The Next ThinkPad X1 Carbon Looks Incredible

It’s not clear whether Lenovo actually meant to reveal its next-generation ThinkPad X1 Carbon ahead of CES. But they did.

So let’s take a look.

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At first glance, the new X1 seems a lot like it predecessors. But there are some important differences.

First, this new X1 Carbon can be had in two colors: the traditional black that has graced most ThinkPads, and all X1s, and a new “modern” silver color. Frankly, I think black is the way to go, but this is an interesting development.

Second, Lenovo is advertising that the X1 Carbon comes with something called Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Signature Edition. What they really mean is that this is a Signature PC, meaning no more crapware. (Not that ThinkPads were ever drowning in crapware, but this is a very positive development.)

Next up is the new USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, which Lenovo is now using for docking as well. That means no more OneLink+, and better bandwidth across the board. But not only does the X1 have two of these ports, it somehow fits two full-sized USB 3.0 ports in there too.

The rated battery life is truly impressive at 15.5 hours. Obviously, the real world results will likely be less than that, but it also features rapid charging capabilities, another big plus: According to Lenovo, you can achieve 80 percent battery life in just 60 minutes.

It includes built-in LTE-A cellular data capabilities, thanks to a new Qualcomm Snapdragon X7 cellular modem.

And best of all, it’s incredibly light at just 2.5 pounds. This is for a 14-inch Ultrabook with WQHD IPS (2560 x 1440) and Full HD (1920 x 1080) choices. That’s really impressive. (Like other PC makers, Lenovo is putting bigger displays in smaller chassis, so this is like a 13-inch Ultrabook body with a 14-inch screen.)

Beyond that, the specs are what you should expect: 7th generation Intel Core processors, up to a Core vPro i7-7600U, up to 16 GB of RAM, 128 GB SSD up to 1 TB SSD with PCIe TLC OPAL2, Windows Hello touch fingerprint reader and web cam, dual-band Wi-Fi, tri-band WiGig, Bluetooth 4.2, and optional NFC.

I cannot wait to test this one.

 

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Conversation 29 comments

  • 794

    Premium Member
    30 December, 2016 - 4:16 pm

    <p>OLED screen? &nbsp;NIT brightness? Touch ? Can it do a back flip over like the Yoga? Trying to compare this new X1 Carbon vs. the recently updated X1 Yoga late 2016 model.&nbsp;</p>

    • 4828

      Premium Member
      30 December, 2016 - 5:20 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#32936">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/victorchinn">victorchinn</a><a href="#32936">:</a> If you have that many questions, why not just click on the link in the article for the source? This isn’t a review, just basic info on the machine ahead of CES.</em></blockquote>
      <p>&nbsp;</p>

      • 794

        Premium Member
        30 December, 2016 - 8:29 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#32946">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/CaymanDreamin">CaymanDreamin</a><a href="#32946">:</a></em></blockquote>
        <p>&nbsp;No OLED. &nbsp;Only 300 nits. &nbsp;No Touch. No back flips. &nbsp;No pen. &nbsp;Oh well … at least it has no crapware!&nbsp;</p>

        • 2788

          Premium Member
          30 December, 2016 - 10:23 pm

          <blockquote><em><a href="#32954">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/victorchinn">victorchinn</a><a href="#32954">:</a></em></blockquote>
          <p>There will be an X1 Yoga version that&nbsp;will&nbsp;have a touch screen and 360 degree hinge, this just isn’t that.</p>

    • 2

      Premium Member
      31 December, 2016 - 1:00 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#32936">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/victorchinn">victorchinn</a><a href="#32936">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>This is an Ultrabook. The Yoga is a convertible.&nbsp;</p>

  • 131

    Premium Member
    30 December, 2016 - 4:42 pm

    <p>Why anyone might consider a MacBook Pro over this baffles me. But they will.&nbsp;</p>

    • 316

      Premium Member
      31 December, 2016 - 10:34 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#32943">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/wbhite">wbhite</a><a href="#32943">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>Some people might say "because I know the touchpad and screen are going to be good". I can’t understand why anyone would pick a MacBook Pro over the X1 line, either, but up until recently you could be pretty well assured that buying a MacBook meant a good overall package. The recent MacBooks all seem to be undoing that assumption, however.</p>
      <p>I really like the ThinkPad line, but their touchpads and displays have not historically been that great. Hopefully by adopting Precision Touchpad with this new line, at least one of those will improve in consistency.</p>
      <p>&nbsp;</p>

    • 5361

      Premium Member
      03 January, 2017 - 3:08 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#32943">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/wbhite">wbhite</a><a href="#32943">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>One word… Marketing…. Apple is a fashion brand and what all the cool kids are running. &nbsp; Or so they want you to think. &nbsp;Apple will make several million this year on watch bands. &nbsp; Literally, watch bands.</p>
      <p>&nbsp;</p>

  • 5602

    30 December, 2016 - 4:53 pm

    <p>Paul, is the 1920×1080 display also IPS ? The way you wrote that sentence, it’s not clear — the&nbsp;position of the word "IPS" in that sentence makes it ambiguous.</p>

