Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Review
Pros
- Lots of connectivity
- Excellent keyboard and touchpad with trackpointer support
- Color accurate display with broad color gamut
- Core i7 performs well, and is affordable
- Long battery life
The Lenovo ThinkPad series is the most revered line of laptops, aside from Apple’s MacBook. Its fans number among the most intense PC enthusiasts on the planet, and they don’t respond well to change for the sake of change. That’s made it hard for many to accept the gradual splicing of ThinkPad and Yoga DNA, which has resulted in products like the ThinkPad Yoga 260.
Now, Lenovo is looking to silence the doubters with its new Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga. The X1 series is Lenovo’s flagship. In the past, it’s ranked among the best ultrabooks on the market. The introduction of a Yoga model makes an obvious statement. Lenovo remains serious about the 2-in-1, and thinks Yoga is compatible with the best laptop it makes.
The specifications give reason to believe the company. Our review unit arrived with a Core i7-6500U processor, eight gigabytes of RAM, a 512GB solid state drive, and a 14-inch QHD touchscreen. That’s serious hardware. It commands a serious price, though, of about $1,850. Is the X1 Yoga the 2-in-1 that will convince skeptics, or proof that versatility leads to weakness?
Design
At a glance, it’s hard to tell the ThinkPad X1 Yoga apart from past versions. That’s typical. The ThinkPad line has stuck to matte black, boxy design from the beginning, and fans wouldn’t have it any other way.
On closer inspection, the 2-in-1 proves modern. It’s thin, at .66 inches thick, and weighs just 2.8 pounds. That latter figure is the more impressive, as this is a 14-inch system. Lenovo claims the ThinkPad X1 Yoga is the “world’s lightest 14-inch business 2-in-1.” As far as we know, it’s the lightest 14-inch 2-in-1, period. It’s lighter than even most 13-inch models.
Since it’s a Yoga, this ThinkPad converts into a tablet by rotating the display backwards 360 degrees. This tactic makes conversion simple, and it doesn’t leave you with a now-useless dock you must find a place to store. But it also means the full weight and size of the device is always a factor. A 14-inch laptop that weighs 2.8 pounds is light, but a 14-inch tablet that weighs the same? Not so much.
This is the lightest 14-inch 2-in-1 we’ve tested, and even puts some 13-inchers to shame.
Lenovo does include two features that make the most of tablet mode. The lift-and-lock keyboard physically retracts the keys into the chassis when the device is folded into tablet mode. That makes tablet use feel more natural. The ThinkPad X1 Yoga also has a stylus pen that allows fine-grain use of the touchscreen – and, unlike all its competitors, this 2-in-1 has a built-in storage slot that fully protects the stylus when it’s not in use.
The included stylus is handy in tablet mode, but it doesn’t make the X1 Yoga a competitor to the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 or the Dell Latitude 12 7000 Series 2-in-1. This is a 14-inch system, remember, so it’s too large to be easily handle with one hand in tablet mode, despite its lack of weight. Lenovo has designed this system for people who want a notebook first, but also appreciate the flexibility of tablet use when it’s needed.
Lots of connectivity
While the X1 Yoga’s weight is more like a 13-inch system, its larger 14-inch display and corresponding chassis provide room for more ports than usual. It offers three USB 3.0 ports, Mini-DisplayPort, HDMI, a combo headphone/microphone jack, a microSD card reader, and an OneLink+ port for use with Lenovo peripherals. Most competitors have only two USB 3.0 ports, and often just one video output.
Wireless connectivity is covered by the usual combo of 802.11ac Wi-Fi with Bluetooth 4.1.
Input
Keyboard quality is a big deal for ThinkPad. The brand has endured controversial changes over the last few years, ditching old-school beveled keys for a more modern, rounded design. We enjoyed typing on the X1 Yoga, as keys featured significant key travel and a firm bottoming action, but we also noticed a fair amount of keyboard flex.
