After I’m on the lookout for a laptop computer for myself, I worth consolation, productiveness and portability above all else. I would like a laptop computer with a world-class keyboard so I can kind at my quickest and never get sore wrists once I’m utilizing my pc on an airplane tray desk. I would like a vivid, colourful show with numerous actual property for modifying paperwork and code and I would like all of this in a light-weight, sturdy bundle.
Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon sequence has lengthy been a favourite of productiveness customers like me, due to the laptops’ tactile keyboards, correct navigation, gentle weight and robust construct high quality. The laptop computer sequence is now in its tenth era and I personal an older, seventh Gen mannequin which has been my every day driver for greater than 4 years now; it is nonetheless going sturdy, serving to me be my most efficient self once I’m on the go or on the sofa. If I had been prepared to exchange my present system at the moment, I would get the newest ThinkPad X1 Carbon and I would purchase it now whereas it was on sale.
For Cyber Monday, Lenovo has offers on all kinds of ThinkPad X1 Carbon (tenth Gen) configurations, together with some that begin at simply $1,069 (opens in new tab). However you should not and I would not purchase this laptop computer (or any Ultrabook) with lower than 16GB of RAM on board or an SSD that is smaller than 512GB. Now, you will get a ThinkPad X1 Carbon with 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, a Core i5-1240P CPU and a 1920 x 1200 show for simply $1229 after coupons (opens in new tab) (be sure that to click on the field that comes up at checkout providing a second, HOLIDAYSURPRISE coupon for $60 off).
I reviewed the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (tenth Gen) this previous September and got here away impressed with its vivid and vibrant display screen, its snappy keyboard and its sharp 1080p webcam. As all the time, the X1 Carbon tenth Gen is extraordinarily gentle, tipping the scales at simply 2.48 kilos whereas measuring a mere 0.6 inches thick. It is so small that it could possibly simply slot in a tiny bag and you will not even discover the load.
What I like finest in regards to the dimension and form of this 14-inch Ultrabook is how nicely it balances on my lap. Throughout testing and with my previous mannequin, I can maintain it on my lap for hours with out feeling weighed down and it is compact sufficient to suit on a coach class attempt desk. Regardless of its skinny dimension, the X1 Carbon has room for 2 USB Sort-A ports, two Thunderbolt 4 Sort-C ports and HDMI out. I by no means have to pack a dongle.
I really like the ThinkPad X1 Carbon’s snappy keyboard, which feels a bit like a mechanical, clicky keyboard, with out really being one or sounding like one. Due to the tactile really feel, I can often contact kind at 100 phrases per minute or extra whereas holding it on my lap. The soft-touch palm relaxation on each the previous and new Carbons retains my wrists comfy even when I am utilizing the laptop computer for hours.
I additionally actually take pleasure in utilizing the little purple, TrackPoint pointing stick for navigation, as a result of I get such exact motion and I by no means should raise my palms off of the house row. If, like most individuals, you favor a touchpad, you should utilize the 4.3 x 2.3-inch glass touchpad and it feels nice.
In contrast to many different laptops, the tenth Gen X1 Carbon has a 16:10 facet ratio display screen, which begins at 1920 x 1200. When working with my assessment unit, that gave me 120 extra pixels of vertical display screen actual property than I get on my previous ThinkPad’s 1080p (1920 x 1080) show. That is 11 % extra textual content on the display screen at a time, which implies much less scrolling once I’m writing or coding.
The 14-inch show is rated for a luminous 400 nits of brightness, which ought to make it viewable even if you happen to’re sitting close to a window on a sunny day. The assessment unit I examined had a barely completely different display screen than the mannequin that is on sale (it had a contact display screen however the sale mannequin is non-touch). Nonetheless, it managed a robust 406 nits of brightness so the non-touch mannequin is prone to ship one thing related.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 is the primary X1 Carbon to function a 1080p webcam and the outcomes had been glorious in my assessments. Colours such because the blue in my shirt or the turquoise in my glasses had been precisely reproduced and particulars just like the hairs in my beard had been outstanding.
Many of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 configurations, together with the one I might purchase, use Intel’s twelfth Gen P-series CPUs. These processors have as much as a 28-watt TDP, however Lenovo configures them down for 20 watts, which is greater than the 15-watt TDP on the U-series processors they’ve utilized in prior generations (and on a handful of current-gen configs). In idea, this brings extra efficiency, however in observe once we examined with a Core i7-1260P, the X1 Carbon was middle-of-the-pack.
However I would not purchase a ThinkPad X1 Carbon due to how excessive or low it scores on benchmarks. What issues is how snappy it feels once I’m multitasking: opening a ton of tabs whereas modifying paperwork and watching movies. In my expertise, the X1 Carbon was greater than snappy sufficient with a Core i7-1260P and it could even be with a Core i5-1240P just like the one within the sale configuration.
One disadvantage to the P-series processor is that it looks like it could be holding battery life again. On our battery check, which includes steady browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits, the Carbon endured for 8 hours and 48 minutes, which is a number of hours behind opponents. Nonetheless, your battery life will range based mostly on how you employ the pc so it is fairly attainable you get 10 to 12 hours relying in your work habits and settings.
Whereas it is not an ideal laptop computer — I want the battery life had been slightly longer on our check — the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is the laptop computer I would purchase as a result of it simply feels nice to work with and is gentle sufficient to hold anyplace and carry on my lap. At $1,229, that is the productiveness laptop computer to get this Cyber Monday.
Chances are you’ll discover that, if you happen to go to Lenovo.com, the configuration I am recommending right here is listed as $1,289 relatively than $1,229. The $1,289 value could be good by itself, however once I went to place it in my cart to see the ultimate whole, I noticed that Lenovo has slightly alert that claims it can save you an extra $60 through the use of a HOLIDAYSURPRISE code (see the display screen shot under). Be sure you apply that to your order.
If this ThinkPad X1 Carbon is just not best for you, try our listing of finest Cyber Monday tech offers to search out different techniques.