Leaked Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga and ThinkPad X1 Carbon datasheets signal a June launch for Intel Ice Lake

We've just seen details of a bevy of Lenovo's 2019 ThinkPads leak online but that's not the end of it. Apparently, Lenovo's 2019 X1 Carbon and X1 Yoga refresh are also expected to be unveiled in June and interestingly, they could be sporting the new Intel 'Ice Lake' 10 nm CPUs.

Do remember that Lenovo announced the X1 Yoga and the X1 Carbon refreshes at CES 2019 with Intel Whiskey Lake CPUs. Therefore, the documents below might not be accurate but since Dell has already announced plans for an XPS 13 with Ice Lake in June, we might as well presume that Lenovo will be offering Ice Lake options as well.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga

The 2019 ThinkPad X1 Yoga will be getting upgrades in most areas when compared to the 2018 ThinkPad X1 Yoga. The new model will be slimmer, lighter, and will sport reduced bezels. A 14-inch 4K 500-nit IPS panel is now available as an option apart from the default FHD IPS Touch panel.

The 2019 X1 Yoga will be powered by Intel's upcoming Ice Lake Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs with optional vPro configurations. RAM options have been upgraded from LPDDR3 to LPDDR4 and up to a maximum of 32 GB. Lenovo seems to have reduced the battery capacity to 50 Wh from 54 Wh in the previous generation and this might not go well with customers although, this could be potentially compensated via the purported power-efficiency improvements with the 10 nm Ice Lake processors.

Other improvements include addition of a side mechanical dock, USB 3.1 (Gen1 and Gen2) ports, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4, and Dolby Atmos audio. The LTE modem is also being upgraded to support both CAT9 and CAT16 speeds.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

The 2019 X1 Carbon will also be featuring similar upgrades as the X1 Yoga. It doesn't shave off much in terms of dimensions when compared to the 2018 X1 Carbon but is definitely getting more lighter. The new X1 Carbon is said to feature Core i5/Core i7 Ice Lake CPUs (including vPro options) with support for up to LPDDR4 RAM. Like the X1 Yoga, the X1 carbon will also see connectivity upgrades and a reduced battery capacity.

The inclusion of Intel Ice Lake is significant in more ways than one. Power-efficiency improvements with 10 nm aside, Ice Lake also marks a transition to the new 'Sunny Cove' architecture and powerful Gen11 GT2 graphics.

It is to be noted that Ice Lake is mentioned only for these two models, which gives an impression that Intel is supplying Ice Lake in limited numbers for the time being. Although initially expected to launch later in 2019, the arrival of Ice Lake in June could prove to be seriously competitive for AMD, which is also expected to unveil its 7 nm Ryzen parts at Computex 2019.