Lenovo ThinkPad X13s Assessment: Quiet Journey Buddy
Keep in mind enterprise journey? That was once a factor. And by all measures, it is turning into extra widespread once more, which makes for nice timing on the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s’ half.
The ThinkPad X13s ($1,085.40 to begin, $1,385.40 as examined), is the primary ThinkPad to boast an Arm processor — particularly, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3. That is a part of the important thing to maybe the laptop computer’s main power: important battery life. Tie that along with 5G community assist (our assessment unit got here with an AT&T SIM card) and you’ve got an incredible street warrior.
Properly, perhaps not a warrior. Extra of a street helper. Home windows 11 provides a ton to the Arm ecosystem, offering assist for 64-bit app emulation, however some purposes nonetheless do not work. And whereas year-over-year efficiency for the 8cx is strong, Qualcomm hasn’t but caught as much as the Intels and Apples of the world, which we frequently discover within the finest ultrabooks.
However for individuals who primarily use easy software program that they know will work and care extra about battery life and connectivity than anything, there’s lastly a purpose to take a look at a Home windows on Arm gadget, so long as you can also make a couple of trade-offs.
Design of the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s
With the ThinkPad X13s, Lenovo is strolling a line between the previous and the longer term. Historically, ThinkPads have been black and boxy, with a single ThinkPad emblem within the nook of the lid. However some newer designs, just like the AMD-based Z13, have challenged the belief of what a ThinkPad can appear like, with rounded corners, a rounded lip to squeeze in cameras and microphones, fewer ports and totally different supplies.
This laptop computer falls someplace in between. With rounded corners and a slight reverse-notch above the show for cameras and microphones, the X13s has a few of these newer design parts. Somewhat than the deep raven black shade we affiliate with most ThinkPads, the X13s is “thunder black,” which appears to be like extra like darkish grey, however in any other case its recycled magnesium chassis feels acquainted.
Lifting the lid reveals virtually all conventional ThinkPad stylings. There is a ThinkPad emblem on the deck, and the crimson TrackPoint nub sits on the middle of the keyboard. The 13.3-inch show has noticeable however unobtrusive bezels.
Ports listed below are minimal, which is more and more widespread amongst skinny, mild notebooks. The left facet has two USB Sort-C ports, whereas the proper facet is residence to a 3.5 mm headphone jack, SIM card slot and a Kensington lock slot. I’d have favored to see Lenovo put a USB-C port on both sides of the laptop computer; Then I may cost from both facet and guarantee equipment all the time match.
Snapdragon-based laptops, just like the ThinkPad, have to be skinny and light-weight. Certain, there are many Intel laptops with LTE or 5G assist, however Qualcomm doubles down on the message. Lenovo has met that aim with a laptop computer that is simply 2.35 kilos and 11.76 x 8.13 x 0.53 inches. I carried it by one hand to an area park on a pleasant day to get some outside work in.
That is lighter than the Apple MacBook Air, one other Arm-based laptop computer, which is 2.7 kilos (and fabricated from aluminum), and a bit thinner at 11.96 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches (it is bigger in different dimensions). The HP Elite Folio, an Arm laptop computer we reviewed final 12 months and are together with right here to check year-over-year, was 2.92 kilos and 11.85 x 9.03 inches. The Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1, a relatively priced laptop computer utilizing Intel U-series processors, is 3.46 kilos and 12.36 x 8.95 x 0.7 inches, however can be a convertible 2-in-1.
Lenovo ThinkPad X13s Specs
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 |
| Graphics | Qualcomm Adreno 690 (built-in) |
| Reminiscence | 16GB LPDDR4X-4266 |
| Storage | 512GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD |
| Show | 13.3-inch, 1920 x 1200, 16:10 |
| Networking | Qualcomm WCN685x Wi-Fi 6E, Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 5G, Bluetooth 5.1 |
| Ports | 2x USB Sort-C 3.2 Gen 2, 3.5 mm headphone jack, SIM card slot, Kensington lock slot |
| Digital camera | 5 megapixel digital camera, infrared |
| Battery | 49.5 WHr |
| Energy Adapter | 65 W |
| Working System | Home windows 11 Professional |
| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 11.76 x 8.13 x 0.53 inches / 298.7 x 206.4 x 13.4 mm |
| Weight | 2.35 kilos / 1.06 kg |
| Worth (as configured) | $1,385.40 |
Home windows 11 on Arm: 64-bit Emulation is Right here
The ThinkPad X13s is Lenovo’s first ThinkPad-branded laptop computer to make use of an Arm processor (however not its first ever — the corporate dipped its toes in with the Flex 5G in 2020. Maybe it was ready for Home windows to be prepared.
