The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is a budget-friendly laptop that is significantly less expensive and offers essential features suitable for everyday use, like web browsing, light productivity tasks, and media consumption. With its lower price, you'll get modest hardware and a standard display, which could make it less ideal for intensive tasks. On the other hand, the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is a more premium device with powerful hardware that can handle demanding software and multitasking with ease. It also comes with a high-quality display that is better for creative work or enjoying high-resolution content. If portability and budget are your primary concerns, the IdeaPad 3 is more lightweight and cost-effective. However, if you need better performance for engineering, 3D work, or gaming, and are willing to invest more, the ThinkPad Z16 is a more capable and future-proof choice. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15"
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has no clear advantages over the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16.
Advantages of the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Good battery life
Best in class speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.2/10
8.6/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
220.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
393.0 nits
5.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.0 Hours
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
7.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.8/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for general use, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is only fair.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
5.8/10
6.7/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.6/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
9.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is only fair for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is poor.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
5.8/10
8.4/10
4.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is poor.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
6.3/10
8.5/10
4.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
6.3/10
8.2/10
4.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for software development, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
5.2/10
8.5/10
15.6in
SIZE
16.0in
1366 x 768
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
TN
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
220.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
393.0 nits
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" likely has a lower resolution and dimmer display, which reduces clarity and can strain the eyes during prolonged use, making it less suitable for general tasks that involve reading or web browsing. For engineering and design, a display with high color accuracy and a wide color gamut is crucial for precise work, and the IdeaPad's limited color range can result in less accurate color representation. Meanwhile, the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16, while having a display excellent for color-critical tasks with its superior color gamut, falls short for gaming and 3D applications due to a lower refresh rate, which leads to less fluid motion and responsiveness during fast-paced activities.
Battery
5.0 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has 5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has 7 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Build Quality
6.5/10
8.0/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has very good build quality, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$360
$1,120
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has a price of $360 and the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 costs $1,120.
"The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is an enduring office notebook with a powerful Ryzen APU. Lenovo's office all-rounder easily handles office and internet applications as well as modest games - the Ryzen 5 5625U APU and 16 GB of RAM make this possible. The CPU and GPU can work at consistently high clock rates. The emission values are okay, but the noise emissions should be lower under medium to full load. The relatively light notebook (approx. 1.6 kg) achieves practical battery runtimes of about 10 to 11 hours."
"Lenovo’s ThinkPad Z16 tries has some success in its effort to tweak the ThinkPad formula. The laptop is attractive, yet still tame, and material quality is on par with the best Windows competition. I also like the smooth, responsive haptic touchpad and the wide range of modern connectivity. Yet the Z16 doesn’t fix ThinkPad’s typical weakness: value. Starting around $1,550, and more typically near $1,700, the Z16 finds itself facing alternatives that have better performance or an improved display for the same price, or less."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" or the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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