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ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2
The Gen 2 ThinkPad Z13 offers up a sleek design, modern Ryzen processor, tons of RAM, and enough storage for just about anybody. Throw in ThinkPad’s well-known reliability and a cool new flax-based colorway and this ThinkPad is worth a look.
Pros
- OLED display option
- Modern hardware
- Premium features
Cons
- No dedicated GPU option
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Source: Lenovo
ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2
The Gen 2 ThinkPad Z16 comes packed with a 16-inch IPS or OLED display, an AMD Ryzen 7000 series processor, Radeon Graphics, up to 64GB of LPDDR5x RAM, up to 2TB of storage, and a slew of other features on top of the ThinkPad brand’s famous reliability.
Pros
- 4K display option
- Big battery
- Dedicated GPU option
Lenovo has been making some of the best laptops around for a long time, and the ThinkPad brand of business laptops is an important component of Lenovo’s success. This summer, Lenovo’s all-new Gen 2 ThinkPad Z13 and Z16 laptops are hitting store shelves, and they both offer up some compelling hardware, compelling displays, and premium features, but which should you plan on picking up if you’re in the market for a new laptop? To that end, we’re here to help you decide whether the ThinkPad Z16 or the ThinkPad Z13 might suit you and your needs best.
Price, availability, and specs
You can’t buy either the Z13 or Z16 right now. The Z13 is set to debut this July starting at $1,249, while the Z16 is set to arrive this August starting at $1,749. It’s currently unclear what configurations will be offered, nor how much more premium configurations of these laptops will cost. Once their pages go live on Lenovo’s site, we’ll know a lot more about models and pricing, so make sure to stay tuned and keep an eye out for that coming soon.
As for base specifications, both the Z13 and Z16 come with AMD Ryzen 7000 series mobile CPUs, up to 2TB of storage, and up to 64GB of RAM. The Z13 offers up integrated AMD Radeon Graphics, the choice between a 13.3-inch IPS or 2.8K OLED display, and a 51.5Whr battery alongside optional LTE support. The Z16 gives you the choice of integrated graphics or an AMD Radeon 6550M dGPU, the choice between a 16-inch IPS or 4K OLED display, and a 72Whr battery. The biggest differences between these two laptops come down to their displays as well as the Z16’s ability to sport a dedicated GPU and provide a bigger battery.
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ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2
- Brand
- Lenovo
- Color
- Flax Fiber Bronze or Aluminum Arctic Grey
- Storage
- Up to 2TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 7000 series mobile processors
- Memory
- Up to 64GB LPDDR5x RAM
- Operating System
- Windows 11
- Battery
- 51.5Wh
- Ports
- 2 x USB4, 1 x Audio Jack
- Camera
- FHD RGB + IR with e-shutter FHD Hybrid with e-shutter
- Display (Size, Resolution)
- Up to 13.3-inch, WQXGA 2.8K OLED, 16:10 aspect ratio, 400 nit brightness, Touch optional
- Weight
- 2.62 pounds (1.19 kg)
- GPU
- AMD Radeon Graphics
- Dimension
- 11.59 x 7.85 x 0.55 inches
- Network
- Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1, optional 4G LTE WWAN
- Speakers
- 2 x speakers with Dolby Atmos support
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Source: Lenovo
ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2
- Brand
- Lenovo
- Color
- Arctic Grey
- Storage
- Up to 2TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD
- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 7000 series mobile processors
- Memory
- Up to 64GB LPDDR5x RAM
- Operating System
- Windows 11
- Battery
- 72Whr
- Ports
- 2 x USB4, 1 x USB 3.2, 1 x Audio Jack, SD Card Reader
- Camera
- FHD RGB + IR with e-shutter
- Display (Size, Resolution)
- Up to 16-inch, WQUXGA 4K OLED, 16:10 aspect ratio, 400 nit brightness, Touch optional
- Weight
- 3.99 pounds (1.81 kg)
- GPU
- AMD Radeon Graphics (optional Radeon 6550M dGPU)
- Dimension
- 13.95 x 9.35 x 0.62 inches
- Network
- Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth 5.1
- Speakers
- 2 x speakers with Dolby Atmos support
Design
In terms of design, the Gen 2 ThinkPad Z16 and Z13 offer up largely the same experience. You’re getting the ThinkPad brand’s classically solid construction, which likely bodes well for reliability, as well as other trademark ThinkPad features, like the TrackPoint on the keyboard. As you might expect from a ThinkPad, there’s slightly more of a square, boxier look to the Z16 and Z13 than other laptops, but that’s not to say these ThinkPads don’t look sleek and feel premium; they certainly do. The Z13 is a bit smaller and lighter than the Z16, which sports a larger display. In terms of weight, the Z13 comes in at 2.62 pounds, while the Z16 clocks in at 3.99 pounds, so there is certainly going to be more noticeable heft with the larger Z16, if that’s a major concern.
An interesting differentiation between the two comes down to the Z13’s Flax Fiber Bronze colorway. Many laptop makers want to seem environmentally friendly, so there’s been a continued push in the industry to focus on components of laptops built out of recycled or sustainable materials, and Lenovo is no different in this respect. With the Z13, you can opt for a 75% recycled aluminum cover where natural, fiber-reinforced flax material is bonded to the metal. It’s a minor change in terms of environmental impact, but it gives the Z13 an elegant, natural look and feel, while the Z16 simply comes with the standard aluminum shell.
