Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold Review

It's somewhat surprising that the world's first foldable-screen PC is a ThinkPad. When foldable screens debuted on phones last year, they were expensive gimmicks with questionable durability. ThinkPads are mostly expensive laptops, to be sure, but they're legendary for being the opposite of gimmicky and flimsy. Fortunately, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold (starts at $2,499; $2,749 as tested) has the benefit of years of testing and research, and, at least as far as physical design is concerned, this Windows tablet mostly lives up to its ThinkPad name.

That said, it compares poorly with established Windows tablets such as the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 on price, battery life, and computing performance, making it a tough sell for the general public. Still, this revolutionary tablet PC is rugged, futuristic, and unlike any Windows device you've ever seen. Like the controversial original Samsung Galaxy Fold, the ThinkPad X1 Fold has an undeniable cool factor that will appeal to early adopters. Everyone else should wait a year or two in the hopes that a more reasonably priced and more powerful sequel comes along, and that Windows integrates foldability better. 

The First Foldable Windows Tablet

The X1 Fold is a twin-faceted computing revolution. The most groundbreaking innovation, of course, is the physical design of the tablet. From the Apple iPad to the Microsoft Surface Go, most tablets have screens with diagonal measurements of around 12 inches or less. The X1 Fold's 13.3-inch display is slightly larger, a more fitting size when you're viewing feature-rich websites or editing a spreadsheet. While the tablet isn't heavy (it weighs 2.2 pounds) I've found that the best way to make use of the screen's full expanse is by propping it up on a desk with its built-in kickstand, much the same as you would with the Surface Pro 7.

But the ThinkPad X1 Fold has a trick up its sleeve that neither the Surface Pro 7 nor any other large tablet can match. The screen bends in the middle, turning the device into something resembling a hardcover book and rendering it immensely more flexible. With the screen folded, you could use the X1 Fold to catch up on the morning news in your magazine app, or use it as an ebook reader. You can also bend the two halves slightly together and set one of them on an airplane tray table or other tight space to use the X1 Fold as a mini conventional clamshell laptop. Set up like this, the bottom half of the display can show the virtual touch keyboard built into Windows, while the upper half that's tilted toward you displays content. Voila: You're now using a 7-inch laptop. 

Finally, when it's time to finish up whatever you're working on, you can fold the screen completely in half like you're closing a book. Not only is the screen protected in transit this way, but the integrated leather exterior of the tablet also folds with the screen, negating the need for a case to protect the X1 Fold's outer chassis.

Folded, the tablet measures 1.1 by 9.3 by 6.2 inches (HWD), making it compact enough to fit nearly anywhere. Unfolded, the X1 Fold is 0.45 by 11.8 by 9.3 inches, slightly larger than the Surface Pro 7 with its 12.3-inch display.

Intel's 'Lakefield' Experiment Inside

The X1 Fold's second revolutionary aspect is its use of an Intel "Lakefield" processor. Intel designed Lakefield specifically for tablets and other extremely compact PCs. Introduced earlier this year, Lakefield more closely resembles the processors that power phones and Android tablets than those for traditional laptops and desktops.

Instead of having four powerful processing cores, like most late-model Intel Core i5 and Core i7 laptop chips do, Lakefield comes with five single-threaded cores of varying abilities. A single 10-nanometer (nm) "Sunny Cove" core on the Lakefield chip can handle the heavy-lifting applications, while four 10nm "Tremont" cores can be leveraged for less-intensive computing tasks. 

Intel was able to minimize Lakefield's footprint by ditching the traditional method of laying the PC's components across a circuit board. Instead, a 3D-packaging technology called Foveros stacks components, including the DRAM, on top of each other, saving on space. 

Intel markets the Lakefield variant in the X1 Fold as a Core i5-L16G7. Similar to other Core i5 chips, it has a 1.4GHz base clock speed. While the four Tremont cores can only be boosted up to 1.8GHz, the Sunny Cove core can run as high as 3GHz. 

Theoretically, Lakefield promises benefits similar to those of competing low-power processors like the Apple M1 and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx, including long battery life without sacrificing computing performance when you need it. Unfortunately, as you'll see in the performance discussion below, the X1 Fold falls far short on these promises. It behaves more like a processor intended for inexpensive devices like Chromebooks, offering neither impressive battery life nor adequate performance for anything beyond light tasks. 

Accessories Cost Extra

You could use the X1 Tablet exclusively as a tablet, tapping on the screen with your fingers as the sole means of input. It's actually a satisfying experience for casual web browsing, thanks to the robust touch support built into Windows 10, and I spent much of my time testing the X1 Fold using it like this. 

