After around one week of comprehensive testing, we can say that the ThinkPad T460s is more than a boring Skylake update of the old T450s – and already one of the best business notebooks in 2016 in our opinion.

Even though the design hardly changed, the T460s is actually a completely new construction with an even thinner and lighter chassis. Its build quality and stability can easily meet the high expectations we have for a notebook with a price far north of 1,000 Euros (~$1110). The same applies for the input devices: If you are looking for a keyboard with a rich pressure point, it will be difficult to find a better alternative right now. The touchpad/ClickPad might not be quite on the same level, but the performance is still solid in combination with the TrackPoint.

We once again want to emphasize the excellent application performance of our – admittedly not inexpensive – high-end configuration. Without any TDP constraints, the Core i7-6600U manages surprising performance results without affecting system noise and temperature development too much. Combined with an SSD, which manages transfer rates of up to 2 GB/s, as well as 12 GB of fast DDR4 memory, the notebook can even handle complex applications with ease. The integrated graphics card can at least provide acceptable frame rates in older games and smaller CAD models.

Our few points of criticism are primarily related to the new chassis construction, which neither offers space for a 2.5-inch drive nor a bigger battery. However, Lenovo really could have implemented a modern USB-C port or a slightly brighter display – some inexpensive consumer notebooks perform better in this respect. This does not really affect the excellent overall impression though. There is no reason why you should not purchase the device if you can and want to invest the necessary 2,350 Euros (~$2609) and also had a look at the competition from HP and Dell.

Note: The test model from notebooksandmore.de is available to us for the next 12 months as a long-term loan. In this time we want to perform long-term tests about the build quality and the battery runtime, review external docking stations, and check the performance with 4K displays as well as the compatibility with Linux. We are happy to receive further suggestions for additional tests!