Lenovo finally brings 16:10 displays, 5G to its iconic ThinkPad X1 Carbon and X1 Yoga

Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon 9th
Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon 9th (Image credit: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)

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)

Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon 9th

Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)

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.

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CategoryLenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 9)
OSWindows 10 HomeWindows 10 Pro
ProcessorUp to 11th Gen Intel Core i7 vPro
RAMUp to 32GB LPDDR4x-4266
GraphicsIntel Iris Xe
StorageUp to 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Display14 inches16:10 aspect ratioLow powerUHD+, HDR400, 100% DCI-P3FHD+, 400 nits, 100% sRGBFHD+, 400 nits, 100% sRGB, touchFHD+, 500 nits, 100% sRGB, touch, ePrivacy
PortsTwo Thunderbolt 4Two USB-A 3.2HDMI 2.03.5mm audioNano SIM
AudioDolby AtmosFour microphones
ConnectivityWi-Fi 64G LTE5GBluetooth 5.1
CameraFront-facing 720pPrivacy shutter
SecurityIR camera (optional)Fingerprint reader
Battery57Wh
Dimensions12.38 x 8.72 x 0.59 inches(314.5mm x 221.6mm x 14.9mm)
WeightFrom 2.49 pounds (1.13kg)
ColorBlackWoven 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)

Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Yoga Gen6

Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)

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.

Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Yoga Gen6

Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)
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CategoryLenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (Gen 6)
OSWindows 10 HomeWindows 10 Pro
ProcessorUp to 11th Gen Intel Core i7 vPro
RAMUp to 32GB LPDDR4x-4266
GraphicsIntel Iris Xe
StorageUp to 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Display14 inches16:10 aspect ratioLow powerUHD+, 500 nits, HDR400, 100% DCI-P3, TouchFHD+, 400 nits, 100% sRGB, Touch, AR or AGFHD+, 500 nits, 100% sRGB, Touch, ePrivacy
PenThinkPad Pen ProIntegrated
PortsTwo Thunderbolt 4Two USB-A 3.2HDMI 2.03.5mm audio
AudioDolby AtmosFour microphones
ConnectivityWi-Fi 64G LTE5GBluetooth 5.1
CameraFront-facing 720pPrivacy shutter
SecurityIR camera (optional)Fingerprint reader
Battery57Wh
Dimensions12.38 x 8.77 x 0.59 inches(314.4mm x 223mm x 14.9mm)
WeightFrom 3 pounds (1.39kg)
ColorStorm 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.

Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.