ThinkPad X1 series

ThinkPad X1 series

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2012)
Developer	Lenovo
Product family	ThinkPad
Type	Ultrabook or Tablet computer
Release date	August 2012 (2012-08)
CPU	Intel Core
Predecessor	ThinkPad X series

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a high-end 14-inch notebook computer released by Lenovo in 2012 and updated every year since 2014. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch featured a multitouch enabled screen in order to take more effective advantage of Microsoft's Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10 operating systems.

Launch

In early August 2012, Lenovo released the ThinkPad X1 Carbon as the successor to the earlier ThinkPad X1. The X1 Carbon was first released in China due to the popularity of ThinkPads in that market. In November 2012, Lenovo announced a touch-screen variant called the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch designed for use with Windows 8. Its display makes use of multi-touch technology that can detect simultaneous inputs from up to ten fingers. On the performance of the X1 Carbon Touch's SSD, Engadget states, "The machine boots into the [s]tart screen in 11 seconds, which is pretty typical for a Windows 8 machine with specs like these. We also found that the solid-state drive delivers equally strong read and write speeds (551 MB/s and 518 MB/s, respectively), which we noticed the last time we tested an Ultrabook with an Intel SSD."

Models

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 series and predecessors
	Type	X*0* (2008)		X*2* (2011)	X*3* (2012)	X*4* (2013)	(2014)	X*5* (2015)	X*6* (2016)	X*7* (2017)	X*8* (2018)	X*9* (2019)	X1* (2020)
13"	Premium	X300	X301	X1
12"	Tablet								X1 Tablet Gen1	X1 Tablet Gen2
13"											X1 Tablet Gen3	X1 Tablet Gen4
14"	Flipbook «2-in-1»								X1 Yoga Gen1	X1 Yoga Gen2	X1 Yoga Gen3	X1 Yoga Gen4
									X1 Carbon Gen4
	Premium ultrabook				X1 Carbon Gen1		X1 Carbon Gen2	X1 Carbon Gen3		X1 Carbon Gen5	X1 Carbon Gen6	X1 Carbon Gen7	X1 Carbon Gen8
15"											X1 Carbon Extreme Gen1	X1 Carbon Extreme Gen2	X1 Carbon Extreme Gen3
Docking stations and port replicators compatibility (X1 Carbon series laptops only)
USB-C Dock										X1 Carbon, X1 Carbon Extreme
ThinkPad Basic Dock (USB-C) ThinkPad Pro Dock (USB-C) ThinkPad Ultra Dock (USB-C)											X1 Carbon X1 Carbon Extreme
X1 port replicators
ThinkPad OneLink Dock							X1 Carbon

Battery configuration

Main	M(x)	Main hot-swappable (max.cells)	Secondary	U	Ultrabay removable
				u	Ultrabay unremovable
	M(x)	Main removable (max.cells)		m(x)	internal (max.cells) "PowerBridge"
	m(x)	Main internal (max.cells)		S	Slice battery

