Lenovo ThinkBook 14-IML Review (in 2025): The Budget Laptop That Time Forgot... and Lapzilla Resurrected🧟♂️🔥 💻
🧱 Materials & Durability – "Business Casual in a Suit of Meh"
The Lenovo ThinkBook 14-IML tries its absolute best to give you that corporate, all-business feel. The aluminum top feels sturdy, but the rest is a Frankenstein blend of plastic and faint ambition. Sure, it won’t crumble in your hands, but don’t expect MacBook-like build quality either. It’s like a 9-to-5 office worker who hits the gym once a month – holding it together, barely.
🧪 It's strong enough to survive a drop from your desk but not a "rage quit and yeet it across the room" moment during Excel crashes.
Score: 6/10
(Plastic bottom + budget hinge feel = tough but not elite.)
⌨️ Keyboard & Trackpad – “Clicky but Clacky”
Typing on this thing is like texting your ex at 3AM – weirdly satisfying but full of regret later. The keys are decently spaced, and travel is fine for long emails or coding marathons. But there's a bit of flex in the deck, and the feedback feels more 2019 than 2025.
The trackpad? Well, it's not the size of a cutting board like modern ones, but it gets the job done. No glass, no magic, just basic Windows precision.
✅ Bonus points for no numpad to confuse your life.
❌ Minus points for feeling like a trackpad from a 2009 intern’s laptop.
Score: 6.5/10
🧳 Hinges & Portability – “Sturdy But Not Yoga-Ready”
The hinge on the Lenovo ThinkBook 14-IML opens to a modest 180 degrees. So you can lay it flat like your dreams when you try running Photoshop on it. 😅
It weighs about 1.5kg, which in 2025 is feather-light for the gym but kinda average for a productivity laptop. You'll feel it in your backpack, but it won't need a chiropractor.
Score: 7/10
(Fine for daily carry, but nothing revolutionary.)
💄 Aesthetics – “Corporate Chic From 2020”
This laptop gives off strong "manager at JB Hi-Fi" vibes – brushed aluminum lid, ThinkBook logo on the corner, and that ever-serious gray finish. It’s clean, inoffensive, and absolutely guaranteed to not turn heads in a café.
Looks-wise, it’s more of a Toyota Corolla than a Tesla Cybertruck.
Score: 6/10
(Safe, boring, but inoffensive. Just like your uncle’s PowerPoint presentations.)
🧠 CPU + GPU Performance – “Intel Tries Its Best”
Let’s talk Intel Core i5-10210U – a 10th-gen chip from 2019. Four cores, eight threads, turbo up to 4.2GHz... back when that was impressive. In 2025? It’s like trying to win a race with a Segway.
Multitasking? Doable.
Light gaming? If you're into Counter-Strike 1.6 or Stardew Valley, welcome aboard.
Video editing? If you're cool with rendering a TikTok in 20 minutes, sure.
The integrated Intel UHD Graphics will NOT let you dabble in 3D modeling or AAA games unless you're planning to pixel-paint every frame manually.
Score: 5.5/10
(Good for spreadsheets, Slack, and Chrome... not much else.)
📖 Reference: Intel i5-10210U specs - Intel Ark
🌡 Thermals & Noise – “Whispering Fan of Doom”
It runs cool most of the time, but when you open Chrome with 12 tabs and a YouTube playlist? Suddenly it’s like a tiny drone trying to lift off.
The single fan setup does its best to cool the aging silicon, but don’t expect MacBook-level whisper silence. Also, if you're gaming (which you shouldn't be on this thing), prepare for some hot lap syndrome.
Score: 6/10
(Quiet enough for Zoom calls, noisy enough to annoy your cat.)
🔋 Battery Life – “It’s... Fine. Just Fine.”
Lenovo claimed 9+ hours back in the day. In 2025, with aging cells and more background AI apps than ever? Expect 5–6 hours on light use, and maybe 3 hours if you’re doing anything spicy.
It charges over USB-C (yay!) and tops up fairly quickly.
Score: 6/10
(Not an all-day champ, but won’t ghost you by lunchtime.)
🖥 Display – “Anti-Glare But Also Anti-Excitement”
A 14" Full HD IPS panel that looks okay in decent lighting and downright sad in direct sunlight. Colors are washed out, contrast is mid (800:1), and brightness hits just above 250 nits. For writing, watching shows, and casual browsing? Totally fine. For color grading your indie film? Nope.
It’s matte, so at least you won’t see your regretful face reflecting back during Zoom meetings.
Score: 5.5/10
(Great for budget work. Not for Netflix purists.)
📖 Reference: NotebookCheck Review of Similar Display
🎧 Audio – “Better with Headphones, Trust Me”
The speakers are bottom-firing, which is a nice way of saying “they blast sound into your desk.” They're tinny, weak on bass, and get distorted at high volumes. Great for podcasts or Zoom meetings, but don’t even think about vibing to Doja Cat.
There’s a headphone jack though – hallelujah.
Score: 4.5/10
(Budget audio for a budget laptop. Use headphones.)
🎯 Ports – “It’s 2025 and I Still Love You, Ethernet”
Ports galore!
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2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1
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1 x USB-C 3.1 Gen 1
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1 x USB-C Gen 2 with DisplayPort + charging
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HDMI
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RJ-45 Ethernet (bless it 🙏)
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Audio jack
-
A hidden USB 2.0 port for funsies.
This thing slaps modern laptops with their two lonely USB-C ports. It’s a port party, and everyone’s invited.
Score: 8/10
(A true port champion. Thunderbolt? Nah, but it covers most needs.)
📸 Webcam – “720p Potato with a Shutter”
Still rocking a 720p webcam. BUT — it has a physical ThinkShutter, which is like putting pants on your laptop camera. Respect.
It works for Zoom calls... if you're into that blurry soap opera filter aesthetic.
Score: 5/10
(Privacy: ✅. Quality: ❌.)
💸 Final Verdict – Value in 2025?
The Lenovo ThinkBook 14-IML is not a powerhouse, not flashy, and not something you’ll brag about to your gamer friends. But for $449 AUD, it’s a solid productivity machine if your needs are basic: browsing, writing, emailing, budgeting, and light multitasking.
It’s like buying a used Toyota Corolla with low mileage – not exciting, but very, very functional.
📊 Average Scores:
| Category | Score (/10) |
|---|---|
| Materials & Durability | 6 |
| Keyboard & Trackpad | 6.5 |
| Hinges & Portability | 7 |
| Aesthetics | 6 |
| CPU + GPU Performance | 5.5 |
| Thermals & Noise | 6 |
| Battery Life | 6 |
| Display | 5.5 |
| Audio | 4.5 |
| Ports | 8 |
🎯 Average Score: 6.1/10
✅ Should You Buy It?
If you’re a student, office warrior, or just need a backup machine that doesn’t cost more than a Steam Deck, this is a great value buy. Just don’t expect gaming, 4K editing, or a retina-melting display.