The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has no clear advantages over the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s.
Advantages of the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s
Good for engineering and design
Good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Excellent portability
Very good speakers
Good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.3/10
7.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
312.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
336.0 nits
6.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
7.7/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s and Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" are both good for general use, though the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s is somewhat better.
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.
Engineering and Design
6.7/10
7.5/10
6.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s is good for engineering and design, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" is only fair.
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.
Screen Quality
6.4/10
7.2/10
15.6in
SIZE
13.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
312.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
336.0 nits
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s has a better screen than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
6.5 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has 6.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s has 8 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.
Portability
Good
Excellent
15.6in
SIZE
13.3in
3.5 lbs
WEIGHT
2.9 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.5in
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s has excellent portability, while the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.5/10
7.6/10
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s has 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
$499
$1,000
$200
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" has a price of $499 and the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s costs $1,000.
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s and Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" are both only fair for gaming and AI.
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.
Content Creation
7.3/10
7.8/10
6.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s and Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" are both good for content creation.
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
7.2/10
7.7/10
6.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
6.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo ThinkBook 13s and Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" are both good for software development.
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.
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How the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" and the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s compare to other laptops
"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."
"The best thing about the ThinkBook 13S is that it’s a good deal. Business buyers looking for ThinkPad-level performance and software without ThinkPad pricing will probably find the ThinkBook a solid option. While nothing about it is really spectacular, it’s certainly unusual to see the ThinkBook’s screen resolution at a sub-$1,000 price, and its performance will be more than adequate for most office tasks. The generous port selection, 16:10 aspect ratio, physical webcam shutter, and clear audio are certainly icing on the cake."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15" or the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s
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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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.