Lenovo · ThinkPad T
ThinkPad T490
A 14-inch business ThinkPad with a slimmer body, one memory expansion socket and an internal battery.
Model history · 8 models, 2011–2019
- 2011ThinkPad T420Compare
- 2012ThinkPad T430Compare
- 2013ThinkPad T440Compare
- 2015ThinkPad T450Compare
- 2016ThinkPad T460Compare
- 2017ThinkPad T470Compare
- 2018ThinkPad T480Compare
- 2019ThinkPad T490
- Size
- 14″
- Display
- IPS LCD
- Processor
- Intel Core i5
- Memory
- 8 GB
- Weight
- 1.46 kg
- Battery
- 16.11 h
What reviewers say
Reviewers praise the comfortable input devices, useful ports and responsive office performance in a lighter body. Both miss the removable battery. Notebookcheck finds good endurance with its low-power FHD screen, but slow pixel responses; Windows Central likes the WQHD screen's colour and brightness, while finding its endurance more modest.
From notebookcheck.net and windowscentral.com
Specifications
Report a wrong or missing specDisplay
- Screen size
- 14″
- Resolution
- 1920 × 1080
- Panel
- IPS LCD
- Brightness
- 400 nits
- Touchscreen
- No
- Display type
- Listed low-power FHD IPS panel, 72% NTSC; optional HD TN, standard FHD IPS, FHD touch, Privacy Guard FHD and 2560 × 1440 WQHD IPS with Dolby Vision HDR, 500 nits and 100% Adobe RGB
- Screen finish
- Anti-glare except glossy WQHD
Performance
- Processor
- Intel Core i5-8265U
- CPU cores
- 4
- CPU threads
- 8
- Graphics
- Intel UHD Graphics for 8th Generation Intel Processors
- Memory
- 8 GB
- Storage
- 256 GB
- CPU
- 8th-generation quad-core Core i5/i7; later 10th-generation configurations outside EMEA; listed 20N2004EGE configuration verified by Notebookcheck; available by March 2019 according to contemporaneous Notebookcheck coverage, ahead of maker's planned May launch
- GPU
- Listed configuration uses integrated Intel UHD Graphics; optional GeForce MX250 2 GB GDDR5 on other configurations
- Memory type
- DDR4-2400; 8 or 16 GB soldered plus one SO-DIMM socket; up to 40 or 48 GB respectively
- Storage type
- One replaceable M.2 drive; PCIe 3.0 ×4 NVMe for 2280 or ×2 for 2242; SATA 2280 not offered in EMEA; listed 256 GB PCIe NVMe drive (Notebookcheck)
Battery and size
- Battery life (maker's claim)
- Up to 16.11 hours
- Battery capacity
- 50 Wh
- Weight
- 1.46 kg
- Thickness
- 17.9 mm
- Width × depth
- 329 × 227 mm
- Battery life detail
- Integrated 50 Wh; up to 16.11 hours MobileMark 2014 or 17.8 hours JEITA 2.0; Rapid Charge up to 80% in one hour with 65 W adapter; weight shown for low-power FHD/WQHD, other display options weigh 1.53–1.61 kg
- Charger
- 45 W or 65 W USB-C adapter
- Materials
- Glass-fibre reinforced PPS lid and polyamide bottom; magnesium alloy reinforcement in keyboard cover
- Colours
- Black
Connections
- Ports
- 2 × USB-A, 2 × USB-C, Thunderbolt, HDMI, Ethernet, microSD slot, headphone jack
- Wi-Fi
- Intel Wireless-AC 9560, 2×2 802.11ac; Wi-Fi 6 AX201 on later 10th-generation models
- Bluetooth
- Bluetooth 5.1 in current PSREF; earlier Windows configurations reported as 5.0
- Webcam
- Optional 720p or IR plus 720p hybrid, with ThinkShutter
- Operating system
- Windows
- Port detail
- Two USB-A 3.1 Gen 1, USB-C Gen 1 and USB-C Gen 2/Thunderbolt 3 with PD/DisplayPort, HDMI 1.4b, Gigabit Ethernet, microSD reader, combo audio and side dock; optional smart card and nano-SIM
- External displays
- Up to three independent displays; HDMI up to 4096 × 2160 at 24 Hz, Thunderbolt up to 4096 × 2304 at 60 Hz
- Keyboard
- Six-row spill-resistant keyboard with optional LED backlight
- Trackpad
- Mylar multi-touch touchpad and TrackPoint
- Speakers
- Stereo speakers, 2 W × 2, Dolby Audio Premium
- Microphones
- Dual-array far-field microphones; no-microphone option for special bids
- Biometrics
- Optional match-on-chip fingerprint reader or IR camera; discrete TPM 2.0
Configurations
| Processor | Memory | Storage |
|---|---|---|
| Intel Core i5-8265U | 8 GB | 256 GB |
Pros and cons
Pros
- Thunderbolt 3 alongside Gigabit Ethernet
- One memory socket and replaceable M.2 storage
- Optional bright low-power FHD and Dolby Vision WQHD displays
Cons
- No hot-swappable external battery
- One bank of memory is soldered
- Card reader accepts microSD rather than full-size SD
Closest rivals
Model | Size | Display | Processor | Memory | Weight | Battery | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14″ | IPS LCD, 165 Hz | AMD Ryzen AI 7 or Ryzen 7 | 16 GB | 1.46 kg | – | Apr 2025 | |
| 14″ | IPS LCD, 60 Hz | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus or Elite | 16 GB | 1.44 kg | 21 h | Jun 2024 | |
| 14″ | OLED, 120 Hz | Intel Core Ultra 9 | 16 GB – 32 GB | 1.5 kg | – | 2026 |
Previous model: ThinkPad T480.
Sources
- psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/ThinkPad/ThinkPad_T490/ThinkPad_T490_Spec.PDF
- news.lenovo.com/pressroom/press-releases/intelligent-mobile-computing-showcased…
- notebookcheck.net/New-Lenovo-ThinkPad-laptops-T490-X390-T490s-T590-are-now-avai…
- notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-T490-Laptop-Review-A-business-laptop-with-lon…
Photo: media.lenovonews.fiestic.com
