Lenovo X1 Yoga Gen 2 Business Laptop Delivers the Right Improvements

The second generation of Lenovo’s two-in-one business ultrabook, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga is an improved version of last year’s original. The company’s other business ultrabook, the X1 Carbon, remains in production and shares a lot of DNA with the Yoga. The 3-pound Yoga is about twice as thick and twice as heavy as Apple’s 12.9-inch iPad Pro but it has a 14-inch screen, a keyboard and several communications ports not available in the iPad. The X1 Yoga also includes Lenovo’s Pen Pro, which can work as a pointing device as well as a drawing and writing tool. Plus, it offers a wide variety of configuration options that let you pick the type of screen you want, as well as the amount of memory and mass storage that make sense for you. The Yoga also continues Lenovo’s history of excellent keyboards, making it a delight to use.

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Yoga excels in its most basic function: a tough, easy-to-use laptop that’s not only thin and light but—thanks to its Intel i7 processor and SSD mass storage—also very fast.

The X1 Yoga can be used with its hinge at the top, creating a tentlike structure in which it can be used for presentations or on a tray table when you’re on your couch and need the screen but don’t have space for the computer. The installed version of Microsoft Windows 10 Signature Edition can be used in either the workstation mode or the tablet mode (shown here).

Lenovo’s double-hinge design allows you to bend the keyboard to a position behind the screen.

You can fold the keyboard so that it provides a flat stable base for the screen. The keys retract so that they’re flat with the surface, and that keeps the keyboard from being damaged in such a configuration. The five rectangular holes beneath the screen are cooling vents. On the rear, next to the other hinge, is a cover for an SD card and a SIM card.

When the screen is folded back completely, the X1 Yoga becomes a tablet. While it’s thicker and heavier than an iPad, the screen is larger, and along the side are things you won’t see on an iPad. Starting from the left are a Kensington Lock, an HDMI port, a USB 3.0 port, a mini-RJ45 that comes with a dongle if you buy the Yoga, a headphone/microphone plug, the power/sleep button and the ThinkPad Pen Pro.

Connections from left to right are an Always On USB 3.0 port, a USB 3.0 port, and two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports. The port nearest the hinge is where you’ll plug in the X1 Yoga’s power supply.

In front of the X1 Yoga’s excellent touch screen is the best ultrabook keyboard you’re likely to find. If you’re using your laptop for actual work, this is an important productivity plus. The keys are nicely dished, they have surprisingly good travel for a keyboard so thin, and they have good action, meaning it’s easy to touch-type and feel confident that the key you hit will produce the letter you intended. Just below the spacebar is a set of mouse buttons and a scrolling button in the center. In front of that is the touchpad, which is smooth in operation and very responsive.

The ThinkPad Pen Pro is included with the X1 Yoga, and it uses active capacitive technology, which eliminates the need for a digitizing layer on the screen. The pen can be used for drawing, note taking and other features of the Windows Ink workspace. Lenovo says the pen has 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity. There are also left and right mouse buttons on the barrel of the pen. As you can see, the pen supports new levels of creative expression.