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Am I the only one who is upset that Lenovo T series has dropped external battery ? I am running Ubuntu on a T480 with an extra battery in my bag. I don't think

Am I the only one who is upset that Lenovo T series has dropped external battery ? I am running Ubuntu on a T480 with an extra battery in my bag. I don't think any other laptop has ever given me as much joy. And I almost never run out of juice even though I always code without being plugged into a power source. Bring back the external battery !!

phonon 6y ago
Since they use USB-C power port, you can use an USB-C external power bank now. https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-usb-c-battery-packs-and-power-banks/ https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-usb-c-battery-packs-a...
jamesmunns 6y ago
The workaround for this is that you can now get external USB batteries that support PD, and most Lenovos use USB with PD for their main charging cable, which means you can carry around a device that can charge your laptop on the go. It's not as slick as the "swap batteries, now you're fully charged", but on the other side, the USB batteries can charged without the laptop, and you can pick the size you're willing to carry around.
Joeri 6y ago
I find the battery situation very frustrating. They put in way undersized batteries on everything except macbook pro priced models. Spec-wise a T14 is more than fine, but a 50 Wh battery is not enough if you actually use it unplugged for software development. You go to the T14s and suddenly the battery gets a bit bigger, in a machine that is supposed to be thinner and lighter. And if you go to the X or P series it gets bigger again. I can’t help but think they deliberately handicapped the affordable segment of their line-up with tiny batteries to upsell people.
siver_john 6y ago
I agree that was quite disappoint as it was one of the large reasons I bought my T470. And for those who are saying hey just use an external, that's great until your internal battery starts dying and replacing it becomes a nightmare (which for less tech savvy people it's much easier just to swap the external than dealing with the internal).

phonon 6y ago

Since they use USB-C power port, you can use an USB-C external power bank now. https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-usb-c-battery-packs-and-power-banks/ https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-usb-c-battery-packs-a...

jamesmunns 6y ago

The workaround for this is that you can now get external USB batteries that support PD, and most Lenovos use USB with PD for their main charging cable, which means you can carry around a device that can charge your laptop on the go. It's not as slick as the "swap batteries, now you're fully charged", but on the other side, the USB batteries can charged without the laptop, and you can pick the size you're willing to carry around.

Joeri 6y ago

I find the battery situation very frustrating. They put in way undersized batteries on everything except macbook pro priced models. Spec-wise a T14 is more than fine, but a 50 Wh battery is not enough if you actually use it unplugged for software development. You go to the T14s and suddenly the battery gets a bit bigger, in a machine that is supposed to be thinner and lighter. And if you go to the X or P series it gets bigger again. I can’t help but think they deliberately handicapped the affordable segment of their line-up with tiny batteries to upsell people.

siver_john 6y ago

I agree that was quite disappoint as it was one of the large reasons I bought my T470. And for those who are saying hey just use an external, that's great until your internal battery starts dying and replacing it becomes a nightmare (which for less tech savvy people it's much easier just to swap the external than dealing with the internal).