ThinkPad T14s Gen 6: A Battery Life Champion Powered by Snapdragon
Lenovo’s ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 is a bold departure from the traditional ThinkPad formula. It opts for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite processor over Intel or AMD. This unconventional choice has yielded impressive results, particularly in terms of battery life.
While Lenovo has shipped a ThinkPad with a Qualcomm chip in it before, the performance markers between the 8cx Gen 3 and the X Elite are miles apart and worth considering for all road warrior employees.
Starting at: $1,754.35
Tech Specs
| Processor | Snapdragon® X Elite with Qualcomm Oryon™ (12 cores) |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 11 Pro for ARM64 |
| Graphics | Qualcomm Adreno™ |
| Memory | 32GB LPDDR5x 8448MHz soldered, dual channel |
| Storage | 1TB M.2 PCIe Gen 4×4 SSD, 2242 compatible |
| Battery | 58WhrSupports Rapid Charge (60 minutes = 80% capacity) with 65W or higher adapter |
| Audio | 2 x 2W speakers (user facing)2 x dual-array micsDolby Audio™Microsoft Voice Focus for noise cancellation |
| Camera | 1080p FHD & infrared (IR) Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) with Computer Vision & webcam privacy shutter |
Connectivity
| Ports/Slots | 2 x USB-C® 4, 40Gbps (supports power delivery & DisplayPort)2 x USB-A, 5Gbps (1 always on)HDMI® 2.1 (supports resolution up to 4K@60Hz)Headphone / mic comboOptional: Nano SIM slot USB port transfer speeds are approximate and depend on many factors, such as processing capability of host/peripheral devices, file attributes, system configuration and operating environments; actual speeds will vary and may be less than expected. |
|---|---|
| Wireless | Qualcomm® WiFi 7 802.11BE (2 x 2)Bluetooth® 5.3 |
| Supported Docking | USB-C® dock |
Design
| Display | 14″ WUXGA (1920 x 1200) IPS, low power, 400nit, 100% sRGB, antiglare, TÜV Eyesafe®-certified low blue light |
|---|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 16.9mm x 313.6mm x 219.4mm / .67″ x 12.35″ x 8.64″ |
| Weight | Starting at 1.24kg / 2.72lbs |
| Keyboard | Dual-function TrackPoint: navigate the cursor or double-tap to open TrackPoint Quick MenuOptional: Backlit with white LED lightingSpill-resistantTrackPad with 3 buttons (115mm x 74.3 / 4.52″ x 2.92″)ThinkPad TrackPoint Keyboard (1.5mm travel) |
| Color | Eclipse Black |
Sustainability
| Material | 95% post-consumer content (PCC) recycled plastic used in cable holders90% PCC recycled plastic used in speaker enclosure90% PCC recycled plastic used in battery enclosure90% PCC recycled plastic used in adapter90% recycled magnesium used in keyboard frame (C)55% recycled aluminum used in bottom cover (D)50% recycled carbon fiber reinforced polymer used in top cover (A)100% plastic-free, recyclable packaging |
|---|---|
| Certifications / Registries | ENERGY STAR® 8.0EPEAT® Gold, where applicable*MIL-STD 810HTCO 9.0TÜV Eyesafe®-certified for low blue light *Visit www.epeat.net for registration status by country. |
Other Information
| ThinkShield Security | Discrete Trusted Platform Module (dTPM) 2.0Kensington Nano Security Slot™Microsoft Secured-core PCsSelf-healing BIOSSmart Power On: match-on-chip (MOC) fingerprint reader integrated with power buttonZero-touch login with Microsoft Windows Hello |
|---|---|
| Preloaded Software | Lenovo Commercial VantageLenovo ViewOffice 365 (trial)ThinkPad TrackPoint Quick Menu |
| What’s in the box | ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 (14” Snapdragon)65W USB-C AC Adapter (supports Rapid Charge)Internal BatteryQuick Start Guide |
Design
Being honest here, the ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 is more or less a spec bump design for the lineup. All of the design notes from the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 5 are carried over to the Gen 6.
The T14s Gen 6 comes with the same distinguished chrome tipped lid. This part of the lid helps lift the screen. It also hosts the 1080p FHD and infrared (IR) camera embedded with Computer Vision. The manual privacy shutter remains a staple presence on this model.
Speaking of the lid, the all-too-familiar carbon fiber material is once again present. A mix of magnesium and aluminum make up the base chassis design that has adorned ThinkPads for the last few decades and looks to remain the winning design for years to come.
Similar to the MacBook, the T14s also frames its laptop with speakers along the sides of the laptop’s keyboard deck. The T14s punctuates its keyboard deck design with a circular fingerprint reader tossed in the top corner, just like Apple’s notebook.
There are some nods to other laptop designs present on the T14s, however, the ThinkPad staples remain. These include the concaved U-shaped chicklet style keys, the patent red pointer, and the dual button combined trackpad. The angular ThinkPad logo is once again in the lower corner of the deck.
As with these first batch of X Elite chips that all need cooling systems in place, the T14s comes with its customary venting grills. They are stationed under and towards the back of the laptop.
The traditional matte screen that comes with various ThinkPad laptops is present with the T14s and is just as bright as any other model, hitting 400 nits of brightness on the high end of its WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) IPS 14-inch display.
Ultimately, the T14s won’t turn heads, but it does offer people who are less enthused by change the same comforting design they have gotten used to over the years.
But you didn’t come here for design talk. Let’s get into why Lenovo’s new processor is the best call for this lineup in years.
Snapdragon X Elite: A Game Changer
The heart of the T14s Gen 6 is undoubtedly the Snapdragon X Elite processor. This ARM-based chip is designed for power efficiency, and it delivers in spades. Qualcomm has a long history of building energy-efficient chips for smartphones, and then porting those designs to laptops at varying degrees of success and failure.
