Lenovo ThinkPad X1 series adopts Intel 12th Gen CPUs along with OLED display options

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 open facing away from camera displaying carbon texture
(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

Lenovo's Thinkpad X1 series is a trio of some of the most compelling business laptops on the market and the refreshed models at CES 2022 introduce the latest Intel 12th Gen CPUs alongside new OLED displays. 

We've had a chance to get a brief hands-on with these laptops already, but our full reviews will be coming later in the year, for now, here's a look at what's new with the X1 series in 2022.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 picks up an array of interesting new features and options for this milestone 10th generation. Inside of course is the aforementioned Intel 12th Gen processor, up to a Core i7 vPro with either a U- or the new P series processors for even greater performance.

If you have a more demanding workload you can upgrade all the way to 32GB of DDR5 RAM and store everything under the sun with up to a 2TB PCIe NVMe SSD.

Despite its 2.48 pound weight and 12.4 x 8.8 x 0.6-inch dimensions placing it squarely in the thin-and-light category you also have an abundance of ports with two Thunderbolt 4, two USB 3.2 Type-A Gen-1, an HDMI 2.0b, a combo headphone/mic jack and a Nano SIM slot for optional LTE connectivity. 

You also have a wide array of options for the 14-inch 16:10 display. New this year are a 2.8K OLED panel and touchscreen options at either 1920 x 1200 or 3840 x 2400. The base display is simply a 1920 x 1200 IPS with a solid 400 nits of brightness. 

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 will be shipping in March 2022 with a starting price of $1,639.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 7

(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 7

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 7 picks up a number of the same tricks as the Carbon, but of course with that Yoga hinge that fans of this 2-in-1 have come to love.

Inside you again have the option of up to an Intel 12th Gen Core i7 vPro U- or P-series processor along with Intel Iris Xe graphics. RAM and storage also top out at 32GB of DDR5 and a 2TB Gen 4 PCIe NVMe SSD. 

That hinge does add a bit of weight to the laptop, but at 3 pounds exactly it's still not much of a burden in your bag and the 12.4 x 8.8 x 0.61-inch chassis will fit in almost any laptop bag. Port options again should cover just about anyone's needs with two Thunderbolt 4, two USB 3.2 Type-A Gen-1, an HDMI 2.0b, a combo headphone/mic jack and a Nano SIM slot for optional LTE connectivity.

The 14-inch 16:10 display naturally supports touch across all four options with 1920 x 1200 with 400 nits of brightness as standard and a new 4K OLED with 500 nits of brightness at the top end. 

The ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 7 will be shipping in March 2022 with a starting price of $1,749.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 2

(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 2

The first-generation ThinkPad X1 Nano earned our Editor's Choice award last year and while not too much has changed for this year, we expect a bump in its already impressive performance.

That is due to the new Intel 12th Gen Core i7 vPro CPU, which interestingly is only the P-Series, rather than U- or P- like its X1 siblings. For a featherweight (2.13 pound) laptop that is going to perhaps lead to some surprising benchmarks and general performance results. At 11.5 x 8.2 x 0.57-inches, this laptop is basically the definition of ultra-thin-and-light and will disappear into any laptop bag you carry. 

Despite its diminutive dimensions, it offers up to the same 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a 2TB PCIe SSD. The port selection is the one real concession for its size, you get two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a combo headphone/mic jack and a Nano SIM slot. If you still need USB Type-A support you'll either need to pick up a Thunderbolt hub or consider one of the other X1 models. 

The 13-inch display options are limited to simply touch or non-touch, both are 2K with Dolby Vision and 450 nits of brightness. 

The ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 2 will be shipping in April 2022 with a starting price of $1,659. 

Sean Riley

Sean Riley has been covering tech professionally for over a decade now. Most of that time was as a freelancer covering varied topics including phones, wearables, tablets, smart home devices, laptops, AR, VR, mobile payments, fintech, and more.  Sean is the resident mobile expert at Laptop Mag, specializing in phones and wearables, you'll find plenty of news, reviews, how-to, and opinion pieces on these subjects from him here. But Laptop Mag has also proven a perfect fit for that broad range of interests with reviews and news on the latest laptops, VR games, and computer accessories along with coverage on everything from NFTs to cybersecurity and more.