Lenovo’s X1 Yoga for 2021 is now out – the 6th generation in the line of X1 Yogas, bringing in several changes to the line. We’ve come a long way from the first release too, but in essence it’s still an all-rounder laptop that can be flipped and rotated in all different ways, with a stylus and touch screen to provide an adaptable piece of hardware.
Specs
Tech Specs
| Processor | Up to 11th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-1185G7 Processor with vPro™ (3.00 GHz, up to 4.80 GHz with Turbo Boost, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 12 MB Cache) |
| Operating System | – Windows 10 Home – Windows 10 Pro – Linux Ubuntu |
| Display | – 14″ UHD+ 4K (3840 x 2400) IPS, anti-reflection, anti-smudge, touchscreen with Dolby Vision™, HDR, 500 nits, 90% DCI P3 Color Gamut, TÜV Rheinland-certified for reduced blue light emissions – 14″ FHD+ (1920 x 1200) IPS, anti-glare, touchscreen with Privacy Guard, 500 nits 14″ FHD+ (1920 x 1200) IPS, anti-glare, touchscreen, 400 nits, TÜV Rheinland-certified for reduced blue light emissions – 14″ FHD+ (1920 x 1200) IPS, anti-reflective, anti-smudge, touchscreen, low power, 400 nits Screen to body ratio = 83%; aspect ratio = 16:10 |
| Memory | Up to 32 GB LPDDR4x 4266MHz |
| Battery | Up to 16.1 hours 57Whr (MM18) Rapid Charge (requires 65W PSU or higher) |
| Storage | Up to 1TB PCIe SSD |
| Graphics | Integrated Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics |
| Security | – Discrete Trusted Platform Module (dTPM) 2.0 – Optional: Human-presence detection sensor with IR camera – Smart Power On fingerprint reader integrated with power button (match-on-chip) – Webcam privacy shutter – Kensington lock slot |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos® Speaker System – 4 x 360-degree far-field mics – Dolby Voice® professional conferencing solution |
| Camera | 720p HD with webcam privacy shutter Optional: Hybrid infrared (IR) / 720p HD with webcam privacy shutter |
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 14.9mm x 313mm x 223mm x / 0.59″ x 12.32″ x 8.77″ |
| Weight | Starting at 3 lbs (1.35 kg) |
| Color | Storm Gray |
| Certifications | Energy Star® 8.0 EPEAT® Gold |
| Connectivity | – Optional: WWAN* Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 5G Modem-RF System – Optional: WWAN* Quectel EM120R-GL 4G LTE CAT12 – WLAN: Up to Intel® AX201 WiFi 6 802.11AX (2 x 2) with vPro™ – Bluetooth® 5.1 * |
| Ports / Slots | – 2 x USB 4 Type-C with Thunderbolt™ 4 (DisplayPort, Power Delivery and Data Transfer) – 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (One always on) – Headphone / mic combo – HDMI 2.0 – Optional: Nano SIM slot |
| Keyboard | Spill-resistant Color-matched keyboard with wider 110mm / 4.33″ TrackPad Backlit with white LED lighting Call-control keys (F9-F11) |
| Supported Docking | USB-C Dock ThinkPad Thunderbolt™ 4 |
| What’s in the box | – ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 – 65W AC Adapter (Supports Rapid Charge) – 57Whr Internal Battery – ThinkPad Pen Pro – Quick Start Guide |
I’ll cover the components I think are worth discussing:
Processor
Intel’s 11th Gen CPU is inside the Yoga X1 Gen 6. Tom’s Hardware do a good comparison of the differences and benchmark comparisons between 10th and 11th gen mobile Intel CPUs, with some rather large graphics and gaming improvements due to the Iris Xe Graphics’ capabilities. As expected, the CPU is a bit faster overall :)
Display
Some big changes here. The first obvious difference is the resolution – 1920 x 1200 instead of the usual 1920 x 1080. This is due to the screen ratio change, 16:10 instead of the 16:9 it used to be. The result is a little bit more space top to bottom, which is actually handy to have. If you have corporate backgrounds deploying out a 1920 x 1080 picture, you might need to adjust it to look good on this screen too.
Memory
The first X1 Yoga to have 32GB of RAM as an option! Nice if you’re planning on some grunt work, like running a few virtual machines.
Battery
The ~16 hours claimed battery life is quite high – so this should get you through a full working day without needing to plug in. Previous models were way over the 8 hour mark too, which to me would be the goal of battery life – last a working day so if you’re travelling, you’re not looking for a power point.
Graphics
Intel’s onboard graphics are still plenty good for general use, even light gaming. Note that Intel claim “Gamers can play fast and hard with new Intel® Iris® Xe graphics featuring up to 1080p 60FPS for more detailed, immersive gaming.”. I’m sure AAA gaming titles will need to be played on low/medium settings, but depending what you play and your expectations, this might be fine (low graphics quality games like Among Us are fine!).
Camera
We’re still at 720p for some reason – which is not isolated to Lenovo. I’m hoping next year we see 1080p as the standard resolution of inbuilt cameras, especially on premium laptops.
As usual, Lenovo progresses forward while keeping the fundamental reason Yogas exist – a flexible device that provides an all round experience. Going all the way back to the X1 Yoga Gen 1 I said the same thing. Now we have a few different laptop options in the ThinkPad series such as the X1 Nano and the X1 Fold (which I’d love to get my hands on), while the X1 Carbon is up to the 9th Generation – a very nice, thin laptop, but no touch screen.
Also worth noting is the touchpad is bigger on the X1 Yoga Gen 6, so this could be a deciding factor if comparing it to older models.
I’m sticking with the X1 Yoga still, but we’ll see what new devices Lenovo come out with, and if they’ll tempt me with something different and new!
For some more photos and a comparison to the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 5, check out my other post Fifth and Sixth Generations of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga.
*Although I am in a program with Lenovo (called Lenovo Insiders), no direct arrangements were made regarding this review or providing of hardware.