Lenovo ThinkPad 14" T490 Black
The quad-core i7-8550U and 16GB of RAM provide capable multitasking for office workloads, while the 1TB SSD offers ample storage in a 3.2-pound chassis. Its durable, MIL-STD tested build and best-in-class keyboard are complemented by a versatile port selection including Thunderbolt 3 and Ethernet. This refurbished machine is best for students or business users who need a reliable, budget-friendly workhorse for document editing and web-based research.
CPU Intel Core i7 8550U
RAM 16 GB
Storage 1 TB
Screen 14" 1920x1080
GPU Intel UHD Graphics 620
OS Windows 11 Pro
Weight 1.8 kg
47 Overall Score
Price CA$640
Snapshot
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Strong port selection (81st percentile) 81st
- Strong reliability (80th percentile) 80th
- Strong portability (72nd percentile) 72nd
- Strong storage (68th percentile) 68th
Cons
- Below average cpu (8th percentile)
- Below average social proof (19th percentile)
What owners think
How owner sentiment changed over time
ExclusiveBased on when customers actually wrote their reviews - so you can see whether early praise held up.
Owner sentiment has held steady over time
Based on 2 dated customer reviews, grouped by calendar quarter. Period analysis is in English.
The proof
Performance
Specifications
Full Specifications
Processor
| CPU | Intel Core i7 8550U |
| Cores | 4 |
| Frequency | 1.8 GHz |
| L3 Cache | 8 MB |
Graphics
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 620 |
| Type | Integrated |
| VRAM Type | Shared |
Memory & Storage
| RAM | 16 GB |
| RAM Generation | DDR4 |
| Storage | 1 TB |
| Storage Type | SSD |
Display
| Size | 14" |
| Resolution | 1920x1080 (Full HD) |
| Panel | IPS |
Connectivity
| USB-C Ports | 2 |
| USB Ports | 3 |
| Thunderbolt | 1 x Thunderbolt |
| HDMI | 1 x HDMI |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 4 and earlier generation |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Ethernet | 1 x RJ-45 (1Gbps) |
Physical
| Weight | 1.8 kg / 3.9 lbs |
| OS | Windows 11 Pro |
vs Competition
| Spec | Lenovo ThinkPad 14" T490 | Apple MacBook Pro M5 | MSI Prestige PRE13EVOA2088 | ASUS ProArt PX13 | Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition | Acer Predator Helios Neo PHN16-73-95G8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7 8550U | Apple M5 | Intel Core Ultra 7 258V | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100 | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX |
| RAM (GB) | 16 | 16 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
| Storage (GB) | 1024 | 1024 | 1000 | 1000 | 1024 | 1024 |
| Screen | 14" 1920x1080 | 14.2" 3024x1964 | 13.3" 2880x1800 | 13.3" 2880x1800 | 15" 2496x1664 | 16" 2560x1600 |
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 620 | Apple (10-Core) | Intel Arc Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 | Qualcomm Adreno | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 |
| OS | Windows 11 Pro | macOS | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Home |
| Weight (kg) | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 2.7 |
| Battery (Wh) | - | 72 | - | 73 | 66 | 90 |
| Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare |
| Product | CPU | GPU | RAM | Ports | Screen | Portability | Storage | Reliability | Social Proof |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo ThinkPad 14" T490 | 7.9 | 35.1 | 37.6 | 80.8 | 42 | 71.5 | 67.8 | 80.4 | 19 |
| Apple MacBook Pro M5 Compare | 80.8 | 72.2 | 52.1 | 88 | 99.3 | 72.5 | 80.4 | 97.4 | 99.5 |
| MSI Prestige PRE13EVOA2088 Compare | 63.5 | 64.5 | 80.8 | 80.8 | 91.5 | 96.3 | 72.6 | 59.5 | 88.2 |
| ASUS ProArt PX13 Compare | 88.8 | 78.6 | 91.1 | 75.3 | 95.3 | 92.7 | 62.5 | 59.5 | 95 |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition Compare | 98.8 | 26.7 | 80.8 | 64.4 | 89.3 | 57.3 | 80.4 | 80.4 | 95 |
| Acer Predator Helios Neo PHN16-73-95G8 Compare | 96.3 | 92.5 | 89.9 | 99.9 | 91.9 | 9.5 | 80.4 | 9.8 | 82.8 |
Price
Value & Pricing
From CA$640
Newegg.ca 1 offer From CA$640
We started tracking prices for this product on May 9, 2026. The chart appears once we have more data.
Usage Scores
A full written review is coming soon. The specs, scores, prices and charts above are always up to date.
Other Configurations36
ThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i5 8365U16GB512GBBlackCA$410ThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i5 8250U8GB512GBBlackCA$451ThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i5 8250U8GB1TBBlackCA$493ThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i7 8665U16GB512GBCA$529ThinkPad 14" T490Intel N-Series N20016GB512GBBlackCA$550ThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i7 8550U8GB512GBBlackCA$551ThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i7 8550U16GB256GBBlackCA$556ThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i7 8550U8GB1TBBlackCA$593ThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i7 8550U32GB512GBBlackCA$693
Show all 36 configurations
ThinkPad 14" T490i5-8365U8GB256GBCA$259ThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i5 8365U16GB256GBBlackCA$290ThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i5 8365U16GB256GBCA$300ThinkPad 14" T490i5-8365U16GB256GBBlackCA$315ThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i5 8365U16GB512GBBlackCA$350ThinkPad 14" T490i7-8665U16GB256GBCA$360ThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i5 8250U8GB256GBBlackCA$399ThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i5 8265U16GB256GBCA$405ThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i5 8250U16GB256GBBlackThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i7 8550U32GB256GBBlackThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i7 8650U16GB256GBBlackThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i7 8550U16GB512GBBlackThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i7 8650U16GB512GBThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i7 8550U32GB1TBBlackThinkPad 14" T490AMD Ryzen 7 27008GB256GBThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i5 8250U8GB128GBBlackThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i7 8565U16GB256GBBlackThinkPad 14" T490AMD Ryzen 7 27008GB256GBBlackThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i7 8565U8GB1TBBlackThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i7 8565U16GB512GBBlackThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i5 8250U16GB512GBBlackThinkPad 14" T490i7-8565U40GB8TBBlackThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i7 8550U8GB256GBBlackThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i7 8565U8GB128GBThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i7 8565U24GB2TBBlackThinkPad 14" T490Intel N-Series N2008GB512GBGlossy BlackThinkPad 14" T490Intel Core i7 8565U24GB1TBBlack
