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| The new ThinkPad T16 Gen 4 should be particularly power-efficient thanks to Intel's Lunar Lake platform. |
If you’ve been holding out for Lenovo’s next-generation business laptop, here’s some good news and some frustration. The highly anticipated ThinkPad T16 Gen 5 has officially launched across Australia and Europe, bringing with it a choice of AMD Gorgon Point or Intel Panther Lake processors. However, if you’re in North America, you’re going to have to keep waiting.
Less than a month has passed since Lenovo released the ThinkPad T16 Gen 5 across Australia and Europe. Currently, these AMD Gorgon Point and Intel Panther Lake-based models remain unavailable in North America. It’s a curious rollout strategy, especially since the company has been relatively quiet about when Canadian and US customers can expect to get their hands on these new chips.
In the meantime, Lenovo has returned to its Gen 4 generation with Intel Lunar Lake-powered 16-inch models that it announced back in February. For context, these new Lunar Lake variants complement the Arrow Lake variants that were already available, giving business users something to chew on while they wait for the Gen 5 to cross the Atlantic.
The Lunar Lake Stopgap: Don’t Call It a Downgrade
Before we dig too deep into the Gen 5, it’s worth understanding what is available right now in North America. Currently, the new ThinkPad T16 Gen 4 starts with the Core Ultra 5 228V, an 8-core chip that actually falls short of the existing Core Ultra 5 225U in our CPU benchmarks. If raw processing power is your only metric, you might raise an eyebrow.
Conversely, the Core Ultra 5 228V has the edge in GPU workloads thanks to its Arc 130V iGPU. So for anyone doing light video editing or working with visual assets, the newer Gen 4 configuration might actually feel snappier despite the lower CPU benchmark scores. It’s a classic silicon trade-off.
Alternatively, the new ThinkPad T16 Gen 4 can be configured with the Core Ultra 5 236V, Core Ultra 5 238V, Core Ultra 7 258V or the Core Ultra 7 268V. Also, Lenovo offers its 16-inch laptop with LPDDR5X-8533 RAM, 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB of storage and 52.5 Wh or 86 Wh batteries. One can equip the laptop with one of four displays, too. All are 1200p IPS panels though with 60 Hz refresh rates – a far cry from the OLED options available on the Gen 5 Intel models.
Pricing Reality Check for Gen 4
The updated ThinkPad T16 Gen 4 retails for $1,739 in the US and £1,409 in the UK with a Core Ultra 5 228V processor and 32 GB of RAM. Meanwhile, the same configuration starts at AUD 2,259 in Australia and €1,578–€1,781 in the Eurozone. For some reason, the laptop is not currently available to order in Canada, mirroring the same availability frustration seen with its newer sibling.
If you need a solid machine today and don't want to gamble on ship dates, you can still check the latest pricing for previous Gen 4 models on Amazon here. They remain a solid value for business users who don't need the absolute latest silicon.
Why the Gen 5 Is Worth the Wait (Maybe)
So what’s actually different about the ThinkPad T16 Gen 5? Quite a lot, actually. The headline news is the processor choice: AMD’s Gorgon Point (Ryzen AI 5 Pro 440 and Ryzen AI 7 Pro 450) versus Intel’s Panther Lake (Core Ultra 5 325, Core Ultra 7 355, and Core Ultra X7 358H). But the real story is the feature split.
Here’s the kicker: Intel-powered ThinkPad T16 Gen 5 models are the only SKUs that feature LPCAMM2 LPDDR5X RAM – a newer, more power-efficient, and faster memory standard. AMD variants, in contrast, stick with the slower but more ubiquitous SODIMM standard. While SODIMM is easier to find and replace, LPCAMM2 offers tangible performance gains for memory-intensive workflows like data analysis or virtualization.
And if you care about your screen, the gap widens further. Lenovo restricts the ThinkPad T16 Gen 5 to 1200p and 60 Hz IPS panels when configured with AMD processors. Intel models, however, can be upgraded to a 2.8K OLED panel with a 30-120 Hz variable refresh rate and VESA DisplayHDR 600 True Black certification. That’s a night-and-day difference for media consumption, design work, or any task where color accuracy matters.
The Bottom Line: Should You Wait or Buy?
The ThinkPad T16 Gen 5 starts at £1,579 / €1,819 for AMD variants and £1,579 / €1,829 for Intel models – a negligible €10 difference at launch. If you’re in Europe or Australia, the choice is simple: spend the extra ten euros for the Intel model and get OLED and faster memory.
If you’re in North America, you’re in a tougher spot. You can grab the Lunar Lake-powered Gen 4 today for around $1,739, or you can wait an unknown number of weeks (or months) for the Gen 5 to arrive. Given the substantial display and memory upgrades, patience may be the smarter play – assuming your current laptop can hold out.
For our full impressions on Lenovo's AMD-powered version of the ThinkPad T16 Gen 4, please see our recent review. And if you want to dig into the regional specs yourself, here are the official Lenovo listings for the new Gen 4 models: Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, UK, and US.
For a deeper dive into the full Gen 5 announcement and what it means for Lenovo’s 2026 roadmap, check out this detailed report.
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