Lenovo ThinkPad E15 Gen 2 2021, Core i5-1135G7, 16GB, 512GB SSD, Black

The Lenovo ThinkPad E15 Gen 2 is a budget business laptop with a great keyboard, 16GB of RAM, and solid reliability, but its dim TN display is a major weak spot. It's a good pick for students and office workers who prioritize typing and durability over screen quality. At around $472 USD, it's a fair deal, but anyone who watches video or works in bright rooms should look elsewhere.

The Core i5-1135G7 is a 4-core, 8-thread chip from Intel's 11th Gen lineup, and it handles everyday multitasking without breaking a sweat. We're talking 20 browser tabs, a few Office docs, and a Zoom call all running at once, no problem. The 16GB of DDR4 RAM helps a lot here, giving you headroom that 8GB machines simply don't have. In our database, the CPU lands at the 33rd percentile, which is about average for this class of laptop. It's not going to blow anyone away, but it's also not going to make you wait around.

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics is where things get rough. This is not a gaming laptop, and the 10.2/100 gaming score confirms it. You can play older titles or indie games at low settings, but anything modern will chug. The 512GB NVMe SSD is a bright spot, though. Boot times are quick, apps launch fast, and you've got enough room for a decent file collection. Storage performance sits at the 52nd percentile, which is middle of the pack, but NVMe speeds are still a huge upgrade over the spinning drives you'd find in budget laptops a few years ago.

Stacked against the Apple MacBook Air M5, the ThinkPad E15 Gen 2 looks like it's from a different decade. The MacBook's display, battery life, and build quality are in another league entirely, but it also costs significantly more. If your budget is tight and you need Windows, the ThinkPad makes sense. The ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA is a closer competitor in the Windows world, with a much better screen and a lighter chassis, though you'll pay more for it. The HP OmniBook X Flip 14 and Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 are both premium 2-in-1s that outclass the E15 in nearly every way, but again, they're not in the same price bracket.

For a more direct comparison, the MSI Summit E14 Flip Evo is another business-focused machine with a 14" display and better portability. It's more expensive but offers a superior screen and newer internals. The ThinkPad E15 Gen 2's main advantage over all of these is price and that legendary keyboard. If you're a writer or someone who types all day, the E15's keyboard alone might be worth the trade-offs. But if you watch a lot of video or work in bright environments, every one of these competitors has a better display.

At $472 USD, the ThinkPad E15 Gen 2 is a decent deal if you know what you're getting into. You're paying for the ThinkPad name, the keyboard, and the reliability, not for a premium display or blazing performance. The 76th percentile affordability score backs this up, it's cheaper than most laptops with these specs. But the alternatives are worth a look. A used or refurbished ThinkPad T-series from the same era might give you a better screen for similar money. And if you can stretch your budget, the ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA or even a base MacBook Air M5 will run circles around this thing in display quality and battery life. For pure value in the budget business category, though, this E15 holds its own.

The Lenovo ThinkPad E15 Gen 2 sits in that budget business laptop bracket, the kind of machine you grab when you need something reliable for spreadsheets, email, and the occasional video call without taking out a second mortgage. At around $472 USD, it's aimed squarely at students and office workers who care more about getting work done than showing off. The spec sheet is a mixed bag: an 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB NVMe SSD are all perfectly serviceable for everyday tasks. But then you hit the display, a 15.6" 1080p TN panel with just 220 nits of brightness, and you remember this is a budget machine.

Is the ThinkPad E15 Gen 2 good for students? Mostly yes, if your workload is papers, research, and web browsing. The 16GB of RAM is a nice touch at this price, and the keyboard is classic ThinkPad, which means it's better than most laptops twice the price. But if you're doing anything visual, like photo editing or watching movies in a bright room, that screen is going to frustrate you. For business users, the story is similar: it's a dependable workhorse with Windows 10 Pro and a decent port selection, but it won't win any performance awards.

We've seen this laptop land around the 81st percentile for reliability in our database, which is genuinely good for a budget machine. Port selection is also solid, with Thunderbolt, USB-C, two USB-A ports, HDMI, and even Ethernet. That's more connectivity than you'll find on many ultrabooks these days. But the screen sits at the 9th percentile, and that's not a typo. It's one of the weakest displays we've seen in this category, and it drags the whole experience down.

Skip the ThinkPad E15 Gen 2 if you care about screen quality, battery life, or portability. The dim TN panel is a dealbreaker for anyone who watches video, edits photos, or works in bright rooms. Gamers should also look elsewhere, the integrated graphics won't cut it. If you need something lighter for travel, the 1.70kg weight and chunky build will annoy you. Instead, consider the ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA for a better display in a similar price range, or a used ThinkPad T-series if you want the keyboard and reliability with a better screen. And if you're a creative professional, save up for a MacBook Air M5 or HP OmniBook X Flip, both of which have displays that make the E15's look like a calculator screen.

Should you buy the Lenovo ThinkPad E15 Gen 2? If you're a student or office worker on a strict budget who needs a reliable machine for typing, browsing, and basic productivity, yes, this is a solid choice. The 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD mean it won't feel slow for everyday tasks, and the keyboard is genuinely great. The reliability scores in our database are also reassuring, this is a machine that should last through years of daily use.

But if you care about screen quality at all, look elsewhere. The TN panel with 220 nits is a real letdown, and it's the kind of thing you'll notice every single day. For the same money, you might find a used laptop with a better display, or you could save up a bit more for something like the ASUS Zenbook. The ThinkPad E15 Gen 2 is a workhorse, but it's a workhorse with blinders on.