Laptop color codes

Processor   Socketed desktop processor   Socketed mobile processor   Soldered high power processor   Soldered standard power processor   Soldered low power processor   Soldered ultra low power processor Weight 0.9 kg (2.0 lb) Up to 0.91 kg 1.0 kg (2.2 lb) 0.92–1.0 kg 1.1 kg (2.4 lb) 1.01–1.1 kg 1.2 kg (2.6 lb) 1.11–1.2 kg 1.3 kg (2.9 lb) 1.21–1.3 kg 1.4 kg (3.1 lb) 1.31–1.4 kg 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) 1.41–1.5 kg 1.6 kg (3.5 lb) 1.51–1.6 kg 1.7 kg (3.7 lb) 1.61–1.7 kg 1.8 kg (4.0 lb) 1.71–1.81 kg 1.9 kg (4.2 lb) 1.81–1.91 kg 2.0 kg (4.4 lb) 1.91–2.03 kg 2.1 kg (4.6 lb) 2.04–2.14 kg 2.3 kg (5.1 lb) 2.15–2.4 kg 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) 2.41–2.75 kg 2.8 kg (6.2 lb) 2.76–3.05 kg 3.1 kg (6.8 lb) 3.06–3.42 kg 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) 3.43–3.99 kg 4.0 kg (8.8 lb) 4.0–4.99 kg 5.5 kg (12 lb) 5.0–6.49 kg 7.2 kg (16 lb) 6.5–7.99 kg 9.1 kg (20 lb) 8.0–9.99 kg 10.7 kg (24 lb) 10–11.99 kg 12.7 kg (28 lb) 12–14.49 kg 14.5 kg (32 lb) 14.5–17.99 kg 18.1 kg (40 lb) 18–20.99 kg 21.7 kg (48 lb) 21–23.99 kg 24 kg (53 lb) 24–28.99 kg 29.5 kg (65 lb) 29 kg and above Screen resolution   4K or higher   1440p+ (WQHD,QXGA)   1080p+ (Full HD,UXGA)   Better than 768p (SXGA,SXGA+)   600p+ (SVGA,HD,XGA,HD+)   Up to 600p (VGA) Graphics   Dual standard socket graphics option   Dual proprietary socket graphics option   Standard socket graphics option   Proprietary socket graphics option   Soldered performance graphics option   Soldered midrange graphics option   Soldered mainstream graphics option   Soldered entry graphics option   Integrated entry graphics   Integrated basic graphics Laptop storage combinations (excluding WWAN slot) Level PCIe 4.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x2 M.2 SATA mSATA 1.8" SATA 2.5" SATA 1.8" IDE 2.5" IDE 2019 Not yet (laptops) 2013 2013 2013 2009 2003 2003 1991 1988 3 2 4 3 1 2 2 3 2 3 2 1 4 3 1 2 2 2 1 1 3 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 4 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 1 1 2 1 1 Laptop memory Amount LPDDR5X LPDDR5 DDR5 LPDDR4X LPDDR4 DDR4 LPDDR3 DDR4 DDR3L DDR3 DDR2 DDR SDR EDO FPM dual channel < dual channel dual channel < dual channel dual channel < dual channel dual channel < dual channel 2022 (laptops) 2019 (laptops) 2020 2017 2014 2014 2012 2014 2010 2007 2003 1998 1993 1993 1987 max memory = 512 GB N/A N/A 512 GB N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A max memory = 256 GB N/A 256 GB (4 slots) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A max memory = 128 GB 128 GB 128 GB N/A N/A 128 GB (4 slots) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 64 GB ≤ max memory < 128 GB 64 GB N/A N/A 64 GB N/A 64 GB (2 slots) 64 GB (4 slots) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 32 GB ≤ max memory < 64 GB 32 GB 32 GB 32 GB N/A 32 GB 32 GB (2 slots) 32 GB (4 slots) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 16 GB ≤ max memory < 32 GB 16 GB 16 GB 16 GB 16 GB 16 GB (2 slots) 16 GB (4 slots) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 8 GB ≤ max memory < 16 GB 8 GB 8 GB 8 GB 8 GB 8 GB (2 slots) 8 GB (4 slots) N/A N/A N/A 4 GB ≤ max memory < 8 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB 4 GB (4 slots) 4 GB (4 slots) N/A 2 GB ≤ max memory < 4 GB 2 GB (8 chips) 2 GB 2 GB 2 GB 2 GB 2 GB N/A 1 GB ≤ max memory < 2 GB 1 GB (1 chip) dual channel min dual channel min N/A single channel min 1 GB 1 GB 1 GB 1 GB (4 slots) 512 MB ≤ max memory < 1 GB N/A N/A N/A single channel min single channel min N/A dual channel min half channel min 512 MB (8 chips) 512 MB (8 chips) 512 MB 512 MB 256 MB ≤ max memory < 512 MB N/A N/A N/A 256 MB (1 chip) 256 MB (1 chip) N/A single channel min 256 MB (1 chip) N/A single channel min N/A single channel min 256 MB 128 MB ≤ max memory < 256 MB N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 128 MB (1 chip) N/A N/A half channel min N/A half channel min 64 MB ≤ max memory < 128 MB N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 64 MB (1 chip) N/A 64 MB (1 chip) max memory < 64 MB N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

2012

ThinkPad X1 Carbon in fully open position.

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon's keyboard (Japanese), track point, and trackpad.

The X1 Carbon features a solid-state drive (SSD) instead of a hard drive. The base model has 4 gigabytes of memory, an Intel Core i5-3317U processor, and a 128-gigabyte SSD. The most expensive model has an Intel Core i7 processor and a 256-gigabyte SSD. The X1 Carbon requires the use of a dongle to access wired ethernet and some models include 3G or 4G cellular modems.

