The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Review: OLED and LCD Tested
by Brett Howse & Brandon Chester on September 29, 2016 11:30 AM ESTFinal Words
Wrapping up, there’s quite a bit to go over with the ThinkPad X1 Yoga. Lenovo has done a great job continuing to make the X1 series thinner and lighter, and while some may question where that ends, anyone who needs a very portable laptop will appreciate this. Speaking of portability, Lenovo is one of the few brands to offer LTE connectivity in their ThinkPad lineup, further increasing the mobility of this notebook.
The X1 Yoga does a great job branching out from the X1 Carbon, which is itself an Ultrabook with positive characteristics. But the Yoga further builds on the Carbon by morphing that basic design into a thin and light two-in-one notebook using the Yoga hinge. For those looking for a notebook first, with some extra capabilities of being a touch device or tablet, the Yoga style devices from our experience win hands down over detachable convertibles. Compared to detachables, the Yoga devices have a much better weight distribution when used as a laptop, and Lenovo has included the ability to lock the keyboard when rotated, making it much better to hold and use in any of the non-laptop modes.
For performance, the battery life is reasonable by 2016 standards. One might suggest that with a premium line, a jump in platform efficiency would be a good aspect for the brand to move it into the higher echelons. Lenovo have been middle of the road against the competition in overall efficiency for some time - for some of the notebooks with large batteries this isn’t an issue, but on a size constrained notebook like the X1 Yoga, the effects are felt more quickly. The 52 Wh battery is a decent size for this size of notebook, but it isn't best-in-class.
We were lucky enough to be sampled both the LCD and OLED models to test. Lenovo is one of the first out of the gate with an OLED notebook, with a number of OLED designs on the market focusing on tablets, smartphones and VR. OLED technology has advantages that can really bring a wow factor to this market. The amazing contrast ratios of OLED easily outclass any LCD. While the OLED was advertised as highly accurate with specific options available, and it was much better than the LCD model, it still was not as good as some of the better notebooks we've seen over the past year or suited for professional use without user calibration tools. The color management software is comprehensive, so with some calibration the OLED on a per-unit basis from the factory would likely put the product ahead of the field in color accuracy.
It's hard to argue with the ThinkPad look, since it is so well known and Thinkpad customers demand it. Branding is difficult, and although some may find the ThinkPad lineup to be a bit low key, the matte black finish and design makes the laptop recognizable as a ThinkPad. Being a ThinkPad, it should be more durable than consumer notebooks, with a magnesium alloy chassis and military spec testing done to ensure it operates where many other laptops may struggle. For instance, the X1 Yoga, despite being convertible and despite having a lift and lock keyboard, still offers the spill-resistant keyboard. The polycarbonate exterior is pretty strong, especially where it is reinforced with carbon fibre, and there is a lot of durability there.
While the X1 Yoga keyboard can’t match some of the other thicker and heavier models like the T460s in key travel, it still has a great feel. The trackpad works well, and features a glass surface so it’s nice and smooth, which Lenovo combines with TrackPoint for those that use it.
Overall, the X1 Yoga is a good convertible. Lenovo has managed to make it thinner and lighter than the original X1 Carbon, yet still offer the versatility of the Yoga hinge. It's a solid offering from Lenovo. If thin, light, convertible, and business-class are all things you need, the X1 Yoga should be considered.
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overzealot - Wednesday, October 5, 2016 - link
Awesome, thanks Brett!ikjadoon - Friday, September 30, 2016 - link
I think there's a little error on battery capacity. IIRC, the OLED version actually uses a 56Wh battery, while the LCD uses 52Wh.http://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-X1-Yo...
So, then, the battery life for the OLED is actually even worse. :(
Lolimaster - Friday, September 30, 2016 - link
Not even my 7 years old Cowon S9 pmp shows that type of ghosting on his amoled display (pretty much zero ghosting).FXi - Saturday, October 1, 2016 - link
Interesting cross product implications from this review. Btw a very detailed review which is needed in this new type of product, kudos for not just glossing through the details but taking it head on.I note that power draw (with light screens which we knew about but good to note) being so much higher may well be a challenge to Apple going OLED. That may well cause them to implement a dark interface.
I bet Windows 10 with it's continuous approach to a dark interface may be ready for the move to OLED in more device types - though even using it you still had a severe drop in battery life.
If the gamut (which is going to be a big deal moving forward a couple years as 4k content all goes to wide gamut) had been wide on the LCD too, it would have been a fairer contrast. Wide gamut backlights on LCD's draw more power so then the comparison would have been more like to like in capability.
