Lenovo recently released a pair of sturdy ThinkPad’s that are more of value play over the T-series. Where the T-470, for example, has a true ThinkPad quality exterior with MIL-SPEC certification, the E480 and E580 have a bit more plastic, fewer ports, and not as high-end a user experience. The CPU options are not much different from the famed T-series, providing the buyer a with a lower price option to gain that same great tech. Ultimately, Lenovo’s latest E-Series laptops are real bargain if you don’t mind a few missing items.
E480 Specifications (As Tested)
- CPU: 8th Generation Intel Core i5-8250U (1.60GHz 8MB Cache)
- Display: 14″ FHD (1080p) IPS non-touch
- Graphics: Intel Integrated UHD 620
- Webcam: 720p HD camera with ThinkShutter
- RAM: 8GB DDR4 2400 MHz
- Storage: 256GB PCIe SSD
- Battery: up to 10 hours (according to Lenovo)
- Audio: Stereo Speakers
- Security: fingerprint reader with Windows Hello
- I/O:
- 2 x USB 3.1
- 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C
- 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C with Thunderbolt 3
- 1 x USB 2.0
- HDMI 1.4
- RJ45 – Gigabit Supported
- Mic/headphone jack
- MicroSD card reader
- Dimensions: 12.95″ x 9.53″ x 0.78″
- Weight: 3.86 lbs
E580 Specifications (As Tested)
- CPU: 8th Generation Intel Core i5-8250U (1.60GHz 8MB Cache)
- Display: 15.6″ FHD (1080p) IPS non-touch
- Graphics: Intel Integrated UHD 620
- Webcam: 720p HD camera with ThinkShutter
- RAM: 8GB DDR4 2400 MHz
- Storage: 256GB PCIe SSD
- Battery: up to 13 hours (according to Lenovo)
- Audio: Stereo Speakers
- Security: fingerprint reader with Windows Hello
- I/O:
- 2 x USB 3.1
- 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C with Thunderbolt 3
- 1 x USB 2.0
- HDMI 1.4
- RJ45 – Gigabit Supported
- Mic/headphone jack
- MicroSD card reader
- Dimensions: 14.53″ x 9.92″ x 0.78″
- Weight: 4.7 lbs
Build Quality
Both the E480 and E580 feel substantial when held. They’re sturdy laptops, like all ThinkPads, but they lack some of the bells and whistles of the more high-end models. From my experience with the devices and research, the chassis are plastic, reinforced with aluminum. So, a composite. It’s imperceptible to most users, I’d suspect. However, other plastics will be easier to detect. To start, the added plastics on the display hinge and frame lead to a small amount of display flex. The keyboards are sturdy and there isn’t any flex, but their is also no backlighting. This is a real disappointment, but I understand Lenovo is offering a more affordable ThinkPad with these two devices. I do believe these laptops are targeted for the education sector and small businesses, but a backlit keyboard shouldn’t be a feature that’s reserved for “high end” devices.
Inside the rather heavy chassis is Intel’s latest 8th-gen CPU. The i5-8250U is a quad-core CPU designed for ultrabooks. I wouldn’t classify the E480 or E580 as ultrabooks, due to their weight. So I was surprised to learn these laptops are not equipped with Intel’s H-series CPU. The U-series CPUs certainly provide a better battery life, another important metric for the education space (but not small businesses). And the U-series are designed for ultrabooks (hence the “U”). So, buyer beware: the E-series provide you ultrabook specs in a non-ultrabook chassis.
Performance
Needless to say, the 8th-gen U-series, quad core CPUs from Intel are quite impressive. They’ve been found in laptops for about six months now, so their performance is not a surprise. The E480 and E580 perform well for the typical Microsoft Office and web-browsing tasks. Like other laptops with similar specs, these two passed my user-performance tests – meaning they opened Office apps in under 3 seconds and using multiple browser tabs was perfectly fine (no pausing, freezing or locking up). There isn’t much else to test – these laptops are not for gaming or video editing. Without a dedicated GPU, there simply for typical office and school use.
Battery life was not as advertised. Even with the computers in “best battery life” mode in Windows 10, I never reached the advertised battery life duration in real-world testing. With the E480 my battery life came in at 8 hours, which is good for a 14″ laptop, but 2 hours lower than advertised. The E580 came in around 9 hours, which is 4 hours lower than rated.
Buy Them Here
Who are These For?
The 14″ E480 and 15% E580 are for consumers that value the durable build quality of the Lenovo T-series but do not want to put forward the money for some non-essential features. Such as a backlit keyboard, ultrathin bezels and MIL-SPEC certification. What you do get is a hinge that allows the display to roll back 180 degrees, excellent I/O and, of course, the Lenovo TrackPoint (aka red nub).