Accurate typing was aided by the spacious layout. The keys are large, including those that are sometimes skimped by other laptops, such as Backspace. A touch typist should be able to float across the keys without much learning curve. The only oddity is one brand loyalists will be familiar with. The Function toggle key is to the left of the Control key, while every other laptop has the reverse layout.
- Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Review
- Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Review
A backlit keyboard is standard. It provides only two levels of brightness, but that’s sufficient for the task at hand, and almost no light escapes from the edge of each keycap.
Mouse navigation is handled by a reasonable size touchpad with integrated buttons or a TrackPoint nubbin in the middle of the keyboard. Those who love the latter will be happy to know it works as brilliantly as ever, and is paired with discrete, clickable buttons. Unlike the keyboard, which has changed over the years, the TrackPoint experience much as we remember it a decade ago.
Display
The base X1 Yoga has a 14-inch 1080p IPS touchscreen, but our review unit was upgraded to a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution touchscreen. It had a semi-gloss coat, which might become annoying in a bright room. Thankfully the backlight, which reached as high as 292 lux, overcame glare with ease.
Our testing revealed a solid color gamut reaching 97 percent of sRGB, and 75 percent of AdobeRGB. That’s slightly better than the Dell XPS 13, which was as good in sRGB but slightly behind in AdobeRGB, where the Dell produces 73 percent. The Lenovo also defeated the Asus Zenbook UX305CA and Toshiba Satellite Radius 12.
The broad gamut was supported by a gamma result of 2.2. That’s right on the preferred mark – any number higher means the image is darker than it should be, while anything lower means it looks too bright. Color accuracy was also robust.
Contrast proved the only weak spot. We measured a maximum ratio of 560:1. That’s behind the Dell XPS 13’s contrast ratio of 680:1 and way behind the Toshiba Satellite Radius 12’s ratio of 1040:1.
Even so, the X1 Yoga’s display was solid, and generally keeps up with the competition. It was geared more towards working with documents and photos than watching movies, which makes sense.
Speakers
A pair of speakers are located in the bottom of the X1 Yoga. As with any thin laptop, bass is absent from the equation, and maximum volume isn’t loud enough to fill a large room with sound. Audio quality is reasonable clear, at least, so Skype calls and podcasts sound crisp.
CPU Performance
Our review unit arrived with a Core i7-6500U processor, which is a surprisingly affordable $160 upgrade over the base Core i5-6200U. We’ve tested the i7-6500U in a few previous systems and found it to be a strong performer. The Thinkpad X1 Yoga is no different.
This isn’t the quickest laptop we’ve tested, but it comes close. In GeekBench single-core its score of 3,325 was just shy of the Dell XPS 13 with Core i7, which scored 3,308, and a couple hundred points behind the Microsoft Surface Book with Core i7, which scored 3,490.
The ThinkPad X1 Yoga also does well in multi-core tests.
The ThinkPad X1 Yoga also does well in multi-core tests like 7-Zip. It only falls short of the Dell XPS 13 in Handbrake, a test which evolves encoding a 420GB 4K trailer to h.265. Even then, the Lenovo easily exceeds Core i5 systems like the LG gram 14 and Toshiba Satellite Radius 12.
Performance will be less, of course, if you stick with the base Core i5-6200U, but the Core i7 seems a worthwhile upgrade if you can afford it.
Hard drive performance
Lenovo offers a variety of hard drive options with the ThinkPad X1 Yoga that connect over either SATA or PCI Express. Our review unit came with a 512GB Samsung PM871, which connects over SATA. That ultimately held back the X1 Yoga’s performance.
The gap between this ThinkPad and systems with a PCI Express solid state drive, like the Dell XPS 13 and Microsoft Surface Book, is most noticeable in read testing. There, the X1 Yoga we tested reached roughly half the capability of the fastest drives available.
As said, Lenovo does offer a PCI Express drive, so users can grab better performance if it’s desired. The price premium is rather slim, too. Upgrading from the 512GB SATA drive to a 512GB PCI Express drive will set you back just $55.