Home windows 11 is in a greater place to deal with Arm chips than Home windows 10 ever was. Home windows 11 on Arm helps x64 emulation, opening a great deal of software program to the platform that did not work in Home windows 10. (This assist was being examined in Home windows 10, nevertheless it was in the end deserted and solely included in Home windows 11.) Microsoft lately launched Arm64EC for builders to construct native apps or transition x64 apps extra simply, so hopefully extra Arm-native software program comes quickly.
Proper now, it is a blended bag. There are apps that run natively on Arm for Home windows, together with the Edge and Firefox browsers, Adobe Photoshop (opens in new tab), VLC, Netflix, 7-Zip, Handbrake and Zoom.
Nonetheless, some purposes do not but work. Dropbox, for example, famously hasn’t labored with earlier Home windows on Arm units. In my testing, that is nonetheless the case. You may should go to the Microsoft Retailer to obtain Dropbox for S Mode (opens in new tab), which does not retailer recordsdata domestically in your gadget. There’s nonetheless a really actual likelihood that specialised software program you want will not work as anticipated.
Moreover, a whole lot of the outdated guidelines nonetheless apply (opens in new tab): Video games and app utilizing variations of OpenGL past model 3.3 or which have anti-cheat drivers that are not developed round Home windows 11 on Arm will not work, and plenty of third-party antivirus purposes will not work (On the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s, there is no free trial of McAfee Reside Secure, however there is a bookmarklet for it in Edge that the corporate added. Coincidence?).
Arm on Home windows is healthier than it has been, nevertheless it nonetheless wants work to get wherever close to the success Apple has had on its Arm-based Apple Silicon with macOS.
Productiveness Efficiency on the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s
We examined the ThinkPad X13s with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. What’s totally different about our testing on the X13s in comparison with earlier Home windows on Arm laptops is that Home windows 11 permits emulation of 64-bit apps.
That allowed us to run Handbrake and our Cinebench R23 stress take a look at, which we could not do earlier than. That being mentioned, efficiency by means of emulation could be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the apps work. On the opposite, you are testing the emulation, not the {hardware} itself. Nonetheless, it provides you an concept of the efficiency you may get, and should you’re emulating software program, that often means taking successful.
On Geekbench 5, our go-to general efficiency take a look at for laptops, the ThinkPad X13s achieved a single-core rating of 1,125 and a multi-core rating of 5,891. That is an enormous distinction over the HP Elite Folio, which ran a previous-generation Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2, with a single-core rating of 792 and multi-core rating of three,115. The Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 (Intel Core i7-1255U) and MacBook Air (Apple M2) had been nonetheless considerably quicker.
Lenovo’s laptop computer copied 25GB of recordsdata at a fee of 550.95 MBps, falling behind the Folio (666.5 MBps) and the MacBook Air (958.85 MBps). The Dell Inspiron’s 404.86 MBps pace was the worst of the bunch.
Beforehand, we could not run Handbrake on Home windows on Arm techniques. Now, there’s an Arm native model (you may emulate an x86 model, however you should not try this!). It took the X13s 18 minutes and 21 seconds to transcode a 4K video to 1080p. That is nonetheless far behind the Inspiron with Core i7 (9:49) and the MacBook Air (7:52).
Now that Home windows 11 can run 64-bit apps by means of emulation, we may additionally run our Cinebench R23 stress take a look at, during which we run the rendering 20 instances. (Like Handbrake, we could not run this on the HP Elite Folio final 12 months.) In fact, as a result of Cinebench R23 just isn’t an Arm-native app, it means we’re stress testing the emulation simply as a lot because the 8cx Gen 3 itself. This took over two hours to run.
The ThinkPad began the take a look at at 3,470.97 earlier than dropping to 1,548.65, the bottom rating on the take a look at. After that, it appeared to bounce a bit between the 1,700s and 1,800s. What we could not get, nonetheless, had been clock speeds and CPU temperatures, which weren’t logged by HWInfo (additionally an x64 app, and emulated).
Show on the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s
The display on the ThinkPad X13s is colourful, however not the brightest. After I watched the trailer for “Black Panther: Wakanda Endlessly” the blues within the oceans of Atlantis had been vigorous, as had been the orange fires creeping up the darkened partitions of the Wakandan throne room. Nevertheless, I did really feel the necessity to flip the brightness all the best way up.
