With its iconic design, unimaginable construct high quality, and epic portability, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon has lengthy set the bar in premium enterprise laptops. Predictably, the twelfth era model continues this custom of excellence, with a protracted listing of small however significant upgrades. It has been a few yr and a half for the reason that final assessment of an X1 Carbon, and that was the Gen 10 mannequin. At a excessive degree, it would not look like a lot has modified, as the essential design stays the identical, with its traditional Eclipse Black shade and carbon fiber, magnesium, and aluminum construct, as anticipated. However because it seems, Lenovo has made quite a few small modifications to this product since then, and plenty of of them are noteworthy enhancements.

Design and Show Enhancements

For starters, it’s kind of smaller at 0.59 x 12.31 x 8.45 inches in comparison with 0.60 x 12.43 x 8.76 inches for Gen 10, and a bit lighter, 2.42 kilos vs. 2.48 kilos. None of that appears all that dramatic, however the X1 Carbon is a featherweight in a world of 3- to 4-pound 14-inch Ultrabooks, with an extremely ethereal really feel. And you’ll see the reductions within the show bezels, that are thinner throughout, however particularly on the high and backside. The design is cleaner than earlier than, assuming you may overlook just a few oily smudges your palms will depart behind on the wrist relaxation and outer show lid.

Efficiency and Usability Upgrades

The twelfth Gen ThinkPad X1 Carbon is an AI PC, that means it makes use of an Intel Core Extremely chipset with built-in CPU, GPU, and NPU silicon, and never a extra pedestrian 14th Gen Intel Core processor. There’s just one processor possibility, oddly, the Intel Core Extremely 7 155H, a 28-watt half that gives 6 efficiency cores, 8 effectivity cores, and a pair of low-power effectivity cores. This can be a mid-range processor, and I believe the addition of a full 32 GB of LPDDR5x RAM (6400 MHz, soldered) and a really quick M.2 2280-based 1 TB PCIe Gen4 SSD drive within the assessment unit helped efficiency significantly.

Connectivity and Safety Options

Regardless of its skinny, wedge-shaped physique, the X1 Carbon gives an inexpensive vary of contemporary and legacy enlargement ports, much like these discovered on earlier variations. On the left, you will discover a full-sized and always-on USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port with 5 Gbps of knowledge switch pace, and two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports with 40 Gbps of knowledge switch pace. Like different ThinkPads, the X1 Carbon comes with a full suite of ThinkShield safety options, spanning its firmware, {hardware}, and software program. It helps Home windows Howdy facial and fingerprint recognition, gives a guide webcam shutter, and a microphone mute key, and gives low-level protections that embody a self-healing BIOS with a firmware defend, a discrete TPM 2.0 safety chipset, and Intel vPro administration capabilities.

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 gives a compelling sustainability story, with 90 p.c recycled magnesium, 55 p.c recycled aluminum, 3 p.c recycled carbon fiber, and 45 p.c hydro aluminum within the physique, 90 p.c post-consumer recycled plastic within the speaker and battery pack enclosures, 30 p.c post-consumer recycled plastic within the cable holders, 85 p.c post-consumer recycled plastic within the keycaps, 90 p.c recycled packaging materials, and a dedication to offsetting the carbon footprint of the manufacturing and transport of every unit. This emphasis on environmental accountability, mixed with its efficiency, design, and security measures, makes the X1 Carbon a gorgeous possibility for companies and people alike.