Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2018 Series

With security features, such as the ThinkShutter, that protects the front-facing HD webcam, and match-on-chip fingerprint readers with anti-hoaxing technology that safeguards the company’s data, whilst offering a more secure authentication and log-in, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, sure captures interest of tech savvy users. The Intel Quad Core CPU enhances the performance by up to 35 percent, compared to its predecessors. The memory is even increased in its speed with the LPDDR3. The IR camera that includes the Glance by Mirametrix, which combines face, eye and gaze-tracking, to produce a more intuitive and effective connection by automatically highlighting the cursor and transferring the windows with just the movement of the user’s eye. Not to mention, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, comes in shades of dark black and sleek silver with color-coded hinges. It is also projected with a 14” display option that is bigger and more exclusive. The FHD display offers a low-weight touch option, whilst the Dolby Vision high-dynamic range (HDR) technology option, offers dramatic effects. The ThinkPad X1 also delivers increased brightness, extended contrast, detailed colors, and meticulous details, all in a narrow-bezel design that is only 15.95 mm thin with minimal effect on battery life. With 15 hours of battery life, the minute it starts to run low, the RapidCharge technology offers 80 percent capacity in just 1 hour.

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon also comes with Cortana Premium that enables the feature to have commands narrated from 4 meters / 13 feet distance. Not to mention, the Amazon Alexa enables the user to play music, receive news, or manage one’s smart home or even shop, by just listening to the voice of the user. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon, also comes along with an Intel Thunderbolt 3, the technology that provides incredibly fast data transfer, up to 40 Gbps to USB-C. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is able to withstand any extreme condition. It has been tested against 12 military-grade conditions and more than 200 quality checks were done. The bonus feature of ThinkShutter minimizes the risk of being watched or have the user’s privacy invaded. This front-facing camera privacy and security is enabled with the option of the HD camera. Not only is privacy of the user protected, but the privacy of the user’s data is also protected with a discrete Trusted Platform Module (dTPM), that encrypts your information. Moreover, FIDO, which is an authentication capability, secures a user’s access information in 3 layers of security.

Hands-on article by Jagadisa Rajarathnam

Processor: Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i5-8250U, Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i5-8550U, Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i7-8650U
Graphics Adapter: Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display: 14.00 inch
Weight: 1.1kg, 1.126kg, 1.13kg, 1.2kg, 1.26kg
Price: 1599, 1700, 1800, 1839, 1899, 2500 euro
price: 90%, performance: 89%, features: 84%, display: 91%, mobility: 89%, workmanship: 95%, ergonomy: 93%, emissions: 90%

 

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2018-20KGS03900

Specifications

Notebook: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2018-20KGS03900
Processor: Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i5-8550U
Graphics Adapter: Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display: 14.00 inch, 16:9, 2560 x 1440 pixels
Weight: 1.126kg
Price: 1839 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage

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Average Score: 83.75% - good

 

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Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2018-20KGS03800

Specifications

Notebook: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2018-20KGS03800
Processor: Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i5-8550U
Graphics Adapter: Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display: 14.00 inch, 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixels
Weight: 0kg
Price: 1599 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage

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Average Score: 100% - very good

 

Foreign Reviews

 

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G6-20KG0039GE

Specifications

Notebook: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G6-20KG0039GE
Processor: Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i5-8550U
Graphics Adapter: Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display: 14.00 inch, 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixels
Weight: 1.13kg
Price: 1700 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage

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Average Score: 91.8% - very good

 

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Foreign Reviews

 

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G6-20KG0027GE

Specifications

Notebook: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G6-20KG0027GE
Processor: Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i7-8650U
Graphics Adapter: Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display: 14.00 inch, 16:9, 2560 x 1440 pixels
Weight: 1.26kg
Price: 1800 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage

Pricecompare

Average Score: 90% - very good

 

Reviews

 

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G6-20KH006MGE

Specifications

Notebook: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G6-20KH006MGE
Processor: Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i5-8550U
Graphics Adapter: Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display: 14.00 inch, 16:9, 2560 x 1440 pixels
Weight: 1.126kg
Price: 2500 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage

Pricecompare

Average Score: 80% - good

 

Reviews

Foreign Reviews

 

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2018-20KH0039MC

Specifications

Notebook: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2018-20KH0039MC
Processor: Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i5-8550U
Graphics Adapter: Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display: 14.00 inch, 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixels
Weight: 1.1kg
Links: Lenovo homepage

Pricecompare

 

Foreign Reviews

 