However, the new Snapdragon X Elite eschews the older mobile-centric chip architecture. The new Snapdragon X Elite takes notes from former Apple silicon designers for a more robust efficiency/performance scale. The dance between power and battery is balanced better than most modern Intel or AMD powered devices thanks to this new chip.
Compared to traditional x86 processors, the Snapdragon X Elite consumes significantly less power while still offering respectable performance for everyday tasks. This efficiency is the primary driver behind this laptop’s extraordinary battery life.
The T14s Gen 6 is a battery life champion. It effortlessly surpasses the competition, delivering me well over 20 hours of light continuous use on a single charge while I can get 8 hours of heavy use otherwise.
Whether I was working remotely, traveling, or simply wanting to avoid grabbign the 65W charger and searching for outlets, the T14s delivered in every scenerio.
It’s important to note that this exceptional battery life comes with some trade-offs. The Snapdragon X Elite isn’t as powerful as some of its x86 counterparts with dedicated GPUs, so demanding tasks like video editing or gaming might not be its forte but are still achievable on this device.
Fortunately, a majority of ThinkPad users primarily rely on web browsing, document creation, and productivity apps to which they will find the T14s Gen 6 more than capable. Now, don’t get me wrong, the T14sIt is also suitable for those who need content creation for tasks such as product demos, marketing presentations, or viral social media advertising.
While the T14s Gen 6 can handle basic photo editing and graphic design tasks in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, it will struggle with more complex projects and heavy workloads. Tasks like rendering large files, working with multiple layers, or using advanced features might be noticeably slower compared to laptops with Intel or AMD processors.
Update: As i was putting the finishing touches on this review, Adobe released its long awaited support for Adobe Premiere for ARM and I was able to do 1080p HD video editing on an older version of the platform, as if it was the Intel or AMD version.
Rendering times were comparable to Intel and AMD models for this newly released ARM version of Premiere, but it should be noted that projects worked on recent Intel and AMD versions will not be compatible with this ARM variant. Users will ultimately need to start projects on an ARM version that can then be carried over to Intel or AMD supported devices but not the other way around.
Nevertheless, users can choose from Filmora, Adobe, or even Davinci Resolve to get their video content creation fixes now.
As for my daily workflow that consist of the Office 365 suite mixed with Power BI, Azure Synapse Analytics, Google Ads and Ad Editor, the Adobe Creative Suite, various CRMs, Slack, Teams, and AutoCad, the T14s handled almost of my tasks with ease. AutoCAD unfortunately doesn’t support ARM just yet, so that’s a big red flag for anyone who relies on that daily with no alternatives to fall back on.
I won’t get into gaming because I know very few people who buy ThinkPads to even do casual gaming on, but for those niche customers, the T14s struggles with most games, if they’re even supported the ARM architecture.
Don’t buy any ThinkPad with the hopes of gaming, I’d go as far as to say don’t buy any of these first generation X Elite (mobile) processors hoping to match the same experience systems with dedicated GPUs can still struggle to execute.
Beyond Battery Life
While battery life is the standout feature, the T14s Gen 6 offers more than just endurance.
The laptop also boasts solid connectivity, including Wi-Fi 7 for blazing-fast internet speeds and Bluetooth 5.3 for more efficent networking between devices over longer periods of time. Additionally, the inclusion of a generous amount of RAM and storage ensures smooth multitasking.
The T14s can fall from the clouds when the system runs into selected emulated apps and the end result is battery life similar to AMD chips with an increase in fan noise as well as heat. The T14s isn’t a magical device and can hit a handful of snags with incompatible or poorly emulated apps, but the overall experience is positive and long lasting.
Chrome Performance:
I’ve separated this out because while I prefer Edge, I know the world runs on Chrome. The ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 generally handles Chrome browsing smoothly. You can expect quick load times, smooth scrolling, and minimal lag when opening multiple (8 or more) tabs.
The Snapdragon X Elite processor is efficient in handling web-based tasks, and the ample RAM ensures that Chrome runs efficiently. Thanks to a native ARM-version of Chrome that was recently released, using Google’s browser feels every bit at home as it does on an x86, AMD or M-Series processor.
Who is the T14s Gen 6 For?
The ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 is ideal for users who prioritize battery life and portability without sacrificing significant performance for everyday tasks.
After a series of updates that arrived shortly after I began my review, Qualcomm’s X Elite chip delivered on its marketed goal of unshackling Windows users from outlets.
While the Copilot + PC portion of the whole Qualcomm and Microsoft partnership has been mostly vaporware, the under marketed battery life has become a fairly appreciated consultation prize of these X Elite powered laptops and the ThinkPad T14s has that in spades.
If you’re someone who wants to go from a dedicated dock at work to traveling to a remote office for an in-the-field meeting, long train rides between client meet ups, longer airplane rides to present partners with new corporate initiatives or just like working at a coffee shop for hours without worrying about a plug, the T14s is your subtle looking workhorse.
It’s perfect for students, professionals who spend long hours on the go, and anyone who simply wants to minimize time spent plugged in.
If you’re a demanding user who requires maximum performance for tasks like video editing or gaming, you might want to consider a laptop with an x86 processor. However, for the vast majority of users, the T14s Gen 6 offers an excellent balance of performance and battery life.
Conclusion
The ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 is a testament to the potential of ARM-based processors in laptops in the future while delivering real world improvements today.
By prioritizing efficiency over raw power, Lenovo has created a device that excels in the most critical area for many users: battery life.
While it might not be the perfect laptop for everyone, it’s undoubtedly a compelling option for those seeking a long-lasting and portable companion.