But you could do the same tasks with a conventional tablet that costs far less, so part of the X1 Fold's uniqueness lies in its optional accessories that are designed to complement the foldable screen—especially the nifty keyboard. Lenovo could have offered the X1 Fold with a more traditional folio-style keyboard like the Microsoft Surface Type Cover, but that would be impossible to store with the X1 Fold when it's folded like a book. Instead, the company is offering the new Lenovo Fold Mini Keyboard, an adaptation of its legendary ThinkPad keyboard in laptops. 

For desktops and tablets, a ThinkPad TrackPoint Keyboard is available in a standalone wireless version, and that product shares some basic principles with the new Fold Mini Keyboard. You sync the Fold Mini board to the X1 Fold wirelessly, and you can set it on the tabletop in front of the tablet for longer typing sessions. But there are several key differences between the standalone ThinkPad keyboard and the Fold Mini. For starters, the Mini really is tiny. Its keys are a bit cramped, especially for my large fingers, and it has a minuscule touchpad beneath the space bar that is really only useful in situations where a cursor is absolutely necessary. Most of the time, you'll want to just tap the screen.

Still, in keeping with ThinkPad tradition, I find the keys remarkably sturdy and the overall experience better than I would expect from such a tiny keyboard. The Fold Mini keyboard can also magnetically attach to one half of the X1 Fold's screen. Attach it and fold the screen partway, and the physical keyboard replaces the virtual Windows one. Attach the keyboard and fold the X1 Fold completely flat, and you can transport both of them together.

The Fold Mini keyboard also charges wirelessly (via induction) when it's magnetically attached, keeping clutter to a minimum and eliminating one more charging cable to carry or lose. Alas, you'll pay handsomely for this accessory. Lenovo's more expensive X1 Fold configurations include it, or you can get it separately for $229. 

The Fold Mini keyboard comes with a simple elastic loop to store the X1 Fold's other main optional accessory, the Lenovo Mod Pen. This digital stylus is more premium than the pens typically offered with Lenovo touch-screen Windows PCs, especially the ones that have small built-in pen holders, like the one on the Yoga C940.

The Mod Pen has a built-in battery and a USB Type-C charging port, and it uses the Wacom pen protocol for precise pressure and tilt sensitivity. It's generously sized, comfortable to grasp, and a fine tool for taking notes on the X1 Fold's display. It may even satisfy some amateur digital artists.

Kind of Blue...No Longer

The displays on the early prototypes of the X1 Fold we saw were plagued by a distracting bluish tint when viewed from extreme angles. (See the video below, shot at CES 2020, for an example.) That problem is thankfully reduced on the production version. Its OLED display, with a 2K resolution of 2,048 by 1,536 pixels, offers reasonably faithful color reproduction at most viewing angles. It's rated to display 95 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

Viewing-angle consistency is more important on the X1 Fold than on a tablet or a PC, since when the screen is folded, you're always going to be looking at all or half of it from a considerable angle. I do notice a bit of distortion in the lower portion of the screen when I have the device set up like a laptop on my desk, with the upper portion facing me and the lower portion facing the ceiling. But it's far from distracting, and it doesn't affect basic colors.

The most noteworthy aspect of the X1 Fold's display is the fact that you hardly notice the crease in the center when it's folded. When it's flat, two shallow divots about an inch apart are evident near the center, but I could see them only when the device was turned off. There's no way of completely hiding the folding part of the display, something that's also true on other foldable-screen devices like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2. If you find yourself distracted by it, you can easily convince yourself that it's a badge of honor—this is the X1 Fold, after all, not a conventional tablet. 

Around the display is a soft-touch black bezel interrupted by two hinges in the middle. The bezel is a bit stodgy-looking, with noticeable gaps where it meets the chassis. The hinge design is a bit underwhelming, as well. A flimsy, stretchable material covers the hinges, and you can easily peel it back with your fingernails. (Note to prospective buyers: Don't do that.) Lenovo invented convertible laptops with the Yoga brand, and has come up with some truly innovative past hinge designs, including one that resembles the wristband of a luxury watch. So the X1 Fold's hinge is a bit disappointing by comparison. This is in contrast with the exceptionally sturdy-feeling outer shell, made of carbon fiber and magnesium alloy, and covered with a luxurious, soft black leather that itself folds in the middle. 

