Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 7 evaluation: An excellent 2-in-1 for industry professionals

Value When Reviewed

$1,938.60

Best possible Costs As of late: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 7 (2022)

Lenovo’s Thinkpad X1 Yoga is now a veteran of the Home windows 2-in-1 marketplace. It has outlived competition just like the Microsoft Floor Studio and Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 to change into some of the ultimate flagship 2-in-1s with a 360-degree hinge. Lenovo turns out acutely aware of its distinctive place and is keen to price for it. Whilst we actually appreciated the keyboard and audio system, efficiency is moderate at very best. Learn on to be told extra.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 7 specifications and lines

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 7 I won was once a reasonably elementary variant with mid-tier processor, RAM, and cast state power choices. It additionally supplied a 1920×1200 IPS touchscreen as an alternative of the OLED choice. Nonetheless, even this type has forward-looking options like two Thunderbolt 4 ports and Wi-Fi 6E, the newest wi-fi usual.

• CPU: Intel Core i7-1260P
• Reminiscence: 16GB
• Graphics/GPU: Intel iris Xe
• Show: 1920 x 1200 IPS touchscreen
• Garage: 512GB SSD
• Webcam: 1080p
• Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB-A three.2 Gen 1, Headphone/Microphone, HDMI 2.0
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
• Biometrics: Fingerprint reader in energy button
• Battery capability: 57 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 12.38 x 8.75 x .61 inches
• Weight: 3.04 kilos
• MSRP: $1,938.60

On the other hand, this mid-tier type is relatively pricey. This X1 Yoga I examined rang up at slightly below $2,000. The Lenovo X1 Yoga Gen 7 is priced upper than the Apple MacBook Air, MacBook Professional 13, Dell XPS 13 Plus, and the Microsoft Floor Computer Studio, amongst many others. Can it justify the top class? 

Design and construct high quality

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 circle of relatives takes the “if it’s broke, don’t repair it” method to design. That’s no longer an effective way to clutch headlines, but it surely’s arduous to seek out fault with the X1 Yoga’s glance, really feel, or serve as. 

The X1 Yoga is a good-looking {and professional} 2-in-1 with a slender, minimalist external. Those that’ve been clear of ThinkPads for a couple of years could also be shocked it has a silver aluminum chassis as an alternative of the vintage black magnesium alloy of older fashions. The more recent aluminum design is extra generic but in addition extra sumptuous. That’s vital given the X1 Yoga’s top pricing. 

Regardless that designed as a 2-in-1 with a 360-degree hinge and touchscreen, pc use is the transparent precedence. The X1 Yoga weighs about 3 kilos and is six-tenths of an inch thick, which means that it’s no lighter or thinner than conventional pc possible choices just like the Dell XPS 13 or MacBook Air. The X1 Yoga additionally packs a big 14-inch display screen with a 16:10 side ratio. This makes for a relaxed typing revel in, however the tool is just too heavy for relaxed pill use. 

Nonetheless, the touchscreen supplies some versatility. The usage of the keyboard as a stand makes the touchscreen extra obtainable in tight areas. It’s additionally handy when staring at films or YouTube. The touchscreen helps stylus use and, in contrast to maximum competition, the X1 Yoga has a conveyable stylus that tucks safely throughout the tool. 

Keyboard and trackpad

IDG / Matthew Smith

The X1 Yoga’s keyboard is implausible. It has a spacious format with plentiful room between keys each vertically and horizontally and, regardless of the 2-in-1’s skinny profile, the important thing really feel is spacious with a company and responsive bottoming motion. Maximum top class laptops and 2-in-1 traces, together with Apple’s MacBook Air and Dell XPS 13, even have nice keyboards, however the X1 Yoga stays on the entrance of the pack.

Lenovo stuffs in a couple of keys that some 2-in-1s ditch, reminiscent of the house, finish, and insert keys, in addition to the web page up and web page down keys. This isn’t a large deal for most of the people however those that want them will respect their inclusion.

Keyboard backlighting is usual on all X1 Yoga fashions. There’s most effective two ranges of backlight brightness, then again, and a good quantity of sunshine leaks across the edges of every key. Regardless that no longer a useful downside, it’s underwhelming for a top class 2-in-1.

The vintage Lenovo TrackPoint nub sits in the course of the keyboard. I’m keen on the TrackPoint, which I in finding sooner and extra responsive than a touchpad, however there’s not anything right here to modify the minds of those that don’t adore it. 

