What you need to know
- Lenovo is bringing taller 16:10 displays to its most popular premium business laptops.
- Intel 11th Gen vPro and options for 5G are now available.
- These are the first laptops to feature Dolby Voice to optimize audio for online meetings.
- Both laptops will be available in February, starting around $1,430.
Lenovo refreshing its two top-tier enterprise laptops — ThinkPad X1 Carbon and X1 Yoga — is a ritual every year at CES. Tossing in Intel's latest 11th Gen processors with vPro support is welcomed, but also not unique.
But this year, Lenovo has redesigned both, including a taller 16:10 screen, which reduces that bottom bezel. And besides supporting Dolby Vision (display) and Dolby Atmos (audio), these are the first laptops to support Dolby Voice for online meetings.
Here are all the details on what's new for Lenovo's top-tier ThinkPad X1 laptops.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 9)
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is Lenovo's traditional laptop in matte jet black with an optional carbon fiber lid (for a little pizzaz).
New this year is the taller 14-inch 16:10 display in full HD+ or up to UHD+. Like many of Lenovo's laptops, the display brightness is kept to 500 nits or lower to extend battery life.
Intel 11th Gen processor with Intel Iris Xe graphics is also onboard, which means overall system performance should be a massive bump over last year's 10th Gen. Moreover, battery life should also be extended by a few hours going by our experiences with Intel's latest processors and the 57 WHr battery.
Lenovo lets you configure the X1 Carbon with up to 32GB of RAM (LPDDR4x), optional 4G LTE or 5G, and up to 2TB SSD for storage. There's also Windows Hello IR on board with a privacy shutter.
Ports are robust as always with two Thunderbolt 4, two Type-A, and HDMI with an expansion dongle tossed in for good measure.
New this year is the combo fingerprint reader and power button near the top with an LED.
| Category | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 9) |
|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro |
| Processor | Up to 11th Gen Intel Core i7 vPro |
| RAM | Up to 32GB LPDDR4x-4266 |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Xe |
| Storage | Up to 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD |
| Display | 14 inches 16:10 aspect ratio Low power UHD+, HDR400, 100% DCI-P3 FHD+, 400 nits, 100% sRGB FHD+, 400 nits, 100% sRGB, touch FHD+, 500 nits, 100% sRGB, touch, ePrivacy |
| Ports | Two Thunderbolt 4 Two USB-A 3.2 HDMI 2.0 3.5mm audio Nano SIM |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos Four microphones |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6 4G LTE 5G Bluetooth 5.1 |
| Camera | Front-facing 720p Privacy shutter |
| Security | IR camera (optional) Fingerprint reader |
| Battery | 57Wh |
| Dimensions | 12.38 x 8.72 x 0.59 inches (314.5mm x 221.6mm x 14.9mm) |
| Weight | From 2.49 pounds (1.13kg) |
| Color | Black Woven Carbon lid (optional) |
Dolby Voice (which is also on the new X1 Yoga) is a new feature designed for those who collaborate all day. Lenovo notes how it works in its press release:
Dolby Voice also optimizes speaker and microphone performance with features such as dynamic leveling to automatically adjust for voices that are quieter or further away and noise suppression that reduces unwanted background noises and echo no matter what meeting platform you use. Productivity is further enhanced with improved speech recognition for voice assistants. Across the portfolio, certain displays are being enhanced with blue light reduction to reduce eye strain, as we spend more and more time on video conferences. New 16:10 or 3:2 screen ratios also offer more pixels per real estate, increase screen-to-body ratios, and can improve productivity with better content distribution on the display.
ThinkPad X1 Carbon will be available starting February 2021. Prices are expected to start from $1,429.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (Gen 6)
Take the X1 Carbon and throw in some convertible hinges, and you get the 6th generation of Lenovo's convertible X1 Yoga. It features all the same great hardware and keyboard (including that TrackPoint system) that Lenovo fans are used to and has an integrated (siloed) pen to let you take notes or markup a document with ease.
Like the X1 Carbon, the X1 Yoga (Gen 6) also gets that new 16:10 display size and Dolby Voice.
| Category | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (Gen 6) |
|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro |
| Processor | Up to 11th Gen Intel Core i7 vPro |
| RAM | Up to 32GB LPDDR4x-4266 |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Xe |
| Storage | Up to 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD |
| Display | 14 inches 16:10 aspect ratio Low power UHD+, 500 nits, HDR400, 100% DCI-P3, Touch FHD+, 400 nits, 100% sRGB, Touch, AR or AG FHD+, 500 nits, 100% sRGB, Touch, ePrivacy |
| Pen | ThinkPad Pen Pro Integrated |
| Ports | Two Thunderbolt 4 Two USB-A 3.2 HDMI 2.0 3.5mm audio |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos Four microphones |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6 4G LTE 5G Bluetooth 5.1 |
| Camera | Front-facing 720p Privacy shutter |
| Security | IR camera (optional) Fingerprint reader |
| Battery | 57Wh |
| Dimensions | 12.38 x 8.77 x 0.59 inches (314.4mm x 223mm x 14.9mm) |
| Weight | From 3 pounds (1.39kg) |
| Color | Storm Gray |
There are also new Intel 11th Gen vPro processors and options for 4G or 5G, making the X1 Yoga a powerful productivity machine.
And if the 3+ pounds of weight and size is no go for you, make sure to check out Lenovo's brand-new, smaller (and lighter) ThinkPad X1 Titanium. While it does not have a siloed pen, it does support inking and has a taller 3:2 display, all while being one of the thinnest laptops around. Both laptops are stunning, so you can't go wrong with either.
ThinkPad X1 Yoga will be available starting February 2021. Prices are expected to start around $100 higher than X1 Carbon at $1,569.
