Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet review: Smart design makes up for performance shortcomings - densonwhivereem1955

It would be a disservice to Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Tablet to sharpen solely along the benchmarks. Because while other competitors in the translatable tablet space might jactitation superior performance, Lenovo's latest entry to the ThinkPad phone line honors the stigma's legacy with a series of thoughtfully considered touches, including a bookend kickstand that seems obvious in review.

There's a good chance you'rhenium mulling over Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Tablet convertible supported the metier of the ThinkPad keyboard alone, long considered an industry metallic standard. Lenovo complements that with not one, but two options for storing the enclosed stylus, as well an ingenious kickstand that folds flat across your legs, qualification lap work feasible. You also get a show that's among the higher-solving options gettable at 2160×1440, albeit still markedly lower-RES than the screen in Microsoft's Surface Pro 4 (2736×1824).

In all, I'd call the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet a perfectly efficient Windows 10 tablet, whose 1.1GHz Core m5-6y57 central processor and 8GB of memory can cud through average federal agency tasks with aplomb. Corporate admins should consider it for the optional vPro manageableness technology, the TPM 2.0 security chip, and the keister screws that take into account access to the battery, WWAN, and SSD.Otherwise, my nitpicks include the mediocre trackpad and the possibly redundant buttons that flank it, as well A the iconic ThinkPad trackpoint, which may be getting a bit long in the tooth.

Still, Lenovo's never stood for dash and whimsy: Information technology's a ThinkPad. IT gets work through.

Rob Schultz

Yes the red dotted "i" is indeed an LED power light, as in ThinkPads past.

What's inside counts

The ThinkPad X1 Tablet itself measures 11.48 x 8.25 x 0.34 inches, and weighs just 1.69 pounds—light sufficiency for nonpareil-one-handed practice with a stylus. The tablet body is built of magnesium, in ThinkPad black of course; you shouldn't have any problems with smudges. With the keyboard, the total weight comes to 2.35 pounds, on the lighter end of the sofa bed tablet range. Unlike Microsoft's Surface series, the keyboard is included in the damage of the ThinkPad X1 Lozenge: $1,349 for our review social unit.

The Core m5-6y57 in our unit has a base time of 1.1GHz, but can in theory reach 2.8GHz in turbo way. (As we note below in the public presentation section, that rarely seems to happen, collectible to whatever throttling.) Core m3 and Core m7 are also options. Our unit of measurement shipped with 8GB of 1,866MHz low-power DDR3 memory, soldered to the motherboard, and 256GB of entrepot. By comparison, Microsoft's own Core m3 interpretation of the Surface Pro 4 costs just $899, with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of repositing, but you'll need to pay $130 for the Type Cover, too.

Fleece Schultz

The ThinkPad X1 Tablet's magic happens via the 12-inch, 2160×1440 IPS touchscreen display, coated with Corning's Gorilla gorilla Glass and supporting up to 10 fingers of touch input. An LED backlight projects a passabl robust 390 nits of illumination through the glass, with an 800:1 contrast ratio. Our model also shipped with a fingerprint proofreader mounted where the Windows "home" button would reside in years past, enabling wanton logins via Windows Hello.

lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet thumb — A fingerprint reader mounted connected the front of the tablet offers Windows Hi support.

A microSD card slot, which supports up to 64GB is tucked away under the kickstand.

The ThinkPad X1 Tablet hosts a number of connectivity options, including the choice of either a dual-isthmus 2×2 802.11ac card, Beaver State a tri-band WI-Fi/802.11ac card with WiGig on top of IT. An NFC smart card reader is optional.

Wholly of these features are available in some chassis or another in competitive tablets. But Lenovo has also come functioning with something a bit unique: three ThinkPad X1 Tablet "modules" that append diverse functionality. Some in the beginning ThinkPads boasted optional "barrel batteries" that could add battery life—these three modules go beyond that.

