Lenovo ThinkPad P53s vs T490

In this post we will compare Lenovo ThinkPad P53s and Lenovo ThinkPad T490

Lenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
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Key Features

Lenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
Powerful Intel® processing and NVIDIA® Quadro® graphicsDoes everything but make the coffee
15.6″ mobile workstationStarting weight of just 3.23 lbs / 1.46 kg, perfect for portability
Weighing just 3.87lb / 1.75kg, provides on the go powerNew narrow bezel design
Epic battery lifeEnhanced security and privacy features
Optional 4K UHD display with Dolby Vision™ HDRUp to 16.11 hrs of battery life
Great for students, engineers, finance professionals, and designersPreferred laptop for serious business professionals.

Technical Specification

ModelLenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
Processor
Up to 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-8665U with vPro™ (1.90GHz, up to 4.80GHz with Turbo Boost, 4 Cores, 8MB Cache)Up to 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-8665U with vPro™ (1.90 GHz, up to 4.80 GHz with Turbo Boost, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 8 MB Cache)
Up to 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-10510U (1.80 GHz, up to 4.90 GHz with Turbo Boost, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 8 MB Cache)
Operating SystemLenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
Windows 10 HomeWindows 10 Home
Windows 10 ProWindows 10 Pro
GraphicsLenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
NVIDIA® Quadro® P520 2GBIntegrated Intel® UHD Graphics
NVIDIA® GeForce® MX250 2GB
DisplayLenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
15.6″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS, anti-glare, 250 nits, 45% NTSC color gamut14″ HD (1366 x 768) anti-glare, 220 nits
15.6″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS, anti-glare, touchscreen, 250 nits, 45% NTSC color gamut14″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS, anti-glare, 250 nits
15.6″ UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS, anti-glare with Dolby Vision™ HDR, 500 nits, 100% Adobe color gamut14″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS, anti-glare, touchscreen, 300 nits
14″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS, low power, anti-glare, 400 nits
14″ WQHD (2560 x 1440) IPS, glossy, 500 nits
MemoryLenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
Up to 48GB DDR4 2400MHzUp to 48GB DDR4 2400MHz
BatteryLenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
Up to 15 hours* on 57Wh, includes Rapid Charge technology**Up to 16.11 hours* 50Whr
Up to 11 hours on a single one-hour chargeRapid Charge available with 65W AC adapter
StorageLenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
Up to 2TB SSD PCIe-NVMeUp to 1TB PCIe SSD
256GB SSD SATA
SecurityLenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
Discrete Trusted Platform Module (dTPM) 2.0Fast Online Identity (FIDO) authentication capabilities
Fast Identity Online (FIDO) authentication capabilitiesdTPM 2.0
Optional IR camera (for login with Windows Hello)Optional: Match-on-Chip touch fingerprint reader
Optional Match-on-chip fingerprint readerThinkShutter, webcam privacy cover
ThinkShutterOptional: PrivacyGuard
Kensington lock slotOptional: Privacy Alert
Optional Smart card readerKensington lock slot
For T490 Healthcare Edition
FIPS-201 Fingerprint Reader
RFID Reader
IR camera with Windows Hello
dTPM 2.0
ThinkShutter camera cover
Optional: PrivacyGuard
Optional: PrivacyAlert
Kensington lock slot
AudioLenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
Stereo speakers with Dolby Audio®Dolby Audio™ Premium
Dual Array far-field microphones
CameraLenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
720p HD camera with ThinkShutter privacy coverHD 720p with ThinkShutter privacy cover
Optional: Hybrid Infrared (IR) with ThinkShutterOptional: Hybrid Infrared (IR) + HD with ThinkShutter
Dimensions (H x W x D)Lenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
14.4” x 9.76” x 0.75” / 365.8 x 248 x 19.1 (mm)329mm x 227mm x 17.9mm / 12.95″ x 8.94″ x 0.70″
WeightLenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
Starting at 3.87 lbs (1.75 kg)HD: 3.37 lbs (1.53 kg)
FHD IPS / touchscreen & non-touch: 3.41 lbs (1.55 kg)
FHD low power: 3.23 lbs (1.46 kg)
FHD with PrivacyGuard: 3.56 lbs (1.61 kg)
WQHD: 3.23 lbs (1.46 kg)
ConnectivityLenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
WLAN: Intel® 9560 802.11 AC (2 x 2) & Bluetooth® 5.0WWAN: Fibocom L850-GL 4G LTE-A Cat9 (Optional)
WLAN: Intel® 9560 vPro™ 802.11 AC (2 x 2) & Bluetooth® 5.0WLAN: Intel® Wi-Fi 6 AX201 802.11 AX (2 x 2)
NFC (Optional)WLAN: Intel® 9560 802.11AC (2 x 2)
WWAN: Fibocom L850-GL LTE-A CAT9 (Optional)Bluetooth® 5.0
Optional: NFC†
PortsLenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
2 x USB-A 3.1 Gen 1** (1 always on)2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1** (one Always On)
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C / Intel Thunderbolt™ 3 (DisplayPort, Data transfer)1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C (Power Delivery, DisplayPort, Data transfer)
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C (DisplayPort, Data transfer)1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C / Intel Thunderbolt 3 (Power Delivery, DisplayPort, Data transfer)
HDMI 1.4bMicroSD card reader
MicroSD card reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC)Smart card reader (Optional)
Headphone / mic comboHeadphone / mic combo
Optional Smart card readerMicro-SIM slot*
RJ45 EthernetHDMI 1.4
Docking connectorRJ45 Gigabit Ethernet
KeyboardLenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
Spill resistantSpill resistant
Precision Keyboard with numeric padBottom-load backlight with white LED lighting (Optional)
Backlit with white LED lightingLenovo Quick Clean* (App that disengages keyboard / touchpad for up to 90 seconds)
Green CertificationLenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
Energy Star®7.1
EPEAT®
Greenguard®
RoHS compliant
Preloaded SoftwareLenovo ThinkPad P53sLenovo ThinkPad T490
Lenovo Vantage
Office 365 30-Day Trial (requires internet access to install and activate)

