Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) review: The best business laptop?

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10)

execs and cons

Execs

• Compact, light-weight and sturdy
• Loads of configuration choices
• Glorious keyboard and audio system
• 1080p webcam with privateness shutter

Cons

• Small trackpad and wrist relaxation
• Disappointing battery life
• No SD/MicroSD card slot

extra shopping for decisions

Lenovo’s ThinkPad sequence is regarded by many because the standard-setter for enterprise laptops, with the X1 Carbon on the pinnacle. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 sports activities a 14-inch display, Twelfth technology Intel Core processors, contact screens and, new for this iteration, a 1080p webcam. With a beginning worth of $1,319.45, or £1,549.99 (inc. VAT) within the UK, and rising to over $2,500/£2,800, it is not a price range purchase. Does it justify the value? 

Design-wise, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 holds no surprises. The black chassis is punctuated by the ThinkPad X1 emblem sitting in a single nook and the Lenovo marque within the reverse nook. The dot over the ‘i’ of ‘ThinkPad’ illuminates pink when the laptop computer is on, letting you realize in case you’ve closed the lid however not truly powered the laptop computer down. Some fashions have a carbon-fibre weave end to the lid, giving it a two-tone look. 

The construct high quality is stable, as you’d count on from a ThinkPad, and it meets MIL-STD-810H. The lid is constructed from carbon-fibre, the physique from magnesium alloy. I struggled to bend the lid in any respect, and whereas there may be some give across the keyboard space, the corners of the chassis are stable. 

This can be a compact, light-weight laptop computer to hold round. Lenovo says the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) advantages from slim display bezels, though I’ve seen narrower. The chassis has desktop footprint measuring 315.6mm by 222.5mm and is 14.95mm thick on the again, tapering barely in direction of the entrance edge. A neat protruding lip within the centre of the lid helps you open the clamshell — an motion simply carried out one-handed as the burden stability between lid and base means the bottom stays placed on the desk when the lid is opened. Weight begins at simply 1.12kg. 

A 14-inch display hits the candy spot between usability and portability. Lenovo employs a 16:10 side ratio and affords a variety of show decisions. My overview unit had a WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) IPS contact display with a matte end and 400 nits brightness. It was a pleasure to work on. 

Display screen choices prime out at a WQUXGA (3,840 x 2,400) IPS contact panel with 500 nits brightness. Like a number of different configurations, this unit options Eyesafe licensed low blue-light emissions. The entry degree decision (1,920 x 1,200) comes with or with out contact assist. There’s a 2.8K (2,880 x 1,800) OLED choice, and one WUXGA IPS display with Lenovo’s PrivacyGuard system. Toggled by the Fn and D keys, this reduces display readability to bystanders to the person’s left, proper and rear. PrivacyGuard was current on my overview unit and labored effectively. 

There are 4 audio system, two upwards-firing and two-downwards firing, with vertical grilles flanking the keyboard that push sound in direction of the person. Audio high quality is excellent: prime quantity is sort of loud, and whereas there’s a bit distortion at this degree it is acceptable. At three-quarters of the utmost quantity, the distortion is gone. Bass and treble are properly matched for rock listening, classical and chamber music is wealthy, and spoken phrase audio is evident.   

Above the display there’s a webcam with sliding privateness cowl. There are numerous digital camera configurations, and customers can benefit from face authentication and presence detection, which locks the laptop computer down when the person steps away. All configurations of this laptop computer include an FHD (1080p) digital camera.  In case you’re not eager on face ID, there’s additionally a fingerprint reader embedded into the facility button that sits simply above the Dwelling and Finish keyboard keys. 

My overview unit had a non-UK keyboard format, as you will see from the photograph. Nonetheless, I used to be simply capable of sort UK fashion, and located the keyboard superbly light-touch, with simply the correct amount of resistance and bounce-back. The very faintest of clicking accompanied my contact typing. The Enter secret’s broad and double top, the Fn keys are sizeable, and followers of Lenovo’s signature pink TrackPoint and its accompanying buttons above the trackpad will discover these current, responsive and simple to make use of. 

The trackpad itself appears a bit small by fashionable requirements, and Lenovo has sacrificed some wrist-rest depth in an effort to present loads of spacing between the keyboard’s rows. Some customers — maybe these with bigger fingers — might really feel short-changed by this resolution, though I wasn’t affected by it. 

There’s a variety of configurations, together with Twelfth technology Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors, in off-the-page fashions and ‘Construct Your PC’ choices. RAM goes as much as 32GB and storage as much as 2TB, whereas the GPU is the built-in Intel Iris Xe Graphics. Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 and NFC are current throughout the board, whereas cellular broadband – 4G LTE and 5G (sub-6GHz) – is offered as a purchase-time choice.  

My overview configuration featured a Twelfth technology Intel Core i7-1255U processor, 16GB of RAM, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, a 512GB SSD, and a WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) contact display with PrivacyGuard. It got here with Home windows 10, which is offered as a downgrade from the usual Home windows 11 Dwelling or Professional, and returned Geekbench 5 CPU scores of 1543 (single core) and 6732 (multi core).  

For wired connection, there is a full-size HDMI port, a 3.5mm audio in/out jack, two USB-A and two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports. A kind of USB-C ports is occupied when the battery is charging. Configurations with cellular broadband even have a Nano SIM slot. 

Battery life might be the largest difficulty with the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10). I set as much as work after absolutely charging the 57Wh battery, leaving the default settings in place. The display was vivid sufficient for me, and this setup can be nice for on a regular basis working. I wrote into internet apps, streamed sound and video, and did a good bit of internet looking. After three hours of this regime the battery had fallen to 39%, suggesting a shade below 5 hours of battery life in complete.  

No less than quick charging is supported, and the facility brick is fairly small to hold round. On one event, I began charging with the battery at 32% and continued working. After quarter-hour it was at 48%, after half an hour it had risen to 62% and after 45 minutes it was at 74%. 

Conclusions

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) is a shocking 14-inch laptop computer. Extraordinarily nicely made but nonetheless light-weight, with loads of configuration choices together with cellular broadband, a wonderful keyboard, nice audio system and the 1080p webcam that is a necessity of recent working, it delivers on nearly all fronts. 

The important thing disappointment is battery life, whereas some customers may discover the wrist relaxation shallow and the trackpad on the small aspect. This can be a premium-priced laptop computer, however in case you can deal with these points, it’s totally a lot definitely worth the outlay.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) specs

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