Lenovo ThinkPad T470s Review: A Slim And Nimble Workhorse

Lenovo has carved out quite a business for itself in the laptop space over the years, led more recently by premium machines like the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon. However, there are obviously many more models in the ThinkPad family of products, beyond just the top-shelf X1 Carbon line. In the more affordable ThinkPad T470s (starting price of $959), you will find a thin, light ultrabook with many of the features Lenovo is known for, including the usual fantastic keyboard setup and solid performance.

At just 2.9 pounds, you’d be forgiven for thinking it doesn’t pack much punch, but this Kaby Lake powered ultrabook can get the job done. The T470s is available with a 14-inch 1920x1080 (HD) screen and a choice of a silver or black carbon fiber chassis. The ultra-thin lid hides shaped key caps with backlighting, the traditional red trackpoint mouse and a rather sizable trackpad with two button control above it.

Lenovo ThinkPad T470s Specifications & Features

At 13 x 8.9 x 0.7 inches, the 2.9 pound T470s is lighter and a hair thinner smaller than the regular T470 (3.5 pounds, 0.8 inches thick) and fits easily in a backpack that won’t make you work up a sweat carrying it around. For reference, Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon is 2.49 pounds and is only 0.6 inches thick, but costs $200 to $300 more, so there's one of the trade-offs.

Lenovo was able to pack in quite a few IO port options in the T470s. The left side features the power jack that looks similar to a USB port, a USB 3.0 port, a headphone jack and an SD card slot. The right side, though, is really loaded: it has a Smart Card reader, a Thunderbolt 3 port, a pair of USB 3.0 ports, HDMI output, an Ethernet jack, a microSD card slot and a space for a Kensington lock.

There is also a proprietary docking port on the bottom of the T470s, something the X1 Carbon does not have.