Is there a better alternative?

The Lenovo IdeaPad 730s in Iron Grey costs $730. That price is for a Core i5-8265U, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a 13.3-inch Full HD display. Sound familiar? It should, because it’s almost the same price as the similarly-equipped ThinkBook 13s. The difference comes at the high end, where the IdeaPad 730s costs $900 for a Core i7-8565U, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD while the ThinkBook 13s costs $1,070. And the IdeaPad 730s offers Thunderbolt 3 support.

　　Next, you could consider the HP Envy 13, which costs $750 for a faster Core i7-8565U, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a 13.3-inch Full HD. It’s just about as solidly built, and it lacks only the ThinkBook 13s’s spill-proof keyboard and extra testing against bumps and bruises. You can also spend some additional cash – a total of $1,180 — and get an MX250 discrete GPU, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD, and a 4K display. That makes the Envy 13 more customizable and ultimately more powerful.

　　Finally, the Asus ZenBook 13 UX333 is a fine laptop as well, coming in at $850 for the same configuration and offering a more robust build and the same MIL-STD-810g testing that’s afforded Lenovo’s ThinkPad line. You’ll get equal performance, better battery life, and frankly, we think the ZenBook is a better-looking laptop.

　　

How long will it last?

The ThinkBook 13s may not live up to the highest standards of rigidity, but it’ll last you as long as you need. You’ll miss out on Thunderbolt 3 for connecting to the most advanced peripherals, but otherwise, this is an up-to-date laptop. The standard 1-year warranty is no better or worse than other laptops in this class.

　　

Should you buy it?

No. The ThinkBook 13s sits awkwardly between regular and business-class notebooks and is unlikely to appeal to personal owners or business customers.