Often overlooked is that Nvidia (and possibly others but NV is the ones who discussed it) has for years made 10 bit wide gamut color accessible through DirectX which has supported wide gamut where the receiver (panel) could understand it. Now that would then need another culling of any actual games that have a wide gamut setting (even if invisible to the user) that activates on a wide gamut monitor, but be aware that taking advantage of wide gamut may not be restricted to just Adobe type programs. In fact the Nvidia driver has a checkbox for outputting 10 bit by force. This isn't color managed, but it begins to bridge the gap in the triple match you need of software/interface/hardware that would need to be aligned for high gamut impact.
If you'd tried a 4k HDR stream play on these devices I suspect you'd be pretty impressed at the differences.
Awesome job detecting the blur. That relates the the draw and hold driving of current panels that creates blur from the driving circuit in spite of OLED pixel draws. Yes it needs both hardware and driver level software to fix. Black frame insertion is the way to trick the brain and represents one first approach to curing this artifact. But it will come as no shock to you that the driver circuits in small devices are weak vs desktop or TV, but also that any special way of doing things now new to OLED and different from LCD is the weakest area of all. Very few houses make these kinds of chips needed for TV, fewer that can then be integrated for desktop and for mobile of laptop size, almost none. So it's going to take time and expansion of the entire market to drive new solutions as available.
Well done :)
cditty - Tuesday, October 4, 2016 - link
Easier for Apple to do OLED on the smaller screen. I'm really glad I read this article. The ghosting would have driven me crazy. I've used the FHD version of this laptop and liked it a lot (fingerprint login in particular). Makes sense to me why Apple is supposedly only using OLED on the Macbook Pro for a smaller touchpad. They won't trade off battery life. With processor and SSD technology constant now, it seems like the display (on a laptop) is the next battle point. I'm still relatively happy on a 5.5 inch phone with a 1080 screen. It's worth the extra battery life to me. A killer, accurate 1080 screen is better (to me) than a Q or UHD screen that kills the battery.I apologize for my 'all over the place' intermingling of phone and laptop discussion.
Erin Adreno - Sunday, October 2, 2016 - link
The nvme ssd speed doesn't seem right. That speed should come from a 950 pro instead of pm951.cptcolo - Saturday, November 12, 2016 - link
I am pretty sure it is a PM961 not a PM951cptcolo - Saturday, November 12, 2016 - link
I took apart mine, it indeed has a Samsung PM961 1TB SSD. I ordered mine back in June 2016.Ro_Ja - Monday, October 3, 2016 - link
It's also a good thing this laptop has the RAM in dual-channel mode. It greatly affects performance for onboard GPUs.amosbatto - Wednesday, October 5, 2016 - link
Let's talk about the longevity of this device. How hard is it to open the case and replace the parts? You didn't even bother to mention in the review that the battery is sealed in the case, which is very important when it dies after 2 years of use. Is it soldered or glued inside, or is it designed to be replaced? Is the keyboard a user replaceable part? Is the RAM soldered on the motherboard? Does the SSD use a standard connector? This is the essential information that determines whether a laptop lasts 5 years or 2 years and it is never included in any review.I just bought a Thinkpad T450s and I replaced the screen and added more RAM. The lid of the T450s is too thin to protect the screen in a fall in my opinion. The case is extremely hard to open without a plastic spudger and I marred the plastic because I only had a flat-head screw driver. Reviews used to open up laptops, but now we seem to live in a world where every device is designed for planned obsolescence.
These are important questions because the fabrication of a new laptop emits between 200 and 400 kg of CO2-equivalent. Between 60%-80% of the total energy of a laptop lies in its initial fabrication and the majority of its greenhouse gas emissions and other types of pollution are also caused by the fabrication. The best way to reduce the environmental impact is to use a device as long as possible and avoid new fabrication. I would appreciate reviews which at least give me some idea of the longevity of a device.
Another think that I would appreciate is some mention of the environmental hazards of its contents. Does it use PVC plastic and phthalates? Does it contain brominated flame retardants in the casing and motherboard? Does the screen contain arsenic? Does the manufacturer have a take-back policy, so the device can be easily recycled? For me, these are far more important questions when I buy a laptop than whether this device scores 5% better on some CPU test. I will never notice the incremental difference in the speed of the CPU, but I care whether I am being exposed to chemicals that may effect my hormones and could give my child a birth defect. Why do review sites like Anandtech never talk about whether the power cord on a laptop contains phthalates or not?