Verdict
The reassuringly expensive Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 returns with its serial publication - staple high - tone keyboard and ultra - low weight . assault and battery life has drop since the last generation , though , and at this point the CPU is last - gen .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The ThinkPad X1 is among the most venerated series of laptop , at least among a sealed set of citizenry . They are phratry who require a PC that looks made for serious work , and feel it too – most splendidly through the ThinkPad keyboard .
Price is the cock-a-hoop roadblock here , as in previous generation . The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 is expensive for what you get in terms of core component .
However , are some going to favour working on this Thinkpad than the most celebrated laptops from Apple and Samsung ? Absolutely . Despite a slight taming of a few function that define the ThinkPad mob , the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 still retains enough of that genetic information to stomach out from anything else .
High - cost upgrades include on - circuit board wandering internet , 32 GB RAM and the OLED screen raise . Each of these is actually not priced too badly compared to , say , what Apple or Microsoft might point . However , I retrieve most unremarkable laptop emptor will receive the X1 Carbon prohibitively expensive .
Design
The distinct entreaty of Lenovo ThinkPads can make it seem as though they have n’t changed all that much over the years . atomic number 6 models are always sedate and serious , never given an chance to smatter in a daring close of any shiny alloy .
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 does n’t change any of that , but the weight of this thing still make it seem an up - to - date pattern . It weighs just 1.17 kilo , daringly low when build character is a ThinkPad vocation wag .
It does n’t feel vacuous or too flexile , though . total a fairly small step , and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 clear terminate up a world - class design for change of location exercise . It ’s a laptop computer with tangible meaning , but hardly any physical weight .
The eubstance denture here use a mix of magnesium alloy , for the lid and underside , and a carbon fibre - reward polymer for the keyboard plate .
This is very much a normal laptop , though . It does not have a 360 - academic degree flexible joint , and the screenland does not use the edge - to - border meth seen in stylish luxury laptop like theSamsung Galaxy Book3 Pro .
Connectivity is on peak , as long as you do n’t expect the sure-enough Lenovo ThinkPad staple : an Ethernet socket . The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 has two radical - fastThunderbolt 4USB - speed of light sockets , one of which will often be busy by the powerfulness connector . There are two USB - A connectors , a full - size HDMI and , in model with mobile net , a Sim tray . The HDMI only suffer 4K/60 output according to Lenovo , so it ’s not anHDMI 2.1output .
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 also has a software program - packed 1080p webcam that ’s a good footfall up from the bad old 720p average . It can smudge your screen when you walk aside , and has an IR emitter for more dependable face unlocking .
Traditional inputs , the keyboard and touchpad , are where the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 shines . While this keyboard is not quite as cryptical and strong as that of Thinkpad ’s from a decade ago , it is still more satisfying than any other portability - drive laptop I ’ve used in the last 12 calendar month .
The key character is significantly dark than that of any other laptop this visible radiation , again giving the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 a sense of meat that seems flat - out unbelievable given the low system of weights .
I much prefer it to the2020 MacBook Airkeyboard I use whenever I ’m not at my desk . It ’s just so much chunkier , more characterful , without actually requiring more effort to type . There ’s no NUM launch pad here , but you do n’t find these in 14 - column inch laptops .
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 also has a 2 - stage keyboard backlight and , the classical ThinkPad - style pap joystick mouse at its eye . This tiny red dot is a gamey - faithfulness controller that responds to the insistence put on it with your finger . Some of you wo n’t need to use it . I do n’t . But it ’s a staple of this serial and does not touch on the typewriting experience .
There are also what might be deal extraneous controls above the touchpad . These three buttons are black eye controls , and are what you ’ll apply if you do choose to get to grips with the joystick mouse .
Alternatively , you’re able to treat the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 as a normal laptop and just utilize the tablet below , which has the common clicker ascendency construct into its aerofoil .
Once again , this is an excellent timbre controller . It has a velvet - smooth ice Earth’s surface and a great - feeling clicker . It ’s gloomy and mellow , but has a top good sense of deepness and positive feedback . Of naturally , it is a pretty little surface so is not ideal for designers and photographers who have to on occasion perform touchpad gymnastic exercise .
Screen
Most areas of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 focus on practicality , but that does n’t that ca n’t be come with by a petty polish .
Take the screen – it has a reasonable semi - flat finale that takes the confidence trick out of reflections , particularly if you ask to work outdoors . However the display itself is also endearing .