The base model X1 Carbon has a 14-inch (360 mm) TN screen with a resolution of 1600 by 900 pixels. The X1 Carbon weighs 1.35 kilograms (3.0 lb) and measures 12.8 inches (330 mm) by 8.94 inches (227 mm) by 0.68 inches (17 mm) (at its thickest). The X1 Carbon's roll cage is made of light-weight carbon-fiber and has a matte black finish.

In November 2012, Lenovo announced a touch-screen variant called the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch designed for use with Windows 8. Its display makes use of multi-touch technology that can detect simultaneous inputs from up to ten fingers.

In a review published for CNET, Dan Ackerman wrote, "At first glance, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon looks a lot like other ThinkPads, but in the hand it stands out as very light and portable. The excellent keyboard shows up other ultrabooks, and the rugged build quality is reassuring. With a slightly boosted battery and maybe a lower starting price, this could be a serious contender for my all-around favorite thin laptop."

In another review for CNET, Nicholas Aaron Khoo wrote, "For this geek, there are many things to like about this 14-inch (1600x900 HD+) Ultrabook when it comes to usability when traveling on economy class. These include the backlit and spill-resistant keyboard, side-positioned ports, nice viewing angles, TrackPoint (which not everyone likes), nicely implemented touchpad and biometric login. Unlike it's [sic] poorer cousin, the Lenovo IdeaPad U410, it is able to go into hibernate mode without having the user jump through hoops to enable it."

On the X1 Carbon Touch's SSD performance Engadget states, "The machine boots into the [s]tart screen in 11 seconds, which is pretty typical for a Windows 8 machine with specs like these. We also found that the solid-state drive delivers equally strong read and write speeds (551 MB/s and 518 MB/s, respectively), which we noticed the last time we tested an Ultrabook with an Intel SSD."

2012 Touch

In a review for Engadget, Dana Wollman wrote, "Starting with ergonomics, this has one of the best keyboard / touchpad combinations we've seen on a laptop, and that's not even counting that signature red pointing stick. We're also enamored with the design: aside from being well-made, the X1 Carbon Touch is also notably thin and light [at 1.55kg] for a 14-inch machine, especially one with a touchscreen. The display is hardly our favorite, what with the narrow viewing angles, but at least the 1,600 x 900 resolution is nice and crisp."

In its review of the X1 Carbon Touch, Wired wrote, "Lenovo also hasn’t forgotten about the things that users actually care about. Audio is impressive and Dolby-certified. The keyboard is backlit and fully usable, and the glass touchpad was rock solid on this go-round with the Carbon." In its final verdict Wired stated that an "Excellent combination of performance, portability, and durability" and "the best keyboard going" make the Touch 'Wired."

Model	Release (US)	Dimensions	Weight (min)	CPU	Chipset	Memory (max)	Graphics	Storage	Networking	Screen	Battery	Other
14"
X1 Carbon (1st Gen)	2012		1.36 kg (3.0 lb)	3rd Gen Intel Core	Intel QS77 Express	4/8 GB DDR3L 1333 MHz (soldered)	Intel HD Graphics 4000	One M.2 SATA	Optional WWAN Half Mini PCIe Card (exclusive)	Anti-glare: 1366 × 768 1600 × 900 1600 × 900 Touch

2014 – 2nd generation

The 2014 X1 Carbon features a 4th generation Intel processor and an "Adaptive Keyboard" touch bar where the function keys are normally located.The Home and End keys replaced the Caps Lock key, requiring the user to double-press the Shift key to activate Caps Lock. The Delete key was also repositioned to the right of the Backspace key instead of above it.

Peter Bright wrote a disparaging review for Ars Technica. He found the X1 Carbon with the Lenovo named "Adaptive Keyboard" to be near perfect but unusable because the keyboard was so non-standard when compared with that of a desktop, the older Thinkpad T410s and Lenovo Helix keyboards. As a touch typist, he despairs at the removal of the function keys, and the repositioning of Caps Lock, replacing it with Home End, and, that pretty much each little-finger key has moved.

