Since purchasing the brand from IBM in 2005, Lenovo has done a pretty good job at keeping the ThinkPad line up with the times. Today’s ThinkPads include everything from super-slim ultrabooks to convertible 2-in-1s, yet as nice as these newer designs like the X1 Extreme may be, the classically inspired T-series workhorses are still quietly chugging along. The 14-inch ThinkPad T480 is one of the latest models in the T-series, and for Labor Day sales, Lenovo has it discounted for more than $700 off. This is one of the best laptop deals for Labor Day, especially if you’re looking for a portable work computer.
The T-series ThinkPads aren’t the prettiest, the lightest, or even the most feature-laden laptops on the market today. Yet models like the ThinkPad T480 thankfully still exist to remind us why we loved these no-nonsense work machines in the first place. And while the current crop of ThinkPads may not have some of those older features we loved about the ThinkPads of yesteryear (the mechanical keyboards might be the thing we miss the most), the T480 is a very solid and capable laptop for work and general use.
That’s because the ThinkPad T480 isn’t made to win visual design awards — it’s made to work, boasting great hardware and excellent battery life instead of focusing too heavily on features like touchscreens that most of us don’t really need. It’s also made to last, offering the sturdy build quality that ThinkPads are known for which ensures that the T480 stands up very well to inevitable bumps and scrapes. If you’re the type who buys things and expects them to last a long time rather than needing to be replaced after two years, it’s hard to do much better than a T-series ThinkPad.
Underneath its unassuming (yet instantly recognizable) exterior, this ThinkPad T480 comes loaded with an eighth-generation Intel Core i5-8250U processor along with 8GB of DDR4 RAM, which are perfectly respectable specs for an everyday laptop PC. Along with that, you also get a 512GB solid-state drive, giving you plenty of storage for your operating system, software, and files at much faster speeds than traditional HDDs.
The T-series models are generally more moderately priced compared to flagships like the X1 Extreme or X1 Carbon, but these ThinkPads can still get pricey. The Lenovo Labor Day sale is the perfect chance to score a deal on one: This configuration of the ThinkPad T480 is marked down to $1,319 right now, giving you a juicy $710 discount.
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