For the previous two generations, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon has earned our uncommon 5-star score. So what’s occurred right here, then?
To not say this isn’t a belter of a working machine. The truth is, I can safely say that it nonetheless deserves to be excessive up on our finest enterprise laptops record. You get that very same nice utilitarian aesthetic and sturdy chassis, with necessary upgrades to the internals, show, and webcam.
However as you’ll study, with sticking to the identical body and cramming it with extra, there are some drawbacks that cease the tenth technology model of the X1 Carbon from hitting full marks.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) value and availability
The tenth Gen ThinkPad X1 Carbon begins at $1,397 (opens in new tab), with the mannequin we examined weighing in at $1,564. Once more, these are supposedly the discounted costs on Lenovo’s web site, however with a infamous historical past of inflating authentic retail costs, this decrease quantity is what it is best to really anticipate to pay.
As compared, you possibly can snag a similarly-specced M2 MacBook Air (opens in new tab) for $1,699, and the Dell XPS 13 Plus (opens in new tab) for $1,649 (presently discounted to the spectacular value of $999 (opens in new tab)).
However there’s one other looming specter within the type of the Gen 11 Carbon, which is in the stores at $1,833 and packs the newest thirteenth Gen Intel chipsets. Whereas we don’t have a evaluation of this model new unit simply but, we will begin to ask a few questions.
Is it well worth the extra funding for the newest and biggest? Or are you able to get simply as speedy of a working expertise and save your self some cash on the similar time with Gen 10?
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) design
Nothing new to report in terms of the X1 Carbon’s design. Lenovo discovered a sturdy, glossy aesthetic the folks love, and the corporate is leaning into it. From the matte-black surfaces and subtly lit “i” within the ThinkPad emblem on the lid, to the carbon fiber detailing and stealthy aesthetic, it nonetheless appears marvelously trendy.
Stereo audio system nonetheless flank either side of the keyboard, and the ability button retains its place on the appropriate edge – slightly below the identical single bar-style hinge that provides the entire body a pleasant, assured sturdiness.
And let’s not neglect how surprisingly skinny and light-weight this laptop computer is. You’ll be able to decide it up single-handedly with the best of ease, and the load is evenly distributed throughout the width of the entire system.
| Laptop computer | Dimensions | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) | 13 x 8.9 x 0.76 inches | 2.48 kilos |
| M2 MacBook Air | 12 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches | 2.7 kilos |
| Dell XPS 13 Plus | 11.6 x 7.8 x 0.6 inches | 2.8 kilos |
As you possibly can see, the svelte X1 Carbon is just not fairly as small because the likes of the MacBook Air and XPS 13 Plus, but it surely’s far lighter in development!
Wanting previous the numbers, you’re getting a significantly glossy, sturdy system that may be a cinch to hold round and an actual delicate eye-catcher to carry out throughout a gathering.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) safety & sturdiness
Identical to the Gen 9, the X1 Carbon continues to pack all the trendy safety necessities for retaining any business-sensitive information locked down to your eyes solely.
This consists of all the usual options just like the Kensington lock slot, fingerprint reader on the ability button, and the IR digicam for facial recognition by way of Home windows Whats up. However past that, you’ll discover a human presence detector (to robotically lock the laptop computer once you step away), a TPM 2.0 chip, and the choice to activate look privateness alerts if the webcam catches somebody peeking. That is miles forward of what you will notice on each the MacBook Air and XPS 13 Plus.
Plus, for many who are both extra susceptible to be clumsy or need one thing that can survive even probably the most rugged environments, the X1 Carbon continues its document of passing a ton of military-grade sturdiness assessments, so that you could be assured in its power.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) ports
The port choice stays largely unchanged from Gen 9 — a USB 3.2 Sort-A port, headphone jack, and a Kensington lock on the appropriate, together with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a second USB 3.2 Sort-A, and HDMI 2.0.