The modules all fit between the lozenge and the keyboard: There's the $150 Productivity module, which combines an additional 24Whr battery, USB 3.0 connective, HDMI, and OneLink connection; the $280 Presenter module, which adds a pico projector for presentations, HDMI, and a 10Whr battery; and the $220 3D Imaging module, which adds an Intel RealSense depth tv camera, HDMI, and a USB 3.0 port.

lenovo thinkpad x1 productivity module — The ThinkPad X1 Productivity modue is just one that adds extra functionality.

Spell these modules certainly have the voltage to set the ThinkPad X1 apart from other convertibles, they weren't available for evaluation at the time of this review—Lenovo says they will begin shipping later this calendar month. Once we're fit to try them, we'll update our review.

The write intertwine and kickstand: Worthy of extolment

Virtually all convertible tablet PCs include a kickstand to help support the weight unit of the lozenge, and the ThinkPad X1 Tablet is no exception. What's unique about the ThinkPad X1 Tablet, however, is that the kickstand folds out from thebottom of the pad of paper itself, providing a stable and, above all, flat surface to bear the tablet's weight. Typically, convertible kickstands focus the burden connected a narrow strip of plastic or metal a few millimeters thick (like a bicycle's kickstand), which can press uncomfortably into your thighs. Lenovo distributes the weight concluded a 3-inches-distant plate that runs almost the breadth of the tablet, providing support and comfort.

lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet rightside — The kickstand unfolds after slippy a small latching electric switch on the rear of the tablet. The flat surface makes information technology very comfortable for lap use.

The kickstand design is a clear victory for the ThinkPad X1 Pill. It's non perfect, though: At an incline of about 30 degrees, the kickstand's hinge isn't quite beardown enough to support the tablet's weight, and a touch or apparent motion will make it gently fold flat.

lenovo thinkpad x1 tablet 5 — This is about as far back atomic number 3 the Lenovo X1 tablet's kickstand will allow before it folds insipid by itself.

Otherwise, the hinge allows the kickstand to rotate to nearly 90 degrees, and is springy enough to digest the gimmick when flipped into presentation style, as seen below.

lenovo thinkpad x1 module projector — The Lenovo Presenter module, shown her with the ThinkPad X1's kickstand extended.

I'm equally affected with how Lenovo addressed the indite problem. If you've ever transported a convertible tablet, you're verisimilar aware of how easily the pen vanishes into the depths of a bag or briefcase. The HP Elite x2's string tether solves the problem but looks childish, while the Surface Pro 4's magnetic pen clamp privy't withstand the jouncing of my backpack. Only the Aboveground Pro 3's pen loop seems to have solved the issuing, and the ThinkPad X1 Tablet uses a mistakable approach.

lenovo thinkpad x1 tablet pen clip — A pen clip slides into the USB slot on the side of the tablet.

If you want to enjoyment a pen with the ThinkPad X1 Tablet (and it's included in the price, reported to Lenovo), you can slip a plastic clip into a notch in the keyboard. The attached loop holds the pen firmly. But thither's asecond pen option, as well, for tablet-only users: a plastic pen holder that clips into the USB port. The last mentioned choice doesn't really hold the pen firmly enough to transmit IT in a bag or briefcase, simply information technology does find a home for it other than your pocket when toting the tablet around. More relevant, the indite holder secures the write whether in landscape or portrait manner, and neither write out jog blocks any ports or power connections (otherwise the USB port the pen holder occupies).

lenovo thinkpad x1 tablet pen loop 1 — The compose loop is connected to a plastic tab, which slides into a cutout in the keyboard.

I'm less enthused about the pen itself, which feels somewhat cheap and plasticky. Inside is an manufacture-standard AAAA battery. Though it supports 2,048 levels of insistency, the Wacom compose only includes two configurable buttons on the diaphysis—there's no "eraser" button to establish OneNote, or actually erase, a role I've adult accustomed with other pens. Lenovo English hawthorn be waiting to see how many people accept advantage of Windows 10's new Windows Ink mode, but in that location's stillroom for improvement here.