In keeping with our instruments, Lenovo’s panel covers 117{039cb3d497d13c0517cca4e380353306ecb88d60826931115685fbb7eed37c07} of the sRGB shade gamut and 82.9{039cb3d497d13c0517cca4e380353306ecb88d60826931115685fbb7eed37c07} of the DCI-P3 shade gamut. That is the very best of the bunch, with the MacBook Air at 107{039cb3d497d13c0517cca4e380353306ecb88d60826931115685fbb7eed37c07}/75.9{039cb3d497d13c0517cca4e380353306ecb88d60826931115685fbb7eed37c07}, the Elite Folio at 100{039cb3d497d13c0517cca4e380353306ecb88d60826931115685fbb7eed37c07}/70.7{039cb3d497d13c0517cca4e380353306ecb88d60826931115685fbb7eed37c07} and the Inspiron at 61{039cb3d497d13c0517cca4e380353306ecb88d60826931115685fbb7eed37c07}/43.5{039cb3d497d13c0517cca4e380353306ecb88d60826931115685fbb7eed37c07}.
However the ThinkPad X13s measured 300 nits of brightness, falling behind the Elite Folio (390 nits) and MacBook Air (489 nits). The Inspiron, at 251 nits, got here in final right here.
Keyboard, Touchpad and TrackPoint on the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s
The ThinkPad X13’s keyboard could also be acquainted to longtime followers of the model, with its scalloped keys and room for quite a lot of buttons which might be eschewed on many laptops, like Dwelling, Finish, Delete, Web page Up and Web page Down. A fingerprint reader is baked into the facility button.
The keyboard is comfy sufficient, and I sped alongside at 120 phrases per minute on the Monkeytype typing take a look at. I did really feel, nonetheless, that it did not supply the tactile suggestions I’ve seen on many premium ThinkPads up to now, and not less than one colleague who tried the laptop computer discovered it felt a bit flat.
I do recognize that Lenovo acquired inventive with the structure. The arrow keys are in an inverted T (which I all the time recognize), to suit web page up and web page down buttons on both facet of the up arrow. A few of these keys are a bit small, as are the perform keys, however for individuals who want a devoted key for nearly every part, I feel they will recover from it. (One exception: how many individuals want a devoted print display key as huge as Alt and Management?
The touchpad is 2.3 x 4.5 inches, which is simply large enough. It is broad, however it is a bit quick for my style. Lenovo has opted to incorporate devoted buttons to be used with the TrackPointPoint simply above the keyboard, however I want it as a substitute used the total 2.8-inch top for the trackpad to make utilizing gestures a bit extra comfy. (TrackPoint lovers, like our editor-in-chief, will staunchly disagree with me right here, however Lenovo opted for a hybrid method on the ThinkPad Z13).
TrackPoint is not precisely my jam, however for individuals who desire to maneuver the mouse with out taking their arms off the house row, it will get the job achieved. The quick reply is that it really works. I discovered that it required extra strain than I favored out of the field, however that is simply adjustable in settings.
Audio on the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s
The pair of top-firing audio system on the ThinkPad X13s get good and loud, however they’re nothing particular. They had been ok for me to jam out to the groovy string devices, shaking tambourines, the vocals and occasional shouting within the Grass Roots’ “Let’s Reside For In the present day” (which serves because the catchy theme tune to “Pachinko” on Apple TV Plus). There’s mainly no low-end although, so that you lose out on the results of bass and percussion.
There’s not a lot in the best way of audio software program on the X13s. Business Vantage’s settings are largely for the microphone, which is sensible should you’re on a name however not for jamming out whilst you fill out spreadsheets.
Upgradeability of the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s
Earlier than opening the ThinkPad X13s, take out the SIM tray and SIM card, when you have one. There are six captive Phillips head screws on the underside of the X13s. While you loosen them, the lid pops up barely, and a few fast use of a pry software takes it the remainder of the best way off.
About half of the accessible inner area is taken up by the battery. The appropriate facet of the area is roofed by paper for warmth safety. Flipping it up reveals that there are two heatpipes: one which covers the CPU, and one other, held down by two small Phillips head screws, that covers the 5G card and an M.2 2242 SSD. That 5G card has thermal pads on it, so should you substitute it, besure to rigorously reapply them or add new ones.
Battery Life on the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s
Whether or not within the workplace or on the street, you need to have the ability to final a full workday on the X13s. On our battery take a look at, it ran for 15 hours and a pair of minutes whereas streaming video, shopping the net and working OpenGL checks whereas related to Wi-Fi with the display set at 150 nits. With mobile additionally enabled, that dropped to 13:39.
