Lenovo Thinkpad vs Lenovo Ideapad: What’s the difference?

Lenovo offers a wide range of laptop ranges with varying specs and price points, but how do two of its major lines, the Lenovo Thinkpad and the Lenovo Ideapad, compare?

It’s safe to say that we are very familiar with laptops, enough to come up with the Best Laptop roundup from this year, so you have access to all the best devices on the market right now.

Thanks to our vast laptop knowledge, we also know a thing or two about the most popular series of laptops from Lenovo, including the Thinkpad and the Ideapad. If you want to know what sets these two lines apart, make sure you keep reading, as we’re going to be running through all the key differences.

Lenovo Thinkpad vs Lenovo Ideapad

Lenovo’s Thinkpad name may be more familiar since this range has been available since the 90s, while the Ideapad range is still relatively new to the laptop market, launching in 2008. Thankfully, it’s quite simple to differentiate these two lines, as the Thinkpad is aimed at business and productivity consumers, while the Ideapad is suited to everyday laptop consumers.

Thinkpads are commonly used in universities and in the business world, coming with a wide range of internals and features. Generally, Thinkpad models do not come with many bells and whistles as they are primarily intended for business work, but they are hailed for having speedy performance and a silent keyboard.

The Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Fold (2020) branched out and included a 13.3-inch OLED touchscreen display alongside a foldable design, giving consumers more options in how they want to interact with their laptops.

If you’re looking for the highest quality Thinkpad laptop, the Thinkpad X series is currently the most expensive series and offers more features. The Thinkpad X1 Carbon is described as an ultrabook – meaning that it is incredibly lightweight – and offers up to 64GB of RAM.

Moreover, Thinkpad laptops usually boast a screen size between 13.3 inches and 15.6 inches, although they can come in larger sizes too. The smaller screen size is helpful for those who want to take their laptop between the office and home thanks to the added portability.

On the other hand, the Lenovo Ideapad series is targeted at general consumers and is not as business-orientated, coming in as more affordable than the Thinkpad series. This is due to the fact that the Ideapad usually packs less power than the Thinkpad, making it ideal for general busy work.

Furthermore, the Ideapad range is known for being sleeker and more attractive devices than the Thinkpad series as they tend to sacrifice more power for a better design. The Ideapad 5 Pro 16 (2022), for example, packs a large and sharp screen alongside a premium design but features the last-generation AMD processor.

Both devices use a mixture of AMD and Intel processors, but the Ideapad series tends to feature middling processors since they don’t need to pack as much performance power.

Overall, both the Thinkpad and Ideapad lines are generally reliable and sturdy laptops that are worth looking into. If you are after a work laptop that packs a speedy performance, the Thinkpad is your best bet, while the Ideapad is better suited to those who fancy a more affordable option and simply want to browse the web or watch video content.