Buying a laptop versus a desktop is a choice that needs consideration and wise decision. For others, they prefer laptops over any other computer. It has to be robust and can perform remarkably like computers. If you need this exceptional laptop, Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (6th Gen) is the right deal for you.
AT FIRST GLANCE
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon has a simple appearance, yet it performs beyond your expectations. Don’t be deceived by its physical appearance. Laptops have almost the same appearances with one another, so it is not a big deal.
The 14-inch screen display comes from with a variety of ports including a pair of high-speed Thunderbolt connector ideal for driving external displays. A laptop needs to have a heavy-duty battery life that can provide power for the 8th-gen quad-core Intel Kaby Lake-R processor. These are evident features of Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (6th Gen).
PERFORMANCE
To boost the performance of Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, it optimizes the setting. The only problem with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a noisy fan. It is annoying, but the fan is significant in the system of the laptops. It exhausts the heat out of the hardware to boost the performance of the software.
It is advantageous in ThinkPad X1 Carbon. The Lenovo Vantage software which can be found in the Hardware Settings icon, then Smart Settings, allows you to turn off the fan. It is powered by an automatic Intelligent Cooling mode that sets into a “Cool & Quiet” state. However, you will not notice noticeable noise in ThinkPad X1 Carbon, just hissing sound from the fan.
People work at home experience the limit of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. You may ask in what way? It is because of the home office has an ambient temperature due to malfunctioning of air conditions unexpectedly. At a warm house temperature of 78 degrees, the X1 Carbon’s Cinebench numbers dropped by a full 25%, and our prolonged HandBrake video conversion scores fell considerably, too. This test was conducted to know the performance of ThinkPad X1 Carbon in this kind of situation. In real life, there are much worse than this.
The Sleep mode of Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is spectacular. It immediately performs the power throttling after resuming the X1 Carbon from a prolonged sleep state or installing some software and rebooting after Windows update. It is a wise upgrade by Lenovo to avoid going over its voltage threshold.
SPECIFICATIONS
Indeed, this is the real deal when it comes to Ultrabooks. The 8th-gen Core chip is the heart of ThinkPad X1 Carbon. Combined with the quad-core 1.8GHz Core i7-8550U (Kaby Lake-R) chip inside, it has no glitch in handling the office tasks like Web browsing, working with Excel spreadsheets among others.
Lenovo unveils the ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th gen with the full package.
- Display: 14-inch (1920×1080) IPS technology; 2560×1440 (with optional HDR)
- Processor: Intel Core i5-8250U, i5-8350U, i7-8550U, i7-8650U (quad-core 1.8-GHz, Kaby Lake-R)
- Graphics: Intel HD 620
- Memory: 8GB-16GB LPDDR3 (2,133MHz)
- Storage: 256GB, 512GB, PCIe-NVME OPAL2.0 M.2 SSD, 1TB PCIe-NVME OPAL2.0 SSD
- Security: dTPM; fingerprint reader
- Ports: USB 3.1 (2, 1 always connected), USB-C (2, Thunderbolt 3), nanoSIM, microSD, NFC, HDMI, Gigabit ethernet extension Gen2, headphone/mic
- Wireless: Intel 8265 802.11ac (2×2), Bluetooth 4.1
- Cameras: 720p HD (front), with shutter; optional IR camera (w/Windows Hello); no rear camera
- Battery: 57Wh
- Operating system: Windows 10 Pro
- Dimensions: 12.8 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
- Weights: 2.46 pounds (notebook), 3.10 lb (notebook + charger
MARKET VALUE
Given this, Lenovo offers variations of ThinkPad X1 Carbon with different processors. It costs about £1,439.99 for Intel Core i5-8250U, Windows 10 Home, 14.0-inch 1,920 x 1,080 non-touch anti-glare screen, Intel UHD Graphics 620, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD. The upgrade to Windows Pro will cost about £1,449.99 with Intel Core i5-8250U, 14.0-inch 1,920 x 1,080 non-touch anti-glare screen, Intel UHD Graphics 620, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD.
The Intel Core i7-8550U, Windows 10 Pro, 14.0-inch 1,920 x 1,080 non-touch anti-glare screen, Intel UHD Graphics 620, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD costs about £1,629.99. A little upgrade to 512GB SSD will cost about £1,879.99 with processor of Intel Core i7-8550U, Windows 10 Pro, 14.0-inch 2,560 x 1,440 non-touch anti-glare screen, Intel UHD Graphics 620.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon high-end version is powered by Intel Core i7-8650U, Windows 10 Pro, 14.0-inch 2,560 x 1,440 non-touch glossy screen with Dolby Vision, Intel UHD Graphics 620, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD. It will cost you about £2,605.59.
