Design
The ThinkPad T480 has a design aesthetic that's functional but not sexy, with the standard raven-black Lenovo chassis that's adorned by a soft-touch lid. There's been no change in looks for the past couple of years, so you probably couldn't tell the T480 apart from a T470 or a T460.
At 13.25 x 9.15 x 0.78 inches and 3.58 pounds (3.98 pounds with the high-capacity battery), the T480 isn't the slimmest or lightest 14-inch business laptop around. But it's more than portable, and its relative heft leaves room for a hot-swappable battery -- something you won't find on the lighter ThinkPad T480s (3 pounds, 0.72 inches thick) or the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2.49 pounds, 0.62 inches thick). The HP EliteBook 1040 G4 (3.4 pounds, 0.6 inches thick) and the 13-inch Dell Latitude 7390 (2.9 pounds, 0.7 inches thick) are both thinner and lighter.
Durability and Security
This laptop can handle the rigors of business travel, without falling apart. Like all ThinkPads, the T480 has passed MIL-SPEC tests that subject it to extreme temperatures, humidity, dust and vibrations. It has also undergone Lenovo's own bump tests.
If you're buying the T480 for a large enterprise, you'll appreciate that it's available with Intel vPro, a technology that makes remote management easy. The laptop also comes with dTPM encryption, an optional fingerprint reader and an optional IR camera. The fingerprint sensor uses match-on-chip technology to make hacking less likely.