The X1 Carbon was provided, on loan, by Lenovo for the purpose of this article and the embedded video.
The X1 Carbon G13 is the best 14″ laptop I used in 2024. In fact, for non-gaming purposes, it’s my favorite laptop, period. What makes it stand out is the thin and light chassis, quality unique design, perfect keyboard, and a perfect display. I’ll dive into these in turn, but, first, I want to make it clear I’m so enamored by the X1 Carbon that I will have a hard time being objective. I’ve always loved ThinkPad’s, but Lenovo have elevated the ThinkPad to new heights with this one.
Aura Edition Features
Aura Edition is a recent designation for premium Lenovo products that integrate advanced artificial intelligence (AI) features to enhance user experience. Aura Edition is not exclusive to the ThinkPad line and the features do vary a bit between laptops. I recently reviewed the Yoga Slim 7i if you would like to explore some of the differences. In the case of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13, this designation signifies the inclusion of AI-driven functionalities designed to adapt to users’ workstyles and environments.
Key features of the Aura Edition include:
- Smart Modes: These intuitive modes adjust the laptop’s performance, security, collaboration tools, and wellness features based on user activities and preferences, providing a personalized computing experience.
- Shield: Automatically enable VPN and be alerted when your webcam observes another person looking at your screen.
- Attention: A user-based timer for distraction-free work.
- Collaboration: Leverage AI to enhance your video and access various presenter tools.
- Wellness: Be subtly alerted when your posture is imperfect.
- Smart Share: This feature enables seamless sharing of images and files between devices, streamlining workflows and enhancing productivity.
- AI Integration: The Aura Edition leverages AI to understand and adapt to the user’s workstyle and environment, optimizing performance and user interaction.
Finding these modes can be a challenge. Within Lenovo Vantage, one must navigate to the menu and then select “Modes”. There are also widgets one can access by pressing the “Mode” key, which is a secondary function mapped to “F8”.
Two of my favorite ThinkPad privacy features are now part of the “Shield” mode.
Privacy Alert and Guard are powerful tools to help protect your privacy, but they do impact battery life negatively. Now that they are accessible via the Smart Mode widget, they are much easier to toggle between enabled and disabled. This provides users with the opportunity to manage privacy and battery life more easily and quickly.
Build and Design
The feel of a thin and light laptop has never felt more reassuring than with the X1 Carbon Gen 13. It weighs just 2.16 lbs. and has dimensions of 0.32 – 0.56ʺ x 12.31ʺ x 8.45″. Compared to the Gen 12 model from 2022, the Gen 13 is 10.9% lighter and approximately 3.94% thinner. Lenovo did not compromise on durability to achieve this remarkable size. To help reduce the weight, Lenovo switched from an aluminum base material to magnesium. While the lid is still aluminum, surrounding the X1 Carbon’s chassis is the traditional smooth finish that makes ThinkPad’s comfortable to hold. And unlike other black finishes, this is not a fingerprint magnet. That goes for the keyboard as well. There is something special about picking up the X1 Carbon Gen 13. It’s almost like I expect it to be heavier and more dense than it is – like a prop instead of an actual, fully functional laptop.
Keyboard & Trackpad
The world’s worst kept secret is how good ThinkPad’s are for typing. But the Carbon, I believe, has gotten a bad rap over the years. Due to its form factor, the key travel has not been as deep as other ThinkPad series’, such as the vaunted T-series. Personally, I’ve enjoyed the keyboards on the past Carbons and the keyboard on the 13th generation is just as good.
The changes this year are in the trackpad. Lenovo now offers the X1 Carbon with a haptic trackpad that rivals the trackpad of the MacBook. The model I am testing does not include the haptic trackpad, but I have tested it before on the ThinkPad Z series and I do find it a better experience than the standard glass trackpad. However, for those who look the TrackPoint nub, it does not matter too much as the TrackPoint can be an efficiency booster. I have not been a TrackPoint user in the past but since Lenovo added new features to it this year, I put some time into become proficient with it.
Display
Your eyes are in for a treat with this 14″ 2.8K OLED display. I use a 1440p OLED display every day. So, I’m no stranger to the beautiful contrast ratio of an OLED. Still, I am impressed. My model has an anti-glare and anti-reflection coating that rocks. The refresh rate can be set to either 60Hz or as much as 120Hz. For my testing, I kept it at 120Hz when I was not intentionally trying to get the best battery life. The combination of all of these characteristics, as well as HDR 500 and support for 100% DCI-P3, yields an insanely satisfying display. I mostly use my work laptops for Microsoft Office applications, browsing the web, using AI apps, and running YouTube in picture-in-picture mode. Consequently, I don’t need such a phenomenal display. But I am so happy to have it.
