– Lenovo uses “Clean sheet” redesigns, not just iterative updates.
– New T14 Gen 7 has a redesigned lid with a wide bar hinge and smaller bezels.
– Rounded screen corners are now standard on the T series.
– The base features a new centered keyboard font and smaller speaker/ventilation holes.
– Key debate: New rounded, centered design vs. old angular, standard-keyprint style.
ThinkPad Design Evolution
If you ask some people, ThinkPads do not really have a design – they are just black boxes, would the naysayers tell you. However, Lenovo would probably disagree, as the evidently invest a lot of money into refining the design of their legendary business laptop line every few years. Lenovo even has a special term for “redesign”: They call it “clean sheet”, a name which comes from the fact that the new design starts with a clean sheet of paper and is not simply an update of a previous model.
Redesigning the Classic
Such a case is the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 7 which we recently reviewed. This model brings a completely new design, after the previous ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 and ThinkPad T14 Gen 6 both shared the same design language. The T14 G7 changes things up in a lot of ways, and we was able to directly compare it with the older T14 Gen 6.
Chassis and Display Changes
The changes are numerous: For one, Lenovo has redesigned the entire display lid area, with a new wide bar hinge, slightly smaller screen bezels (1 mm less on the sides) and a flat display cover – the one of the T14 Gen 6 had a slight bulge. These changes will not be controversial, but one change will be for sure: Rounded screen covers have become the new standard on the Lenovo ThinkPad T series.
Base and Keyboard Updates
As for the base, the new ThinkPad T14 Gen 7 is around 1 mm thicker, but it keeps the same chamfered design for the base, so it does not really look thicker. The holes of the speakers are a bit smaller than before, and there are less ventilation holes on the base. Of course, the big visual change here is the adoption of a new, centered keyboard font. This is a significant departure from the old ISO standard key printing style.
- New design with flat display cover and wide bar hinge
- Rounded screen corners as new standard
- Base is 1 mm thicker but looks similar
- Smaller speaker holes and fewer ventilation holes
- New centered keyboard font adopted
Which One To Choose?
Which one do you prefer: The new ThinkPad with rounded corners and centered key printing, or the old ThinkPad, with normal corners and the old ISO standard key printing style? This is a personel choice that many users are debating right now.