The touchpad is responsive and has a clean, delightful floor, but it surely’s a little bit small as a result of 3 bodily, clicky touchpad buttons on the peak of the touchpad. Those buttons can be utilized with both the TrackPoint or touchpad. This, just like the TrackPoint, units the X1 Yoga aside from its competition. Bodily touchpad buttons are just about extinct on competing units.

Show, audio

IDG / Matthew Smith

Lenovo ships the X1 Yoga with as much as a three,480 x 2,400 OLED show, however was once daring sufficient to ship me the more cost effective 1,920 x 1,200 IPS show as an alternative. I respect this – the OLED show is very good, I’m positive, but it surely’s no longer what most of the people will purchase.

The elemental show nonetheless holds up smartly, with just right distinction, top brightness, and shiny, correct colour. Like maximum IPS monitors, the show is very best when viewing punchy, saturated, vivid content material, reminiscent of 3-d esports video games or animated presentations. The show can’t achieve a deep and convincing black stage however in truth does higher than maximum, hitting a distinction ratio of 1690:1. 

The 1,920 x 1,200 solution doesn’t appear spectacular on paper however nonetheless packs over 161 pixels in line with inch. That’s just about just like a 27-inch 4K track, which crams 163 pixels in line with inch. Sharpness is very good throughout films, internet pages, and paperwork. 

And, as a result of it is a 16:10 show, there’s further show house when in comparison to a 16:9 selection. It’s no longer a lot of a bonus, as competition have additionally moved to a 16:10 show. Nonetheless, the added house turns out to be useful when running with two home windows side-by-side. 

Regardless that it’ll glance skilled, the X1 Yoga can rock out. It has a four-speaker sound device with Dolby Atmos certification. The Atmos branding is fluff (I’ve heard Atmos house theater sound techniques, and this ain’t it), however audio high quality is powerful with transparent discussion, just right sound staging, and a touch of kick to the low finish. It’s a just right effort and, whilst no longer as crisp or deep as Apple’s MacBook Professional 14 or Microsoft’s Floor Computer Studio, it’s spectacular.

Webcam, microphone, biometrics

A 1080p digital camera may also be discovered above the display screen of each ThinkPad X1 Yoga, with an improve to IR cameras with pc imaginative and prescient to be had. 

My type had the bottom digital camera and, to my wonder, it was once just right. The digital camera treated modest lighting fixtures smartly and was once ready to regulate publicity to stay my face smartly lit in a room with blended gentle assets. Colour copy and sharpness have been cast, as smartly.

The X1 Yoga additionally has an outstanding quad-microphone array. It picked up my voice at a usable stage from quite a few angles and, as a result of its quantity, I didn’t have to boost my voice for others to listen to. Audio high quality remains to be a little bit tinny, as true of maximum pc microphones, but it surely’s a cast effort total. 

A fingerprint reader is hidden within the energy X1 Yoga’s energy button, situated simply above the keyboard. It really works smartly although, like maximum fingerprint readers I’ve attempted on Home windows laptops, it misfires too regularly. The non-compulsory IR digital camera improve allows Home windows Hi facial reputation login, which is faster and extra dependable.

Connectivity

IDG / Matthew Smith

The ThinkPad X1 Yoga’s connectivity has one thing for everybody. 

A couple of Thunderbolt 4 ports be offering robust beef up for contemporary units. They may be able to be used to price the pc or attach exterior shows. That is paired with two USB-A Gen 3.2 ports for older stressed units and an HDMI output for connecting to exterior shows with out an adapter. A three.5mm combo audio jack rounds out the bodily ports. 

Wi-fi connectivity is solely as powerful, providing beef up for the newest Wi-Fi 6E usual. It will achieve speeds equivalent to and above stressed Ethernet in ultimate scenarios, which is helping excuse the X1 Yoga’s loss of an Ethernet port. You’ll desire a Wi-Fi 6E router to unencumber this possible. Bluetooth 5.2 is supported, as smartly.

Those that want really cell connectivity can improve to 4G or 5G modem, although my evaluation unit didn’t be offering this. Those upgrades will permit Web use anyplace your provider supplier gives cell information. You pay for the privilege, although: the 4G modem is just about $200, and the 5G modem is sort of $300.

Efficiency

Intel’s Core i7-1260P processor powered my ThinkPad X1 Yoga evaluation unit. It’s a twelve-core processor with 4 efficiency cores, 8 efficiency cores, and a most turbo frequency of four.4GHz. My evaluation unit paired the i7-1260P with 16GB of soldered LPDDR5 RAM and 512GB of cast state PCIe garage. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

Our first check, PCMark 10, evaluates general device efficiency with a heavy lean against the processor. It accomplished a decent however no longer exceptional ranking of five,118. 

