ThinkPad X1 Nano laptop.
Credit: LenovoLenovo shows that a good design combined with Intel’s 11th Gen energy-efficient processors yields a great ultraportable laptop.
tl;dr: The ThinkPad X1 Nano is only 2 pounds but delivers long battery life and good performance. The sheer lightness reminds me of the 2-pound 12-inch Retina MacBook.
Pros:
- Extremely lightweight
- Good performance
- Long battery life
- Virtually no chassis heat
Cons:
- Speaker placement
- Paucity of ports
- Attracts fingerprints
Performance: fast for a energy-efficient Intel processor
In my real-world* testing (see bottom notes), the Nano’s Intel 11th Gen i5-1130G7 — formerly Intel Y series — delivers performance that’s close enough to its higher-wattage cousins (like the Core i5-1135G7) that I hardly notice the difference.
And it holds its own against the M1 MacBook Pro in real-world use (i.e., not synthetic benchmarks). Yes, single-core and multicore Geekbench 5 benchmarks are well below those of my M1 MacBook Pro, but the difference doesn’t stand out in my everyday real-world use.
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In short, Lenovo and Intel prove that a well-engineered design combined with Intel’s most energy efficient 11th Gen Core processors deliver more-than-acceptable performance that can rival the M1 MacBook in typical workaday productivity scenarios.
Battery life: all-day
I’ve been surprised because the battery life comes close to my M1 MacBook Pro.
In my real world usage scenarios, I get 8 to 10 hours of battery life from my M1 MacBook Pro. In my testing so far, I’m getting 7 to 9 hours from the X1 Nano. (If this changes, I will update this review.)
The M1 MacBook aside, the X1 Nano delivers the longest battery life of any 11th Gen ultraportable (under 2.7 pounds) I’ve tested.
HP’s ultraportable, the Elite Dragonfly (2.2 pounds), which I tested for almost a year, also had good (similar) battery life. But that had 8th Gen processors.
In short, I can generally count on all-day battery life from the ThinkPad Nano X1.
Design: once you go featherweight...
It’s hard to go back to a 2.8 or 3-pound laptop.
I can’t overstate how important laptop weight is. When I’m constantly pulling a laptop out of my bag, putting it back, then pulling it out again...if that’s done dozens — or more — times over the course of the day, you really appreciate a laptop that weighs only 2 pounds.
And the 2 pounds is well distributed over a large 13.3-inch design instead of, let’s say, a more cramped 12-inch design.
Speaking of 12-inch designs...it’s reminiscent of the portability of the 2-pound 12-inch Retina MacBook (now discontinued). Despite that MacBook’s laggy performance, the feathery weight alone made it a good laptop on the road.
Ports: only 2 USB-C
You get two USB-C ports on one side (left side). That’s the kind of compromise you have to make in a laptop this thin and light. Upshot: make sure you’ve got all the dongles (aka adapters) you need handy.
Keyboard: no major complaints
No, you’re not getting the highly acclaimed keyboards on larger ThinkPads and key travel is limited. But it’s quiet and useable for long stretches of typing.
That said, you might want a stand-in (external keyboard) when you’re not on the road and have the X1 Nano on your desk.
Also, I would rate the keyboard on the Dell XPS 13 9310 a cut above the X1 Nano.
Display: good enough**
Most laptop displays in 2021 from top laptop OEMs are similar in quality because they’re often sourced from the same display manufacturers.
The X1 Nano’s 13-inch 2K (2,160-by-1,350) display produces rich colors that match other popular laptops in its display class.
Note that 2K is a step up from the prior FHD (1,920-by-1,080) standard for 13-inch laptops.
Speakers: placement problem
This is a common problem on many compact laptops: you will not get good speaker fidelity unless it’s on a flat surface that can reflect the sound (from the speakers under the laptop) upward.
In the case of the X1 Nano, there are two speakers on top (above the keyboard) and two on the bottom of the unit.
I use my laptop on my lap (surprise!) most of the time and the tweeters (under the laptop) get muffled enough that the sound quality takes a big hit. On a desk, however, the sound is good and you get a fuller range (tweeters, mid-range) from the speakers.
I also use an equalizer (Boom 3D). This can boost sound quality a lot.
Specs: my ThinkPad X1 Nano
- Processor: 11th Generation Intel Core i5-1130G7
- Display: 13-inch 2K (2,160-by-1,350) IPS, 450 nits, 100% sRGB
- Memory: 16GB LPDDR4x 4267MHz (Soldered)
- Storage: 256GB
- Battery: 48Wh
- Graphics: Intel Iris Xe
- Biometrics: fingerprint reader and face ID
- Audio: Dolby Atmos speaker system
- Mics: 4 x 360-degree mics
- Camera: 720p HD with webcam privacy cover
- Weight: about 2 pounds
- Material: Carbon-Fiber and magnesium
- Optional: LTE 5G
- WiFi: WiFi 6 AX201 802.11AX (2 x 2)
- Ports: 2 x USB4 Thunderbolt 4
- Price: varies / see this same spec’d system above on Amazon
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NOTES:
*For me, “real world” means using Microsoft Office, Google Docs, 20+ Chrome tabs, social media, videos, CMS, video conferencing, benchmarking applications, and photo editing.
**I’m biased these days because I’ve spent a lot of time using the OLED display on HP’s new Spectre x360 14, which is the best I’ve ever used on a 13- and 14-inch-class laptop.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano (left) and M1 MacBook Pro.
Credit: Brooke Crothers
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano (left) and M1 MacBook Pro.
Credit: Brooke CrothersComments or suggestions can be sent to me via a direct twitter message at twitter.com/mbrookec or mbcrothers@gmail.com.
The Link LonkApril 04, 2021 at 02:34AM
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