One of the biggest problems with Lenovo's acquisition of IBM's laptop division is their constant dilution of the ThinkPad name. Initially, in the first few years after the acquisition, Lenovo introduced a line of budget devices under the 'E' series and these were not marked with the ThinkPad identity because they were of significantly poorer construction and did not come with the same warranty and service options. In the years since, though, they've started slapping the ThinkPad name on these and a number of new low-cost product lines.
In practice, it's only really a ThinkPad if them model number starts with a T, W, or X. Unfortunately Lenovo itself is working hard to eliminate this distinction, positioning ThinkPad as another Dell or HP instead of as a high-end enterprise and luxury product line.
The 11e is indeed a ThinkPad. You might not think it's deserving of the name, but that's where ThinkPad is these days.
I've had a bunch of ThinkPads over the years and two are still in use.
I have a T520 that I now use basically as a terminal. It's a very creaky, heavy, machine that never gave me more than about 3 hours of battery, and the keyboard was terrible. But it sits there and keeps working (I use an external keyboard, monitor, and mouse).
I also have a ThinkPad Yoga 12.5. I really like the keyboard, but again the battery life isn't weak (4 hours). I occasionally think about getting something a little bigger, but the small size is pretty nice for traveling.
One of the biggest problems with Lenovo's acquisition of IBM's laptop division is their constant dilution of the ThinkPad name. Initially, in the first few years after the acquisition, Lenovo introduced a line of budget devices under the 'E' series and these were not marked with the ThinkPad identity because they were of significantly poorer construction and did not come with the same warranty and service options. In the years since, though, they've started slapping the ThinkPad name on these and a number of new low-cost product lines.
In practice, it's only really a ThinkPad if them model number starts with a T, W, or X. Unfortunately Lenovo itself is working hard to eliminate this distinction, positioning ThinkPad as another Dell or HP instead of as a high-end enterprise and luxury product line.