Does the Lenovo ThinkPad T490 have a removable battery?

How significant is the loss of the removable battery?

It's not a deal breaker, even when comparing the device against its predecessor. With the combined battery power of an internal 24 Whr battery and an external 24 Whr one, you can get about nine hours out of the Lenovo ThinkPad T480. If you were to choose the 72 Whr external battery option when buying a ThinkPad T480, the battery life can be pushed further, up to around 15 hours.

Comparatively, the single internal 50 Whr battery of the Lenovo ThinkPad T490 achieves about seven hours of life. This means that the ThinkPad T490's battery life, while not bad, is still noticeably less than its predecessor.

Why might you still want a ThinkPad T490?

While battery life is important, it's far from being the only thing that matters when comparing these two devices. In exchange for the worse overall battery performance (if taking into account the modular system of the T480), you're getting better display options, up to a 1440p HDR screen with up to 500 nits of brightness. The ThinkPad T480 can be outfitted with a 1440p display too, but it doesn't have HDR and isn't as bright. In addition, the ThinkPad T490 is also several millimeters thinner, and just under a half-pound lighter, making it much better for carrying around when you're out-and-about during the day.

The two share the same integrated Intel UHD graphics hardware, but the ThinkPad T490 wins out in the processor department, as its Intel Core i7-8565U tops the ThinkPad T480's Intel Core i7-8650U by a noticeable margin. Lastly, the wireless Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity of the ThinkPad T490 is much better then the ThinkPad T480's Bluetooth 4.1.