Lenovo has improved the X1 Fold in all areas

The first ThinkPad with a foldable display has become bigger, more powerful and more usable this year.

Lenovo presented the new generation of the ThinkPad X1 Fold, which we also tested, which was redesigned from the ground up in accordance with customer needs. It’s not just a good-sounding slogan: speaking to one of the company’s product development managers, we learned that the company involved several of the original X1 Fold’s customers in a long-term study, during which they were asked via videophone interviews and e-mail questionnaires whether what they think about the device, what they experienced while using it, and so on. We can (also) see the result of this in the new product.

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One of the most spectacular elements of the development is that the new Fold has grown a lot: while the predecessor’s 13.3″ display could only be used comfortably for work when opened, the new product offers a 12″ image size with a resolution of 2024×1280 pixels and a full-fledged , with a keyboard equipped with both a trackpoint AND a touchpad. The hinge has also been reworked, so that when the machine is folded, we no longer have a slight wedge shape, the two sides of the display fit together like the pages of a book.

The new stand is a separate unit and attaches magnetically to the back of the X1 Fold [+]

However, the fold-out support on the back of the machine has disappeared (so the entire device can be thinner), and it has appeared as a separate accessory that is connected to the Fold itself using magnets. By the way, this magnetic attachment appears in several areas, as this is how the backlit keyboard and pen, which use Bluetooth interface data transmission, are attached to the machine.

The back panel is fixed with adhesive strips, the SSD can be replaced on its own inside [+]

As for the internal specifications, we can choose from 12th generation U series Core i5 and i7 processors, the memory can be configured up to 32 GB, and the storage up to 1 TB. The display comes from Sharp, a 16.3” OLED panel with an aspect ratio of 4:3, a maximum brightness of 600 nits, a full DCI-P3 color space and a resolution of 2560×2024 pixels. As for the dimensions, the tablet measures 355 x 277 x 9 mm when opened and 277 x 176 x 18 mm when folded, and weighs 1.3 kg on its own, but when combined with the keyboard and stand, this increases to 1.92 kg.

The cooling uses both a vapor chamber and a heat pipe [+]

We criticized the first-generation X1 Fold for its unfortunate connector layout, and this has also been corrected for the new model, in addition, there are now three Type-C sockets instead of two. Two of them offer Thunderbolt 4 and the third USB 3.2 Gen2 interface. The wireless network options are Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 and an optional 5G modem. According to the specifications, the built-in battery has a capacity of 64 Wh – just to note that it actually consists of two units, a 46.8 Wh power source is hidden in one half of the machine and a 16 Wh power source in the other half. It was also said at the presentation that the machine can be assembled – we accept this with some skepticism, because the back panel is glued. In any case, if we manage to open it carefully, we can still replace only the SSD, which can be especially important in a corporate environment due to the value of the data stored on it.

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The arrival of the new ThinkPad X1 Fold is expected around November, and its price may start around 3,000 euros in the region.