Display
The single biggest difference between the Z13 and Z16 comes down to the display. With both laptops, you’re choosing between IPS or OLED panels with max brightnesses of 400 nits, and both displays support HDR by way of Dolby Vision. Also, both laptops offer up a 16:10 aspect ratio.
Outside the above similarities, the display on the Z13 measures 13.3 inches diagonally, and the OLED display option comes with a 2.8K resolution. With the Z16, you’re getting 16-inch large displays, and the OLED display option supports a full-fat 4K resolution. In the context of laptop displays, 4K isn’t as beneficial as it is on larger screens, but an increase in resolution will certainly allow for better-looking games and watching more-detailed, higher-resolution content. The IPS panels are similar on both devices, though.
Most of the components at play here are the same, but if you’re looking for 4K support or just a larger display in general, the Z16 is going to make a lot more sense for you. If you aren’t that invested in 4K or prefer a smaller, more portable laptop, the Z13 will likely suit you better.
Performance
Of course, since these laptops haven’t been released just yet, we don’t yet have access to benchmarks to give you the full picture of performance; however, there are definitely more than a few important takeaways from the information that has been revealed.
For both the Z16 and Z13, you’re getting a modern AMD Ryzen 7000 series mobile CPU, up to 64GB of LPDDR5x RAM, and up to 2TB of storage. This likely means you won’t have any trouble browsing the web and running various apps, and you should be able to do so smoothly and snappily. In terms of specifics on the processor, we don’t know exactly what’s coming just yet, but we do know we can expect Zen 4 architecture, and according to AMD, that means a 50% jump in CPU power and a 30% increase in integrated graphics performance.
For cores and clocks, the Zen 4 7000 series mobile chips range from 5GHz to 5.4GHz boost clocks, up to 16 cores, and up to 75W TDPs, which is a lot of processing power across the board. Of course, how much processing power the Z13 and Z16 get will depend on the specific chips these laptops come with; however, you likely won’t have to worry too much, considering how powerful even the more basic chips in the Zen 4 7000 series line appear to offer up.
With the Z13, you’re stuck with integrated AMD graphics. This will likely be enough for some casual indie games, 2D games, pixel-art games, that kind of thing, but don’t expect to be playing modern AAA games at high framerates and graphics settings. Put simply, the Z13 isn’t much of a gaming laptop. With the Z16, you’ve got the option for an AMD 6550M dGPU. Now, this isn’t an especially powerful GPU — the Z16 isn’t a gaming laptop, either — but with a dedicated GPU, you will have more options for games to play, assuming you keep resolutions and graphical presets relatively low.
If you’re looking to do a meaningful amount of gaming on your ThinkPad, or if your work relies on GPU power, going with the Z16 and its dedicated GPU makes a lot of sense. However, if you want serious GPU horsepower on your laptop, neither of these laptops is designed to offer that up.
Battery life
When it comes to battery life, this is another aspect that requires boots-on-the-ground testing; however, the general expectation of the Gen 2 versions of the Z13 and Z16 is that we’ll see pretty similar battery life as we saw on the last generation.
For the previous generation of these laptops, the Z13, on average, managed to last for about five hours before needing to charge based on our tests, while the Z16 ran for about eight hours before needing to charge, as noted in our review. It’s possible that newer, more power-efficient tech may boost battery life numbers a bit over the last generation, so we could see, for example, say six or seven hours of battery life on the Z13 and nine or ten hours of battery life on the Z16, but we’ll see.
Which is right for you?
Buying a laptop is always going to come down to personal preference and use case, and choosing between the Z16 and Z13 Gen 2 ThinkPads is no different. However, this decision is a little easier than deciding between other laptops because of the great deal of overlap these two machines have. Either way you go, you’re going to get a sleek, reliable, well-designed laptop that can handle most tasks without issue.
If you want a bigger display, care about 4K, or need a dedicated GPU, the Z16 is going to be the better option. It’s the more expensive, slightly more full-featured ThinkPad, so for that reason it gets our recommendation, but if you aren’t interested in 4K on a 16-inch laptop screen and don’t plan on using much GPU power, saving money and going with the Z13 makes perfect sense.
Source: Lenovo
ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2
Winner
The Gen 2 ThinkPad Z16 comes packed with a 16-inch IPS or OLED display, an AMD Ryzen 7000 series processor, Radeon Graphics, up to 64GB of LPDDR5x RAM, up to 2TB of storage, and a slew of other features on top of the ThinkPad brand’s famous reliability.
The ThinkPad Gen 2 Z16 looks to be another excellent laptop from Lenovo. With a Ryzen processor, tons of RAM, ample storage, and the ability to pack in a 4K OLED display, you’re getting just about everything you need in a laptop. Plus, going with the dedicated GPU on the Z16 means you’ll also be able to do some casual gaming on the side or get some work done on the go that requires some GPU power. If you’re looking for a ThinkPad, the Gen 2 Z16 likely won’t disappoint.
ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2
Runner-up
The Gen 2 ThinkPad Z13 offers up a sleek design, modern Ryzen processor, tons of RAM, and enough storage for just about anybody. Throw in ThinkPad’s well-known reliability and a cool new flax-based colorway and this ThinkPad is worth a look.