That’s not fairly the 28 hours that Lenovo boasts “as much as” on its web site, nevertheless it’s fairly spectacular in the actual world. The X13s simply beat the x86-based Dell Inspiron (7:52) and even surpassed the MacBook Air (14:06). However the HP Elite Folio with a last-gen Qualcomm processor received out (16:21).
Warmth on the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s
One of many advantages of the ThinkPad X13s is that the Arm design permits it to run fanless, which implies it is useless silent. For mild workloads, which is what the ThinkPad X13s was designed for, it stayed cool in my utilization. However we additionally ran our normal Cinebench stress take a look at and took pores and skin temperature measurements, which confirmed how sizzling this fanless system can get should you actually, really push it.
Through the stress take a look at, the middle of the keyboard, between the G and H keys, measured 38.8 levels Celsius (101.84 F). The touchpad, at 30.1 C (86.18 F) was a lot cooler. The most well liked level on the underside of the laptop computer measured 46.7 C (116.06 F).
Webcam on the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s
Lenovo put a 5MP digital camera on the ThinkPad X13s, which ought to be a normal for enterprise laptops. Gotta look your finest on these convention calls. This matches as a result of Lenovo has added a bump, which it referred to as the “Communications Bar” on the AMD-based Z13, which has loads of room for each that and an infrared sensor to log in with Home windows Hey.
The outcomes are fairly good. Are they pretty much as good as you’d get from among the finest exterior webcams ? No — what’s? However I may make out the person hairs on my head and in my beard, in addition to the petals in some flowers simply off display. My brown shirt was shade correct towards my beige partitions.
Software program and Guarantee on the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s
The ThinkPad X13s comes principally freed from bloatware on Lenovo’s half. It contains only one main utility, Lenovo Business Vantage, which gives fast entry to your serial quantity and guarantee choices, in addition to checking for updates. This doubles up a bit on some Home windows options, however general I feel it is price maintaining round should you want assist.
That is to not say Home windows 11 would not nonetheless have purposes (or shortcuts to put in them) within the begin menu. These embody Disney Plus, SPotify, Adobe Specific, Amazon Prime Video and Twitter.
Lenovo sells the ThinkPad X13s with a one-year guarantee, which will be prolonged for as much as 5 years for an extra charge.
Lenovo ThinkPad X13s Configurations
Our assessment configuration of the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s had a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 processor with built-in Qualcomm Adreno 690 graphics. The laptop computer additionally sported 16GB of reminiscence and 512GB of SSD storage, in addition to a 13.3-inch, 1920 x 1200 non-touch show and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X55 5G modem for a complete of $1,385.40.
The bottom mannequin is $1,085.40, however options some notable variations. For one, it has Home windows 11 Dwelling moderately than Professional. The Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 and Adreno graphics are nonetheless there, however with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Not like with our assessment unit, there is no infrared digital camera (the fingerprint reader stays), there is no 5G assist.
There are fancier choices than what we reviewed, too. A configuration that is $1,439.40 as of this writing bumps as much as 32GB of RAM and provides touchscreen performance, although would not have 5G assist. The highest-end, $1,571.40 configuration is again to 16GB of RAM, however has 1TB of storage and a touchscreen, in addition to 5G.
These are simply the preconfigured mannequin. Lenovo allows you to configure your personal, so you may mix all the highest specs and go even increased.
Backside Line
It won’t be saying all that a lot, however the ThinkPad X13s is one of the best Home windows-based Arm laptop computer I’ve reviewed to this point. Admittedly, a lot of that comes from all the software program compatibility that Home windows 11 provides, however the truth that it has lengthy battery life, a strong webcam and a light-weight design would not damage.
You possibly can add a 5G modem to Intel or AMD laptops. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10), with Intel’s twelfth Gen P-series processors, for example, permits it as a dear improve. So does the ThinkPad X1 Nano, one other skinny ThinkPad that is mild on ports however excessive on portability. However the Arm processor permits for a silent, long-lasting design that makes extra sense with 5G.
Apple continues to be squeezing extra energy — and compatibility out of Arm with its in-house chips, nevertheless it would not supply 5G assist on its Macs but, together with the very light-weight MacBook Air. So when Lenovo makes a light-weight design with 5G assist that can final you a very long time on the street, it is price taking discover should you’re largely utilizing an internet browser or software program that you already know is appropriate. Those that do not have that assurance but may wish to follow conventional x86 machines a bit longer and hotspot to their telephones.