Graphics performance
This laptop is built for work, not play, so gaming isn’t a priority, and a discrete GPU is not available. Intel Integrated Graphics is the only option. While the Core i7 processor presents Intel HD graphics in its best light, it’s still quite far behind what gamers expect.
3DMark Fire Strike makes that obvious. The X1 Yoga’s score of 782 represents a system that can play some 3D titles, but can’t handle modern games, or even particularly demanding titles that are several years old. This result is well less than half the performance of the Microsoft Surface Book, which we reviewed with its optional custom Nvidia GPU.
The Dell XPS 13 with Core i7 is an interesting point of comparison. While that model performs similarly in compute benchmarks, it actually has a more powerful version of Intel’s IGP, Intel’s Iris Graphics 540. The Core i7-6500U in the X1 Yoga only equips Intel’s mid-tier HD 520. As you can see, the XPS 13 is quite a bit quicker in 3DMark.
Related: Dell XPS 15 (Skylake) review
That makes a difference. A Dell XPS 13 with Core i7 can handle some modern 3D titles at low settings, while the ThinkPad can hardly handle any. You’ll be fine if you stick with older games, or 2D titles, but you shouldn’t buy the X1 Yoga if you care to play Star Wars Battlefront.
Portability
The 14-inch screen, combined with beefy bezels along the display’s top and bottom edge, make for a sizable system footprint. Yet, as mentioned, the 2.8 pound ThinkPad X1 Yoga is extremely light – about the same as Dell’s XPS 13, which is substantially smaller overall. That means the X1 Yoga isn’t dense, and distributes what little weight it carries well.
All versions of the X1 Yoga have a 52 watt-hour internal battery, which is not user replaceable. The battery is large for system’s size, and it results in long battery life. The heavy-load Peacekeeper web browsing benchmark drained a full charge in four hours, 48 minutes – almost identical to the Dell XPS 13, a laptop we’ve repeatedly praised for longevity. Looping a 1080p video clip further extended life to seven hours, 28 minutes. Only the Toshiba Satellite Radius 12 lasted longer in that test, hitting eight hours and three minutes.
Cooling
The X1 Yoga’s powerful Core i7 processor keeps cool at idle, but modest load can drastically increase both temperatures and the fury of the fans keeping the processor cool. We recorded a maximum external temperature of 107.6 degrees Fahrenheit during our 7-Zip benchmark, and fan noise registered at 46.8 decibels. The Toshiba Satellite Radius 12 was five decibels quieter, and 14 degrees cooler, in the same situation. The X1 Yoga’s heat is not unprecedented, though. The LG gram 14 and Asus Zenbook UX305CA are similarly warm under load.
Warranty
The usual one-year warranty comes standard with the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga. Several upgrades are available at an added cost.
Value & Conclusion
Lenovo’s pricing changes frequently, but our review unit currently sells for about $1,850. That’s a lot of money, but it’s not unusual for the category. The Toshiba Satellite Radius 12 maxes out at $1,400 with a Core i7, but only has a 256GB SSD. Dell’s XPS 13, which is not a 2-in-1, is $1,650 with a Core i7 but again has a smaller 256GB SSD. And Microsoft’s Surface Book with Core i7 and 512GB solid state drive sells for $2,700, tough it brings Nvidia discrete graphics along for the ride.
In the end, the verdict is what any ThinkPad fan might expect. The X1 Yoga’s strong performance, great keyboard, quality touchpad, and broad range of ports make it a great laptop for work. There are areas where competitors have the edge, such as display contrast ratio, but the X1 Yoga is one of the few 2-in-1 devices that can truly handle rigorous day-to-day use.
There’s on final fact to note. Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon is basically identical to the X1 Yoga, aside from the 360-degree hinge and lift-and-lock keyboard that makes the Yoga model unique. If you don’t care about tablet use, but you do like the idea of a powerful, thin, 14-inch system, going with the X1 Carbon will save you about $200. Whichever you choose, you’ll end up with a system built for serious productivity.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Review
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