In recent years, the Lenovo ThinkPad has strayed from its upgrade-friendly roots. But the newly-revealed ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 and T16 Gen 3 explicitly aim for a more repairable, more upgradeable design. The laptops will also be accompanied by official repair guides and easily-obtainable replacement parts.
Like the laptops of yore, the new ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 and T16 Gen 3 offer a fully-socketed DIMM design for easy RAM upgrades. Customers can remove and swap out the SSD or WWAN for increased storage or next-gen wireless connectivity, and because the battery uses a cable-free connector, squeamish users should be able to safely perform a battery replacement. Visual indicators are printed alongside these components to aid in repairs or upgrades, though Lenovo also provides detailed guides for this purpose.
Lenovo consulted the iFixit Solutions team when crafting the ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 and T16 Gen 3. And interestingly enough, both laptops have already received a repairability score from iFixit—9.3 out of 10. It’s a substantial improvement from the 7 out of 10 score that the T14 Gen 3 received a few years ago (iFixit didn’t review the Gen 4 model).
Kyle Weins, CEO at iFixit, says that the new laptops are “a major step forward for Lenovo and the technology industry.” However, the T14 Gen 5 and T16 Gen 3 are just two devices in a much broader product lineup. Both laptops debuted at MWC 2024, where they were joined by the X12 Detachable Gen 2, the ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 Gen 4, and other less-repairable products.
Lenovo claims that 80% of its products will be user-repairable by 2025. It’s a lofty goal, but it’s certainly achievable.
As for actual specs, the T14 Gen 5 and T16 Gen 3 both use Intel’s latest Core Ultra platform and rely on integrated graphics. Customers can configure these laptops with 64GB of DDR5 RAM, 2TB of PCIe storage, OLED displays, Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, and 5G or 4G LTE connectivity. Lenovo also offers the T14 Gen 5 with AMD Ryzen 8040-series processors, though the AMD configuration’s Thunderbolt 4 ports are downgraded to USB-C.
The ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 and T16 Gen 3 launch this April. Pricing for the Intel-based T14 Gen 5 starts at $1,199, though you can purchase an AMD version of the laptop for as little as $949. The larger T16 Gen 3 starts at $1,219.
Source: Lenovo
