Review: Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 7 looks good, but feels warm

Specifications at a glance: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 7
	Worst	Best	As rated
Screen	14-inch 1920×1200 IPS touchscreen @ 60 Hz	14-inch 3840×2400 IPS OLED touchscreen @ 60HZ	14-inch 1920×1200 IPS touchscreen @ 60 Hz
OS	Windows 11 Home	Windows 11 Pro	Windows 11 Pro
Processor	Intel Core i5-1240P	Intel Core i7-1280P	Intel Core i7-1260P
RAM	8GB LPDDR5-5200	32GB LPDDR5-5200	16GB LPDDR5-5200
Storage	256GB SSD	1TB SSD	512GB SSD
GPU	Intel Iris Xe
Networking	Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
Ports	2x USB-C (Thunderbolt 4), 2x USB-A (3.2 Gen 1), 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x 3.5mm jack
Mate	12.38 × 8.75 × 0.61 inches (314.4×222.3×15.53mm)
Weight	Starts at 3 lbs (1.38 kg)
Battery	57 Watt
Guarantee	1 year
Price (list price)	$1,589.40	$2,279.50	$1870.03
Other	Stylus, optional 4G LTE	Stylus, optional 4G LTE	stylus

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga, now in its seventh iteration ($1,870.03 MSRP as tested, at the time of writing), continues its modern take on the business ThinkPad. It has the durability expected of a business machine, as well as smooth navigation, underlined by a carefully programmed keyboard suitable for frequent typists, and of course that famous red knob.

However, the laptop doesn’t necessarily outperform high-end consumer laptops, even some with slightly cheaper price tags. And as with other ThinkPads we’ve tested, heat in Best Performance mode is such a big deal that even light workloads will make the machine so hot you won’t want to touch it in certain areas.

ThinkPad Styling

Naming tells you that this machine is part Lenovo ThinkPad, part Lenovo Yoga, but the styling and sturdy build lean more towards the former. Yes, there’s the same 360-degree hinge found on Lenovo Yoga 2-in-1s, as well as a modern, thin-and-light build in a dark gray that’s nicer than the more traditional ThinkPad black. But the density and solid feel of the aluminum chassis combined with the deep keyboard, advanced trackpad and famous red rubber studs all scream for ThinkPad.

The chassis of the ThinkPad X1 Yoga conforms to the U.S. military’s MIL-STD 810H standard, enabling it to pass through 20 testing procedures in areas including exposure to extreme temperatures, mechanical shock, vibration, humidity, solar radiation, and sand and dust. It bears the engravings of ThinkPad logos on the lid and deck. The lid logo has a vigilant red light above the “i” so anyone looking at you knows the system is running. Meanwhile, the deck logo sometimes scratched my palm as I typed.

The ThinkPad X1 Yoga is 0.61 inches thick and starts at 3 lbs, making it thinner and lighter than some ThinkPads with no yoga heritage, such as the ThinkPad X1 Extreme, which is available with a discrete GPU, is 0.72 inches thick. with a touchscreen and weighs approximately 4.1 pounds.

But if thin and sleek is what you’re after, there are other options with similar specs, like the latest Acer Swift 5 (0.59 inches thick, 2.65 lbs).

And similar to those laptops, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga meets my minimum port requirements to avoid immediate aggravation. The left side has two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, a USB-A port and HDMI 2.0b. The right side has a 3.5mm jack and another USB-A jack. If I had the 4G LTE version of this laptop I would also have a slot for a Nano SIM card.