Lenovo Thinkpad Z13 - It's not really a Thinkpad as you expect.

So, previously I posted about a X13 that I ran for a couple of years. After fighting problems with the specific unit that I was shipped Lenovo did wind up swapping that out with a Thinkpad X13. 

And after having used it for a year I think that it's a pretty decent device for a ultraportable device,  but it's not really the Thinkpad that you would expect if you are used to the older Thinkpad models. And that's not really a huge issue since it is good for what it is. 

The first thing that's different is the keyboard, it's not like a traditional Thinkpad keyboard, it's more like what you find on the current models of MacBook's. Depending on what you like as far as keyboards go that could be either a good thing or a bad one. Personally I'm ok with either type of keyboard - generally my preference leans towards a proper mechanical keyboard, but as far as laptop keyboards go either a Thinkpad or MacBook keyboard works well enough for me.

The other thing that was different at the time was the little knobby bit at the top of the laptop. Instead of cutting down into the screen with a notch Lenovo kicked the entire lid of the thing up into a little handle that houses the web camera. It's a bit odd at first but it makes opening the device simpler since you have a handle to pull up on. It's also something they have started putting into other Thinkpad's in the line up. 

The body is also more like an Apple device, lots of aluminum, solid construction, and nice and light. 

So physically it's all good. However, there's still some strangeness when docking and undocking the laptop. It's better than the x13, but I still do get occasional crashes if I'm using a Thunderbolt 4 dock. A USB C dock however works like a charm. So while there's obviously been some improvement there's still a ways to go.

The other annoying thing that can happen when the Thunderbolt dock crashes the device is that it seems to get into a state where it's just running the CPU doing nothing but dumping out heat. I caught it a couple of times where the device crashes and won't turn off. Tossing it into a bag would probably result in the thing cooking the CPU. That's in fact one of the things that may have toasted the X13 that I had back previously since it was much more prone to those crashes. 

Overall the Z13 is a good device and I will probably be able to squeeze some more life out of it. At least until the current issues with the Intel 13th and 14th generation processors are sorted out or the stuff from Qualcomm is working properly.