Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Version Evaluation: Featherweight Class

	Extremely skinny and lightweight Beneficiant port choice regardless of small dimension Glorious OLED show Finest keyboard in its class Trackpoint lives on	Excessive worth Collects fingerprints Performs barely under equally priced machines

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon household has lengthy supplied laptops with enterprise smarts, a contact of class and a modern, minimalist design language. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 machines are available numerous sizes and styles, together with foldables, convertibles, and good old school laptops. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is the latter, a conventional clamshell laptop computer kind issue with concentrate on an ultra-premium configuration and expertise. By way of enterprise class laptops, the brand new Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Version we’re evaluating right here right this moment units a brand new customary for ultra-portable computing.

The newest ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Version (sure, that is a mouthful) is the lightest but, weighing in at lower than one kilogram (about 2.1 kilos). No matter its ultra-svelte design, on board the machine we have examined is the most recent Intel Core Extremely 7 Lunar Lake processor platform with an beneficiant 32GB of RAM. And regardless of its stable specs, there are some caveats to contemplate, considered one of which is its comparatively excessive price ticket. Nonetheless, this laptop computer stands alone within the realm of ultraportable, premium enterprise machines, so let’s dig in with a full assessment of what makes this ThinkPad sing.

ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Version: Specs, Design, Construct High quality & Options

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Version has a little bit of a clunky title, however the laptop computer itself is something however. Even after acclimating to this machine, you may most likely nonetheless be stunned by how alarmingly gentle it’s if you decide it up.  Thus, this featherweight laptop could be very straightforward to hold in a bag or steadiness in your lap. Lenovo managed to shave substantial weight off off its earlier twelfth Gen ThinkPad X1 Carbon, bringing its mass down from 2.42 kilos to simply 2.1 kilos. For reference, Apple’s lightest laptop computer, the 13-inch MacBook Air, ideas the scales at 2.7 kilos, so what Lenovo has achieved isn’t any small feat.

Despite its gentle weight, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 does not really feel or look low cost—there’s a gorgeous utilitarian class to this machine. It is created from premium supplies like magnesium and carbon fiber, along with the aluminum body you see in most laptops. This offers the ThinkPad X1 Carbon structural resilience whereas maintaining its weight down. One notable disadvantage of all that carbon fiber and this machine’s mushy contact end (which feels nice by the way in which) is that it’s going to accumulate fingerprints fairly readily, sadly.

Lenovo clearly paid consideration to the little issues with this high-end enterprise laptop computer. The lid has Lenovo’s extra recently-added lip across the digital camera that makes it simpler to open, and it is extremely clean. You possibly can simply carry the lid with one finger, and the hinge is sturdy when open; there is not any wobble, even if you transfer the machine round. That is doubly spectacular contemplating how feather-light this factor is.

And if you pry open the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Version, you are handled to a beautiful 2880×1800 OLED panel. It has punchy saturation, a 120Hz refresh price, and a peak brightness of 400 nits—its matte end helps scale back reflections, so whereas we would favor a bit extra brightness, this machine must be readable in most lighting situations.

This show doesn’t have contact help, which is more and more unusual for shopper machines, nevertheless it’s nonetheless the way in which for many enterprise laptops. We’re not so certain you’d wish to muck up this lovely show with extra fingerprints, anyway.

The bezel across the display could be very slim, contributing to the compact footprint of this machine. On the high, subsequent to the 1080p webcam, you may discover a bodily privateness shutter, which is a a lot appreciated function on a high-end laptop computer. The digital camera helps IR for Home windows Good day, and there is additionally a fingerprint sensor. The sensor may be straightforward to overlook at first; it seems like a key on the keyboard, nevertheless it’s a stationary raised block between the arrows and the Copilot key. It’s extremely correct and quick for a Home windows laptop computer, which is to say it is nonetheless slower than the fingerprint sensors on trendy telephones.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 has however not nice number of ports. There are two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 on the left facet, together with a USB-A. The opposite USB-A is on the fitting facet with the three.5mm jack, a full-sized HDMI 2.1, and a Kensington lock. It is good to see two legacy USBs, even when they’re restricted to 5Gbps. We would additionally favor to have the USB-C ports break up as much as permit charging on both facet.

Enter is the place the brand new ThinkPad X1 actually shines. It comes with the normal trackpad/trackpoint combo, which is probably not lengthy for this world. Lenovo not too long ago introduced the primary ThinkPad with out trackpoint, which isn’t stunning. Lenovo is the one OEM nonetheless dedicated to the keyboard nub, however we stay followers. It is a very comfy, exact option to management the mouse that does not pressure you to maneuver your arms away from the keyboard. However, trackpoint’s buttons eat into out there trackpad actual property.

You may must pry my trackpoint from my chilly, useless arms.

The trackpad, small although it’s, provides glorious responsiveness and a clean texture. The press mechanism of the trackpoint buttons and the trackpad’s decrease part are quiet and require simply the correct quantity of strain to set off.

The keyboard on the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 is excellent, (as ordinary for ThinkPads) providing extra key journey than you’d count on for a thin-and-light machine, and the keys really feel nice. There isn’t any undue flexing or mushiness on the backside of the keystroke. We additionally love the structure, which options offset arrow keys with web page up and web page down keys.

Bundled Lenovo Software program And The Aura Version Expertise

As it is a enterprise machine, you will not must wade by way of the bloatware that infests most Home windows laptops. The machine’s settings and companies are centralized in an app known as Lenovo Industrial Vantage. There isn’t any AI schlock, no pre-loaded “free” video games, and no McAfee software program. The truth is, you can argue the best supply of undesirable software program on the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 is Microsoft itself.

Vantage is a clear, environment friendly option to tweak the pc’s settings. It provides choices for the keyboard, digital camera, energy settings, audio, and extra. The place it does not have absolutely built-in settings, it could possibly hyperlink you to the Home windows settings web page that does. Vantage additionally handles core firmware updates that do not seem in Home windows Replace.

The “Aura Version” moniker right here signifies that Lenovo labored with Intel to optimize the machine’s efficiency profile and options. In consequence, there are a number of particular modes accessible from a keyboard shortcut. Hit the “Mode” button on the keyboard, and you will get a small management panel that allows you to change efficiency profiles and allow the particular modes: Defend, Collaboration, Consideration, and Wellness.

The Aura Modes are attention-grabbing, however they’ve slim usefulness. For instance, Defend mode prompts you to hook up with a VPN and makes use of the digital camera to maintain an eye fixed out for somebody peeking over your shoulder. Consideration, in the meantime, silences notifications and blocks time-wasting web sites of your selecting. We did not discover a lot motive to activate any of those modes, however having energy management on the widget is sweet, because it saves you from digging round in convoluted Home windows settings.