Model	Release (US)	Dimensions	Weight (min)	CPU	Chipset	Memory (max)	Graphics	Storage	Networking	Screen	Battery	Other
14"
X1 Carbon (2nd Gen)	2014		1.28 kg (2.8 lb)	4th Gen Intel Core		4/8 GB DDR3L 1600 MHz (soldered)	Intel HD Graphics 4400	One M.2 SATA	Mini Gigabit Ethernet Optional WWAN M.2 Card (exclusive)	Anti-glare: 1920 × 1080 2560 × 1440 IPS 2560 × 1440 IPS Touch

2015 – 3rd generation

The 2015 X1 Carbon came with a 2560 by 1440 screen. Lenovo reverted to the traditional Function row from the innovative but confusing Adaptive Function Row, and resumed using dedicated mouse buttons under the TrackPoint in the 2015 model. A fingerprint reader is to the right of the keyboard and can be used to log into Windows.

In a review for Laptop Magazine, Mark Spoonauer wrote, "The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is easily one of the best business ultraportables available. While on the pricey side, the $1,754 configuration I reviewed delivers everything I want in a laptop: long battery life, a comfortable typing experience and strong overall performance. The X1 Carbon's design doesn't wow, but it's light and feels like it can stand up to abuse. However, the lack of an SD card slot is annoying, and I wish the 14-inch display were as bright as it is sharp

Specification

CPU: Intel Core i7 (5th Gen) 5600U / 2.6 GHz & Intel Core i5 (5th Gen) 5300U

RAM: 8 DDR3L SDRAM/ I5 4GIG DDR3L SDRAM soldered

Hard drive : SSD M2 128/256 Depended on configuration it can be higher.

Model	Release (US)	Dimensions	Weight (min)	CPU	Chipset	Memory (max)	Graphics	Storage	Networking	Screen	Battery	Other
14"
X1 Carbon (3rd Gen)	2015		1.305 kg (2.88 lb)	5th Gen Intel Core		4/8/16 GB DDR3L 1600 MHz (soldered)	Intel HD Graphics 5500	One M.2 x4	Mini Gigabit Ethernet Optional WWAN M.2 Card (?)	Anti-glare: 1920 × 1080 2560 × 1440 IPS 2560 × 1440 IPS Touch

2016 – 4th generation

In January 2016 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Lenovo presented their fourth generation X1 Carbon.

Model	Release (US)	Dimensions	Weight (min)	CPU	Chipset	Memory (max)	Graphics	Storage	Networking	Screen	Battery	Other
14"
X1 Carbon (4th Gen)	2016		1.17 kg (2.6 lb)	6th Gen Intel Core		4/8/16 GB LPDDR3 1866 MHz (soldered)	Intel HD Graphics 520	One M.2 x4	OneLink+ Gigabit Ethernet Optional WWAN M.2 Card (?)	Anti-glare: 1920 × 1080 IPS 2560 × 1440 IPS

2017 – 5th generation

In January 2017 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Lenovo presented their fifth generation X1 Carbon, 1.14 kg weight, which delivers up to 15.5 hours of battery life starting at $1,329. A silver version was also introduced.

Recall

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon 5th Generation laptops built before 2017-11-01 were recalled after reports that a screw left in the laptop during manufacturing could damage one of the lithium batteries causing one of the cells to short out, leading to rapid overheating and failure. 83,500 of the laptops have been sold in the US and Canada before recall.

Model	Release (US)	Dimensions	Weight (min)	CPU	Chipset	Memory (max)	Graphics	Storage	Networking	Screen	Battery	Other
14"
X1 Carbon (5th Gen)	2017		1.13 kg (2.5 lb)	6th or 7th Gen Intel Core		8/16 GB LPDDR3 1866 MHz (soldered)	Intel HD 520 (6th Gen CPUs) Intel HD 620 (7th Gen CPUs)	One M.2 x4	Mini Gigabit Ethernet Optional WWAN	Anti-glare: 1920 × 1080 IPS 2560 × 1440 IPS		Two TB3 x4

2018 – 6th generation

In January 2018 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Lenovo presented their sixth generation X1 Carbon, weighing 1.13 kg. This is the first X1 Carbon model to have a quad-core processor. It features an 8th generation Intel i5 or i7 processor, along with up to 16 GB of RAM and up to 1 TB of storage. X1 branding is also now present on the cover. The ThinkPad logo has changed to black instead of the previous silver branding.

X1 Extreme (1st Gen)

The first 15.6" ThinkPad X-series laptop; Also, in contrast to a regular 14" Thinkpad X series models, X1 Extreme contains a replaceable RAM and full-power HQ-series Intel CPUs.