This ranking is a tad in the back of the Lenovo Yoga 9i, which was once examined with the similar Intel Core i7-1260P processor, and considerably in the back of a number of AMD Ryzen 7 5000 and Ryzen 7 6000 sequence processors which are well-liked in competing machines. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

We subsequent dig into Cinebench R15, a closely multithreaded benchmark that gives the Core i7-1260P to sing their own praises. It reaches a ranking of one,425, which is spectacular, although most likely not so good as I’d be expecting from this processor. This benchmark suggests the X1 Yoga isn’t the fastest platform for this chip.

IDG / Matthew Smith

That was once showed via the strenuous Handbrake benchmark, which throws a heavy-lift encode of Tears of Metal instantly on the processor’s face. A check this lengthy traces the thermal functions of a pc and, arguably, the X1 Yoga flinches, requiring over an hour and twenty mins to finish the duty.

There’s two techniques to manner this outcome. That is nonetheless an enormous improve from the Intel Eleventh-Gen Core processors that have been to be had within the prior type. So, should you’re upgrading from an older gadget, it’s a win. However this outcome falls smartly in the back of the Lenovo Yoga 9i, which implies the X1 Yoga is attaining a thermal restrict over longer workloads. 

IDG / Matthew Smith

3DMark Time Undercover agent involves a ranking of one,393. Proceeding the X1 Yoga’s theme, it is a just right outcome in comparison to older laptops however no longer spectacular in 2022. The X1 Yoga might be defeated via some possible choices with Intel Iris Xe and in addition lose to laptops with AMD’s new Radeon 680M graphics, which is located in some Ryzen 6000 cell processors.

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark reached a median of 15 frames in line with 2nd at 1080p solution and Absolute best element. That’s a decent outcome for built-in graphics, although no doubt nonetheless smartly in the back of maximum discrete graphics answers. Older 3-d video games are playable however most effective at medium to low element settings.

It’s no wonder to peer small gaming laptops are a lot sooner – although this comparability isn’t totally atypical, because the X1 FYoga’s pricing is in league with an Alienware x14 or ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14. 

On steadiness, it kind of feels the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 7 prioritizes portability and decrease fan speeds over efficiency. The pc isn’t in particular loud and, as I’ll speak about in a second, gives just right staying power. Efficiency, then again, is inconspicuous for this class of processor. 

The X1 Yoga can simply take care of daily duties simply and also will bite thru many heavier workloads, like standard photograph enhancing or programming, with out factor. It’s lackluster for gaming, then again, and isn’t your only option for video enhancing and encoding, 3-d rendering, and different extraordinarily extensive duties. 

Battery lifestyles

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga had a 57 watt-hour battery. That’s no longer massive for a 2-in-1 in its section, but it surely nonetheless seems a powerful results of 10 hours and 57 mins. That’s significantly better than maximum laptops we’ve lately examined.

There’s a couple of causes for this: the 1920×1200 IPS show and the pc’s reasonably modest {hardware}. The loss of OLED, discrete graphics, or a top-tier cell processor lend a hand the 2-in-1 wring first rate staying power from every watt-hour.

Forged battery lifestyles is superb for portability, which is additional enhanced via the pc’s Thunderbolt 4 ports and its skinny profile. The incorporated energy adapter isn’t huge and smaller third-party adapters are to be had, so packing each pc and adapter isn’t a trouble. Small

Conclusion

I just like the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 7. So much. I’ve in my opinion bought ThinkPads for many of my lifestyles, and the X1 Yoga Gen 7 underscores the explanations for my choice. It has a good-looking, sturdy external, a perfect keyboard, gives the original TrackPoint have an effect on, and delivers on connectivity and battery lifestyles. It’s nice for running lengthy hours but transportable sufficient for go back and forth. 

However the X1 Yoga, like many ThinkPads, comes with luggage: the fee. The X1 Yoga Gen 7 begins a little bit north of $1,500 and will simply breach $3,000. This isn’t simply Lenovo’s pricing, both. The X1 Yoga is costly at outlets like Amazon and Best possible Purchase. I may just excuse this if the X1 Yoga proved particularly fast, but it surely’s slower total than the more cost effective (but nonetheless top class) Lenovo Yoga 9i. 

The X1 Yoga may be dearer than the Microsoft Floor Computer Studio which, although now a technology in the back of on processor efficiency, supplies a extra compelling 2-in-1 revel in. 

Lenovo’s top class ThinkPads goal very explicit shoppers with a willingness to pay for precisely what they would like. If that’s you (or your boss is keen to foot the invoice), superior. However most of the people could be purchasing the Yoga 9i and pocketing the financial savings.