The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Review: OLED and LCD Tested
by Brett Howse & Brandon Chester on September 29, 2016 11:30 AM EST
Earlier 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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JoeyJoJo123 - Thursday, September 29, 2016 - link
If it wasn't explicitly mentioned to be one, then chances are no, it's not. It's probably your run of the mill low-end webcam, with poor quality, and an integrated mic that's both too quiet and peaks too easily at the same time.Brett Howse - Thursday, September 29, 2016 - link
No it has a fingerprint reader instead for Windows Hello.grant3 - Thursday, September 29, 2016 - link
Not type-C port, "... but the X1 Yoga does have MicroSD support for additional storage"Huh?? How does MicroSD make up for the lack of type-C ports?
Do the reviewers have the delusion that people only want type-C to plug in portable storage?
Unsure if they're clueless, or shilling for lenovo....
Brett Howse - Thursday, September 29, 2016 - link
It doesn't make up for anything. Just pointing out what ports are there. You're reading a bit much into it.grant3 - Friday, September 30, 2016 - link
The conjunction "but" implies the second statement (partially) excuses the first. My perception is that reviewers have learned to soften their criticisms of preferred vendors.SeannyB - Thursday, September 29, 2016 - link
Thanks for the exhaustive display review. The lack of individual calibration is a big missed opportunity by Lenovo considering the development they did on the software side.I also have to wonder what the native gamut of the panel looks like. In a perfect world where Windows is fully color-managed, one would be more concerned about the panel's native gamut covering the common targets (AdobeRGB, DCI-P3, etc.) than whether it has explicit modes for them. Unfortunately the years tick by and Windows still lacks OS-wide color management. Maybe the advent of OLED consumer monitors and the "HDR" push will finally force the issue.
BiggerInside - Thursday, September 29, 2016 - link
The native primaries/gamut volume are important, and for HDR standards (which are aiming at a future with Rec2020 primaries that far exceed what we can achieve on consumer panels right now) it seems like more must be better... but for someone actually using a display, even with HDR, saturation accuracy should tell you everything for all practical purposes--that is, we are well beyond the problems of LCD panels that missed some SRGB gamut, so the real question is not "do I see all the green in fully-saturated SRGB images?" but "how accurate are the fully-saturated colors I see?""99.8% of DCI-P3" looks impressive on a chart next to displays that don't have as much coverage, but if you want to use the display for real imaging, the important question is "how accurate is the display (at DCI-P3 or whatever your target is) before/after calibration?" 100% DCI-P3 is basically a worthless number (without accuracy numbers) unless the only colors you render are exactly DCI-P3 100% R/G/B.
BiggerInside - Thursday, September 29, 2016 - link
Would really, really like some details on brightness levels, too. Assuming they/intel used a 10-bit display interface, HDR should be easily supported once application software catches up--but if the peak brightness is less than 500nits the payoff is diminished.Brandon Chester - Thursday, September 29, 2016 - link
It's standard 8bit per channel. Assuming 10bit color on an Intel laptop is generally going to be a losing bet :)Arbie - Thursday, September 29, 2016 - link
Please state in your reviews whether the micro/SD sticks out the side of the laptop, because it's pretty much useless if so. Thanks.