However, performance and battery life aren’t as good as those of other Intel Core Ultra laptops.
It’s available nowfrom $2,499 at Lenovo, and here are my full thoughts on it.
This review was made possible with a review sample provided by Lenovo.
The ThinkPad brand (with the glowing red dot and all) often comes at a high price.
The company did not see the contents of the review before publishing.
My review model, for example, is nowhere to be found yet.
There will be many display options, too, ranging from IPS to OLED and non-touch to touch panels.
There are no extra goodies or add-ons here.
You’ll hardly notice it in your bag, but you’ll feel it in your wallet.
Or, more accurately, the lack of it.
I never stopped being shocked by how light this laptop is.
This laptop caps out at less than 2.5lbs.
I can’t understate how effortless it is to move this laptop around.
Not only is it ethereal in weight, but it’s also impressively thin at less than 15mm.
Type-A, two Thunderbolt 4, and a Nano SIM slot I can open but not use.(Image credit: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy)
Despite this, the laptop feels incredibly solid.
This laptop somehow feels dainty and elegantandlike it could get hit by a bus (and survive).
Port coverage is solid, considering how thin this laptop is.
Another Type-A, HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm audio, a Kensington security lock, and the power button.(Image credit: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy)
In the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, all the same goodness is here.
For example, it still boasts a 120Hz refresh rate without aDynamic Refresh Rateor adaptive sync support.
Those are minor complaints, however.
I don’t think I’ll ever tire of this magnificent OLED display, but other companies are pushing the boundaries with it a little bit more now.
Mostly, it’s a reasonable expectation met by real-world results.
Up to 32GB of high-speed RAM and an equally speedy SSD helps a lot with that.
Overall, it also felt slower to open apps or perform heavier tasks than the Spectre x360 14.
As expected from this 14-inch OLED panel, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is very color accurate.
Running aWindows Battery Reportreturned an estimated run time of 4 hours and 43 minutes.
3-4 hours of actual screen usage felt more realistic.
Feeling battery anxiety was not uncommon when using this laptop on the floor of GDC.
No speaker grilles here, just two intake vents and the tiniest nick on the bottom corner you can barely see.
The X1 Carbon is no exception; this beautiful, comfortable, responsive keyboard has an excellent layout.
The only missing thing?
Of course, the TrackPoint and physical touchpad buttons are here.
This is a very fast SSD, and that’s all there is to it.(Image credit: Windows Central)
Unfortunately, this also means the touchpad is on theverysmall side.
It’s glass and usesMicrosoft Precisiondrivers, so what’s there is good, but it does feel cramped.
Dolby Voice support helps augment the dual-array microphone.
In CPU-specific tests, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon consistently falls behind other laptops with similar CPUs.(Image credit: Windows Central)
Wireless performance is solid withWi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and an optional Nano SIM slot.
When it comes to audio,Dolby Atmostunes the dual speakers.
That’s not a lot of speakers, but they are surprisingly clear and loud for voice and media.
It’s the same story in the latest Cinebench version, too.(Image credit: Windows Central)
However, the most interesting additional hardware features here are related to security.
Everything an enterprise needs to rest assured that its data is safe is in the X1 Carbon.
These all work as expected, and nothing feels unnecessary.
CrossMark shows the dramatic jump between the X1 Carbon, Spectre x360 14, and XPS 14.(Image credit: Windows Central)
Windows itself runs mostly great.
you’re free to also consider theDell XPS 14 (9440), which is incredibly expensive…
I’d consider checking out the HP Dragonfly if you want an enterprise-ready laptop.
Again, the X1 Carbon falls short.(Image credit: Windows Central)
We reviewed theHP Elite Dragonfly G3, but the company has sincereleased updated versions.
Lenovo has perfected this design; it’s ultraportable but feels premium and durable.
You should not buy this if …
PCMark 10 saw the X1 Carbon best the Spectre x360, but still fall well short of the XPS 14.(Image credit: Windows Central)
If portability is your main concern, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a laptop easier to move around.
It’s still very obviously a Lenovo ThinkPad in all the ways that matter.
And when encoding a 12-minute 4K video into H.265 MKV, the X1 Carbon was one of the slowest we’ve tested.(Image credit: Windows Central)
Graphical performance is also behind the Spectre x360 14, but still far better than the old Iris Xe graphics.(Image credit: Windows Central)
So many positives in this design, but the battery doesn’t last as long as I wanted it to.
The X1 Carbon keeps companies with laptops boasting discrete GPUs, rather than other Intel Core Ultra machines.
Hidden speakers, spill resistance, and tactile accessibility markers? It’s all awesome; I just wish the touchpad was a little larger, but that’s the price you pay for physical buttons.
This is a solid front-facing webcam with Windows Hello and a physical privacy shutter.
It’s a straightforward software experience with the latest versions of Windows 11.
The competition may be more powerful, more affordable, more futuristic, but none will be as portable as the X1 Carbon.
Lenovo continues to make one of the very best enterprise laptops on the market, if you’re willing to pay the cost.
