Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga 2019: New CNC Aluminum Chassis

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga has always shadowed the X1 Carbon, sharing a lot of the same hardware, but in 2019 the two computers drift a little bit more apart thanks to the X1 Yoga’s new CNC-aluminum chassis.

Lenovo said that users have asked for an Aluminum ThinkPad X1, but the company didn’t want to release it before it was ready. The main issue as we understand it, is that an Aluminum chassis tends to be heavier because the thickness required to pass the MIL-STD-810G military transport tests would be high.

However, after working a lot on this, Lenovo was able to not only build such a CNC-aluminum chassis, but they did it nearly 18% smaller in volume. The result is the 2019 ThinkPad X1 Yoga with an “Iron Grey” finish.

In addition to the new material, Lenovo has also reduced the display bezels by 11%, which helped reduced the overall computer volume as well. Lenovo is offering four display option for this laptop:

1. FHD IPS Touch (300 Nits)
2. FHD ePrivacy
3. WQHD IPS Touch (300 Nits)
4. HDR UHD IPS (500 Nits)

Just like its X1 Carbon 2019 sibling, the X1 Yoga 2019 has extra security features such as the physical webcam shutter (including on the IR-enabled webcam) along with ePrivacy, a screen treatment that prevents people from looking at your content from the side.

The different options allow Lenovo to target more use cases at different price points. For example, the privacy feature might be a niche market, but one that is not often served as well as X1 Yoga could. For the creative type, the HDR UHD display is probably the best quality display of all – for a price. For the battery-conscious user, the base FHD display should work best.

On paper, the audio quality should have improved a lot, with a quad-speaker Dolby Atmos setup. Two speakers are in charge of producing the bass, while two others will handle the high-frequency sounds.

The audio recording capabilities are better too. The new X1 Yoga has an array of far-field microphones which can pick up the user voice from far away, whether it is for a voice command to a digital assistant, or during a conference call.

As usual, the X1 Yoga should be configurable with the most powerful 15W TDP Intel Core i7 that recently came out. There will probably be a Core i5 version, although we’ll know more when the Lenovo configurator will appear on the official website.

The laptop can be bought with 8GB or 16GB of RAM, and storage options will go up to 2TB of SSD storage (PCIe).

In addition to the standard 3.5mm audio connector, there are four USB ports: 1x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 and 2x Thunderbolt 3.

The battery is ~5.6% smaller than last year’s model, but perhaps Lenovo is counting on the slightly more power efficient CPUs to make up for it. We’ll see what the battery tests show when we get our hands on one.

For those who want to stay connected all the time, the optional 4G LTE CAT16 broadband access would be the best way. ThinkPad X1 Yoga will be available in June 2019, starting at $1929.99

Lenovo X1 Yoga 2019 Specs

• 8th Generation Intel® Core™ Processors, 8GB or 16GB LPDDR3 RAM
• 12.71” x 8.58” x 0.59” (323 x 218 x 15.2 mm), Weight 3.09lbs (1.37kg)
• Displays: 14”: FHD IPS Touch (300nit), FHD ePrivacy +1, WQHD IPS Touch(30nit), HDR UHD IPS (500nit)
• Up to 2TB PCIe SSD
• Dolby Atmos Sound System, 4 far-field microphones
• 51Wh Battery
• 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 2, 2 x Thunderbolt 3, 3.5mm Audio
• Camera RGB & IR Camera w/ ThinkShutter
• Keyboard Dual Pointing CS18 Keyboard, LED Backlight
• Security Touch FPR, IR Camera, dTPM 2.0

Hubert Nguyen
Categories: Computers
Tags: CES, CES 2019, Lenovo, Lenovo Laptops, thinkpad