Describe your perfect laptop. What would you want? Light enough to carry every day? A brilliant and large display packed into a compact body? Powerful enough to run every program? Something with plenty of built-in ports? Long battery life? The ability to be used as a tablet? The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (2018 20LD0015US) checks every box.
It wasn’t that long ago that if we wanted a sleek, light, portable, and powerful laptop, a MacBook incarnation was the obvious answer. The last few years, however, have given us plenty of Windows Machine choices. Lenovo has a winner in its ThinkPad X1 Yoga (2018 20LD0015US; mine came with a 14″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS anti-reflective, anti-smudge, multi-touch, 270 nits screen, an Intel Core i5-8250U CPU with 8GB RAM, and a 512 GB Solid State Drive (PCIe-NVMe OPAL2.0 M.2). With the options selected, the retail price comes to $1740.60 after discounts.
Like all ThinkPads, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga is tested against 12 military-grade requirements and more than 200 quality checks to ensure they run in extreme conditions. From the arctic wilderness to desert dust storms, from zero-gravity to spills and drops, you can trust this laptop to handle whatever life throws your way.
Specifications
Processor: Up to 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-8650U with vPro® (1.9GHz, up to 4.2GHz with Turbo Boost, 8MB Cache)
Operating System: Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Pro
Graphics: Integrated Intel® UHD Graphics 620
Memory: Up to 16 GB LPDDR3 2133 MHz (Onboard)
Storage: Up to 1 TB PCIe-NVME SSD OPAL2.0
Camera: HD 720p with ThinkShutter
Optional: IR camera – required for facial recognition. ThinkShutter is not available on configurations with the IR Camera.
Battery: Up to 15.4 hours, integrated Li-ion 54 Whr with RapidCharge technology
Display: 14″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS anti-reflective anti-smudge multi-touch, 300 nits, 14″ WQHD (2560 x 1440) IPS anti-reflective anti-smudge multi-touch, 300 nits , 14″ HDR WQHD (2560 x 1440) IPS anti-reflective anti-smudge multi-touch with Dolby Vision, 500 nits
Touch Screen: Standard
Audio: Dolby® Audio™ Premium, Noise-cancelling dual-array far-field microphones, Dolby Atmos® for headphones
Security: Fast Identity Online (FIDO) authentication capabilities, dTPM 2.0, Match-on-chip touch fingerprint reader . Windows Hello with facial recognition software (requires optional IR camera), ThinkShutter, Kensington® lock slot
Colors: Black with color-coded hinges, Silver with color-coded hinges
I/O (Input/Output) Ports: 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 (one Always On), 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C / Intel Thunderbolt 3 (Power Delivery, DisplayPort, Data transfer), HDMI, Headphone / microphone combo jack, 4-in-1 MicroSD card reader (SD, MMC, SDHC, SDXC), Ethernet Extension Connector (Dongle for Native Ethernet sold separately)
Connectivity: WLAN: Intel® Dual-Band Wireless-AC (2 x 2)8265 + Bluetooth® 4.1, WWAN; Fibocom L850-GL 4G LTE-A cat 9 (optional) *This product must be purchased with LTE configured and is not upgradeable.
Let’s take a look.
I know the box is something that will end up in storage (or tossed, depending upon how you roll), but I appreciated the X1 opening experience. Vivid black and red colors greet you from the start, and when you open the two inside flaps, the platform holding the laptop actually rises. It’s a little thing; it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a nice reminder that what’s inside is something special. Under the laptop, there are two boxes that hold the power cable and the included paperwork.
The X1 Yoga measures approximately 13.2″ long by 9.1″ wide by 0.75″ thick; it weighs just 3 pounds, 1.6 ounces. Available in black or silver, the matte black version I received has a carbon fiber body covered in a soft-touch finish. The result is a bit of a fingerprint magnet, but it’s not a deal-breaker.
On the back, there are two metal 360º hinges that allow the laptop to assume one of four handy positions.
Modes include: Laptop, Presentation, Tent, and Tablet
There is a cooling vent on the back left side. It will blow warm air while you are using the laptop, but I have only heard the internal fan kick on a couple of times, and it wasn’t obnoxious. Otherwise, the X1 Yoga is exceptionally quiet.
On the right side, there is a covered section which when opened reveals a microSD and nano-SIM slot.
Worth mentioning is that the red dot on the ThinkPad “i” is also an LED indicator. It will glow when the laptop is in use, and it will also blink as the laptop charges.
