Lenovo released the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 5 in mid 2020. This was a minor jump from the Gen 4 – they look very similar. The Intel CPU jumps up from 8th Gen to 10th Gen is nice – at the bottom end it’s about a 5% to 7% speed improvement, but there’s also faster RAM.
The laptop itself looks very sleek, feels robust, and the screen hinge is very firm – it’ll stay wherever you put it.
Let’s check out the specifications:
Tech Specs
| Processor | 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-10210U Processor (1.60 GHz, up to 4.20 GHz with Turbo Boost, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 6 MB Cache) 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-10510U Processor (1.80 GHz, up to 4.90 GHz with Turbo Boost, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 8 MB Cache) 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-10310U Processor with vPro™ (1.70 GHz, up to 4.40 GHz with Turbo Boost, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 6 MB Cache) 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-10610U Processor with vPro™ (1.80 GHz, up to 4.90 GHz with Turbo Boost, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 8 MB Cache) |
| Operating System | Ubuntu Linux Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro |
| Display | 14″ 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS, touchscreen with Dolby Vision™ HDR 400, AR/AS*, 500 nits14″ WQHD (2560 x 1440) IPS, touchscreen, AR/AS*, 300 nits 14″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS, touchscreen low power, AR/AS*, 400 nits 14″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS, touchscreen with Privacy Guard, AR/AS*, 500 nits*Antireflective / antismudge |
| Memory | Up to 16 GB LPDDR3 (Soldered) |
| Battery | Up to 19.3 hours* (MM14) Up to 13 hours* (MM18) 51Wh battery includes Rapid Charge |
| Storage | Up to 1 TB PCIe SSD |
| Graphics | Integrated Intel® UHD Graphics |
| Security | Fast Identity Online (FIDO) authentication capabilities Match-on-chip fingerprint reader TPM 2.0 chip ThinkShutter camera cover |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos® Speaker System 4 x 360-degree far-field microphones |
| Camera | HD 720p with ThinkShutter privacy cover Optional: Hybrid Infrared (IR) & HD 720p with ThinkShutter |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 323mm x 218mm x 15.2mm / 12″ x 8.5″ x 0.59″ |
| Weight | Starting at 1.35kg / 2.99lb |
| Color | Iron Gray |
| Connectivity | Intel® Wi-Fi 6 AX201 802.11AX (2 x 2) & Bluetooth® 5.1 Intel® Wi-Fi 6 AX201 802.11AX (2 x 2) & Bluetooth® 5.1 with vPro™Optional WWAN: Integrated Global Mobile Broadband 4G LTE-A |
| Ports | 2 x USB-C Thunderbolt™ 3 (Power Delivery, DisplayPort) 2 x USB 3.2** (Gen 1) (1 Always on) HDMI 1.4 Network extension for Ethernet/side mechanical docking Headphone / mic combo |
| Keyboard | Full sized, spill resistant Backlit with white LED lighting |
| What’s in the box | ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 565W AC adapter ThinkPad Pen Pro4 Cell 51Wh Internal battery Quick start guide |
I’ll point out some considerations on the above:
The CPU options are reasonable – i5 or i7 10th Gen Intel. Unless you need more CPU grunt, any of these options should be fine.
Ubuntu Linux officially supported and a pre-install option is good for those who prefer that space, and choice is always good. As much as I like Windows, you shouldn’t be forced to have it if you don’t want it.
There’s a lot of display options here, from 1080p (which I personally still go for in the work space), 2K, and 4K. A 1080p option is to have Privacy Guard – good for people who don’t want others seeing their screen – and it’s a toggle, rather than an always on thing:
The 16GB RAM has been my new minimum standard for the last few years – but also maximum, I see usage in the workplace easily go over 8GB with Edge/Chrome and Microsoft Teams running, but still not go near the 16GB mark.
The two battery options are again nice, with the smaller battery still more than enough for a day’s work. Rapid Charge is a must – you don’t want to have to plug in for hours if you do happen to run flat, before you can be on the go again.
Wi-Fi 6 is a nice upgrade on this model if you’re connecting to infrastructure that supports it. Here’s a good article on Wi-Fi 6 and it’s benefits.
OK, let’s move on to some photos of the device:
As per usual, I don’t have any complaints about the device. This review is a bit late, so I’ve been using it for quite a while without issue. As you can see from the above photos, it’s a bit of a fingerprint magnet, but nowhere as obvious in real life vs what shows up in a photo.
I’ve posted two other articles on Four Generations of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga and Fifth and Sixth Generations of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga if you’d like more details comparing this against other models. The newer Sixth Generation Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga is a bit more of a leap which I’ll review on it’s own soon.
I expect we’ll continue to see laptops in the X1 Yoga line-up for some time still!
*Although I am in a program with Lenovo (called Lenovo Insiders), no direct arrangements were made regarding this review or providing of hardware.