Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2015) Review: Back To Basics With Broadwell

Name: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2015) Ultrabook
Brand: Lenovo

by Dave Altavilla — Friday, March 13, 2015, 12:34 PM EDT

Experience, Software and Utilities

Page 3: Experience, Software and Utilities

Lenovo has actually trimmed down the software setup with this version of the X1 Carbon, only bundling in some useful custom utilities and few key apps to get you started. Third party apps like Norton Security suite and the Weather Channel app are here and a MIcrosoft Office 365 trial is also installed. The setup is intentionally thin on bloat and that's a very good thing.

Lenovo's Settings and System Health apps allow for quick control of various devices and subsystems on board, as well as the ability to monitor system health, check for driver updates, get warranty assistance and browse Lenovo's knowledge base and discussion forum for the machine. Lenovo has done a nice job actually, cleaning up the Companion and Settings interfaces you see above here. The panels have better contrast and easier navigation. We especially like the Companion app, as it provides some useful utility, while the Settings app functions can generally all be controlled via function keys. However, in a pinch, its on-screen interface could come in handy as well.