The main counterpoint in the article seems to be screen quality, which might hold for older thinkpads. There are however a lot of models almost a decade old such as 480s or 490s with IPS screens that are very affordable second-hand. Alternatively, thinkpads are known to have a high repairability so it's relatively easy to change the screen yourself if you're not happy with it (which I understand is not something everyone would want to do).