Lenovo ThinkPad T490
Mainstream 14-inch business ThinkPad with 8th Gen (and, outside EMEA, 10th Gen) Intel Core i5 / i7 U-series processors, soldered memory plus one SO-DIMM slot, a single M.2 SSD, an integrated 50 Wh battery and optional GeForce MX250 graphics. Thinner successor to the T480, sold 2019-2020.
Memory
- Layout
- One memory soldered to the system board + one DDR4 SO-DIMM slot, dual-channel capable
- Soldered
- 8 GB or 16 GB DDR4
- Max
- 40 GB (8 GB soldered + 32 GB SO-DIMM) or 48 GB (16 GB soldered + 32 GB SO-DIMM)
- Speed
- DDR4-2400; installed memory is 2666 MHz but runs at 2400 MHz due to the processor limit (the PSREF processor table lists DDR4-2666 support for the 10th Gen CPUs)
- Service
- SO-DIMM is a self-service CRU (HMM)
Storage
- Drives
- One drive only
- M.2 2280
- PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe (Opal2) or SATA 6 Gb/s (Opal2, not in EMEA), up to 1 TB
- M.2 2242
- PCIe 3.0 x2 NVMe, up to 256 GB
- Optane
- Optional Intel Optane Memory integrated with the SSD (M.2 2280, e.g. 32 GB Optane + 512 GB SSD)
- Offered
- 128 GB / 256 GB (2242); 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB (2280)
- Card reader
- microSD
- Optical
- None
Graphics
- Integrated
- Intel UHD Graphics
- Discrete
- NVIDIA GeForce MX250 2 GB GDDR5 (selected models)
- External displays
- Up to 3 independent (panel + 2 external); HDMI up to 4096×2160 at 24 Hz, Thunderbolt up to 4096×2304 at 60 Hz
Expansion
- M.2 SSD
- One M.2 SSD position (2280, or 2242 with bracket)
- M.2 WWAN
- M.2 WWAN card on WWAN models; 'WWAN upgradable' models are antenna-ready (special bid only in EMEA); other non-WWAN models cannot be upgraded
- Memory
- One SO-DIMM slot
Networking
- WLAN
- Intel Wireless-AC 9560 802.11ac 2x2 + Bluetooth 5.1 (8th Gen models) or Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 802.11ax 2x2 + Bluetooth 5.1 (10th Gen only); Bluetooth 5.2 hardware-ready
- WWAN (optional)
- Fibocom L850-GL 4G LTE Cat9, Fibocom L830-EB 4G LTE (EMEA only) or Fibocom L860-GL 4G LTE-A 4x4 MIMO, M.2
- Ethernet
- Gigabit, Intel I219-LM (vPro) or I219-V (non-vPro), RJ-45
- NFC
- Optional
Power
- Adapters
- 45 W or 65 W USB-C (65 W also as slim), 2-pin or 3-pin by country
- Rapid Charge
- Up to 80% in 1 hour with the 65 W adapter
- Heat output
- 45 W (154 Btu/hr) or 65 W (222 Btu/hr), depending on model
Ports
- USB-C
- 1 × USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 and 1 × USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 / Thunderbolt 3, both with Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.2
- USB-A
- 1 × USB 3.1 Gen 1, 1 × USB 3.1 Gen 1 (Always On)
- Video
- HDMI 1.4b
- Other standard
- RJ-45 Ethernet, microSD card reader, headphone / mic combo jack, side docking connector
- Optional
- Smart card reader, nano-SIM tray (WWAN models)
- Docking
- Side docking connector for the ThinkPad Basic, Pro and Ultra Docking Stations; USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 docks
- Adapters
- Lenovo HDMI to VGA, USB-C to VGA, USB-C to HDMI (optional)
Display
- HD TN 220 nits
- 1366×768, non-touch, anti-glare, 45% NTSC, 400:1
- FHD IPS 250 nits
- 1920×1080, non-touch, anti-glare, 45% NTSC, 700:1
- FHD IPS 400 nits low power
- 1920×1080, non-touch, anti-glare, 72% NTSC, 800:1
- FHD IPS 300 nits touch
- 1920×1080, on-cell 10-point touch, anti-glare, 45% NTSC, 700:1
- FHD IPS 400 nits Privacy Guard
- 1920×1080, non-touch, anti-glare, 72% NTSC, 1000:1, ThinkPad Privacy Guard with Privacy Alert
- WQHD IPS 500 nits
- 2560×1440, non-touch, glossy, 100% Adobe RGB, 1500:1, Dolby Vision, HDR
- China only
- FHD TN 220 nits anti-glare (a few PSREF models)
Battery
- Type
- Integrated 50 Wh Li-polymer
- Rated life
- MobileMark 2014: 16.11 h; JEITA 2.0: 17.8 h
Physical
- Dimensions (W×D×H)
- 329 × 227 × 17.9 mm (12.95 × 8.94 × 0.70 in) per PSREF; the User Guide gives 18.9 mm thickness
- Weight
- 1.46 kg (FHD low power / WQHD), 1.53 kg (HD), 1.55 kg (FHD / FHD touch), 1.61 kg (FHD Privacy Guard)
- Case
- Black; PPS / 50% GF top, PC + ABS / Talc15 + magnesium alloy keyboard cover, PA / 50% GF bottom
- Keyboard
- 6-row spill-resistant, backlit or non-backlit, TrackPoint + Mylar multi-touch touchpad
- Camera
- HD 720p or IR + HD 720p hybrid, both with ThinkShutter, or none
- Audio
- Realtek ALC3287, 2 × 2 W speakers with Dolby Audio Premium, dual far-field array microphones
- Security
- Discrete TPM 2.0 (TCG certified), match-on-chip touch fingerprint reader on palm rest, optional smart card reader, Kensington Security Slot
- Durability
- MIL-STD-810G tested
- Machine types
- 20N2, 20N3 (8th Gen), 20RX, 20RY (10th Gen)
Management
- vPro
- Intel vPro (with DASH) on i5-8365U / i7-8665U models; others non-vPro
- BIOS
- Power-on, supervisor and hard disk passwords; self-healing BIOS
- Announced
- PSREF model announce dates 2019-03-15 to 2020-12-29 (10th Gen models from 2019-10-29)
- Status
- Withdrawn (PSREF); end of support 2025-10-15 for 8th Gen models, 2026-05-29 for 10th Gen models
- Warranty
- 1-year depot, courier or limited onsite; 3-year depot or limited onsite (1-year battery)
- Certifications
- EPEAT Gold, ENERGY STAR 8.0, TCO Certified, RoHS
Operating systems
- Preloads
- Windows 10 Pro 64, Windows 10 Pro in S mode, Windows 10 Home 64, Ubuntu Linux, Linux, no OS
Processors
- Intel Core i5-8265U
- Intel Core i5-8365U
- Intel Core i7-8565U
- Intel Core i7-8665U
- Intel Core i5-10210U
- Intel Core i7-10510U
- Intel Core i7-10710U