Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Yoga Review: Top Of The Line Experience

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Lenovo has an iconic series in the Thinkpad range. These laptops quite literally set the bar for others to follow in whichever segment they are targeted at. So when Lenovo launched the Thinkpad Yoga X1 recently, our interest was piqued and we were sure that this one would be a significant trend setter. We spent some time with the device and here is our review of this very appealing premium computing device

Thinkpad Yoga X1 Hero Shot

If you are in the hunt for  a 2-in-1 that is sleek, slim and professional, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 will hit all the checkboxes for you. The very subtly understated black design with red accents calls attention to the machine and the user in equal parts. It is a head turner without a doubt. It comes with a light yet very sturdy keyboard, a trackpad and a fingerprint reader. It has a very effective and crystal clear 1920 x 1080 touch-screen display surrounded by a thick, black bezel. A card reader is located on the back of the device, tad bit tough to get to when the X1 is in laptop mode, so you’ll want to close the laptop or switch to tent or tablet mode before using the card reader for a prolonged time. The computer features a carbon-fiber lid and a body made from magnesium, and it feels very solid despite how light it is. It quite literally feels like a feather and is tough as nuts.

Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga X1 Modes

The definition of versatility, this ultralight 2-in-1 adapts to your business with 4 flexible modes to work, present, create, and connect.  Features a stunning display with intense color and deep contrast. You can even get a dockable, rechargeable stylus pen to use with it, please note that it has to be purchased separately and isn’t a part of the package. Internally, it supports the fastest, advanced mobile broadband technology available. Right at the outset the looks are premium and scream class all over. There is no way you can miss this one sitting on a table. It measures 13.11 x 9.01 x 0.66 inches and weighs a neat 2.8 pounds or 1.27 kg. The ThinkPad line has stuck to a matte black, boxy design from the beginning, and fans wouldn’t have it any other way. This is in line with the classy finish that Thinkpads stand for.
Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga X1 Display

The device has a  360-degree hinge which easily allows it to be used as a laptop, a tablet (when folded all the way back), a tent (in the shape of an upside-down V) or a display (with the keyboard face-down and the screen pointing towards you). And don’t worry, when the keyboard is folded toward the back of the screen, the “Lift ‘n’ Lock” keys retract so they don’t click when you hold the machine as a tablet. That is a nifty feature from a convenience point of view.

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The keyboard on the ThinkPad X1 Yoga has 1.67 millimeters of travel and requires 60 grams of force to press, resulting in a comfortable typing experience. The tactile feedback is good and the keys do not give you sore fingers when you need to type for a prolonged period of time. The keys are whisper quiet, no plastic tackiness or noise to them at all, and they have a slightly curved bottom edge, to better fit and wrap around  your finger while typing.

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The device comes with a 3.9 x 2.2-inch Synaptics touchpad which is very smooth to the touch. We were able comfortably navigate through a series of websites using gestures like two-finger scroll and three-finger swipe, which brings up the desktop. Absolutely no complaints there at all. The iconic Lenovo’ TrackPoint nub is located in the center of the keyboard amidst the G, H and B keys, and lets you navigate around the desktop very accurately, without moving your hands off the home row. And yes, it is red in color as is traditional with the Thinkpad series.

Plus, the X1 Yoga is tested against military specifications and made to endure extremes. Yet for all its durability, it weighs just 2.8 lbs / 1.27 kg, making it the world’s thinnest and lightest 14″ 2-in-1 business laptop. Like the rest of the X1 family, this convertible Ultrabook is thin, light, and tough.

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The thin X1 Yoga features a 14″ 2K (2560 x 1440) touch screen display, with optional OLED technology. These self-lighting pixels render a wider range of highly accurate colors, so your work, video, photos, and web pages look better than ever with richer colors and sharper contrast.The X1 Yoga includes a dockable stylus pen that recharges when connected—just 15 seconds of charging gives up to 100 minutes of use. And because it docks into the laptop, you can keep it handy for when you need it for drawing, annotating documents, or making notes. With Lenovo’s exclusive WRITEit technology, you can enter handwriting into any input field across hundreds of apps, and it automatically suggests and corrects your writing.

WRITEit App

The 14-inch touch screen on the X1 Yoga comes in two flavors. Our Core i5 model had a 1080p display, while the Core i7 config we tested had a sharper, 2560 x 1440 QHD panel. The pictures and videos were vivid, crisp and absolutely a delight to watch. Detailing was very impressive. The 1080p display registered 279.2 nits of brightness, and the QHD model displayed 268 nits. The X1 Yoga gave us an excellent 102 percent of the sRGB color gamut and has a Delta-E accuracy score of 0.55. On the QHD display, it covers a larger degree of the gamut (109.3 percent) with a Delta-E score of 1.02.

Lenovo X1 Yoga Connectivity

The Ultrabook offers three USB 3.0 ports, a Mini-DisplayPort, HDMI, a combo headphone/microphone jack, a microSD card reader, and a OneLink+ port for use with Lenovo peripherals. Most competitors have only two USB 3.0 ports, and often just one video output.The wireless connectivity department is covered by the usual combo of 802.11ac Wi-Fi with Bluetooth 4.1.

Keyboard

The fingerprint reader on the ultrabook is very different from the ones that you see in the competitors. It does not require a swipe of the finger and needs just a touch. The fingerprint security and recognition are now highlights of the Thinkpad series over the years. They serve their purpose very well here too.

The tiny speakers on the device are a revelation and they took us by surprise. They were able to fill the entire room with clear and crisp sound without any jarring or distortion and the quality was sustained even on prolonged use. We did not expect that much from the speakers. Very well done there.

Thinkpad X1 Yoga Hero shot

We were thinking of how to put the ThinkPad X1 Yoga with its Core i7-6500U processor, 8GB of RAM and 512GB SSD to a serious test of performance. So here’s what we did, we had 25 tabs open on Google Chrome,  Visual Studio, Photoshop and MS Office running at the same time. We did not see the device stutter even one bit. There was absolutely no lag or any issue that we could report. Full marks there. So if you are using this one as a business productivity enhancer, you have a great workhorse here, no two questions at all.

The battery stood the device in good stead and we were able to get 9 – 10 hours of above average work and 6-7 hours of very heavy duty running on a single charge. This is good for professionals who are moving between meetings or travelling on work.

One question that boggled us, why put Candy Crush Soda Saga on a serious business workhorse that is targeted at people who will never ever play it? But hey, the heart wants what the heart wants!

Coming to the price, this ultrabook is yours for INR 112,000 + taxes and we believe that it justifies this price by a long mile! If you are looking at a laptop that has all the features and hardware that this one packs, the price is completely justified.

Verdict

For the business user who wants a multi-utility ultrabook that is versatile at handling various functions that she/he is expected to perform, nothing beats Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Yoga. We loved the whole top of the line experience that it gave us and actually have started saving up to buy this one! Go for it with your eyes closed if you want a Chris Gayle class performer with the finesse of Rahul Dravid in your laptop!

About Shakthi

I am a Tech Blogger, Disability Activist, Keynote Speaker, Startup Mentor and Digital Branding Consultant. Also a McKinsey Executive Panel Member. Also known as @v_shakthi on twitter. Been around Tech for two decades now.

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