**The Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 is the best-value business laptop money can buy in 2026.** It's not glamorous, but it's competent, reliable, and absurdly well-priced for what you get.
Who Is This For?
Professionals, students, and anyone who needs a dependable workhorse laptop without spending a grand. If you spend all day in spreadsheets, documents, and browser tabs, this is your machine.
Performance: Ryzen 7 Punches Above Its Weight
The AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS is a genuine performer. In benchmarks, it trades blows with Intel Core Ultra 7 chips that cost £200 more in laptops. For everyday work — Office, Slack, 20 Chrome tabs — it cruises. Even light photo editing and coding are no trouble.
The Keyboard: Still King
The ThinkPad keyboard is legendary for a reason. Key travel is deep (1.5mm), the feedback is crisp, and the layout is thought-out. The TrackPoint red nub is still there for those who love it. If you type for a living, this keyboard alone is worth the price of admission.
Build and Security
It's plastic, not aluminium — you can tell. But it's solid plastic, MIL-STD tested, with a hinge that feels like it could survive a nuclear war. TPM 2.0, a fingerprint reader, and a webcam shutter tick the security boxes.
The Display: The Compromise
This is where Lenovo cut corners. The 16-inch IPS panel is fine for productivity, but at 250 nits and limited colour accuracy (60% sRGB), it's not for colour-critical work or bright outdoor use. It's the one area where spending more gets you a dramatically better experience.
Battery and Value
Ten hours of real-world use is excellent for a 16-inch laptop. And at £749 (sometimes as low as £649 on Amazon), it undercuts comparable HP and Dell business laptops by £200-300. The value proposition is exceptional.
The Verdict
If you need a serious work laptop and don't care about looking flashy, the ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 is the smart buy. The excellent keyboard, strong Ryzen performance, and long battery life more than make up for the mediocre display.
👍 What We Love
- AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS — multitasking beast for the price
- Legendary ThinkPad keyboard — best in-class typing
- All-day battery: 10+ hours of real-world use
- Enterprise-grade security with TPM 2.0 and fingerprint
- 3-year warranty option — rare at this price
👎 Room for Improvement
- Display is mediocre — 250 nits, limited colour accuracy
- Plastic build doesn't feel as premium as the T-series
- No Thunderbolt 4 (AMD limitation)
- Fan noise under heavy load
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely. With its current price point and feature set, it remains one of the best options in its category.
While newer models exist, the Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 (AMD) still holds its own thanks to excellent build quality and software support.