LAS VEGAS — Lenovo updated its top-shelf ThinkPad X1 line at CES here, including a new X1 Carbon clamshell, Yoga 2-in-1 and a tablet. The laptop and convertible will be available in January, with the slate following in March.
All three ThinkPad X1 laptops are the first ThinkPads to support Connected Modern Standby mode in Windows 10. That means that they can continue downloading email and other content while they are asleep.
The X1 Carbon, starting at $1,709, is the star of the show, with an upgrade to 8th Gen Intel Core CPUs, a 14-inch, an optional 2560 x 1440 display with Dolby Vision HDR, built-in LTE, Window Hello over a fingerprint reader and infrared camera as well as a ThinkShutter webcam cover for privacy. It will come with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of PCIe SSD storage. And of course, at 12.7 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches and 2.5 pounds, it’s extremely portable, but Lenovo is promising up to 15 hours of battery life.
I really love the subtle touches they made to the Carbon, including new X1 branding mark that shows you have the best of the best. The ThinkPad logo has gone all black, and I think it looks far better than the traditional color one. These two changes are also on the Tablet and the Yoga.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | ThinkPad X1 Carbon | ThinkPad X1 Yoga | ThinkPad X1 Tablet |
| Starting Price | $1,709 | $1,889 | $1,599 |
| CPU | Up to 8th Gen Intel Core i7 | Up to 8th Gen Intel Core i7 | Up to 8th Gen Intel Core i7 |
| RAM | Up to 16GB | Up to 16GB | Up to 16GB |
| Storage | Up to 1TB PCIe SSD | Up to 1TB PCIe SSD | Up to 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 |
| Display | 14-inch 2560 x 1440 with HDR | 14-inch 2560 x 1440 with HDR | 13-inch, 3000 x 2000 |
| Battery Life | Up to 15 hours | Up to 15 hours | Up to 9.5 hours |
| Size | 12.7 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches | 13.1 x 9 x 0.1 inches | 11.5 x 8.2 x 0.3 inches |
| Weight | 2.5 pounds | 3.1 pounds | 1.9 pounds |
| Ports | Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.0, headphone, SD card reader, HDMI, docking connector | Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.0, headphone, SD card reader, HDMI, docking connector | Thunderbolt 3, SD card reader, Nano SIM, headphone |
The X1 Yoga 2-in-1 (starting at $1,889) is also getting the boost to 8th Gen Core as well as the same display (albeit a touch screen, but still with Dolby Vision HDR) and RAM and storage options. It’s getting the same upgrades as the X1 Carbon, but is slightly larger at 13.1 x 9 x .1 inches.
Lenovo’s third-generation X1 Tablet (starting at $1,599) is getting all of the same CPU and storage boosts, but its 13-inch display has a higher resolution of 3000 x 2000. The battery life is lesser, at just 9.5 hours, but the whole thing is compact at 1.9 pounds and 11.5 x 8.2 x 0.3 inches. In my short-hands on, the detachable keyboard held steadier while typing, but we’ll see how that holds up to long-term testing.
All three screens looked stunning, but I was partial to the Dolby Vision HDR displays with crisp, detailed imagery.
We’ll test all three of these machines when they show up in our lab soon.
Photos: Andrew E. Freedman
