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Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4
The ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 brings some big changes over previous models beyond just simple spec bumps. There are newer sleeker bezels, better user-facing speakers, a new optional 5MP webcam, and the option for a 2.8K resolution OLED display.
Pros- Newer, more powerful hardware
- High-resolution OLED option
- Yoga 2-in-1 options
Cons- More expensive overall
- Touchscreen isn't standard
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Lenovo ThinkPad X13s
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13s is the most powerful Windows on Arm PC to date. It weighs just 2.35 pounds and packs perks like 5G, making it great for people often on the go.
Pros- Better specifications for the price
- 5G capabilities
- Touchscreen is standard
Cons- Relatively older hardware
- Only two USB-C ports
Lenovo has a ton of great laptops in its lineup, and many of these are similar laptops at the same price points. Case in point: the Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 and the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s. Both these laptops are not only similar but from the same series, no less. However, they’re also quite different. As such, it can be difficult to pick the right one for you, especially because these two laptops are also priced similarly.
In our Lenovo ThinkPad X13s review, we found the laptop to be quite impressive, and the Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 is the new kid on the block that competes with it. So which one is the right one for you?
Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 vs X13s: Price, specs & availability
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 went on sale in May 2023, while the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s went on sale a year earlier, in May 2022. As such, the X13 Gen 4 is a whole year newer, although it's a bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison because these two laptops are running on different platforms.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 launched at a starting price of $1,099, which was also the exact starting price of the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s when it launched. With a year having passed since launch, the X13s is now available at lower prices, often under $1,000. However, the $1,099 base configuration of the laptop isn’t easy to find anymore. Instead, the higher-specced versions are available at a discount.
The starting price stays in the $1,000-1,100 range for both laptops, as the X13 Gen 4 doesn’t have any major discounts just yet. The X13 Gen 4 also has a 2-in-1 convertible touchscreen model under the Yoga brand, widely regarded to have some of the best laptops you can buy. The X13s does not get a Yoga model despite having a touchscreen option. On the pricing front, you’re getting more specs for your money with the X13s, with higher RAM and storage available at the same price in comparison to the X13 Gen 4.
Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 Lenovo ThinkPad X13s Color Deep Black, Storm Gray Thunder Black Storage Up to 2TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD Up to 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD CPU 13th-generation Intel Core processors with vPro or AMD Ryzen 7000 series Mobile Processors Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Compute Platform Memory Up to 32GB LPDDR5 Up to 32GB LPDDR4x Operating System Windows 11 Windows 11 Battery 41Whr or 54.7Whr 49.5 Wh Ports 2 x Intel Thunderbolt 4 (USB4 on AMD) 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A 1 x HDMI 2.0b 1 x Audio Jack 2 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 3.5mm headphone jack, SIM slot Camera FHD RGB with privacy shutter or 5MP RGB IR with Privacy shutter Up to IR & 5.0MP MIPI with E-camera Shutter Display (Size, Resolution) 13-inch, 16:10 aspect ratio, up to 2.8K OLED, or WUXGA IPS Low Power, WUXGA IPS Touch, or WUXGA IPS 300 nit 13.3" WUXGA 300 nits, or 13.3" WUXGA, touchscreen, 300 nits, or 13.3" WUXGA, low power, 400 nits, low blue light Weight 2.51 pounds 2.35 pounds GPU Intel Iris Xe (intel models) or AMD Radeon Graphics (AMD model) Integrated Qualcomm Adreno 690 Graphics Dimension 11.78 x 9.51 x 0.62 inches 11.76 x 8.13 x 0.53 Inches Network Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1, Optional 4G LTE WWAN Qualcomm WCN6855 Wi-Fi 6E 2x2 + Bluetooth 5.1, optional mmWave or sub-6GHz 5G Speakers 2 x user facing speakers with Dolby Audio 2 x user facing speakers with Dolby Audio Price From $1,039 From $1,062.81 (varies)
Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 vs X13s: Design
Coming to the design, there is very little separating these two machines. This boils down to the fact that these two laptops are just different iterations of the X13 series. The dimensions are nearly the same, and the weight difference is minimal. Other design elements, like the webcam reverse notch, are also shared.
The X13 Gen 4 has a slight edge, however. It has some design improvements, being a new release. The most notable design changes are the shrunken bezels. The difference isn’t huge, but on a 13-inch laptop, it’s quickly apparent when comparing these two laptops side-by-side.
While the overall design is very similar, the ports on these two laptops differ quite a bit. The ThinkPad X13s gets two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a headphone/mic combo jack, and a SIM slot. The ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 gets two USB-C Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 ports, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, an HDMI 2.0b port, a headphone/mic combo jack, with an optional nano SIM slot and Smart Card reader. On the flip side, you do get 5G capabilities on the WWAN models of the X13s, compared to the optional 4G on the X13 Gen 4. Both laptops get Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1.
Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 vs X13s: Display
Both Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 and X13s have 13.3-inch WUXGA (1920x1200) resolution IPS anti-glare displays, with 300 nits brightness, 60Hz refresh rate, and 100% sRGB or 72% NTSC coverage. It’s highly likely that these are the exact same display panels. Both laptops also get the option of a 400-nit display, also with a WUXGA resolution, and 100% sRGB coverage.
You also get touch and non-touch options on both laptops. The X13 Gen 4 offers the touch models in the separate 2-in-1 Yoga model, while the X13s offers it as a display option. The non-touch options of the X13s also seem to be low in availability, which means the touchscreen options are more or less the default offerings now.
The X13 Gen 4 also gets another display option — a 2.8K OLED that also goes up to 400 nits. It's a 2880x1800 resolution display that covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color space, and has Dolby Vision, TÜV Rheinland Eyesafe, and HDR 500 True Black certifications. All the screen options on both laptops have an anti-glare coating.
With regard to the display options, the X13 Gen 4 has a clear advantage, with the higher resolution OLED option, as well as the option to go for a 2-in-1 Yoga model. However, with the X13s, you get a touchscreen for the same price as a non-touch X13 Gen 4.
Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 vs X13s: Platform, performance, and battery life
The areas where these two laptops differ greatly are the hardware platform and, thus, the performance and battery life. The Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 comes with either Intel’s 13th Gen U series chips or AMD Ryzen 7000 series chips. On the other hand, the X13s is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3.
The X13s is a laptop that runs Windows on Arm, which is still a relatively new (and a tad undercooked) concept. The Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 is a chip that focuses more on mobile computing, letting you work with lighter workloads, like web browsing, efficiently. This efficiency means you get some solid battery life. While it has good performance, it will not be able to match the raw power and app compatibility that the x86-based Intel and AMD chips have with Windows.
On the other hand, the Intel and AMD chips come from years of refinement running Windows, which has been built from the ground up running on these chips. As such, your overall computing experience will be superior on the ThinkPad X13 Gen 4. This will be especially true if you’re planning on using the laptop for heavier workloads like video editing or even light gaming.
The battery life advantage on the X13s may be a bust, though. In our review, we found the X13s to have a solid battery life, lasting between seven and eight hours. That’s good, but not as good as you would expect from Windows on Arm. On the other hand, the ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 is yet to be tested, but the last-gen model has real-life tests returning a battery life of between eight and 10 hours.
Also, since it’s a year older, you get the slower LPDDR4X RAM on the X13s instead of LPDDR5 on the X13 Gen 4, and USB 3.2 Gen 2 instead of USB 4/Thunderbolt 4
Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 vs X13s: Which is right for you?
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 is the better pick of the two, offering superior hardware and performance while sharing many good traits with the X13s. It’s got better performance, newer and better hardware, and an overall reliability advantage. You also get the freedom of choosing between Intel and AMD chips, and the laptop also has a 2-in-1 touchscreen-enabled Yoga model.
Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4
The ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 is the better choice among these two laptops, offering more powerful hardware, and the promise of a more stable Windows experience, as well as thinner bezels.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 isn’t a bad laptop, either; it’s just not for everyone. If you want to use your laptop for light workloads and get some solid battery life, the X13s will serve you right. It launched in 2022, which means you can get higher RAM and storage at the same price compared to the X13 Gen 4, and a touchscreen by default.
Lenovo ThinkPad X13s
The Lenovo ThinkPad X13s is a solid choice as well, offering a powerful Windows on Arm experience, 5G, and better specifications for cheaper, thanks to the lowered prices.
- Color
- Thunder Black
- Storage
- Up to 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD
- CPU
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Compute Platform
- Memory
- Up to 32GB LPDDR4x
- Operating System
- Windows 11
- Battery
- 49.5 Wh
- Ports
- 2 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, 3.5mm headphone jack, SIM slot
- Camera
- Up to IR & 5.0MP MIPI with E-camera Shutter
- Display (Size, Resolution)
- 13.3" WUXGA 300 nits, or 13.3" WUXGA, touchscreen, 300 nits, or 13.3" WUXGA, low power, 400 nits, low blue light
- Weight
- 2.35 pounds
- GPU
- Integrated Qualcomm Adreno 690 Graphics
- Dimension
- 11.76 x 8.13 x 0.53 Inches
- Network
- Qualcomm WCN6855 Wi-Fi 6E 2x2 + Bluetooth 5.1, optional mmWave or sub-6GHz 5G
- Speakers
- 2 x user facing speakers with Dolby Audio
- Price
- From $1,062.81 (varies)