For several days I was trying to figure out why this 14″ display was easier on my eyes than the 14″ display of my MacBook Pro. While I do use an external display, I still use my MacBook display as my secondary throughout the work day. Eye strain is a real thing that I deal with, daily. As it turns out, I’ve determined it’s the matte, anti-glare finish of the Carbon Gen 13 that made the difference. Yes, Apple now offers a similar finish called Nano-Edge, and it comes at a premium price and is restricted to certain configurations.
Technical Specifications (lenovo.com)
| Processor | Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 258V Processor (LPE-core Max 3.70 GHz, P-core Max 4.80 GHz with Turbo Boost, 8 Cores, 8 Threads, 12 MB Cache / 32 GB MOP)45+ trillions of operations per second (TOPS) AI performance for NPU |
|---|---|
| Display | 14ʺ 2.8k OLED (2880 x 1800) antiglare / antireflective / antismudge, 400nit, 100% DCI-P3, DisplayHDR True Black 500, Dolby Vision®, Eyesafe®, 120Hz refresh rate, 16:10 aspect ratio |
| Operating System | Windows 11 Pro |
| Graphics | Intel® Arc™ Xe2 GPU with >60 TOPS |
| Memory | 32G LPDDR5x 8533MT/s soldered, dual channel |
| Storage | Up to 2TB PCIe Gen 5 SSD (2280) Performance |
| Battery | 57Whr, customer replaceable unit (CRU)Supports Rapid Charge (60 minutes = 80% capacity), requires 65W or higher power adapter |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos®2 x 360-degree quad-array microphonesDolby Voice® certified for professional conferencing solution |
| Camera | FHD 1080p & infrared (IR) with webcam privacy shutter & Lenovo View |
| Dimensions (H (front-to-back) x W x D) | 8.08 – 14.37mm x 312.8mm x 214.75mm / 0.32 – 0.56ʺ x 12.31ʺ x 8.45ʺ |
| Weight | 986g / 2.17lbs |
| Keyboard | Air intake keysBacklit with white LED lightingDual-function TrackPoint: navigate like a mouse or double-tap to open TrackPoint Quick MenuGlass TrackPad with 3 buttons* or haptic TouchPad*Spill-resistantThinkPad TrackPoint Copilot Keyboard (1.5mm travel) |
| Ports/Slots | 2 x USB-C® (Thunderbolt™ 4, USB 40Gbps)2 x USB-A (USB 5Gbps)Headphones / mic comboHDMI 2.1 (supports resolution up to 4K@60Hz) USB port transfer speeds are approximate and depend on many factors, such as processing capability of host/peripheral devices, file attributes, system configuration and operating environments; actual speeds will vary and may be less than expected. |
|---|---|
| Wireless | Intel® WiFi 7 BE201 802.11BE (2 x 2)Bluetooth® 5.3 |
| Supported Docking | USB-C® Thunderbolt™ 4USB-C® |
Performance
Objectively, benchmarks are not a standout. According to sites like Toms Guide, the X1 Carbon Gen 13, equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, performs about 15% below a MacBook Air with M3 in single-core and multi-core benchmarks. Subjectively, however, opening and using multiple applications, including Edge and Brave with multiple tabs open, is smooth as butter. In my opinion, if your demand is reasonable, you won’t think twice about performance. There comes a point where benchmarks matter less than the total package provided by a manufacturer. And I’d happily sacrifice 10-15% of performance if it means a durable, thin body like what we have here.
Battery life, on the other hand, is an area where I’m less willing to make sacrifices. Had Lenovo kept the Gen 12 chassis, could they have used a larger battery? With a different processor, say Snapdragon X, could the Gen 13 have better battery life? I wish i knew the answer. Unfortunately, what we’re getting here is acceptable battery life. In my uses, which was purely Office applications, Zoom, and Edge and Brave browsers, I averaged about 8 hours per day. I’m truly happy with this, but I’m yearning for the day when we have truly all day battery life.
Who is this For?
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 is my favorite laptop available right now. If you have the following needs then, like me, this Carbon Gen 13 is a good fit for you
- Monthly travel for 2-3 days
- An airplane-friendly laptop
- A cafe-friendly laptop
- Onboard HDMI port
- Thunderbolt 4
- A beautiful, anti-glare display
Returning the Carbon to Lenovo was hard for me. But I have my eyes on buying one soon.