Design

Lenovo ThinkPad P53s:

This is the new model of a mobile workstation with the ThinkPad logo on it. It is very thin and light in weight so you can carry this anywhere very easily. There is the name of this model featured on the bottom of the right side of the display.

Lenovo ThinkPad T490:

This is matt black finish Lenovo ThinkPad T490 with ThinkPad logo on it. It passes the military standard grade testing. It will be very durable and rock solid. It has an aluminum-magnesium alloy exterior.

Display

Lenovo ThinkPad P53s:

This is a very beautiful 15-inch anti-glare Ultra HD Dolby Vision IPS display. With a resolution of 3840 x 2160. It is a very glossy display with 500 nits of brightness.
This covers 100% of Adobe color gamut. There are several options available with this display so you can choose which one you want.

On top of the display, you can get a 720p HD Hybrid webcam. You can also have an option for a Hybrid infrared camera which allows you to use Windows Hello to log in with face recognization. Next to webcam, you can get one sensor too. Lenovo cares for your privacy and security so it provides you a shutter for your camera so when you don’t need a camera you can turn it off.

Lenovo ThinkPad T490:

It has a beautiful 14-inch WQHD HDR Dolby vision glossy display. It’s simply stunning gorgeous, There are few options available on display which you can choose. It is a very bright display coming at 475 nits making an excellent choice for indoor and outdoor use. It covers the color gamut extremely well 100% sRGB and 100% of Adobe RGB, making this an excellent choice for those creative professionals that do lightroom, photoshop, and video editing.

It has a front-facing camera. It is an infrared camera that allows you to use Windows Hello for login. It also has a think shutter switch which allows you to turn off your webcam, which gives you more security and more privacy although it doesn’t turn off the microphone.

WEIGHT & DIMENSIONS

Lenovo ThinkPad P53s:

The weight of this laptop is 1.75 kg with 14.4 x 9.76 x 0.75(inches) dimensions.

Lenovo ThinkPad T490:

The weight of this laptop is 1.53 KG laptop with 12.95 x 8.94 x 0.70(inches) of dimensions.