Lenovo says that the X1 Fold meets the usual durability and reliability standards for ThinkPads, including MIL-STD-810H testing. The company also tested the screen to ensure that it can handle the stresses of being opened and closed "thousands of times." The company offers a standard one-year mail-in warranty, which can be extended up to five years and supplemented with accidental damage protection for an additional charge. 

The X1 Fold's single camera is located in the display bezel next to the hinge. With many of the best Windows tablets offering both front- and rear-facing cameras with 1080p sensors, it's a bit disappointing that the X1 Fold includes only a single 720p shooter. Image quality is what you'd expect from a laptop camera. Video is occasionally noisy, even in well-lit indoor environments.

The X1 Fold's speakers, meanwhile, leave a lot to be desired. They're loud enough, but there's virtually no bass response, which is also disappointing next to thinner tablets that offer better audio quality, including the Apple iPad.

Connectivity options are run-of-the-mill for a premium tablet. In addition to the standard Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) and Blutetooth 5.1, you can configure an X1 Tablet with an optional cellular modem, which requires a physical SIM card and supports both 4G LTE and "sub-6" 5G. (Millimeter-wave 5G is not available.) The physical port options include two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, one of which is used to charge the tablet.

One of the long edges has a volume rocker, but there's no 3.5mm headphone jack. You'll have to use Bluetooth headphones or a USB wired pair.

X1 Fold Software Shortcomings

As innovative as the X1 Fold is, prospective owners need to be aware of two major downsides. They do affect the usability, and they aren't befitting such an expensive piece of technology.

The first is the limited range of software that can take full advantage of the unique foldable display. Because the X1 Fold is the first device of its kind, virtually no major third-party apps are expressly designed for its unique screen layout. 

As a result, X1 Fold owners will be limited to using a rudimentary Lenovo app for assigning apps and other screen elements to one half of the display or the other when it's folded. This Lenovo Mode Switcher app lives in the Windows taskbar, and it automatically detects when you start to fold the screen. It then offers three options...

The first two are split-screen views, with one app on the upper portion of the screen (or left-hand portion, if you're using the device like a book), and the other app on the lower (or right-hand) portion. There's also a single full-screen view, which keeps the screen layout the same as it was before you began to fold it.

The Mode Switcher works as intended, but I find its features inadequate. For instance, if you open a new app after the X1 Fold is already folded, the Mode Switcher app doesn't detect it, and the app opens in full-screen mode even if another mode is selected.

Also sorely missing is a shortcut to assign the virtual Windows keyboard to the entirety of one half of the display when it's folded. Instead, the on-screen keyboard behaves as it does on any other Windows device. You can either have it float, or snap it to the bottom of the screen.

Many of these software difficulties could be ironed out once Microsoft incorporates native support for foldable-screen devices into the Windows 10 operating system. This project, dubbed Windows 10X, was originally scheduled to be finished this year, but it has been delayed. In the interim, Lenovo's software solution feels like a stopgap measure unbefitting the X1 Fold's high price. 

Testing the X1 Fold: Lakefield Makes Small Ripples

Separate from the software shortcomings, the X1 Fold's other significant drawback is the lackluster computing performance mentioned earlier. Customers are stuck with the Lakefield Core i5; there's no option for a full-strength "Ice Lake" or "Tiger Lake" Core i5 or Core i7 that you'll find in other tablets like the Surface Pro 7. The X1 Fold is also fixed at 8GB of memory. The only configurable computing component is the SSD, which ranges from 256GB to 1TB of capacity.

In several days of light use, I found the X1 Fold to be adequate for basic web browsing and word processing. It's free of hangs and lags, and the Mode Switcher is obligingly quick at rearranging the screen without sluggish animations. However, similar performance can be expected of an iPad or a Microsoft Surface Go 2 that costs less than a third of the X1 Fold's starting price. (See how we test Windows tablets.)

To see how the X1 Fold stacks up against competing tablets, I compared its results on our benchmark tests with those of a few other tablets and convertible PCs. They include the Dell Latitude 7200 2-in-1, a business-focused tablet with an older but still plenty capable 8th Generation Intel CPU. I've also added the ThinkPad X1 Yoga, a 2-in-1 convertible laptop that is likely the X1 Fold's closest in-house alternative now that Lenovo has discontinued its ThinkPad X1 Tablet. Finally, I've included the Surface Go 2 and Surface Pro 7, our top choices for budget and premium Windows tablets, respectively.