ThinkPads get a reputation for great keyboards, but the ThinkPad X1 Pad's felt about average in key travel and resilience compared to those of other convertible tablets I've utilized. It appears that while the ThinkPad X1 Tablet's keys are faintly scalloped, they are far less indeed than on ThinkPad notebooks, which might disappoint approximately users. I wasn't affected with the touchpad, which generally felt somewhat sixpenny and unsusceptible compared to the contention. The related buttons and trackpoint nubbin also seemed a trifle archaic along a touchscreen tab armed with a pen, but they're traditions that would likely egg on the ire of ThinkPad fans if removed.

lenovo thinkpad z1 tablet keyboard — The X1 tablet's keyboard should look quite familiar to previous ThinkPad owners.

Finally, Lenovo includes its own utility, Lenovo Companion, which serves as an alternative to the various Windows hold panels and update menus. Lenovo doesn't force you to use the Companion app, and you might be able-bodied to escape without ever opening information technology. But its hypnotic design and gross inferior pass worth checking out.

My reexamine tablet was, thankfully, free of bloatware, though Lenovo does recommend certain apps for you to download. The WRITEit app, for example, mimics Windows Ink by allowing you to digitally target up whatever's along the screen, and to fill in various fields victimization playpen input. Out of the boxwood, the palm-rejection feature on the Wacom write is beautiful lousy. Make sure you download the updated Wacom driver from its website to improve functioning.

Productiveness-focused performance

The ThinkPad X1 Tablet's chip runs at the cookie-cutter 1.1GHz core clock quicken as the kick in the competing HP Elect x2. Though the two chips are very similar, the x2's processor includes both vPro and a set of instruction manual focused on multithreaded performance scaling. IT's possible the additional direction underpin serve in the Elite x2's performance, but Lenovo as wel appears to be limiting its own Core m5-6y57's clock speed.

While encoding an MP4 telecasting file victimization the Handbrake benchmark, the HP Elite x2's processor tended to smoothly cycle between 2GHz and 2.2GHz, using Intel's Extreme Tuning utility. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet's chip, meanwhile, showed considerable evidence of superpowe throttling—though no thermal throttling, tied though its processor climbed to a software packag temperature of 84 degrees Celsius. (The HP Selected x2's cow dung well-kept a package temperature of about 70 degrees Celsius.)

As PCWorld has done in other exchangeable reviews, I focused on the most common productivity benchmark, then stressed the CPU with encoding tests. Finally, though it's doubtful you'll use a convertible tablet for artwork-intensive tasks, I compared the ThinkPad X1 Tablet with its challenger using the popular 3DMark benchmark. I also enclosed a couple of notebooks for comparison's saki.

As expected, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet performs undiversified productivity tasks easily. Early tablets, such as the Surface 3, suffered a little due to slower CPUs and 2GB memory. But the ThinkPad X1 Tablet's Nub m5 chip off is competent, and the 8GB computer memory allows you to open multiple web browser tabs at some i time.

The C.P.U. stress tests consist of Cinebench and Handbrake. Cinebench pushes all of a Central processing unit's cores to the limit in an try to give a photorealistic picture as quickly As realistic. Handbrake does the aforementioned, but by transcoding a video rain cats and dogs.

In both, the ThinkPad X1 Pad of paper struggles a bit.

Finally, I tested the tablet using the FutureMark 3DMark suite. You shouldn't really even debate running game an intense 3D game connected the X1, just it can chew direct approximately basal 3D tasks.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet features a 37.740WHr battery, on equivalence with the Selected x2's but somewhat smaller than the 39.5WHr battery inside the Samsung Galaxy TabPro S. I test battery life using a whorled HD picture, playing until the battery finally gives out. Here, the ThinkPad X1 Tablet performed slenderly below average—still, at 7 hours, 20 minutes, it delivers jolly close to an entirely-work-day computing get.

If you're the type of person who focuses mainly on benchmarks, you might constitute better off purchasing a competitory convertible tablet. I still rate the ThinkPad X1 Tablet highly, though, since its performance ranks in the "good" category for many applications. Conveniences like the kickstand and the pen grommet give the ThinkPad X1 Tablet an edge and have it competitive among the ranks of the best convertible tablets.