five megapixel resolution. In ideal lighting, the picture is indeed noticeably sharper. Darker lighting quickly deteriorates the quality. Smartphones still have much better cameras. 

Enterprise laptops are known for their wide array of security features. The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 G4 is an excellent example for this: Apart from the Kensington lock slot, the review device has a dedicated TPM 2.0 chip as well. For a fast and secure log-in, Lenovo equips its ThinkPad with a fingerprint reader and an IR camera for Windows Hello. In addition, the webcam has a mechanical privacy shutter.

Apart from the 65 W USB C charger, there is no additional equipment in the box.

Business laptops are pretty much always easier to open and repair than other device classes. In total, there are seven Phillips head screws and a few clips at the back and sides. After loosening them, the ThinkPad T14 Gen 4 reveals its innards. Unfortunately, there are not many ways to upgrade this model. The RAM of the AMD model is always soldered down, as opposed to the Intel model. The WiFi chip is on-board, too. Only the SSD is upgradeable and there is an open M.2 2242 slot for the optional WWAN module. The battery is only screwed in and the cooling system can be cleaned easily.

A special feature of this model, which is rarely seen today: A user replaceable keyboard. This is an important difference with other, thinner ThinkPads. The keyboard is an expendable part, so it is very useful that it can be easily changed.

The reviewed laptop is a special model for students which has a three year warranty with on-site service and premier support as well as a longer warranty for the internal battery. The warranty is good for three years, with an optional upgrade to five years possible. On-site service and premier support are only available in Germany for this German model. Internationally, there is bring-in service.

Lenovo did not change the input devices compared to the previous generation. Overall, this means that the chiclet keyboard with 1.5 mm travel and slightly concave keys has the ThinkPad-typical layout with two levels of LED key-lighting. One of the benefits of the layout are the well-spaced arrow keys. A downside on the other hand is the FN/Ctrl arrangement, which will be unusual for many users. The typing feel of the smooth keys is excellent, though not quite as luxurious as it used to be. Still, it is one of the best laptop keyboards on the market.

Like the keyboard, touchpad and TrackPoint are unchanged. The touchpad has a plastic surface with a slightly below average size and an integrated click mechanism, though only the lower half of the clickpad is actually clickable. The touchpad is smooth enough to allow the fingers to effortlessly glide accross, but it is also pretty dirt-susceptible. The subjective quality feeling does not quite measure up to glass touchpads. The click mechanism is great though, there is no wobbling. Equally high-quality is the red TrackPoint, which can be used together with the dedicated mouse keys above the touchpad. Users control the mouse with easy by putting pressure on the rubber cap and the dedicated buttons are both quiet and smooth. All on all, these are great input devices that make working a pleasant experience.

Buyers get plenty of choice when it comes to the screen options of ThinkPad laptops. This is true for the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 4 AMD as well, there are six different panels on offer. All share the screen size of 14 inches and the 16:10 format.  

• WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200), IPS, 300 cd/m², 45 % NTSC, matte
• WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200), IPS, 300 cd/m², 45 % NTSC, matte, On-Cell Touch
• WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200), IPS, 400 cd/m², 72 % NTSC, matte, Low Power
• WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200), IPS, 500 cd/m², 72 % NTSC, matte, On-Cell Touch, Privacy guard
• 2.2K (2,240 x 1,400), IPS, 300 cd/m², 72 % NTSC, matte
• 2.8K (2,880 x 1,800), OLED, 400 cd/m², 100 % DCI P3, semi glossy, Dolby Vision

For individual customers, the low power panel that we review is probably the most popular and well rounded choice. The panel misses the 400 cd/m² target only barely, with an average of 379 cd/m². The maximum brightness of 398 cd/m² is almost on point. When compared with the other business laptops, only the Dell Latitude 7440 with its WQXGA screen is able to deliver a much higher screen brightness.