On the right side, there’s a slot for the included ThinkPad Pen Pro, the power button, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a mini ethernet port, a USB 3.1 port, an HDMI port, and a security lock slot.
Note the fingerprints. A small microfiber cloth is included to deal with them, but I stopped noticing them after a while. Consider it part of the case’s acquired patina. 😉
The front edge is clean.
On the left side, there are two Thunderbolt 3 compatible USB-C connectors (you’ll use one of these when charging the laptop), and an Always on USB 3.1 port. In other words, unless you specifically need an SD slot, you’ll be very pleased that every single port you might possibly need has been included.
Lifting the laptop’s lid reveals a ThinkShutter switch at the top which covers the lens for the front-facing camera (it will show a red dot when the camera is covered); this is a great security feature for those of us who saw Snowden and were left (justifiably) freaked out. I like that the camera is where I expect it to be; all of the new keyboard pop-up cameras we are seeing are cool, but they aren’t flattering when you are video chatting — just sayin’!
Underneath the switch are the ambient light sensor, the front-facing camera, and a microphone. The fingerprint sensor is to the right of the touchpad; I found it to be fast and responsive.
With Cortana Premium, you can speak commands to your ThinkPad X1 Yoga from 4 meters / 13 feet. The integrated 360-degree far field microphones ensure your voice is heard across the room. Wake your device with a simple phrase. Quickly and easily find files and calendar events. Even put your system into Modern Standby mode, which improves battery performance. So go ahead and speak your mind and boost your productivity at the same time.
In the center of the G, H, and B keys, there is a red rubber TrackPoint pointing stick. The smooth glass trackpad measures ~4 wide by 2.5″ tall, and it has built-in right and left TrackPoint buttons. The trackpad is fully responsive and you can use it as you would any other trackpad, so you might wonder why there are physical buttons across its top: those are so that you can use the TrackPoint pointing stick as a proper mouse. You’ll navigate around with the little joystick, and the buttons are in a natural position for right-click, left-click, and lock. This is handy for anyone who prefers using a mouse to using a trackpad, as there is no need for an extra peripheral.
The backlit keyboard has lovely center-concave buttons with large printed letters. As I have mentioned countless times, I am more of an eight-finger typist versus being a touch-typist, but I loved using this full-size keyboard. The keys are higher than those on my MacBooks; they have excellent travel, and unless you are whaling away on them, they are exceptionally quiet.
Worth noting is that the keyboard’s keys retract when you rotate the screen; you start seeing them pull in as you swing the screen around, and by the time the Yoga is in tent mode, the keys are fully retracted.
The retracted keys are most noticed (and appreciated) when the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga is in tablet mode; you don’t have to worry about accidentally hitting any keys, and the back is smooth against your arm. In tablet mode, the Yoga is responsive and a joy to use.
The rechargeable ThinkPad Active Pen allows you to sketch, sign documents, and take notes without worrying about running out of ink or needing batteries.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga provides an excellent user experience. The combo of the SSD and processor gives you enough power to play games, work with power-intensive programs, and have a multitude of programs opened at the same time without stuttering or lags. Battery life is rated at 15 hours; I always have the screen set too bright to get this, but I have consistently got around 9 hours without changing my usual way of working; when it’s time to top off, the laptop’s RapidCharge technology provides 80% capacity in just one hour.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yogas has Cortana built-in, but it is also one of the laptops that will work properly with Alexa. This isn’t available quite yet, but once it’s out — you’ll be ready.
While I wasn’t sent the model with a top-of-the-line screen, the 14″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS (300 nits) display is still vivid and bright whether you are surfing the web or streaming videos; I think you’ll be pleased with it. The speakers are located on the bottom; they sound crisp and they can get quite loud; in other words, the Yoga X1 is excellent for creating or consuming media.
While the ThinkPad line has long been associated with business users and road warriors, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga is a laptop that anyone would be thrilled to use. It is light, fast, responsive, and secure. While the price is a bit higher than most parents might want to spend on a college student’s laptop, it would be a great investment that could see a student through college and into their first years on the job. The fact that the Yoga is so light makes it comfortable for daily carry.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Convertible Laptop starts at $1503.90 ($1740.60 as tested), and it is available directly from the manufacturer and from other retailers.
Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample on loan
What I Like: Light yet sturdy; Bright display; It’s fast and powerful; Excellent for business and personal use; Built-in rechargeable pen; Can be used as a laptop, tablet, or in tent mode for presentations; Amazon Alexa capability coming; All the ports you might ever need; Built-in camera cover
What Needs Improvement: Expensive