Lenovo has recently released the 2016 lineup of ThinkPad X series laptops. Previously this was only the X1 Carbon, which was a highly regarded laptop. I have a feeling that success has lead to extending the range for 2016 to:
Lenovo X1 Carbon (Gen4)
Lenovo X1 Tablet
Lenovo X260
Lenovo X1 Yoga
A wide variety of laptops to meet different needs. My pick of the crop is the Lenovo X1 Yoga, and here’s why:
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga
Specs
I always like to look at the hardware specs of the device first, so here’s the table of options:
| DESCRIPTION | THINKPAD X1 YOGA CONVERTIBLE ULTRABOOK |
|---|---|
| Processor |
|
| Operating system |
|
| Display |
|
| Hinge / mode |
|
| Stylus Pen |
|
| Graphics |
|
| Onelink+ Adaptor (optional) |
|
| Memory |
|
| Webcam |
|
| Storage1 |
|
| Optical drive |
|
| Dimensions (W x D x H) |
|
| Weight |
|
| Case material |
|
| Case colour |
|
| Battery |
|
| Battery life2 |
|
| AC adaptor |
|
| Keyboard |
|
| UltraNav™ |
|
| ThinkLight ™ |
|
| Fingerprint reader |
|
| Audio support |
|
| Security chip |
|
| Manageability |
|
| Ethernet |
|
| Wireless LAN |
|
| Wireless WAN (optional) |
|
| SIM card |
|
| NFC |
|
| Ports |
|
This is all pretty standard with good options these days, nothing underpowered or missing in my opinion. Here’s some interesting points:
Stylus Pen
This is a very nice to have, a discreet stylus hidden in the chassis of the Yoga X1. It’s a bit larger than the one I found in the Yoga 260, but still much smaller than a Surface Pro 4 pen. It also charges while docked, and won’t go flat in a year like the Surface Pen :) For more details on the pen, check out this YouTube review
X1 Yoga Pen
Battery
We’re really getting into good devices with a working day’s battery life. This device was left on a desk for two weeks with frequent but short usage, but always in at least standby mode and still had half it’s battery left. Nothing unique to this particular laptop, but it’s a compelling consideration to upgrade if you’ve got something that hasn’t got an Intel 6th Gen CPU in it.
Storage
We’re now seeing more devices having hte PCIe NVMe SSD option – a lot faster than SATA3. For an idea on the difference, read this review. For most people you won’t ‘need’ a faster SSD, but if you’re doing work with lots of local IO, it’s going to be a worthwhile upgrade.
Weight
1.36kg – that’s 0.05kg heavier than the X1 Carbon Gen3, but 0.18kg heavier than the 1.18 kg X1 Carbon Gen4. Keep in mind, the X1 Carbon Gen4 doesn’t have touchscreen, and as a comparison the Apple MacBook Air 2015 13″ weighs 1.35 kg, so these are all really light laptops. Lenovo have managed to design enough toughness into the hinges for the full flipped Yoga experience, which previously was really clunky.
It’s a lot less chunky too than older X1 Carbons, here’s a comparison with the X1 Carbon Gen1 where there’s quite a bit of height difference (the Carbon is designed to appear thinner, but is perfectly flat on the table):
Left to right: X1 Yoga, X1 Carbon Gen1
Ports
On the left side, we have power, OneLink+ dock connection (which will only take a OneLink+ dock connector, not the older OneLink), Mini DisplayPort and USB 3.0:
X1 Yoga Left Side
Right side has stylus pen, power, volume up/down, 3.5mm audio jack, 2x USB 3.0 and full size HDMI:
X1 Yoga Right Side
The back has the fan out slot, and a panel that hides a MicroSD and SIM card slot:
X1 Yoga Back
Keyboard
It’s very similar to the X1 Carbon keyboards in layout and feel, but also the keys will retract when folded into Yoga mode to protect them against wear. You can see the little rubber mounts pop out in the top corners too, which will touch the table when this is face down:
Keyboard in Yoga Mode
Laptop Mode
Hardware aside, why do I think this is the best in the X series now? This is around my personal tastes, but everyone has their own requirements. Here’s the standout reasons for me:
X1 Yoga vs X1 Carbon 4th Gen – Carbon is lighter and thinner, but doesn’t fully flip around. There’s also no touchscreen option anymore!
X1 Yoga vs X1 Tablet – Tablet has some awesome additions like a projector, but personally I don’t like the more flimsy style of keyboard (similar to Surface 4, but a bit better). Tablet mode is cool, but the X1 Yoga flipping around is light and thin enough already without taking away the proper laptop experience. Just wish I could have a projector in it! On top of that, the tablet is using the m7 series of Intel CPU which isn’t going to be as powerful as the i series.
X1 Yoga vs X260 – Has 25 hours battery life!! But, Smaller 12.5″ again with no touchscreen, or ability to Yoga. Weighs the same despite this. It is hard to get past the 25 hour battery life, but only needed if you’re not near a power point for a very long time.
The X1 Yoga will also soon have an OLED option for the screen – that should be a big jump in screen quality. As I haven’t seen this yet I’ll refrain from making further statements around it, but expect to be impressed.
For a high end laptop, the X1 Yoga is an all rounder that I’d strongly recommend anyone to consider. It’s definitely one of the best all rounder business grade machine available.
If you have any questions or comments please post below!
If you want some more information and visuals, MobileTechReview have a video on the Yoga too:
Can I connect one external monitor to the HDMI port and one external monitor to the Displayport port to get dual displays?
Yes you can, I just tested this myself to confirm :) Two monitors external that way + the inbuilt display.