X1 Extreme laptop have a sibling model in a ThinkPad P series line, known as a ThinkPad P1.

Model	Release (US)	Dimensions	Weight (min)	CPU	Chipset	Memory (max)	Graphics	Storage	Networking	Screen	Battery	Other
14"
X1 Carbon (6th Gen)	2018		1.13 kg (2.5 lb)	7th or 8th Gen Intel Core		8/16 GB LPDDR3 2133 MHz (soldered)	Intel HD 620 (7th Gen CPUs) Intel UHD 620 (8th Gen CPUs)	One M.2 x4	Mini Gigabit Ethernet Optional WWAN M.2 x2 Card	Glare: 2560 × 1440 IPS Dolby Vision Anti-glare: 1920 × 1080 IPS 1920 × 1080 IPS Touch 2560 × 1440 IPS		Optional ThinkShutter Two TB3 x4
15.6"
X1 Extreme (1st Gen)	2018		1.7 kg (3.7 lb)	8th Gen Intel Core	Intel CM246	64 GB DDR4 — 2666 MHz (2 slots)	Intel UHD 630 Optional + NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q 4GB	Two M.2 x4	Mini Gigabit Ethernet	Anti-glare: 1920 × 1080 IPS 3840 × 2160 IPS 3840 × 2160 IPS Touch	m	ThinkShutter Two TB3 x4

2019 – 7th generation

In January 2019 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Lenovo announced their seventh generation X1 Carbon, weighing 1.08 kilograms (2.4 lb). It comes with the latest Intel i5 or i7 processors, optional 4K display featuring Dolby Vision HDR, and a thinner chassis than the last generation. It also supports a new optional carbon fiber weave top cover.

X1 Extreme (2nd Gen)

The updated version of first generation; the first non-Yoga ThinkPad laptop with an OLED screen option.

The sibling model is a Thinkpad P1 gen2.

Model	Release (US)	Dimensions	Weight (min)	CPU	Chipset	Memory (max)	Graphics	Storage	Networking	Screen	Battery	Other
14"
X1 Carbon (7th Gen)	2019		1.09 kg (2.4 lb)	8th or 10th Gen Intel Core		8/16 GB LPDDR3 2133 MHz (soldered)	Intel UHD Graphics	One M.2 x4	Mini Gigabit Ethernet Optional WWAN M.2 x? Card (?)	Glare: 3840 × 2160 IPS Dolby Vision Anti-glare: 1920 × 1080 IPS 1920 × 1080 IPS PrivacyGuard 2560 × 1440 IPS Anti-reflection, anti-smudge: 1920 × 1080 Touch		ThinkShutter Two TB3 x4
15.6"
X1 Extreme (2nd Gen)	2019	61.8 x 245.7 x 18.4	1.7 kg (3.7 lb)	9th Gen Intel Core	Intel CM246	64 GB DDR4 — 2666 MHz (2 slots)	Intel UHD 630 Optional + NVIDIA GTX 1650 Max-Q 4GB	Two M.2 x4	Mini Gigabit Ethernet	Anti-glare: 1920 × 1080 IPS 1920 × 1080 IPS HDR 3840 × 2160 IPS 3840 × 2160 OLED Touch	m	ThinkShutter Two TB3 x4

2020 – 8th generation

In January 2020 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Lenovo announced their eighth generation X1 Carbon. It comes with Intel Comet Lake processors, optional PrivacyGuard display, and WiFi 6 support. The Fedora Linux distribution will also be offered pre-installed on the laptop.

Model	Release (US)	Dimensions	Weight (min)	CPU	Chipset	Memory (max)	Graphics	Storage	Networking	Screen	Battery	Other
14"
X1 Carbon (8th Gen)	2020		1.09 kg (2.4 lb)	10th Gen Intel Core		8/16 GB LPDDR3 2133 MHz (soldered)	Intel UHD Graphics	One M.2 x4	Mini Gigabit Ethernet Optional WWAN M.2 x? Card (?)	Glare: 3840 × 2160 IPS Dolby Vision Anti-glare: 1920 × 1080 IPS Anti-glare, anti-reflection, anti-smudge: 1920 × 1080 Touch 1920 × 1080 IPS PrivacyGuard Touch		ThinkShutter Two TB3 x4

See also

• Thinkpad X1 Tablet