Buzz
The Thinkpad X1 series stands out from Lenovo's wide range of laptops. The Thinkpad X1 Carbon (8th generation) has been hailed by many tech journalists as one of the best business laptops currently available.
Striving for Aesthetic Perfection
As usual, we start with the design. For this Thinkpad X1, design is also a significant selling point. The laptop should stand out for its slimness. Even when closed, the laptop is only 11.5 mm thick and weighs just over a kg. This makes the laptop extremely portable, and you can easily take it anywhere. However, don't be fooled: this laptop can take a beating. The titanium finish provides an extra layer of strength, so you don't have to worry if your laptop falls off the table. According to Lenovo, the Thinkpad X1 Titanium Yoga can even withstand sandstorms and freezing temperatures in the Arctic.
Lenovo, like all laptop manufacturers, always strives for aesthetic perfection, and with the Thinkpad X1 Titanium Yoga, they've really come close. Although not all design choices are equally good. For this, Lenovo has also had to make some less optimistic choices. The 13-inch screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio is taller than usual. Personally, I think the display is too small for all-day work, although the image quality is excellent. Connecting an additional monitor is recommended. Connectivity options are quite limited as Lenovo has been quite stingy with the number of ports. You have to make do with two USB-C ports and a headphone jack.
2-in-1 Factor
Every word in the name Thinkpad X1 Titanium Yoga signifies something about the laptop. The term Yoga is used to denote Lenovo's Yoga series, which includes 2-in-1 convertible laptops. This feature is now also integrated by Lenovo with the X1 Titanium Yoga in its premium product line. 'Convertible' means the screen incorporates touch controls and can tilt 360° to be used independently in tablet mode. Remember, the Lenovo Pen is not included as standard in the box. That flexibility is a great plus, and the touchscreen has good responsiveness, although I prefer using business laptops in a more classic way. If I want a tablet, I can buy one at a much lower price. The excellent keyboard contributes a lot to why you wouldn't want to tilt the screen too far. The keys are soft and provide good feedback when typing. Don't worry, accidentally dropping a few crumbs on your keyboard won't affect that.
The touchpad isn't on the same level at all. Scrolling is very difficult, and soon you'll be reaching for your own mouse. Good touchpads are becoming increasingly rare in laptops. Ergonomically, using the touchpad on your laptop isn't recommended anyway. Nowadays, buying a good mouse is essential. TechPulse wouldn't be TechPulse if we didn't have some good suggestions for it.
Display and Specifications
It's time to look under the hood. We quickly list some specifications. The processor is an Intel Core i7, one of the more powerful types available from chip manufacturers. The RAM is 16GB and the storage is 1TB (PCLe SSD), which looks very nice. In terms of connectivity, the laptop supports all modern standards, from WiFi 6 to optional 5G connectivity (via WWAN network, can be configured separately). An interesting thing to mention is the presence of a discrete Trusted Platform Module. That will soon become an issue when you're invited to upgrade to Windows 11. So, it's important to consider this when you're buying a new laptop.
The Thinkpad X1 Titanium Yoga excels due to its flexibility. The laptop can easily handle various tasks, from simple document management to lighter graphic work. It's really comfortable to work with this laptop. The webcam is also better, and both the fingerprint scanner and facial recognition work fine. However, the compact design affects performance. You feel that the Thinkpad X1 Titanium isn't a heavyweight contender and in a direct physical wrestle, the laptop will lose to many similarly priced competitors. The biggest compromise is in battery life. According to Lenovo, it's 8.9 hours, but in reality, you won't be able to get through a workday without charging the laptop in standby time. This is where the laptop disappoints.
Final Thoughts
There are few laptops more mobile than the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Titanium Yoga. Thanks to its compact and lightweight design, the laptop perfectly meets the needs of hybrid workers. Additionally, it's great for productivity tasks. We won't call this laptop the best from Lenovo or business laptops in general. So, it still lacks some 'power' for the high price tag associated with it. You feel like we're approaching the limit in terms of compactness of a laptop without sacrificing too much computing power.
