Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 review

The 17.3-inch widescreen display offers solid color reproduction and brightness, although as an IPS panel it does not offer the sky-high contrast of OLED screens. It may not be enough for the most color-critical publishing tasks, but it looked vibrant and never dull in our test.

The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 is a device that will make you look twice. It’s the first notebook ever with a 17.3-inch ultra-wide screen, which is ideal for running two or three applications side-by-side. But the real showstopper is the second 8-inch color screen right next to the keyboard, which can do all sorts of tricks.

Some of Lenovo’s most intriguing inventions have come from its ThinkBook Plus range. For instance, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 2 integrated a 12-inch e-ink display into the lid of a 13-inch ultraportable in its second edition. However, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 takes a totally different path.

To be more precise, it includes an 8-inch IPS display on the palm rest to the right of a keyboard and touchpad that would look great on the Gen 2 computer. The main display, meanwhile, is a gigantic 17.3-inch screen with a resolution of 3072 x 1440 and a refresh rate of 120 Hz. Even though it lacks the functionality of a creativity workstation, the design is intriguing and conducive to multitasking.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 review: Design

The ThinkBook 16 G4 Plus and other subsequent ThinkBook models share the same aluminium alloy materials for the chassis. So, if you’ve ever held a ThinkBook model, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 3’s smooth, dark grey surfaces will feel immediately comfortable. Between the consumer-focused Yoga and more conventional ThinkPad models, the design is geared toward SMB workplaces and casual offices.

It has a significantly lower build quality than a Yoga or ThinkPad X series device. Due to their 17.3-inch size and relatively thin frame, the lid and base are a little more prone to twisting and squeaking. Alternatives like the larger XPS 17 and the heavier ZenBook Duo feel stronger and more robust, especially when it comes to their hinges.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard and touchpad on the ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 were as pleasant as those on other laptops, which was the first thing we noticed when we started using it. That contrasts with some dual-screen laptops where the touchpad is offset to the right and the keyboard is crowded or at an awkward angle. A good example is the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo 15, whose design I thought was odd and uncomfortable.

With the ThinkBook, it appeared more as though Lenovo took a typical 13-inch laptop, expanded it to the right, widened the main panel, and then added a second display. Speaking of the keyboard, it has typical keycap sizes, lots of key spacing, and switches that are light and snappy with slightly loose bottoming actions. It’s not the best Windows keyboard we have ever used, but it’s still excellent compared to the ones on the Dell XPS and HP Spectre computers. The buttons click slightly sharply and have a nice, large surface on the touchpad.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 review: Display

The Gen 2 ThinkBook Plus offers better handwriting and interaction while the original model had an integrated e-ink display. The latest model is a huge step up, replacing the e-ink lid with an 8-inch touch screen that is pen-friendly in the palm rest and tantalizingly promises to fulfil all of your work fantasies. In truth, although being a technological showcase for Lenovo and a fun topic of conversation at work, the dual-screen design hurts this ThinkBook’s battery life and overall use. We commend the corporation for championing cutting-edge and unique product concepts, however we are unable to offer this Lenovo more than 3.5 stars.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 review: Audio

The ThinkBook Plus offers a superior multimedia experience thanks to its Harmon Kardon speakers, which support Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos multidimensional sound. Lenovo provides apps for both Dolby features, allowing you to tweak them as you see fit. However, we found the default settings—Dolby Vision Bright for video and Dynamic for audio—to be excellent. The 720p webcam is average for video conferencing, however Lenovo offers a manual webcam shutter and includes 4 mics for passably clear audio.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 review: Graphics

The ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 is, regrettably, restricted to Intel’s integrated Iris Xe graphics. The GPU performs poorly in Pugetbench and is hence not the ideal option for creative, although this is good for productivity tasks. Unfortunately, Lenovo utilised 45-watt Intel 12th-generation CPUs, which would have worked well with even a budget GPU like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti. A less priced laptop with an RTX 3060 GPU that performs substantially faster in GPU-intensive apps is the HP Envy 16.

It received a Pugetbench score of 932 as opposed to the ThinkBook’s 353. The 12-core, 16-thread Core i5-12500H in the ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 offered good productivity performance, with notable results in our CPU-intensive benchmarks including the Handbrake test, which encodes a 420MB film into H.265. However, its applicability for GPU-intensive applications is constrained, and gaming is obviously out of the question.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 review: Performance

Although I find the included stylus small and awkward in my large hands and the performance is so dreadful that I won’t bother using it, some of the interactive features of the E-Ink display, like Note, work with it. Even if it functioned perfectly, We wouldn’t be able to use it for long enough to take notes. The E-Ink experience may be best used for reading tasks because to the poor performance. The display appears to be extremely dull in what we would describe as average lighting circumstances, assuming you have enough outdoor light.

Battery Life and Heat

When you start working on a laptop that has just been fully charged, Windows and Lenovo Vantage (a proprietary programmed that, among other things, displays the battery charge and the anticipated operating time) make mountains of gold promises: sometimes 7 or even 9 hours of work, and this at a brightness setting that is close to maximum.

However, this is meaningless, because it appears like time moves more quickly for the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus than it does for the rest of the world. In actuality, you only get around 4 hours with an average screen brightness. But keep in mind that 300 nits implies you need to set a greater % for work, which means the gadget won’t last 4 hours. As a laptop, the ThinkBook Plus has just one flaw, but it’s a big one.

Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 review: Price

The greatest laptops for businesses are made by Lenovo, but at least at their official price, they aren’t cheap. Fortunately, Lenovo has a late Black Friday sale that allows you to purchase the ThinkPad Z13 in a high-end configuration for just $1,389.99, compared to its MSRP of over $3,000 instead. The Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 is the company’s most avant-garde AMD-powered ThinkPad to date and is unlike any other ThinkPad in the lineup thanks to its completely fresh design. It has a sleek, contemporary appearance that is still elegant, making it ideal for business users.

Conclusion

The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus is a quite intriguing notebook for productivity. Although it’s not the best, I can see how it would benefit most people. The primary display provides vibrant colours, the keyboard is comfortable to use, the e-ink display is practical, it offers USB-C PD charging, and the fingerprint scanner integration is innovative.

The Lenovo Precision Pen can’t be recharged, the main display lacks touchscreen functionality, which restricts the usage of the bundled pen, it doesn’t have a dedicated GPU, the battery life could be better, and it could utilise additional USB ports.

Amy Hinckley
Amy Hinckley
The Dell Inspiron 15 that her father purchased from QVC sparked the beginning of her interest in technology. At Bollyinside, Amy Hinckley is in charge of content editing and reviewing products. Amy's interests outside of working include going for bike rides, playing video games, and watching football when she's not at her laptop.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Related Articles

Hubspot Service Hub review 2024: a comprehensive platform

When it comes to customer support operations, HubSpot Service Hub is an all-encompassing customer service platform that is meant to...
Read more
When players on Windows 11 or 10 try to log in to Steam, they may get the error code E87....
Users of Windows 11 or 10 may find it frustrating to deal with the error number 147-0 in Microsoft Office....
The Microsoft Store is an important part of the Windows operating system because it gives users a single place to...
It can be hard to find the right balance between usefulness, durability, and cost when it comes to kitchen storage....
Both AirDroid and Vysor are well-known tools that help Android users control their devices and mirror them. One of the...
The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus is a pretty intriguing notebook for productivity. Although it's not the best, I can imagine it being beneficial for most people. The main display delivers vivid colors, and the keyboard is comfortable to use.Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 review