A masterpiece of a business laptop

THE LENOVO ThinkPad X1 Carbon (6th Gen) deserves its CES 2018 best business laptop award. It is ridiculously light, beautifully designed, and a pleasure to use. The only thing stopping most consumers getting one is the price.

The laptop comes in two base models: one with an Intel Core i5 processor from RM6,832, and the other with an Intel Core i7 processor from RM7,597.

You know how some cars look like they are going fast while standing still? The X1 Carbon ( right) is like that – the laptop equivalent of a hypercar.

The unit we reviewed was black with a semi-grippy satin finish you could only find on devices built with carbon fibre.

This construction makes the X1 light, durable, and does not conduct heat like aluminium or other metals, so it does not get too hot. The unit is also available in silver.

The keyboard on the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (6th Gen) is excellent, synonymous with the legacy and tradition of the ThinkPad name.

If Lenovo ever makes a wireless keyboard this style, I will get one for myself. Of course, with the signature ThinkPad keyboard comes the signature Thinkpad touchpad and pointing stick (isometric joystick used as a pointing device). The combo is an acquired taste, but I find them very practical. For a business-level device, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (6th Gen) has some features we do not often see on a typical consumer device. Most of these features are internal, such as system controls and administration tools. However, three external elements stand out. First is the novel ThinkShutter. Built on the assumption that your laptop’s webcam is spying on you, the ThinkShutter is a sliding door that covers the X1’s webcam. It is not automatic or motorised. Second is the fingerprint reader. If you do not opt-in for a camera that is Windows Hello compatible, the fingerprint reader gives you an alternative biometric login method that is faster and arguably more secure than a password or a PIN.

Third, is the ThinkPad X1 Carbon’s ability to dock into a device which grants it more ports, and when connected to another monitor and input devices, effectively turns it into a desktop.

It is a great feature for some corporate environments, but we did not get to test it.

If money were no object, I would recommend this laptop, if only for the design and the pleasurable user experience alone.

While the price is a major hurdle, still no other laptop says professional quite like the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (6th Gen). – Azizul Rahman Ismail