CES 2021 | The Lenovo ThinkBook 13x features a high resolution 16:10 display and can charge wirelessly

The ThinkBook 13x has an 11th Gen Intel CPU (up to an i7) paired with 8 GB or 16 GB of RAM. 8 GB of RAM is starting to become restrictive on devices that need to do more than a bit of simple (low number of open tabs) web browsing and word processing. The 16 GB option is welcome in the ultrabook form factor, something that many category alternatives aren't offering. Storage up to 1 TB of NVMe Gen 4 is available.

Another welcome trend is Lenovo's move to 16:10 aspect ratio displays across its various portfolios. This slightly less widescreen ratio improves the experience with reading or writing. We'd go as far as to claim it enhances the experience on pretty much every non-video watching activity. Brightness is respectable at 400 nits through the pixel-dense 2560 x 1600 13.3-inch panel.

Highlighting the ultraportable nature of the ThinkBook 13x is the svelte 1.2 kg weight and just under 13 mm thickness, making it easy to sling into a backpack and carry around all day. After all, this is only about 15% heavier than an iPad Pro 11 + Magic Keyboard. Wireless connectivity is good with WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, while dual Thunderbolt 4 ports give good compatibility with docking stations at home and work without requiring identical Lenovo-made models.

Lenovo's newly announced ThinkBook Charging Mat, a wireless charging pad with the surface area and output wattage needed for charging laptops, is compatible with this model. The intention is to use it portably, plugging it in when working off-site rather than the notebook so it can be quickly picked up and moved around. However, businesses often have hot-desk setups for field and sales staff who are infrequently in the office. If companies so choose, they could create more compact 'hot benches' where rows of charging mats replace docking stations, external monitors, and keyboards. The trade-off would be a worse desktop computing experience.

The 53 Wh battery is similar in size to the Dell XPS 13, so we would expect battery life to be equally good. The Dell has a higher peak brightness, which we found reduced the battery life by 3 hours compared to our default 150 nit WiFi benchmark. But the Lenovo has more pixels to power and will likely use more juice to push the same level of brightness through the tighter pixel structure.

Rounding out the feature list is an ambient light sensor for automatic brightness adjustment, a fingerprint scanner integrated into the power button, a privacy shutter on the webcam, and four microphones to (theoretically) improve audio call quality.

The Lenovo ThinkBook 13x will be available from Q1 2021 in Storm Gray or Cloudy Gray and starting at US$1199.

The 10th Gen ThinkBook 13s is still available on Amazon for almost $200 cheaper if the new features aren't appealing.