“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”

You may have heard this famous proverb from the 1980 horror movie The Shining, but it really makes a fair point — if you don’t balance your work-life activities, you’ll get bored. Or worse, you yourself get boring.

In comes Lenovo’s ThinkBook 13S. A business laptop when it comes to its durable form factor and security but is equipped and poised to deliver an enhanced entertainment experience with its features.

We’ve previously given you a rundown of its headlining features during our unboxing and hands-on. For this article, we go straight to how it fares as a daily driver.

Being clad in an all-aluminum chassis, the ThinkBook 13S really feels robust when you hold it. There’s no surface that bends when you apply pressure and its metallic finish reinforces the sturdy look that it gives off.

The display spans 13.3 inches across which is just the right size for finishing up reports and working remotely. Plus, its entire form factor doesn’t take up much space inside a bag so that’s always a point for portability.

With its Full HD display with Dolby Vision, a noticeable improvement in dynamic range is seen while colors are pleasantly vibrant. A minor gripe is that glares are still an ongoing nuisance when you attempt to watch videos outside on a sunny day.

Its narrow 5.5mm bezels do make the display pop out a little bit, but it still has a slightly thicker forehead and a chin that, for me, visually cancels out the efforts of having slim side bezels.

Another interesting thing to note is that the laptop is protected from external factors that may damage it. The 13S has anti-spill protection for up to 60cc of water in case you accidentally tip over your drink beside the laptop while working.

Coming from Lenovo and its famous Yoga line, the ThinkBook 13S also received the capability to be able to open its lid all the way back thanks to a special hinge made with zinc-alloy. As such, it’s able to endure 25,000 open-and-close cycles so wear-and-tear isn’t something you’d have to think of.

Due to its capability to flip all the way, sharing content while giving a presentation to a colleague, for example, just got a lot easier.

We mentioned that this particular laptop values security and if so do you, you’d be glad to know that it comes with a fingerprint sensor embedded in its power button. It works as advertised and setting it up only takes a few minutes.

The built-in dual Harman speakers with Dolby Audio also performed well for a small laptop. It’s enough to fill a small room when you play music, but a set of external speakers would work best if you plan on binge-watching movies using this.

After you’ve taken your break from writing and are ready to go back to work, its Modern Standby feature kicks in to let you resume where you left off in less than 0.5 seconds — no more waiting for long periods just for the software to load your files and whatnot.

For a quick rundown on specs, it has an 8th generation Intel chip that can be bumped up to an i7 processor, up to 16GB RAM, and a choice between discrete AMD Radeon 540X or integrated Intel UHD graphics. It also runs on Windows 10 Pro.

The keys have good travel that allows for comfortable typing and are spaced apart just right so it doesn’t feel cramped up. Its touchpad, although not as wide as we’d want it to be, gives good response and doesn’t demand an additional mouse to be able to accomplish tasks efficiently.

According to Lenovo, the battery on the ThinkBook 13S can last up to 11 hours under optimal circumstances. As for us, we used it to work at cafes as well as during meetings and it was able to last the entire day with a little less than 20% left when we get home. It’s safe to say that it can go for a day’s work even if you left your charger back home by accident.

Overall, the ThinkBook 13S offers the needed characteristics to be able to get work done efficiently outside the house. It has a subtle, yet sleek physique, has a robust form factor to withstand the beatings of traveling with it, and an ergonomic layout of buttons, ports, and other physical elements.

It’s also secure for those sensitive or confidential files at work. It comes with a fingerprint sensor built-in as well as software features that prevent unwanted access to your device.

Of course, when you need to take a break from work, the laptop’s HDR display together with its Harman speakers will make your binge-watching and sound trip more enjoyable.

Based on our experience, the Lenovo ThinkBook 13S doesn’t make Jack a dull boy. Rather, it makes him sharper than ever before.

Pricing starts in the Philippines at PhP 54,990 (roughly US$ 1050) for the discrete AMD graphics while the model with integrated Intel UHD 620 starts at PhP 58,990 (around US$ 1126).