You may also want to try the accessories of ThinkPad. Additionally, the USB 3.0 Ultra Dock will cost about $199.99. For $69.99, you can have the ThinkPad X1 Wireless Touch Mouse.
With this powerful Ultrabook, you will be curious about the structure and how Lenovo built the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. Ready to be amazed?
DESIGN
Meanwhile, Lenovo claimed that ThinkPad X1 Carbon is capable of passing the military’s MIL-STD-810G ruggedized tests.
X1 Carbon is constructed of four layers of carbon fiber with magnesium alloy roll-cage. The carbon construction also pays dividends in terms of weight. With this, it only weighs less than 2.46 pounds. Overall, it felt solid, but the handling is light and sturdy.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon comes in its classic black color, but you should try the silver. It is more elegant looking. Technically, it is not convertible, but the display reclines to a horizontal angle, serving as a writing surface if you choose. Lenovo’s Carbon’s stiff hinge technology resists any movement when flopping it.
SCREEN DISPLAY
Lenovo offers four LCD options for ThinkPad X1 Carbon, and all four have dimensions of 14 inches. The 1920×1080 displays are about 309 nits brightness. The other three options are 1080p with a 300-nit display, 2560×1440, 300-nit high-resolution display, and 2560×1440 with 500-nit, bright display boasting the Dolby Vision HDR capabilities. All the lower-cost panels feature anti-glare coating, which works as advertised.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen’s image quality looked a bit too yellowish, even when Lenovo’s software reported a maximum color temperature of 6500K. Turning on Eye Care mode within the Lenovo Vantage utility software dialed down the blue light (4500K). It is equivalent of Windows’ “night light” settings. However, Windows can adjust via a slider bar.
CONNECTIVITY
Above all, the ThinkPad series is consistent with the charging port locations.
Additional USB-C charging ports of tablets and notebooks are getting upgrades. Lenovo is no exception on this one. You can find the USB-C port with Thunderbolt 3.0 enabled, in the left-hand side of the chassis of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. This port can supply and receive power, provide USB 3.0 data transfers, and power up to two 4K monitors at 30Hz. The Lenovo HDMI port and a more traditional USB 3.1 Type A connector provide legacy connections. The righthand side of the chassis includes the second USB-A connector, a Kensington lock, large fan vents, and the 3.5mm headphone/mic jack.
You can find the location of SD card and WLAN SIM card holder within the hinge. It will be inaccessible unless you will align the laptop frequently. On the contrary, the Thinkpad X1 Carbon 6th Gen also includes a hardware TPM (Trusted Platform Module) chip for additional security.
FINGERPRINT SENSOR
In terms of security, Lenovo enables two other critical features in ThinkPad X1 Carbon. First, there’s the fingerprint reader to the right of the trackpad and voice command to log in using Windows Hello. These are reliable as compared to other Lenovo fingerprint readers. Therefore, it offers additional security firewall by upgrading to an IR depth camera that allows the front-facing camera for Windows Hello.
THINKSHUTTER FOR CAMERA
Moreover, Lenovo has added the “ThinkShutter.” Lenovo said this security feature in ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen with IR camera upgrades. It is a shutter that you can close and a nod to those who are concerned that someone may hack their webcam without their knowledge. However, it is kind of stiff at first when sliding it back and forth using the integrated divot. However, over time it will work swiftly. When it is shut, a red ring surrounds the small lens, notifying you that the camera is obscured.
AUDIO QUALITY
Lenovo also added the Dolby Atmos audio enhancement algorithm in ThinkPad X1 Carbon. It improves the audio both over the speakers and headphones. However, it needs more improvement for more inspiring and controls on volume. It did not elevate the audio quality of ThinkPad X1 Carbon.
OUR INSIGHTS
Moreover, Lenovo reminds us that ThinkPad X1 Carbon is built for business purposes primarily. It only considers the gamers at second in the line.
ThinkPad X1 Carbon has a renowned keyboard, following the tradition of Lenovo. The keys feel a bit springier than in the X1 Tablet. Other notebooks such as the Huawei Matebook X Pro compress some of the control keys. The extra space is used to increase the size of the main and lettered keys. Therefore, Lenovo should prioritize these keyboards of the ThinkPad series.
The iconic red TrackPoint nub is still in the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. It has the physical left, right and center buttons above the trackpad. The texture of trackpad is a little smoother and slicker than before, but it is proportionally a bit smaller.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is one of the outstanding Ultrabooks in the market. Its performance outwits other laptops. What was written in the advertisement doesn’t change in actual performance?
