Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Review: The OLED Display Update

Final Thoughts

There's no question that Lenovo has a really nice utlralight machine here in the ThinkPad X1 Yoga. The X1 Yoga builds on the pedigree of Lenovo's excellent X1 Carbon line with innovations in the 360 degree Yoga hinge and integration of the ThinkPad Pen Pro, which can offer significant additional utility.


It is certainly a fantastic first generation product, but that doesn't leave it without room for improvement. We'd like to see the fit and finish improve such that the casing doesn't creak when you grab it and the keyboard doesn't flex quite as much when typing. Though, as we noted, the typing experience here is fantastic. We'd like to see a brighter display with better contrast. We'd like to see an option to use high bandwidth Thunderbolt 3.0 Type C devices with it as OneLink+ feels like a limiting vendor lock-in. We'd like to see NVMe solid state drives standard on all models. We'd love to see a denser or larger battery packed inside that can truly last all day. There is so much potential here for future generations.


Here in the now, we need to ask if the X1 Yoga delivers on the ThinkPad promise: does it get out of the way and let you work? You bet it does. Sure, at $1,749 in the configuration we tested, it does carry a slight premium to a comparatively spec'ed X1 Carbon 4th Gen but in return you gain the ability to work in more scenarios and use cases, with new tools as well. You'll need to think about your own workflow to decide if the Yoga hinge and svelte ThinkPad Pen are worth the upgrade or not, but thanks to Lenovo for allowing us to make that choice.

Update 9/14/2016 - 
We're also updating our rating of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga, to account for the significant upgrades and enhancements its OLED display option brings. From its impressively better brightness, saturation, contrast ratio and viewing angles, to its improvements in battery life, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga's upgraded OLED display option is well worth the roughly $240 premium it carries. It also transforms the machine from a HotHardware Recommended product, to an easy HotHardware Editor's Choice.  

Ultraflexible Yoga hinge High resolution 1440p screen Premium carbon fiber casing Roomy and forgiving keyboard Integrated ThinkPad Pen Pro Great performance Fantastic OLED display option Better battery life with OLED	IPS display could be brighter IPS display midrange battery life Ocassionally finicky trackpad