Lenovo ThinkPad P16s Gen 4 review: A surprisingly slim mobile workstation that easily handles CAD and AI workloads

I've always been a big fan of the ThinkPad lineup. Although that's a very clear lineup, split across the S series, the E series, and beyond.

The S series is the slimline series, and even with a 16-inch laptop, the fact that they can keep it this lightweight is pretty impressive. It begs the biggest challenge: what backpack are you going to put it in? Not necessarily if you want to carry it with you or not.

This is the kind of laptop that you want to bring with you if you need some serious power and some screen real estate, but not necessarily a high-power CPU. I wouldn't bring this with me if I'm trying to edit video or push some 3D renderings or anything like that. If I'm doing coding work, need some serious CPU on the go, and want that bigger screen without breaking my back carrying it around, then this is one I would strongly consider.

It is supposed to be a desktop replacement, after all. One thing that Lenovo loves to talk about with this laptop is its ability to run CAD at a desktop performance level, even without the BVR GPU. The RTX Pro 500 Blackwell GPU is plenty good enough for most 3D renderings and mobile work.

Lenovo ThinkPad P16s Gen 4: Price and availability

The ThinkPad P16s Gen 4 is widely available from both Lenovo and online retailers like Amazon and B&H Photo. You can pick up the Ultra 7 with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage for around $3,000, but it comes in a range of configurations.

That's about what we'd expect for a workstation packing this sort of power, and puts it around $2000 cheaper than the behemoth ThinkPad P16 Gen 3.

It's available with an Intel chip in the US here and UK here via Lenovo. For the AMD version, Lenovo has it in the US here and the UK here.

Lenovo ThinkPad P16s Gen 4: Unboxing and First Impressions

I'm fairly certain that unboxing every single Lenovo laptop that I've ever opened has been nearly the same exact experience. So much so that I frequently have to properly label the boxes so that I don't get them mixed up when I'm reviewing several ThinkPads at one time.

With all that being said, there's nothing fancy or outrageous about the ThinkPad unboxing, and that's honestly one of the things I love about them (and one reason, beyond hardware, that I suspect they're a business favorite). The unboxing experience very matter-of-fact.

Taking it out of the box, I was impressed that the laptop is just as slim as Lenovo claims. While it's not the thinnest of my laptops, it's not even the thinnest of all the ThinkPads I have right now, it's startling how well-designed it is considering how powerful this machine is.

Lenovo ThinkPad P16s Gen 4: Design & Build Quality

It's almost boring to talk about Lenovo laptops when it comes to reviews and design and build quality, because they all look almost identical: just slightly different thicknesses and minor changes, but nothing major.

In a sense, that's one of the major strengths, though. They all have phenomenal build quality. It's one of the reasons so many businesses rely on them: they are built to last and to be used and abused, not just looked at as a pretty showcase device.

As all good performance business devices should, the ThinkPad P16S Gen 4 has a MIL-STD-810H-tested build and a spill-resistant backlit keyboard.

It still feels snappy and comfortable to type on all day long. It has a large trackpad, great ports, the track point that people either love or hate, and even core features such as a privacy shutter and human presence detection.

Lenovo ThinkPad P16s Gen 4: In use

I've been jumping in and out of this laptop, along with several others, for the last 100 days or more. So far, it's been able to handle even my most demanding AI business workflows. Yes, while I do write all these reviews by myself without any help from AI, there are several other clients that I have in my day-to-day jobs that I do utilize AI heavily for.

In those times, I'm running several chats at one time across ChatGPT, Claude, Notion, and even Gemini. Sometimes my computer can definitely get slowed down on some of my testing machines.

This one, however, seemed to hold up pretty well, even with multiple AI workflows at the same time, which is pretty impressive. It could be because of its RAM or just the powerful CPU, but either way, this machine gets the work done.

Of course, we are using this for day-to-day office work as well. For basic admin, this machine is overkill and will do it without any problem. The 16-inch screen is great for spreadsheets, research, email, really anything that you need to get done in a business context. But where it really shines is heavy CPU Tasks on the go.

I carry a MacBook Pro 14-inch every day, and that seems just about the largest I normally want to carry. Most 16-inch laptops that I try to carry in my normal backpack are a little bit too big, but the ThinkPad P16S Gen 4 does fit in my normal backpack size. If you are looking to get one and you're curious, that's good news for you.

Further, if you are one of the people who are lucky enough to be in a constant work-from-anywhere or remote work environment or job, and you need something that can handle every workload, this one is a phenomenal option.

Purely for research purposes only, I spent an afternoon at a coffee shop working away at this laptop, and it was very comfortable. It wasn't too big for the awkwardly small café tables and some coffee shops, nor was it awkward to pull out. I was able to get my work done.

The keyboard is comfortable enough to type on all day long. The mics are strong enough for dictation in virtual meetings, and it actually didn't even sound too bad using the built-in mics for virtual meetings in a moderately background-noise-filled coffee shop

Lenovo ThinkPad P16s Gen 4: Final verdict

If you're a developer on the go, if you work on GPU-light but CPU-heavy work, or if you just need a machine that won't slow down with your heavy workloads, then the ThinkPad P16S Gen4 may be something worth considering for you.

This slim moniker really does showcase itself here, all while keeping the same trusted and reliable ThinkPad build. This is definitely designed for mobile pros but could be utilized by just about anybody if the build and specs are right for you.

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For more powerhouse performers, we've tested the best business laptops, the best mobile workstations, and the best laptops for engineering students, which is one area I'd definitely recommend the ThinkPad P16s Gen 4.