T series Thinkpads only come with U class processors. This is fine for many usages but depending on what you want you might need to go for the P-series.
Cracking little machine for massively less than an Apple machine with a faster processor and until recently twice the max RAM the 'Pro' could have.
The i7-8550U benches about equal to my i7-7700HQ in real world use at half the TDP (so better battery life) though I'd be curious to see how it holds up under load for my workloads so perhaps they won't bother with a T480P, I've not seen any rumours so far.
My criteria for too thick/heavy is "can I use it on my knee for a few hours without it feeling like someone parked a deathstar on my legs?" in that realm the T470P is just fine.
Aesthetically they are marmite though especially when put next to my GF's Asus Zenbook (One looks like it came from an advanced society, the other like it's used by the engineers of that advanced society).
The really strange one for me was that the T470P lacks a Thunderbolt 3 port despite the 470's having it.
Not a big issue for me because I drive a 4K display with DP just fine, I'd also have liked to have not gotten the 940MX, nothing wrong with it I just don't use it, the onboard intel graphics are absolutely fine for 99.9% of what I do.
Honestly I love the thing, it's been the least hassle, nicest laptop I've had since (ironically) my last Thinkpad around ~2003.