This is a 14 - inch 2880 x 1800 OLED panel , one with radical - deep color and the usual brilliant contrast you may expect from OLED ’s emissive pixels . So while it does n’t have the same immediate allurement of an OLED screen with a methamphetamine Earth’s surface , the underlying effigy quality is here .
maximal brightness is good , but not class - lead , much like that of the other OLED laptops I ’ve used . It can reach 420 nits at its peak , but this is not even closemouthed to what Apple ’s Mini lead laptops can attain .
This is a mantrap of a screen , but is not the default pick in the ThinkPad X1 Carbon assembly line . Entry - layer models have a 1080p LCD . Pay tending when order .
Performance
There are no humiliated - end versions of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 . My review sample is a very high - end spec , with 32 GB RAM , an Intel Core i7 - 1260P central processor and 1 TB SSD . It ’s an excessive specification for most people look to purchase a laptop this portable and light source . However , my trial results are going to be mostly corresponding in other version of this laptop with abject RAM .
The only issue : 13th genesis Intel CPUs are already out and about . The performance disparity is not immense , with multi - core performance shew the biggest gains in the novel generation , and we ’ve not listen when the Carbon will get a 13th Gen update just yet .
It scores 5596 points in PC Mark 10 , similar to the grade you might see from a desktop PC with a 9th Gen Intel Core i5 CPU . This have in mind you have enough exponent to do pretty much whatever you wish on the productiveness front .
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 does not extend a giving gaming boost over the last generation , though , as it continues to use an Intel Xe house computer graphic processor . I was a big fan of this at departure , as it was such a substantial jump up , and let multitude play passably task games with a “ normal ” laptop computer .
However , if you ’re look for a play and work laptop without a dedicated graphic bit , these days the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 is outclass by a PC with a Ryzen 6800U CPU . It has RNDA 2 artwork , from the same family as theSteam Deck , but with more ability on tap .
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 is not a fan - free laptop , like aMacBook Air , but I do not retrieve the sound of its devotee too distracting . Lenovo largely avoids the grate high pitch whirr you sometimes hear , particularly in thin and light laptops under pressure .
Battery life
A 57Wh battery sits in the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 . This is a somewhat distinctive capacity for a laptop computer of this style . TheDell XPS 13 Plususes a 55Wh stamp battery , for example .
Set to run PC Mark ’s Modern Office benchmark , the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 go nine hours . This is a manner off what you might expect from a laptop computer with an AMD Ryzen processor , which typically throttles its performance far more dramatically when on battery powerfulness . It is also importantly bad than the last - propagation Carbon , perhaps thanks to its break to a slightly less power - economical processor series .
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 offers all - sidereal day use , if not tonnes of leeway should you require to do something a bit more taxing . If you find oneself your Carbon lasting much less , check that it is up - to - date , including the BIOS . At first I found it a battle to get the Lenovo hold out more than around five hours .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
A curious combining of extremist - scummy weight and a keyboard / trackpad combo that feels more substantial than those of many laptop computer twice the size and weight . These ThinkPads have n’t become icons for no grounds .
The X1 Carbon remains a rather pricey serial publication that does n’t offer very exonerated value for money for many folk . It ’s not a true workstation , and other rival offer similar performance for far less , even if they are less enjoyable to work on .
Final Thoughts
The ThinkPad Carbon serial has always been one of my favourites . It ’s never a laptop I ’ve considered buying , because it ’s quite so expensive .
This is an radical - portable PC that seems ideal for line type who can either corrupt the thing on a ship’s company cite wag , or pen off part of the substantial cost as a business expense . That may seem unjust when you could spend more on a MacBook Pro , but this is really close-fitting to a MacBook Air in terms of purpose , design and power .
There ’s nothing awry here bar from the high-pitched monetary value , though , and perhaps the lowly - than - norm touchpad . The quality of the pad , as everything else here , is beyond reproach though .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every laptop we review goes through a series of consistent checks designed to approximate key things including build tone , performance , blind quality and bombardment living .
These admit formal synthetical benchmarks and scripted tests , plus a serial publication of actual - earth checks , such as how well it go popular apps .
FAQs
Our brushup example does not have a touchscreen , but a couple of the available strain do .
It has a 180 - degree flexible joint but is not a true hybrid laptop .
Mobile net is an optional supernumerary , with both 4 G and 5 G an choice grant to Lenovo ’s certification .
