Powerful display
The 12in screen is good without being spectacular. It’s an IPS panel with a 3:2 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2,160 x 1,440. It reaches a maximum brightness of 403cd/m2, and contrast is a reasonably high 1,105:1, although the sRGB coverage isn’t great at 86.9%. I was much more impressed with the colour accuracy of this screen compared with the HP Elite x2, but it can’t compete with the Surface Pro 4’s all-round excellence.
Don’t expect cutting-edge power, either, because Lenovo employs a Core M processor rather than a Core i5 or Core i7. In testing, we’ve found these throttle back once you start pushing them (for example, when encoding video), but they’re fine for occasional bursts of activity, and Lenovo has eliminated another performance bottleneck by using NVMe SSDs in its pricier models.
In the case of the sample provided for this review, I have a Core m7-6Y75 running at 1.2GHz with 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB Samsung NVMe SSD. It’s as quick and responsive in day-to-day use as you’d expect it to be.
Intel’s Core M processors always struggle when pushed intensively in our multitasking benchmarks, where this machine scored just 5, but the relatively high score of 64 in the image-editing section gives a better indication of everyday performance.
The SSD is supremely fast as well, gaining sequential write and read speeds of 2,075MB/sec and 1,374MB/ sec in AS SSD, keeping Windows 10 Pro feeling fast and responsive. However, battery life is less than impressive. The ThinkPad lasted 5hrs 44mins in our video-rundown test, which makes the Productivity Module yet more tempting.
Cons for pros
The ThinkPad X1 Tablet is a peculiar mix of the wonderful and the awkward, then, but how does it stack up against its key rivals, the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 and HP Elite x2 in terms of the overall package? In some ways it surpasses both of them, especially given that neither has the facility to add components in the way the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 does, and it’s a match for both in terms of its ergonomics.
On the other hand, certain parts of the design are clunky, the modules themselves are pricey, and battery life is poor. Plus, it won’t surprise you to discover that the tablet isn’t exactly bargain-basement. The base model, which features the lower-spec Core m5-6Y54, starts at £1,050 inc VAT, and this rises to £1,180 inc VAT for the base-level Core m7 I have here.
There’s no direct comparison with the Surface Pro 4 since its specifications start at the Core m3, then skip straight to Core i5 and Core i7, but the HP Elite x2 is a close match and it comes out on top for value.
In short, there’s nothing drastically wrong here, but the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet’s price is certain to put off many potential customers. SPECIFICATIONS Dual-core 1.2GHz Intel Core m7-6Y75 8GB RAM Intel HD Graphics 515 512GB SSD 12in 2,160 x 1,440 touchscreen display 720p webcam 802.11ac Wi-Fi (2x2 MIMO) Bluetooth 4 USB 3 USB Type-C mini-DisplayPort 37Whr battery 3yr RTB warranty Windows 10 Pro 292 x 209 x 15mm (WDH) 1.07kg