CES 2017: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 series gets a refresh

Lenovo’s ThinkPad line is considered a staple in the enterprise market for many, many years. And while it has a solid reputation to fall back on, it needs to innovate in order to keep up with its competitors. Lenovo’s answer? Three new ThinkPad devices. Let’s take a quick look at each one.

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ThinkPad X1 Carbon

Now in its fifth iteration, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon still looks quite similar to its predecessor but is said to smaller and lighter at under 2.5lbs. It doesn’t scrimp on screen size though as it sports a 14-inch IPS display on a 13-inch form factor. The Carbon also gets better battery life at a promised 15.5 hours per charge and LTE-A (4G) to expand connectivity options beyond Wi-Fi. The Carbon doesn’t just come in the traditional black form factor, the new ThinkPad comes in silver, too.

Equipped with a Thunderbolt 3 port, Lenovo promises eight times faster transfer speeds than USB 3.0 and 4K display connectivity. It isn’t without better security, too, with support for Windows Hello, a fingerprint sensor, and FIDO-enabled biometric authentication for PayPal. The Carbon runs on 64-bit Microsoft Windows 10 Pro, up to Intel Core 7th-generation processor, and up to 1TB SSD PCIe TLC OPAL2.

ThinkPad X1 Yoga

For something more flexible, the enterprise-geared ThinkPad X1 Yoga still offers the multi-mode flexibility of its predecessor but it gets some new features, too. These include a silver option and a new pen to make it easier to sketch or write notes with this model. The new ThinkPad Pen Pro has a new soft elastomer tip for a more natural writing or sketching experience. The Yoga also has a 14-inch OLED display for greater color reporduction. Lenovo’s also introduced a new retractable keyboard design, which activates when you use the Yoga in tablet mode. The keys will fully retract so you’ll get a more stable surface to write on.

This 2-in-1 laptop also comes with Thunderbolt 3 and has LTE-A (4G) support. The Yoga is also built to last as it passed 12 military-grade requirements. The Yoga runs on Windows 10 Pro, up to 1TB SSD PCIe TLC OPAL2, and up to Intel Core 7th-generation processor, too. This hydrid device also gets up to 15 hours of battery life.

ThinkPad X1 Tablet

Portability seems to be the name of the game with the ThinkPad X1 Tablet. This slate has also been tested against 12 military-grade requirements and passed over 200 quality checks. It runs on Windows 10 Pro Signature Edition or Windows 10 Home and has LTE-A (4G) connectivity option as well. The stylus included with the Tablet isn’t just for quick sketches or notes, it fully supports Office 2016, too. Plus, connecting it to external keyboards, displays, and speakers is a breeze. The Tablet can have storage of up to 1TB SSD OPAL2 PCIe-NVMe M.2 and can have up to 15 hours of life, if you add on the Productivity Module.

Except for the Tablet, the Carbon and Yoga will be available next month for US$1,349 (around P67,000) and US$1,499 (around P75,000), respectively. The tablet, which is being released in March 2017 retails for US$949 (around P47,000).