PERFORMANCE

Lenovo ThinkPad P53s:

When it comes to performance this is Intel® Core™ i7-8665U vPro™ Whiskey lake processor. It also provides you NVIDIA® Quadro® P520 2GB Graphics card. It works very smoothly.

This is not a gaming laptop so you can’t play some new title games. But you can play some old titles games if you turn down your laptop settings.

Lenovo ThinkPad T490:

Now when it comes to performance T490 doesn’t disappoint you. It does very well. This is an Intel Core i7 8565U, that’s a whiskey lake processor. It’s a Quad-core processor with 16 GB of ddr4 ram. It’s a great productivity machine that can get work done on Microsoft office, emails and it’s a great multimedia machine to watch Full HD videos.

But if you want games on this laptop. It is not a real gaming laptop although you can get an optional MX 250 GPU which will give you a little bit of horsepower. You can play some older titles games on low settings, but new triple-a titles don’t run very well on this because of lack of GPU unless you go for that MX 250.

When it comes to thermals if you are doing the everyday task it stayed relatively cool but when you put it under heavy load it did start to get warm. you will notice the fan will kick in although it wasn’t overly loud or annoying which is good.

PORT SELECTION

Lenovo ThinkPad P53s:

On the left side you can get USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-c, Thunderbolt 3(20Gb/s), USB0 Type-A, HDMI, and a microSD card reader.

On the right side you can get Smart card reader, USB 3.0 Type-A, RJ45 Ethernet, and a Kensington lock.

Lenovo ThinkPad T490:

On the left side there is a USB Type-C 3.1, a thunderbolt 3 port that supports two lanes, a USB Type-A 3.1, an HDMI 1.4, 3.5 mm headset jack, and a microSD card slot.

On the backside there is an optional LTE SIM tray available.

KEYBOARD & TOUCHPAD

Lenovo ThinkPad P53s:

There are no issues found with this keyboard, and the distance between the two keys is very comfortable so you can type very smoothly and faster. Lenovo also provides backlight on the keyboard so you can also do your work in the dark. You can also turn it off when you don’t need it, so it can save a little bit of battery.

There is a trackpad located below the keyboard. It is very smooth to use and two fingers gestures. You can also have a joystick in the middle of the keyboard as an alternative use.

There is no fingerprint scanner available on this model.

Lenovo ThinkPad T490:

ThinkPad has been known for a legendary keyboard status and there is not any exception. This is excellent for extended periods of good tactile feedback and it has good key travel. It has a multi-stage backlight, this will allows you to get worked on the darkroom or dimly lit environment.

The touchpad works well very responsive. It uses precision drivers. Everything seems to be very smooth, two-finger scrolling is buttery smooth and windows 10 gestures work as advertised.

There is also a joystick located in the middle of the keyboard. It works well and responsive.

There is a fingerprint scanner located below the keyboard on the right side next to the trackpad which allows you to use windows hello for login, which works very well.

SPEAKERS

Lenovo ThinkPad P53s:

There are Stereo speakers located on the top of the keyboard with Dolby Audio.

Lenovo ThinkPad T490:

Speakers are located on the top of the keyboard and they are pretty loud.

BATTERY

Lenovo ThinkPad P53s:

You can get a 57W power adaptor charger with Rapid Charge technology and USB Type-C. This laptop doesn’t have any slot for an external battery, so you can only get an internal battery. Lenovo claims 14 hours of battery life. It can charge your laptop up to 80% in just 1 hour.

Lenovo ThinkPad T490:

You can get a 65-Watt power adapter with a USB Type-C adapter. It supports a 15-Watt-hour battery and Lenovo claims 16 hours of estimated battery out of this. In my continuous web surfing test over Wi-Fi had 115 nits, it did 7.5 hours and considering that high-resolution 2k HDR display. It takes 2 hours for the full charge which is very good.

WHICH TO BUY?

After comparing these laptops, I recommend you to go with T490 because it has a gorgeous WQHD HDR Dolby vision display. It’s got a really good price to performance ratio, dedicated GPU option the MX 250 that’s always good to see. It has a thinner and lighter design. I found Lenovo ThinkPad T490 very useful. It has much better performance and specification than P53s according to this price. So you can invest your money on T490, it well worth it.

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