Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme: The business laptop review

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme promises high-end simply with the addition of "Extreme". I was able to test for you for almost 2 months whether it really does justice to this.

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme doesn't lack connections in any way. First of all, Lenovo offers a power plug that can be used to charge the device with 135 watts. The manufacturer named this charging technology “RapidCharge”. Also on board are two USB-A ports (USB 3.1) and two USB-C ports that support the Thunderbolt 3 standard. There is also an HDMI connector, a network adapter with the LAN dongle supplied and a 3,5 millimeter jack connection. The manufacturer also includes an SD card slot and card reader for companies and a fingerprint scanner.

application

The X1 Extreme offers an aluminum unibody case, which is coated with a layer of black plastic. This case feels very gentle and of high quality during use. However, it attracts fingerprints almost magically. In addition, at around 1,8 kg, it weighs a lot, which can be less nice for your back when you are out and about.

Keyboard and trackpad

Yes, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme also offers the keyboard of the X1 devices that has been known for years. This is also characterized in this device by the gentle but relaxed stroke while typing on the keyboard. A lighting is installed here, which can be switched off and on. It bothered me that the keys are a little "squeezed" together so that a fairly large margin is left to the left and right of the keyboard. From my point of view, that could have been better exploited. As with its predecessors, the trackpad has remained unchanged and is therefore easy to use.

Picture: TechnikNews

Display

The device has a 15,6-inch display with 4K HDR resolution and touch controls. With around 300 nits, the IPS panel offers a very bright and sharp image. Watching movies and doing work on them is a great pleasure. In my opinion, the operation via touch is rather useless for the normal user, since it is exhausting to operate Windows with the finger. Windows as the operating system and many third-party apps are largely not designed for this type of interaction.

Picture: TechnikNews

Offering

No wish is left unfulfilled here. No matter what the task, the eighth generation Core i7 from Intel masters everything without any problems. 16 gigabytes of RAM are in my configuration, which makes working with large apps and multitasking prois possible without any problems. Office operations are handled with ease and performance-hungry applications, such as creating and managing databases, are also not a problem. The only thing that often turned on was the fan, which can get pretty loud depending on the situation. This can sometimes be annoying when you are in quieter rooms.

Lenovo specifies a maximum battery life of up to 15 hours. During normal work without a power supply unit, after seven hours, a comparatively good value, the end and the device had to be plugged in again. Thanks to "RapidCharge", however, charging does not take that long.

The software

All the power is processed through Windows 10. There is pre-installed bloatware, but this only includes Spotify, Netflix and the like. Overall, the software adapts well to the ThinkPad so that you don't notice any noticeable stuttering. In my experience, this can have a positive effect on the workflow.

Sound

The X1 offers Dolby Atmos here, which sounds much better when compared to normal speakers. The only drawback is that the speakers are on the underside of the ThinkPad, which means that they can be completely covered depending on the nature of the workplace. This happened to me especially often when I wanted to watch a movie with the laptop on my lap.

Picture: TechnikNews

Conclusion

With the ThinkPad X1 Extreme, Lenovo is bringing a vivid mobile device to the market. Since the device is aimed more at business users, it is more acceptable that the speakers are installed below the device. Nevertheless, the device offers some of the high-end class, which is very well suited for everyday work. In the end, I can recommend buying the device, but more for companies or creative minds, as the price is less suitable for private customers.