Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12
Impressive portability but lacks power.
For $2700, the X1 seriously lacks performance.
Unfortunately, the Ultra 7 chip did fail to keep up with the completion.
Photo: Dua Rashid / Gizmodo
Pros
Cons
Lenovos ThinkPad series is meant for serious business.
Theyre not as flashy and pretty as its Yoga line or as heavy and gaming-focused as its Legion line.
ThinkPads are hardcore in terms of specs and quite boring regarding aesthetics.
Photo: Dua Rashid / Gizmodo
Theyre made for professionals and are best known for their portability.
Lenovo sent us their latest ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12, released in December 2023.
The configuration sent to us retails for a whopping $2700.
Photo: Dua Rashid / Gizmodo
You would expect an expensive laptop to be a total powerhouse, but not here.
Dont expect an aesthetically pleasing body on the X1.
Its fully matte, and the no-frills build may underwhelm you, but thats just a ThinkPad thing.
Photo: Dua Rashid / Gizmodo
The builds great because its incredibly light and slim.
Weighing just 2.8 lbs and measuring around 0.6 inches, the X1 is pretty portable.
The ports attest to how this laptop is designed with business in mind.
Photo: Dua Rashid / Gizmodo
Though we didnt get to test it out, our review unit sported a sim slot, too.
The power button is also found on the side with all the ports.
I guess the keyboard didnt have enough room for it because it does seem a bit cramped.
Photo: Dua Rashid / Gizmodo
The only issue is that the arrow keys feel cramped.
Another feature that left me feeling a little underwhelmed is the keyboard backlighting.
It has two brightness configs, which were quite dim, even in the brighter one.
While I could make out the keys, it wasnt bright enough to fulfill my needs.
I like that the trackpad has a firm feel and enough real estate.
But it was way too matte to be comfortable.
I had to rub them with my forefinger for a few seconds to get rid of them.
Considering its steep price, I expected a lot more power from this laptop.
But unfortunately, the Intel Core Ultra 7 fell short.
I ran the Geekbench 6 on it, and the results were surprisingly low.
I had to run it multiple times to verify what I see is accurate.
I got a 1511 on the single-core CPU test.
The only good thing about the performance of the X1 is its battery life.
Lenovo promises an all-day battery life and means it.
Theres also a privacy shutter, so youre pretty sorted security-wise.
You get a 120 Hz 2.8K (2880 x 1800) resolution with incredible detail.
The colors look vibrant with 100% DCI-P3 coverage.
You also get all the bells and whistles youd expect from a display on a $2000+ laptop.
Theres anti-glare, anti-reflection, and anti-smudge technology.
Theres also low blue light tech for eye safety.
Verdict
The price seriously confuses me.
I cant see spending over two grand on a laptop with an underwhelming performance.
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