    • 2

      Premium Member
      31 December, 2016 - 1:01 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#32944">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/ChesterChihuahua">ChesterChihuahua</a><a href="#32944">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>Not according to the spec sheet.&nbsp;</p>

    • 1001

      31 December, 2016 - 6:25 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#32944">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/ChesterChihuahua">ChesterChihuahua</a><a href="#32944">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>Yes, it is.</p>

  • 9562

    30 December, 2016 - 6:50 pm

    <p>"Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Signature Edition. What they really mean is that this is a Signature PC, meaning no more crapware."</p>
    <p>Wait, so can I finally uninstall Cortana, the windows store, telemetry, ads, forced updates, bejeweled, fischer-price tiles, the crashfest Edge browser, etc? &nbsp;</p>
    <p>No? Then its not crapware free. &nbsp;</p>

  • 5485

    30 December, 2016 - 6:16 pm

    <p>"Why anyone might consider a MacBook Pro over this baffles me. "</p>
    <p>Because its not just about the machine?</p>

    • 2

      Premium Member
      31 December, 2016 - 1:01 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#32947">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/nbplopes">nbplopes</a><a href="#32947">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>True. Same logic applies.</p>

  • 9522

    30 December, 2016 - 6:26 pm

    <p>I’m still hoping that taller screens catch on.&nbsp;</p>
    <p>The 3:2 of the surface pro &gt;=3 is as tall as a 14" 16:9, and I’ve never missed the width, &nbsp;because I really can’t side by side multitask on that small a display.</p>
    <p>Nice looking device otherwise though.&nbsp;</p>

    • 2

      Premium Member
      31 December, 2016 - 1:01 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#32948">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/agt4">agt4</a><a href="#32948">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>Totally agree.</p>

  • 8834

    30 December, 2016 - 9:24 pm

    <p>If they’ve really bumped the battery life from 11 hours to 15 hours while reducing weight a bit, that’s awfully impressive. &nbsp;</p>

  • 1753

    Premium Member
    31 December, 2016 - 3:46 am

    <p>This video is private… Guess it has been blocked.</p>

    • 2

      Premium Member
      31 December, 2016 - 1:00 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#32993">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/wright_is">wright_is</a><a href="#32993">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>Which suggests they did in fact release it prematurely. Ah well.</p>

    • 442

      03 January, 2017 - 11:53 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#32993">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/wright_is">wright_is</a><a href="#32993">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>The video is back…</p>

  • 5072

    Premium Member
    01 January, 2017 - 4:46 pm

    <p>Not really sure it matters how good any Lenovo is.&nbsp; After three major security "oopses" (including one bootkit(!)), I doubt that I could ever trust any of their products any time soon.</p>

    • 5057

      06 January, 2017 - 7:20 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#33112">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/drbanks">drbanks</a><a href="#33112">:</a>&nbsp;which is a total different line of computers from Lenovo. &nbsp;But I guess you lost your trust in the consumer products, and with good reasons.</em></blockquote>
      <p>&nbsp;</p>

      • 2354

        12 January, 2017 - 1:45 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#34373">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/aelaan">aelaan</a><a href="#34373">:</a></em></blockquote>
        <p>So enlighten us all how Thinkpads and Ideapads don’t both get made by the SAME company…</p>

  • 850

    Premium Member
    02 January, 2017 - 7:03 pm

    <p>I only wish it has a 3000X2000 touch screen. I own an X1 Carbon (2Gen) and got a little excited reading this until I saw the specs for the WQHD.</p>

  • 6319

    03 January, 2017 - 7:55 am

    <p>Will Lenovo finally get rid of the shimmery screen covering in this version? That shimmer totally ruins the X1 for me.</p>

  • 5361

    Premium Member
    03 January, 2017 - 3:11 pm

    <p>I have an X1 Carbon as my daily driver. &nbsp; Best laptop I have ever owned. &nbsp;And yes I do use the touch screen from time to time. &nbsp;</p>
    <p>Also for the record that red thing… the "Nubby" as Paul calls it is called a trackpoint. &nbsp;<img src="http://mlb-s2-p.mlstatic.com/trackpoint-capa-vermelha-boto-teclado-lenovo-ibm-thinkpad-21484-MLB20210262180_122014-O.jpg&quot; alt="IBM TrackPoint" width="500" height="335" /></p>

    • 2354

      12 January, 2017 - 1:45 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#33448">In reply to </a><a href="../../../users/crmguru">crmguru</a><a href="#33448">:</a></em></blockquote>
      <p>I all it a nipple, just to piss off the SJWs.</p>

  • 5057

    06 January, 2017 - 7:24 pm

    <p>Thinkpad X1 Carbon, I had been sporting this model since the first roll out around 2011 and after I moved on to another company I moved on to a different brand. &nbsp;We have had our share of hardware issues with X1 Carbon, not so much hardware wise, more in the order that the i7 in the beginning would not support 8GB or more RAM. &nbsp;This has all been worked out and corrected and the latest model is now able to use PXE booting, has better TPM integration and offers a wider range of screens. &nbsp;It took "courage" to push out a super thin laptop that had nothing but a different power connector, issues with USB3 in the early models and no touch screen until revision 3 in 2014. &nbsp;Still, the keyboard and the layout of the laptop itself made it one of my best experiences. &nbsp;</p>

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