Lenovo · 2019 · end of life
Lenovo ThinkPad T490s
Whiskey Lake
The slim 1.27 kg T490 with a 57 Wh battery and a brighter low-power panel option, around 250 dollars refurbished.
from $250 last seen 2026-05-22
Find remaining Lenovo stockAs an Amazon Associate (US, NL, DE, UK programs), qualifying purchases via these affiliate links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Other markets not yet enrolled. How we make money. Verified 2026-05-22.
- Best for office and web work study programming basic everyday use
- Linux: out of box
Scorecard
Mean of six category scores, 0 to 10. Compiled from public sources. How we rate.
Strongest on keyboard, weakest on speed.
- Battery 7/10
- Display 6/10
- Build 8/10
- Keyboard 9/10
- Speed 4/10
- Value 7/10
Worth knowing
Stands out
- Linux runs out of the box
- Bright 400-nit screen, readable in sunlight
- Light at 1.27 kg
Watch for
- Discontinued, sold from remaining stock
- RAM is soldered, no upgrade later
Linux
Excellent · Best on ubuntu LTS. Confidence: high · How we score
Linux compatibility, per distro
- Ubuntu LTS Out of the box
- Wi-Fi : works
- Bluetooth : works
- Fingerprint : needs tweak
- Webcam : works
- Audio : works
- Suspend : works
Ubuntu certified on the T490s platform. Whiskey Lake on UHD 620 is one of the most boring, in the good way, Linux targets in this list.
Ubuntu certified: ThinkPad T490s →Show full report
RAM is entirely soldered, capped at 32 GB, so pick the size at purchase. The Synaptics fingerprint reader needs a fwupd push and recent libfprint for fprintd. Real S3 deep sleep is selectable in BIOS, a reason these stay popular used.
- Fedora Out of the box
- Wi-Fi : works
- Bluetooth : works
- Fingerprint : needs tweak
- Webcam : works
- Audio : works
- Suspend : works
Fedora boots clean. 27 kg with a 57 Wh battery and a brighter low-power 400 nit panel option, but it trades the regular T490 SO-DIMM slot for fully soldered RAM.
Notebookcheck: ThinkPad T490s review →Show full report
T490 SO-DIMM slot for fully soldered RAM. Notebookcheck measured over 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing. Huge refurb volume from corporate fleets.
See the broader picture in the Linux compatibility hub, the full compatibility matrix, and the buying guides.
Specs
| CPU | Intel Core i5-8265U / i7-8565U (Whiskey Lake) |
|---|---|
| GPU | Intel UHD Graphics 620 (integrated) |
| RAM | 16 GB (soldered, not upgradeable) |
| Storage | 512 GB |
| Screen | 14" 1920x1080 @ 60Hz, 400 nitsbright enough for sunlight |
| Weight | 1.27 kgvery light to carry |
| Battery | 57 Wh, around 9 h real-world |
Common questions
- Does the Lenovo ThinkPad T490s (Whiskey Lake) work with Linux?
- Yes, on a clean install it works with no tweaking (verified on Ubuntu LTS, Fedora). Ubuntu certified on the T490s platform.
- What does the Lenovo ThinkPad T490s (Whiskey Lake) cost?
- Last seen around 250 USD (2026-05-22). It is discontinued, so prices vary with remaining stock.
- How heavy is the Lenovo ThinkPad T490s (Whiskey Lake)?
- 1.27 kg (2.80 lb). That's very light to carry.
- What's the battery life like?
- A 57 Wh pack, around 9 hours real-world mixed use. We score battery 7/10.
- Can I upgrade the RAM or storage?
- RAM is soldered, so the 16 GB it ships with is the RAM it dies with. Storage starts at 512 GB on this configuration.
- Which operating systems are supported?
- Ships with Windows. It also runs Linux; see the Linux block above for per-distro detail.
The Lenovo ThinkPad T490s (Whiskey Lake) is discontinued
The price below is the last we saw, kept for reference. See the current alternatives further down.
from $250 last seen 2026-05-22
Find remaining Lenovo stockAs an Amazon Associate (US, NL, DE, UK programs), qualifying purchases via these affiliate links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Other markets not yet enrolled. How we make money. Verified 2026-05-22.
