Lenovo ThinkPad E16 2025, Core i5-1335U, 16GB, 512GB SSD + 256GB SSD, Black

The ThinkPad E16's port selection is the real standout, hitting the 91st percentile with Thunderbolt 4, Ethernet, and HDMI 2.1 all on board. But the 42nd percentile CPU and 47Wh battery hold it back from greatness. At USD 850 it's a reasonable business machine, at USD 950 it's a harder sell.

The i5-1335U is a 10-core, 12-thread chip with a base clock of 0.9GHz and a turbo up to 4.6GHz. That puts it at the 42nd percentile in our database, which translates to solid but unremarkable performance. It'll chew through browser tabs, Office apps, and light multitasking without breaking a sweat. The 16GB of DDR4 RAM helps keep things smooth when you've got a dozen Chrome tabs open alongside Slack and a spreadsheet. RAM sits at the 37th percentile, which is a bit underwhelming for a machine marketed as having "massive memory," but it's enough for typical business workloads.

The storage setup is a 512GB NVMe SSD, landing at the 61st percentile. Boot times are quick and file transfers are snappy, though you might want to keep an eye on that capacity if you're storing lots of media. The Iris Xe integrated graphics are what they are, fine for video playback and basic photo editing, but the 15.9/100 gaming score tells you everything you need to know about playing anything more demanding than Solitaire. The port selection is where this machine really shines, hitting the 91st percentile. Thunderbolt 4 alone opens up external GPU enclosures and high-speed docks, and having both USB-C and USB-A ports means you won't need adapters for older peripherals.

Stacked against the competition, the ThinkPad E16 occupies an awkward middle ground. The Apple MacBook Pro M4 Pro absolutely demolishes it in raw performance and display quality, but costs significantly more. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 and HP OMEN Transcend 14 are gaming-focused machines that trade business features for GPU horsepower, and both will run circles around the E16 in any graphics workload. The MSI Prestige PRE13EVOA2088 is a closer match, offering similar business-oriented specs but with a lighter build. The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro brings a superior OLED display and better portability, though it gives up the Ethernet port and some of the ThinkPad's durability. Where the E16 wins is connectivity and reliability, those are genuine strengths. But the 42nd percentile CPU and 37th percentile RAM mean it's not winning any performance shootouts against similarly priced rivals.

Pricing on this unit is a bit of a moving target. US listings range from USD 850 to USD 950, a USD 100 spread across just two vendors. At the lower end, you're getting a solid business laptop with Thunderbolt 4, a fingerprint reader, and Windows 11 Pro for under USD 900, which is reasonable. At the top end, you're paying a premium for what is essentially the same machine. The bundled 7-in-1 USB-C hub adds some practical value, especially given the port situation is already strong. But the 512GB SSD and 16GB of RAM at this price point feel a little tight when competitors are shipping 1TB drives and 32GB of RAM for similar money. If you can snag this at the USD 850 mark, it's a fair deal. At USD 950, you should probably look elsewhere.

The Lenovo ThinkPad E16 is a business laptop that gets the fundamentals right and doesn't pretend to be anything else. The port selection is the real story here, landing in the 91st percentile of our database. You get Thunderbolt 4, two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, HDMI 2.1, and a full-size Ethernet jack. That's the kind of connectivity that makes IT departments smile and keeps dongle drawers empty. The 16-inch 1920x1200 IPS display gives you a bit more vertical room than standard 1080p, which is nice for spreadsheets and documents, though the 300 nits brightness and 45% NTSC color coverage put it firmly in the middle of the pack for screen quality.

Under the hood you're looking at an Intel Core i5-1335U with 10 cores and 12 threads, paired with 16GB of DDR4 RAM and a 512GB NVMe SSD. The CPU sits at the 42nd percentile, which is about average for this category. The integrated Iris Xe graphics land at the 49th percentile, so don't expect any gaming beyond light indie titles. The 47Wh battery is on the smaller side for a 16-inch machine, and at 1.77kg it's not exactly a featherweight. But for office work, email, and the occasional video call, this thing is built to be a reliable daily driver.

If you care about display quality, this isn't your laptop. The 300 nits brightness and 45% NTSC color coverage put the screen at the 58th percentile, which means it's fine for documents but underwhelming for anything visual. The 47Wh battery is also a concern for anyone who works away from outlets regularly. And if you're hoping to do any gaming or creative work that requires GPU power, the 15.9/100 gaming score should be all the warning you need. The 28th percentile compactness score means this isn't a great travel companion either, at 1.77kg it's noticeably heavier than many 16-inch competitors. If any of those things matter to you, look elsewhere.

The ThinkPad E16 is a competent business laptop that excels at connectivity and reliability but falls short in the areas where modern users are increasingly demanding more. The 91st percentile port selection and 81st percentile reliability score are genuinely impressive, and the Thunderbolt 4 support future-proofs the machine nicely. But the 15th percentile user sentiment is a red flag, not because people hate it, but because almost nobody has actually reviewed it. That lack of real-world data makes this a bit of a gamble. The 47Wh battery paired with a 16-inch display suggests you'll be hunting for outlets more often than you'd like. If you need a durable, well-connected business laptop and can find this at the lower end of its USD 850 to USD 950 range, it's worth considering. Otherwise, there are better-rounded options out there.