At CES 2021, Lenovo announced a wide swath of updates to its ThinkPad X1 lineup, including a brand new model, the ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga. Aside from the titular titanium chassis, the X1 Titanium Yoga is also the thinnest ThinkPad ever made at just 0.43 inches. As a means of comparison, the MacBook Pro 13-inch is 0.63 inches and the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is 0.62 inches.
The ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga is also a supremely light laptop, weighing just 2.5 pounds. Still, it’s not quite as light as the 2.4-pound ThinkPad X1 Carbon, but it is one of the best new laptops to come out of CES so far.
The other major difference between the Titanium Yoga and other ThinkPads is the screen size. It features a 13.5-inch screen with a unique 3:2 aspect ratio. Laptop screen shapes are trending toward 16:10 or 3:2, but it’s still a unique feature, especially in the ThinkPad lineup.
The screen has a bit of an odd resolution of 2,256 x 1,504, which is 201 pixels per inch. Lenovo says this is a 100% sRGB screen that maxes out at 450 nits. The other ThinkPad X1 laptops have had an option for a sharper 4K screen, but it looks like the Titanium Yoga will stick with a more modest resolution. It is, however, a solid step up in pixel density from standard 1080p laptops.
The X1 Titanium Yoga is part of the Yoga family, meaning it has a 360-hinge and can convert into a tablet. The X1 Yoga was the first ThinkPad to ditch the iconic black aesthetic for a more conventional aluminum silver, but the Titanium Yoga ups the ante with the use of an even thinner and sturdier material.
Unlike the standard X1 Yoga, though, the Titanium Yoga doesn’t include a built-in slot to store the stylus.
The ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga features just two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the left side, with just a headphone jack on the opposite side. It’s missing the HDMI and two USB-A ports found on the X1 Carbon and X1 Yoga.
Inside, the X1 Titanium Yoga receives the same updates that’ll Lenovo has brought to the entire range of ThinkPad X1 laptops, Intel’s 11th generation vPro processors. These are built on the success of the Tiger Lake processors, but now with the security and commercial advantages of the vPro platform. Notably, 11th-gen vPro includes Intel Iris Xe graphics, the vastly improved integrated graphics found in the most recent round of Intel laptop processor updates.
The X1 Titanium Yoga isn’t quite as configurable as its siblings, though. It maxes out at 16GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage. The X1 Carbon and X1 Yoga can be configured with twice the memory and twice the storage.
All the new ThinkPads, though, feature an improved 5-megapixel webcam and Dolby Voice, to hopefully improve the videoconferencing setup. They are still just 720p, so the wait for 1080p will have to continue.
ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 and X1 Yoga Gen 6
Lenovo has also announced updates to its popular ThinkPad X1 Carbon and X1 Yoga, now in Gen 9 and Gen 6, respectively. The updates aren’t major overhauls, but there are some significant changes.
First off, both laptops now use a 14-inch 16:10 aspect ratio rather than the traditional 16:9. Lenovo still offers a ridiculous number of display options, ranging from FHD touchscreen up to UHD. Of course, the resolutions have changed due to the new aspect ratio, but Lenovo didn’t provide the specific pixel resolution. On both devices, Lenovo has also moved the power button to just above the keyboard, which now includes a built-in fingerprint reader.
The other big change is in materials. In its 9th generation, Lenovo is now introducing a version of the X1 Carbon that uses a more prominent “carbon weave” top lid. This is a similar material to what the XPS laptops use in their palm rests. A standard “black lid” model is also available.
The ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 features a new “Storm Grey” color, a slightly dark shade of silver that features brushed aluminum along the sides. The X1 Yoga is the heaviest and thickest of the three options at 3 pounds and 0.59 inches thick.
The ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga will be available starting in January, starting at $1,899. The X1 Carbon starts at $1,429 and the X1 Yoga starts at $1,569, but both will be available a month later in February 2021.