One new addition is the SIM tray for cell information, which is sweet to have by way of growing versatility. However the lack of an SD card slot nonetheless hurts. In case you’re in want of additional connectivity, the finest docking stations will do the trick.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) show
In relation to Lenovo’s business-centric ThinkPad laptops, show brightness and coloration isn’t often a powerful level. However the X1 Carbon has some respectable brightness and coloration to its 14-inch, IPS Eyesafe panel with a 1920 x 1200-pixel decision and 16:10 facet ratio.
| Laptop computer | Show brightness common (nits) | DCI-P3 coloration gamut (%) | Delta-E coloration accuracy (decrease is best) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) | 423.4 nits | 78.30% | 0.28 |
| M2 MacBook Air | 489.4 nits | 75.90% | 0.2 |
| Dell XPS 13 Plus | 366 nits | 84.20% | 0.21 |
| Premium laptop computer common | 383 nits | 83% | n/a |
In fact, the OLED panel within the XPS 13 Plus is miles forward of each of them by way of coloration replica, however the middle-of-the-road stats for the X1 make this a respectably vibrant display screen, if not probably the most colourful.
Exhibits just like the spectacular Obi-Wan Kenobi reveal the shortage of hue in hotter scenes, however do showcase the distinction ratio in its darkest moments, whereas coping with correct tones in inventive functions reminiscent of Photoshop is a pleasure that you’ll not often see on screens of this dimension.
Oh, and with TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Mild and Flicker Free certification, you possibly can work on this minibeast late into the night time with confidence that your eyes are being sorted.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) keyboard and touchpad
Lenovo’s love story between its ThinkPad keyboard and your fingers continues within the X1 Carbon, and belief me once I say you’ve bagged a ten in terms of an ergonomically sound typing expertise.
Every keystroke feels supple and deliberate with beneficiant journey and a soft-yet-tactile response , whereas the delicate dish envelopes every finger and makes it excellent for contact typing.
I examined the keyboard utilizing the 10FastFingers.com typing evaluation and I hit my quickest rating of 90 phrases per minute. For context, I usually hit 83-85 wpm on a laptop computer keyboard, which emphasizes how incredible this board is. Plus, backlighting is customizable and uniform with no single blip of additional brightness.
One draw back is the marginally cramped touchpad. Don’t get me flawed, at 4.6-inches huge, there’s sufficient on the horizontal for easy glides throughout the show (alongside all of the Home windows 11 multi-touch gestures and love). However the 2.3-inch vertical because of the mouse-click buttons for Lenovo’s staple TrackPoint (yep, nonetheless awkward for anybody underneath 30 to make use of), scrolling up and down feels just a little restricted.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) audio
You’ve bought a four-speaker setup, with two firing upwards on both facet of the keyboard, and a second two slightly below on the underside — tuned with Dolby Atmos for clear audio at even prime quantity.
They even dealt with the depth of The Ghost Inside’s album “Returners,” which provided a brightness to the all-out assault of livid vocals and chugging guitars with zero distortion, whereas managing to provide a worthy bass punch to the thunderous percussion.
Oh, and for occasions once you need to take heed to stuff in public, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack — one thing you’ll discover on the MacBook Air too, however not the XPS 13 Plus.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) efficiency
Below the hood is a twelfth Gen Intel Core i7-1265U CPU with two efficiency cores and eight effectivity cores, 16GB LPDDR5 RAM (upgradeable to 32GB), and a 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD.
In fact, issues have moved on barely because the twelfth technology, the efficiency-centric pocket book CPU is turned down when in comparison with the Intel Core i7-1260p within the XPS 13 Plus, and no one has fairly managed to attain that wonderful steadiness between energy and effectivity that Apple’s M2 has.
| Laptop computer/class common | Geekbench 5 single-core | Geekbench 5 multicore | Handbrake time | SSD Write velocity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) | 1725 | 7417 | 12:01 | 564.4 MBps |
| M2 MacBook Air | 1932 | 8919 | 07:52 | n/a (unable to do similar check) |
| Dell XPS 13 Plus | 1797 | 10,621 | 07:20 | 1,502.1 MBps |
| Premium Laptop computer common | n/a | 10,502 | 08:29 | 1,257.1MBps |
Nevertheless, in actual world use, the X1 Carbon runs good and easy. I threw loads at this machine — Two Level Campus operating within the background as I edited an enormous RAW image in Photoshop, performed a number of 1080p YouTube movies, and ran a pair benchmarks. Even underneath such stress, contact responsiveness didn’t lag and the system saved operating easily.
One standout concern right here is the SSD velocity and Handbrake transcoding — symptomatic of the 80/20 break up between effectivity and efficiency cores, which results in this large shortfall within the chip’s potential to cope with some extra process-intensive duties.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) graphics
One factor is clear — the X1 Carbon is just not constructed for gaming. That is positively the laptop computer equal of a tight-fitting go well with and posting cringe LinkedIn statuses about dedicating your life to laborious work (as if a social life doesn’t exist).
