Review: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2015, 3rd Gen)

Conclusion

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon remains one of the most formidable mobile PCs available. Beautifully designed and conforming to Intel's Ultrabook directive, it is in many ways the perfect realisation of how today's premium laptops should be constructed.

Build quality is top notch, it's both sturdy and incredibly thin, the 14in IPS touchscreen is sensibly sized and armed with a productive QHD resolution, the keyboard can rightly be described as best-in-class, and there's enough performance under the hood to ensure instant responsiveness during most workloads. Factor in an ever-useful trackpoint, a solid trackpad and eight-hour battery life and you have the makings of an excellent mobile PC experience.

The catch? Well, there's the steep price tag, which starts at £1,270 and can rise to beyond £2,000 with some of the aforementioned niceties. As stunning as the laptop is, there is a feeling that Ultrabooks have made meaningful progress in terms of battery life, but the overall feature set and user experience feels all-too familiar. The availability of Windows 10 as a free upgrade doesn't help, and as much I like the new X1 Carbon, there's not quite enough here to convince me to upgrade from a three-year-old model. Not at these prices anyway.

This is a case of evolution as opposed to revolution, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Lenovo's 2015 refresh is quicker in all meaningful departments, better equipped with regards to battery life and retains all of the charm of the original. Looking to purchase your first Ultrabook? The X1 Carbon should definitely be on your shortlist.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2015)

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The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook is available to purchase from shop.lenovo.com.

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