Lenovo X1 Carbon AI Laptops Debut Space Frame Design For Better Cooling And Repairs
Lenovo is refreshing its ThinkPad X1 laptops with some exciting new hardware upgrades, not the least of which is the debut of what it calls a Space Frame design to facilitate better cooling and to make swapping out components a lot easier. This is brand new and a key differentiator from the previous generation ThinkPad X1 Carbon we reviewed. The "engineering breakthrough," as Lenovo refers to it, rethinks the interior so that components can be placed on both sides of the motherboard.
"This optimized space enables improved cooling, contributing to higher sustained performance, and in addition supports faster, simpler repairs with replaceable USB ports, battery, keyboard, speakers, and fans. It also makes room for a larger haptic touchpad," Lenovo says.
It's basically a redesign from the inside out, with what Lenovo is calling a Space Frame design because it's adding more space to the system layout. Lenovo realized that as laptops and 2-in-1 devices continue to get thinner and lighter, it becomes more challenging to manage thermals. The Space Frame design effectively increases the thermal ceiling, while simultaneously providing side benefits to repairs and upgrades.
The first two laptops with this new design philosophy include the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition and ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 11 Aura Edition. Both models incorporate Intel's new Core Ultra X7 Series 3 processors based on Panther Lake, with up to Arc 12Xe graphics.
Both systems also support up to 64GB of LPDDR5x memory at a fast 9,600MT/s, and both can be configured with up to 2GB of speedy PCIe 5.0 solid state drive (SSD) storage.
Other shared specs include up to a 10-megapixel webcam with a wide field of view, dual speakers and dual microphones with Elevoc noise cancellation, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, a USB 3.2 Type-A port, an HDMI 2.1 output, and a 3.5mm audio jack. In terms of wireless connectivity, the new ThinkPads feature Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and NFC support.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition can be outfitted with up to a 2.8K OLED display with 500 nits brightness, variable refresh rate support, 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space, and optional touch support. Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 11 Aura Edition also gets up to a 2.8K OLED, with touch support being standard (being a 2-in-1 and all).
Lenovo says both the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition and ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 11 Aura Edition will be available in March starting at $1,999 and $2,149, respectively.