Nevertheless, as long as you retain your gaming informal and switch these graphics settings down, you may get away with some video games at round 30 FPS like F1 Supervisor 2022 on low presets. That a lot is evident from the 3DMark and Sid Meier’s Civ 6 outcomes.
| Laptop computer | 3DMark Fireplace Strike | 3DMark Time Spy | Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm (1080p) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) | 3989 | 1397 | 19.4 FPS |
| Dell XPS 13 Plus | 4944 | 1839 | 23 FPS |
Exterior of gaming, the graphical capabilities imply you possibly can edit high-resolution photographs and edit a pair streams of 4K video with none dramatic slowdown. This clearly isn’t constructed with inventive execs in thoughts, however at the very least there’s some horsepower to cope with it.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) battery life
We completely adored the battery lifetime of the Gen 9 — 15 hours and 39 minutes was effectively and really the promised land. However Lenovo could not match that with the Gen 10, as you’re seeing 5 hours chopped off the highest. Don’t get me flawed, that’s nonetheless usable for a day’s longevity, however the worry-free battery life isn’t any extra.
| Laptop computer | Battery life check end result (hours and minutes) |
|---|---|
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) | 09:18 |
| M2 MacBook Air | 14:06 |
| Dell XPS 13 Plus | 07:34 |
My day includes a number of Chrome tabs, Spotify and Slack operating continuously, the occasional use of Photoshop, and a few informal gaming on my lunch break (Uno is my present dependancy). Beginning at 9 a.m., I reached round 4 p.m. earlier than needing to cost. In case you’re economical with energy over these lengthy durations away from plug sockets, I’m positive you would get the complete 9 hours.
As you possibly can see, the M2 MacBook Air continues to be an absolute champ within the small laptop computer battery life, however the Carbon does handily beat the XPS 13 Plus.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) webcam
One lucky improve is the webcam, which will get a sharper 1080p decision and a barely wider aperture for higher lighting on captures. It’s nonetheless just a little noisy when the solar goes down, however at the very least the image is best than the potato you bought on the Gen 9 — elevating it barely above the PS2’s EyeToy.
In fact, there’s a comfort issue right here with Home windows Whats up help, which makes use of facial recognition to quickly log you into the system by way of the IR digicam.
Want higher image high quality in-built? I’d look in direction of the M2 MacBook Air, however you’ll at all times want to select up an exterior webcam for the very best seize.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) warmth
On the Nando’s spice scale (ask your British mates), I’d put this at about medium — some respectable warmth, however not overwhelmingly in order to make it uncomfortable.
| Laptop computer | Temperature (Touchpad) | Temperature (G/H keys) | Temperature (Underside) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) | 78.5 levels | 85.5 levels | 87.5 levels |
| M2 MacBook Air | 80 levels | 81.5 levels | 83.5 levels |
| Dell XPS 13 Plus | 85.3 levels | 90.3 levels | 102.6 levels |
Comparatively, the darkish magic Apple solid with the MacBook Air means it stays untouched by way of floor temperatures, however the XPS 13 Plus is the equal of consuming a spicy daal. With venting on the underside, the X1 Carbon’s system maintained its efficiency with none thermal throttling, however you possibly can anticipate the followers to whir up fairly loudly when you do!
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) software program and guarantee
Very like all Lenovo ThinkPads, the Vantage app provides you a serving to hand with quite a lot of issues. You’ll be able to customise your laptop’s settings, examine your guarantee, and replace your system. You’ll be able to even carry out {hardware} scans and configure your Wi-Fi safety. Fortunately, Lenovo ties up all of its stuff on this one app.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon comes with a one-year restricted guarantee. See how Lenovo carried out on our Tech Help Showdown and Greatest and Worst Manufacturers rating.
Backside line
In relation to peak productiveness, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) continues its reign atop the mountain of enterprise laptops. There are some respectable efficiency and {hardware} positive aspects over the mighty ninth technology which might be positive to make this a zippy
These enhancements do come at a price, reminiscent of a drop in battery life and elevated warmth. Not solely that, however we’ve seen a slight slowdown in SSD velocity, and because of sticking rigidly to its utilitarian body of its predecessor, the touchpad feels just a little cramped.
However whereas there are actually some strong enterprise options if that’s the class you’re dedicated to, such because the HP Elite Dragonfly G3 (if you would like that longer stamina), the X1 Carbon continues to be on the pinnacle for employees on the go.
