First Impressions: Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 – A Classic Business Workhorse

If you prefer to watch the hands-on unboxing and first impressions, check out the full video here: Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 - first impressions review

After a lot of anticipation, I finally got my hands on the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6. Lenovo’s premium business lineup has always been a favorite of mine, and I’ve been testing this new 14-inch model for a couple of days now to see if it lives up to the hype [00:17].

Before hitting the checkout button, I had some serious debates. Should I get the ultra-light (and more expensive) X1 Carbon, or perhaps the ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 (formerly X9)? Ultimately, I went with the T14s Gen 6, and I want to share exactly why - along with what I love and what Lenovo desperately needs to fix.

Why the T14s Over the X1 Carbon?

The X1 Carbon is a fantastic machine, weighing in at under a kilogram in its latest generation. But honestly? I prefer the slightly heavier, more rugged design of the T14s Gen 6 [01:26].

Coming in at around 1,300 grams, it feels incredibly solid in the hand [02:05]. Built from a composite of carbon fiber and aluminum, it retains that classic, utilitarian ThinkPad aesthetic that business users know and love [01:43]. It has a soft-touch finish that feels great, and it’s backed by military-grade durability standards.

The Good: Keyboard, Screen, and Specs

There are a few areas where this laptop truly shines out of the box:

• The Legendary Keyboard: The ThinkPad keyboard remains undefeated. It offers fantastic key travel and is incredibly soft and quiet to type on [03:20].

• The Display: It features a 14-inch, energy-efficient display pushing over 400 nits of brightness, which is more than enough for most well-lit office environments [04:41].

• Under the Hood: My specific unit is configured with the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V processor, 32 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD [05:04]. You can definitely spec it up to 1TB or 2TB of storage, but 512 GB is plenty for my workflow.

• Connectivity: It has a highly practical port selection. On the left side, you get two Thunderbolt Type-C ports (both support charging), a full-size HDMI port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a micro SIM slot [05:44]. On the right, it features two USB-A ports and a Kensington lock.

The Bad: Fingerprints and Mediocre Audio

No laptop is perfect, and the T14s Gen 6 has two notable flaws that became apparent very quickly.

1. It is a massive fingerprint magnet. While I love the soft-touch finish on the exterior and the palm rests, it holds onto oils like crazy [02:28]. I recently tested the E16 and thought that was bad, but the T14s is on another level. If you like your devices looking pristine, keep a microfiber cloth handy.

2. The speakers are underwhelming. Underneath the laptop are two 2-watt stereo speakers [03:47]. While they are an improvement over the previous generation, they still just sound "okay." For a premium laptop that costs over $1,500, I expect better. In 2026, business laptops aren't just for Excel spreadsheets — they are multimedia hubs used for video conferencing and presentations. Lenovo, please give the speakers more depth in the next generation!

(Minor note: The trackpad is a traditional mechanical pad rather than a haptic one, and the clicks run a little loud compared to the whisper-quiet keyboard [03:20].)

The Verdict So Far

Overall, the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 feels like a sturdy, reliable continuation of the classic ThinkPad lineage. The fingerprint issue is frustrating, and the audio leaves a lot to be desired, but the build quality and typing experience keep it squarely in the premium tier.

I am going to put this machine through a rigorous performance test over the coming days to see how the Intel Core Ultra 5 handles heavy workloads.

What do you think? Have you used the T14s series or another ThinkPad recently? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and stay tuned for the full performance review!