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2018-20KHCTO1WW

Lenovo is famous with its business models. With the Carbon series Lenovo also brings lightness and aesthetics to the table as well. I do not mean other ThinkPad models are heavy but the Carbon series in its 6th generation weight only 1.1 kg and competes with Dell XPS and Asus Zenbook S series. With Intel's 8th Gen processors, it is made possible to have high performance with U series processors and this made it possible for manufacturers to expand models in the ultrabook segment. Yes, we used to have 7th gen processors, but compared to 8th gen, they were kind of obsolete. Now, with 8th gen: performance, better battery times and power management is all possible. Okay, going back to the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. I would like to start with the bad parts first. Well it is only DDR3 2133 MHz RAM, oh and they are soldered, so you do not have the chance to upgrade in the future. Other than that, compared to the competition this models comes with a 14-inch screen. It has full HDMI connection, two Thunderbolt 3 connection, an SD card reader… So everything that you will need in an office environment. Here is the thing, yes, it is pricey. It is nice to use, hold, carry, I mean everything is fine with the device. Since we are talking about a Lenovo laptop, keyboard is out of this conversation. This laptop is for people that needs mobility, period. With its business-mindset it will help you do your typing etc. You will have all the looks while this laptop is on the table. But if you want to do some multimedia stuff, well it does not have any dGPU, so you are very limited with iGPU. Therefore before picking this beauty, make sure why do you need it. Of course its price tag will make you ask this question lots of times as well. You know, luxury comes with a price. Overall, if you have the budget go for it. But if you want both mobility and multimedia performance, Dell's XPS 15 models are lightweight (1.8 kg) and comes with dGPUs. Even MSI has some SKUs that can be considered light weight as well, but they are targeted at gamers and their battery runtimes are questionable. Hands-on article by Ümit Yılmaz Güneş

Specifications

Notebook: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2018-20KHCTO1WW
Processor: Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i5-8550U
Graphics Adapter: Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display: 14.00 inch, 16:9, 2560 x 1440 pixels
Weight: 1.2kg
Links: Lenovo homepage

Pricecompare

Average Score: 90% - very good

 

Reviews

Foreign Reviews

 

Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon G6 2018-20KH006DSP

Specifications

Notebook: Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon G6 2018-20KH006DSP
Processor: Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i5-8250U
Graphics Adapter: Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display: 14.00 inch, 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixels
Weight: 1.13kg
Links: Lenovo homepage

Pricecompare

 

Foreign Reviews

 

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2018-20KGS5DU00

Specifications

Notebook: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2018-20KGS5DU00
Processor: Intel Kaby Lake Refresh i5-8550U
Graphics Adapter: Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display: 14.00 inch, 16:9, 2560 x 1440 pixels
Weight: 1.13kg
Price: 1899 euro
Links: Lenovo homepage

Pricecompare

 

Reviews

 

Comment

Lenovo: Lenovo ("Le" from English legend, novo (Latin) for new) was founded in 1984 as a Chinese computer trading company. As of 2004, the company was the largest laptop manufacturer in China and, after acquiring IBM's PC division in 2005, the fourth largest in the world. In addition to desktops and notebooks, the company manufactures monitors, projectors, servers, etc, and specializes in developing, manufacturing and marketing consumer electronics, personal computers, software, enterprise solutions and related services.

In 2016, the company ranked first in the world in computer sales. It still held it in 2023 with about 23% global market share. Important product lines are Thinkpad, Legion and Ideapad.

In 2011, it acquired a majority stake in Medion AG, a European computer hardware manufacturer. In 2014, Motorola Mobility was purchased, which gave Lenovo a boost in the smartphone market.

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Modern games should be playable with these graphics cards at low settings and resolutions. Casual gamers may be happy with these cards.

Intel UHD Graphics 620: Integrated GPU (GT2, 24 EUs) found on some Kaby-Lake-Refresh CPU models (15 W ULV series). Technically identical to the previous Kaby-Lake GPU called HD Graphics 620.

» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.

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Intel Kaby Lake Refresh:

i5-8550U: Kaby-Lake-Refresh based low power quad-core processor. The four cores are clocked between 1.8 and 4 GHz (Turbo Boost) and support HyperThreading. The integrated GPU is clocked between 300 and 1,150 MHz. The SoC is manufactured in a 14nm+ FinFET process.

i7-8650U: Kaby-Lake-Refresh based low power quad-core processor. The four cores are clocked between 1.9 and 4.2 GHz (Turbo Boost) and support HyperThreading. The integrated GPU is clocked between 300 and 1,150 MHz. The SoC is manufactured in a 14nm+ FinFET process.

i5-8250U: Kaby-Lake-Refresh based low power quad-core processor. The four cores are clocked between 1.6 and 3.4 GHz (Turbo Boost) and support HyperThreading. The integrated GPU is clocked between 300 and 1,100 MHz. The SoC is manufactured in a 14nm+ FinFET process.

» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.

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14.00:

14 inch display size represents a middle ground between the small subnotebook formats and the screens of the standard 15 inch laptops.

The reason for the popularity of mid-sized displays is that this size is reasonably easy on the eyes, provides good resolutions with usable detail sizes, yet does not consume too much power and the devices can still be reasonably compact. 

In the past, 14-inch devices were very rare, but now they are the standard for laptops after the 15-inchers. 

» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.

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No weight comment found (one expected)!

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88.06%: This is an above-average rating. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that about one fifth of all tested models receive a better rating.

» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.

Devices from a different Manufacturer and/or with a different CPU

Devices with the same GPU