Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Tablet (Gen 3)

THERE’S NO PADDING IN THIS DETACHABLE 2-IN-1.

WHILE IT MIGHT seem like the additional space constraints of detachables would mean they’re disadvantaged against bigger convertible 2-in-1s, the Thinkpad X1 from Lenovo actually holds up well. Available in two main variations (4G or Wi-Fi only), you can customise from four different CPU variations that come with either 8GB or 16GB of RAM and a choice of SATA 3 or PCIe connected SSDs. The model we tested had a Core i5-8350U CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB PCIe SSD packed into it.

The 13-inch IPS touchscreen display on the Thinkpad X1 features the same 3,000 x 2,000 resolution as Microsoft’s Surface Book 2. Not only is this screen more vibrant than a lot of the devices on offer, there’s something to be said about the additional portability and versatility of a fully detachable tablet. If you’ll actually need to use your 2-in-1 as a tablet regularly, the Thinkpad’s 890g tablet is a much more practical solution against the almost-unmanageable 1.2kg plus models.

We weren’t overly surprised to see that the Thinkpad X1’s Core i5 CPU scored between 13% and 25% lower than the highest Core i7 2-in-1 chips on general home and work benchmarks, but the raw computing scores we got from media encoding and Cinebench’s R15 CPU tests were on par with faster i7 CPUs. Despite this solid performance, Lenovo managed to keep the components at a conservative maximum of 91°C and the battery running for 5:35 hours during movie playback.

A Thinkpad X1 (Gen 3) with matching components to the Lenovo Yoga 920 will cost an additional $200, with the detachable landing at an RRP of $3,224, but in our opinion, this is well worth the benefits of having an easy-to-use tablet.