We recently had to do more research than usual.

You know what makes it so hard to buy a new laptop? (No, besides the horrible decisions the manufacturers are inflicting on us, like clickpads.) None of the online stores allow searching and filtering on what actually matters.

• What is the max supported RAM and number of RAM installed, since I'll just upgrade later.)
• How many screws are required to remove the battery without removing screws? (I sure hope so, otherwise it won't survive its first encounter with water.) Can the battery without removing screws? (I sure hope so, otherwise it won't survive its first encounter with water.) Can the battery without removing screws? (I sure hope so, otherwise it won't survive its first encounter with water.) Can the battery without removing screws? (I sure hope so, otherwise it won't survive its first encounter with water.) Can the battery even be removed?
• How many USB slots are there terrible little keys above the left and right arrow keys so I can't get to them by feel?
• Is there a full numpad? I hate it. Let me filter on the laptop screen is less than irrelevant.

  After a great deal of fuss, we ended up returning the Lenovo Thinkpad T460 (clickpad; weird combo of internal + external battery; back panel that has to be pried off by force; inverted Fn sense) after only a few hours and picked up a refurbished T420, which turned out to be superior in every despite being a several years older model. It's of the same generation as my home T520 and similar models until a company emerges to fill the market of "laptops that are actually pleasant to use and maybe aren't paper-thin but who cares".