If you’re searching for the best business laptop or just the best laptop, here’s a suggestion: the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon 6th Gen. For starters, it’s wielding a battery life of up to 15 hours, getting you through an entire day of work. It also does a swell job of securing your files, thanks to a built-in fingerprint reader and optional IR camera. Its features make it a contender for best laptops in the market.
Why We Like It – Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon 6th Gen
The Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon 6th Gen combines business performance with built-in security to keep your data safe, thanks to a Match-In-Sensor fingerprint reader and optional IR camera.
- Up to 15 hours of battery life
- Match-In-Sensor fingerprint reader
- Healthy selection of ports
- RAM is soldered to board
- An 8th generation Intel Core i7-8650U would be better
Power & Performance
Look underneath and you’ll find an Intel Core i5-8250U, slightly slower than the Dell XPS 13 9380’s i5-8265U, but a quad core good for multitasking nonetheless. An Intel Core i7-8650U would have been better—and thankfully, there’s a model of the X1 Carbon that has one. Its IPS pane is anti glare with a wide viewing angle and 1080p touchscreen. It has a version with 2560×1440 with HDR, but a non touch screen. Take a look at our Lenovo ThinkPad t580 review for a laptop that comes with decent speakers for your entertainment needs.
Battery
The Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon 6th Gen is a whole step above the Dell XPS 15 7590 in terms of battery power. On a full charge, you’ll get 15 hours, three more hours than the XPS 15 7590. And you get fast charging; 50% for 40 minutes of charging. You may want to go through our Lenovo ThinkPad x1 Carbon review for a laptop with a similar battery life.
Ports & Expandability
The Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon 6th Gen is very limited in its expandability; the RAM is soldered on, but you can upgrade your SSD. It has a small, yet healthy selection of ports, such as: two USB 3.1 Gen 1, two USB C ports (one Type C port supports Intel Thunderbolt 3), audio jack, microSD, HDMI, and an Ethernet extension connector.
Build Quality
Unlike the all-aluminum chassis of the Asus Chromebook Flip C434, the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 is a combination of carbon fiber plastic, glass fiber plastic, and magnesium alloy. That all sounds heavy, but it isn’t; it weighs just 2.6 lbs. It’s going to survive you tossing it around.
Value
While the i5-8265U is great for multitasking, the i7-8650U is going to survive for much longer. And since you can’t upgrade the CPU down the road, it’s something to consider. The greatest value the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 offers is definitely its security features, which is great to fall back on if you forget your password or leave your laptop unattended.
Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon 6th Gen Wrap Up
No matter which model of the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon 6th Gen you pick up, you’re getting a fine example of a business laptop. Sure, the Intel Core i7-8650U is better overall, but the base model still wields four cores well for multitasking. Battery life, above all else, is the greatest asset you can wish for, and there’s 15 hours to play with.
