Lenovo’s new ThinkPad T16 Gen 4 AMD is a solid business laptop in many ways but display options aren’t one of them. Despite the T-series being part of Lenovo’s premium lineup, the company limits buyers to 60 Hz Full HD screens, even at higher configurations.
ThinkPad T16 Gen 4 AMD falls short on display flexibility
In our recent review, the overall impression of the ThinkPad T16 Gen 4 AMD was positive. Performance and battery life held up well, but display specs raised eyebrows. Lenovo only equips the model with 60 Hz panels, and there’s no 120 Hz upgrade even as an option.
This is puzzling, especially since cheaper models in Lenovo’s own ThinkPad E-series offer higher refresh rate displays. While business laptops don’t always need buttery-smooth screens, locking premium buyers into dated specs feels like a step backward.
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ThinkPad T16 display quality varies between the two 1080p options
Lenovo offers two screen variants for the T16 Gen 4 AMD:
- Base option: 400-nit panel with just 45% NTSC color gamut washed out and unfit for any visual work
- Optional upgrade: 500-nit LowPower display with full sRGB coverage and rich, vivid color
The upgraded panel, which we tested, showed solid brightness and clarity. Even with a matte finish, white surfaces appeared clean and sharp. After manual calibration, the panel delivered color accuracy that makes it usable for casual photo editing. Plus, its efficiency contributed to great battery performance 17 hours at 150 nits, and 10.5 hours at max brightness.
Where are the high-refresh options?
Despite the energy trade-off, many users would welcome a 120 Hz panel especially when competitors offer them at lower prices. Lenovo has access to both OLED and high-refresh IPS panels, so the omission feels less like a limitation and more like an oversight.
Worse, this isn’t just a quirk of the AMD model. The Intel variant of the ThinkPad T16 Gen 4 suffers the same restriction.
Lenovo’s premium business line deserves premium screens
While it’s true that business laptops have different priorities than consumer or gaming machines, that doesn’t justify cutting out modern display options altogether. If Lenovo can put 120 Hz panels in its budget machines, it can and should do the same for its $1,500+ ThinkPad T models.