It's important to note that none of these systems approaches the X1 Fold's $2,749 price as tested, and there really aren't many Windows tablets that cost more than $2,000, period. One notable exception is the Microsoft Surface Book 3, an expensive detachable tablet aimed at creative professionals. (It comes standard with its keyboard/docking base, however, and is much more laptop-like than most tablets when docked.) We haven't tested the 13-inch version of the Surface Book 3, and the 15-inch version is too large to serve as a reasonable alternative to the X1 Fold.

Right off the bat, the X1 Fold's performance shortfalls are laid bare in our first test. The PCMark productivity and storage benchmarks simulate a variety of common PC tasks, from videoconferencing to web browsing and light photo editing. Scores of 4,000 and above are considered excellent on the PCMark 10 test, and the X1 Fold only manages a bit more than half that...

It does better on the PCMark 8 Storage test, though all SSD-based systems tend to exhibit similarly excellent performance here.

The Lakefield chip also demonstrates deficiencies in resource-intensive tasks like multimedia content creation. No compact tablet should be expected to excel with these types of workloads, but the X1 Fold is still far behind even the Surface Pro 7 when it comes to rendering a 3D image using Maxon's CPU-centric Cinebench app. The X1 Fold performs about the same on this test as the $730 Surface Go 2 does.

Also worth noting: The Surface Go 2 manages this task in silence, since it lacks an active cooling fan. The X1 Fold does have a fan that can become clearly audible under intensive workloads.

The X1 Fold's video-encoding capabilities aren't much more muscular than its 3D rendering. It took 36 minutes to transcode a 4K video to 1080p using the CPU-centric Handbrake app. It's worth noting that the Surface Pro 7 performed abnormally poorly on this test, though it still manages to beat the X1 Fold. Even the 8th Generation CPU in the Latitude 7200 2-in-1 managed to top the X1 Fold's result here.

Our final multimedia test involves measuring how long it takes to apply a series of 10 filters and effects to an image in Adobe Photoshop. The X1 Fold finished last here, slower than even the Surface Go 2.

In addition to falling short when compared with Windows competitors, the X1 Fold's scores on the Geekbench 5 CPU test suggest that it's no match for an iPad, either. The X1 Fold measures 592 on the Geekbench 5 single-core test, and 1,765 on the multi-core trial. The latest iPad Air, with Apple's A14 processor, scores 1,572 on the single-core test and 3,931 on the multi-core.

Decent Graphics Performance (for a Tablet)

In contrast to its mediocre performance on multimedia and general computing tasks, the X1 Fold holds its own when it comes to 3D graphics performance. We use two gaming-style benchmarks to approximate graphics capabilities, 3DMark and Superposition. While none of the test systems here is capable of the 30 frames per second (fps) mark that we typically regard as the minimum for smooth gameplay, the X1 Fold was in the ballpark of the Latitude and the X1 Yoga, especially on the 3DMark test.

Battery life is another disappointment for the X1 Fold. It lasted for just 8 hours on our video-playback battery rundown test, which is performed at 50 percent screen brightness and with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth switched off...

We expect more from a premium Windows tablet, as even the Surface Pro 7 lasted for nearly 12 hours. The X1 Fold's high-resolution screen is partly to blame here (more pixels consume more power), but it's not an excuse. For instance, the Surface Pro 7 has a much-higher-resolution display, measuring 2,736 by 1,824 pixels.

(Still) Waiting for the Foldable Revolution  

The X1 Fold mostly nails its hardware. This is a ThinkPad, after all, and it lives up to the name. Nearly everything about the X1 Fold is meticulously engineered and feels sturdy, from the nifty external keyboard to the foldable display itself. There are a few minor drawbacks, such as a missing second camera and those stodgy black hinges, but overall, the physical design is excellent. 

As well-engineered as the X1 Fold is, it nevertheless falls considerably short when it comes to computing performance, battery life, and the software required to take full advantage of its revolutionary screen. Because of that, it's hard to recommend to anyone but the most enthusiastic of deep-pocketed early adopters. Everyone else would be far better served by choosing a more capable and less-expensive tablet like the Surface Pro 7 instead. Or, if you simply must have a foldable screen on your person, the excellent Galaxy Z Fold 2 is an attractive option if you're also in the market for a new phone. 

While the X1 Fold is ultimately falls flat as a first try for foldable Windows tablets, it doesn't rule out tantalizing future developments. If Microsoft is able to build support for foldable screens into the Windows operating system in an elegant way, it could spur innovation that gives rise to a new class of devices that use more capable components and are therefore more powerful (and, ideally, less expensive) than the X1 Fold. That's the future that fans of foldables should get excited about.

Posted in: Tablets