Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Review: Is It Good enough?
Lenovo has essentially taken its popular ThinkPad T460s design and shrunk it down into a more manageable frame with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2016 edition. The ultrabook sports a similar black magnesium and carbon fiber reinforced plastics. Similar to the T460s the X1 Carbon offers slight curves around the corners of the display lid and the bottom of the chassis, helping to spice up the otherwise professional simplistic aesthetic.
The reinforced black plastic feels soft and cool to the touch, making the X1 easy to grip and hold. ThinkPad lettering sits at both the top right corner of the display lid and the bottom right corner of the deck. The black plastic not only feels great to the touch but affords an impressive level of durability. According to Lenovo, the X1 Carbon has passed MIL-STD 810G durability tests, which cover extreme temperatures, shocks, vibrations, sandblasts, humidity and altitudes. In terms of real world applications that translates to a protective frame that is resistant to dirt, scratches, and impressions making the X1 an ideal companion for the road warrior.
The Lenovo X1 Carbon is another in the long line of Ultrabook laptops that have blown away our editorial staff with it's incredibly svelte and lightweight design. At only 2.6 pounds the X1 Carbon is considerably lighter than it's T series counterpart which weighs in at 3.2 pounds. Measuring 13.11 x 9.02 x 0.65-inches the X1 isn't the lightest and thinnest Ultrabook on the market, Apple's current MacBook Pro model is both thinner and lighter at only 0.52-inches thick and 2.03 pounds. However, the slightly thicker frame of the X1 does leave plenty of room for ports, something the MacBook Pro sorely lacks.
A lot of manufacturers have been making the tradeoff of diminished connectivity for smaller thinner designs, that's why the ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2016 edition is refreshing. The laptop offers a solid array of ports that should cover most users in their day to day activities. The left side features a power connector, Lenovo's OneLink+ docking port, a mini DisplayPort connector and a USB 3.0 port. The right side of the device houses two more USB 3.0 ports (for a total of 3), an HDMI connector and a 3.5mm audio jack.
