Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2019) Gets Stylish Design, New Speakers

Each year Lenovo refreshes its popular ThinkPad X1 line of flagship laptops by making them better, lighter and more capable. At CES, the new Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2019 (7th Gen) continues that trend with improvements to several key areas.

True to its name, the first thing you’ll notice is the new pure carbon fiber weave covering the top of the laptop, which is what makes it so thin, light, and durable. Then, open the lid and other upgrades like a 4K Dolby Vision HDR display or top-firing speakers complete what’s already a best-in-class laptop experience.

While the 2019 Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 7th Gen is still one of the thinnest and most portable laptops around, this year it’s even lighter starting at just 2.49 lbs. The company also doubled the far-field microphones to four, perfect for Cortana or Amazon Alexa commands, added more display choices, and plenty of power thanks to the latest Intel 8th Gen Core U processors. Here are the highlights.

• Now just 14.95mm thin and starting at 2.49 pounds (1.13kg) depending on the model, yet still meets MIL-STD 810G ratings for durability.
• Dual Dolby Atmos Speaker System featuring two user-facing top-firing tweeters and two down-firing woofers deliver premium immersive sound.
• Four far-field microphones (2 at the top) enhance conferencing calls, voice commands, and digital assistant ready for Cortana or Amazon’s Alexa.
• Up to 15-hours of battery life for business users on the go, plus LTE-A Wireless WAN will help you with any connection, remote data, or file transfers.
• Multiple displays options available, including a stunning new 14-inch 4K Dolby Atmos Vision HDR display with 500 nits of brightness. Or, a new and improved 400 nit FHD option.

The four 360-degree far-field mics will let you easily wake up your PC from afar, but they also take advantage of Amazon Alexa services. That way you can control your home or life, search queries, or shop anywhere and everywhere as long as you have your X1 Carbon. And just like last year, built into the thin display bezel are webcams with physical shutters to block the camera for those worried about privacy.

As expected, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon 7th gen is powered by the latest Intel Core processors. Plus, buyers can select up to 16GB of RAM, or max out the SSD storage at 2TB, instead of only 1TB like before.

Then, considering the thin design you’ll be happy to know that Lenovo still added multiple ports and connectivity options so you don’t have to live the dongle life. Whether that’s the USB-C, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, two full-size USB, 3.5mm headphone and an HDMI port. However, it looks like we did lose the multi-card SD reader from prior years.

Essentially, the new Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2019 adds subtle refinements to a tried and true laptop, while leaving all the features that made earlier models so popular. It will ship this summer around June of 2019, starting at $1709, and be available in multiple configurations.

If you’re wondering how this stacks up to previous generations here’s our X1 Carbon 2017 review and coverage of the sleek 2018 variant.