The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Review: OLED and LCD Tested
by Brett Howse & Brandon Chester on September 29, 2016 11:30 AM ESTEarlier this year at CES, Lenovo took the wraps off their latest lineup of premium business class notebooks, and they revamped the X1 lineup completely. Originally the X1 was just the X1 Carbon notebook, but Lenovo has decided to expand the X1 series to include the aforementioned X1 Carbon, along with the X1 Yoga and X1 Tablet. So the ThinkPad Yoga is now the ThinkPad X1 Yoga, and as such it keeps the same thin and light design of the X1 Carbon.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Review
Thin and light is the key here, and the X1 Yoga doesn’t disappoint. The X1 Yoga is only 16.8 mm (0.66”) thick, and weighs 1270 grams (2.8 lbs). While not the thinnest and lightest notebook around, don’t forget that the X1 Yoga also features a 360° hinge, allowing it to be used exclusively with touch with several modes, including tablet, stand, and tent, just like the other Yoga devices they sell. Lenovo also pointed out that the X1 Yoga is thinner and lighter than the original X1 Carbon even, despite including touch and the convertible hinges.
Lenovo is offering plenty of choices here to outfit the X1 Yoga, with the baseline offering of an Intel Core i5-6200U and 8 GB of LPDDR3-1866. You can upgrade to the i5-6300U, i7-6500U, and i7-6600U, with RAM offerings up to 16 GB. On storage Lenovo has gone all NVMe, with choices from 128 GB to 512 GB. On the display side, the 14-inch panel can be either a 1920x1080 IPS, 2560x1440 IPS, or a 2560x1440 OLED model.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga | |||||
As Tested: Core i7-6500U, 8GB, 512GB, 2560x1440 LCD | |||||
CPU | Intel Core i5-6200U Dual-Core with Hyperthreading 2.3-2.8 GHz, 3MB Cache, 15W TDP Intel Core i5-6300U Dual-Core with Hyperthreading 2.4-3.0 GHz, 3MB Cache, 15W TDP Intel Core i7-6500U Dual-Core with Hyperthreading 2.5-3.1 GHz, 4MB Cache, 15W TDP Intel Core i7-6600U Dual-Core with Hyperthreading 2.6-3.4 GHz, 4MB Cache, 15W TDP |
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GPU | Intel HD 520 300-1050MHz, 24 EUs |
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Memory | 8GB to 16GB LPDDR3-1866 Dual-channel | ||||
Display | 14-inch 1920x1080 IPS Optional 2560x1440 IPS Optional 2560x1440 OLED |
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Storage | 128GB to 1TB SSD, PCIe and SATA | ||||
I/O | OneLink+ USB 3.0 Type-A x 3 Headset jack 720p Webcam Mini DisplayPort microSD |
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Dimensions | 333 x 229 x 16.8 mm 13.11 x 9.01 x 0.66 inches |
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Weight | 1.27 kg / 2.8 lbs | ||||
Battery | 52 Wh, 65 W AC Adapter | ||||
Keyboard | Spill-Resistant with TrackPoint | ||||
Wireless | Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC8260 2x2:2 with Bluetooth 4.1 |
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Price | Starting at $1400, as tested $1871.10 |
Lenovo also offers plenty of connectivity on the X1 Yoga, including three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, DisplayPort, and a OneLink connector for its docking stations. There are no USB Type-C ports, but the X1 Yoga does have MicroSD support for additional storage, and LTE-A as an option for those that want to be as untethered as possible. Wireless is supplied via the Intel 8260 wireless card, and as a business focused device it can be had with vPro as well.
They also include a stylus built into the laptop which will charge while docked. It’s not as big or as comfortable as the one included with something like the Surface Book, but the fact that it is docked will more than make up for that for a lot of people, because that means it’s always available, and less likely to get misplaced.
Lenovo has gone with a 52 Wh battery for this laptop, meaning it is over the 50 Wh baseline for Ultrabooks. That’s pretty good considering the inclusion of a stylus, and the thin nature of this device.
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Brett Howse - Thursday, September 29, 2016 - link
It's microSD so no.ScytheNoire - Thursday, September 29, 2016 - link
Got one of these at work and it's really nice, except the trackpad is horrible. It's among the worst trackpads I've ever used.Lolimaster - Thursday, September 29, 2016 - link
Question, why is the screen so shit compared to the Galaxy Tab S2 which also features RGB AMOLED.Lolimaster - Thursday, September 29, 2016 - link
To release such crap using OLED, better go a high quality VA panel.zeeBomb - Thursday, September 29, 2016 - link
Brett still alive???Brett Howse - Friday, September 30, 2016 - link
Still here yes!Calista - Friday, September 30, 2016 - link
The battery life penalty for the OLED was shocking. I knew some could be expected, but dropping the battery life in half for very common tasks doesn't seem acceptable to me.The Von Matrices - Friday, September 30, 2016 - link
Agreed. However, I'd be curious about battery life numbers if you used a web browser with reversed colors - white text on a black background. Surely the OLED would improve in that test, but by how much?overzealot - Friday, September 30, 2016 - link
How is the quality on 3.5mm audio? Loud enough?Is the connector fit tight?
I'm assuming you would have made a note if it was bad, but at least a couple of words on it would be nice after 4 pages of discussion about the screen.
Brett Howse - Saturday, October 1, 2016 - link
It's fine. I'll try and make note of adding a line about this in the future.