Recs.
Updated
SpecsUpdate
Pros
Pro High quality construction
The construction is very stable, with a very strong hinge with no screen wobble while typing. The chassis is made of a carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer and glass-fiber-reinforced polymer hybrid as well as a magnesium alloy hybrid making it very sturdy and strong.
Pro Plays nice with Linux
With the exception of the fingerprint sensor, and the middle click button not scrolling when held, all the hardware works great on Linux out of the box. Middle click scrolling can be enabled by changing xinput settings however.
Pro Has both a good trackpad and trackpoint mouse input
The mouse trackpad is very high quality and feels good, however it is on a hinge so you can only physically click at the bottom. Physical mouse buttons and a trackpoint mouse nub are also available, allowing you to quickly access the mouse without moving your hands away from the keyboard home row.
Pro Excellent display
The X1 Carbon comes in two different versions. With a 1080p or a 1440p display, with the latter being $70 more. Both displays are excellent. The image is sharp and the colors are very noticeable. Although, understandably, the 1440p display has images that are a bit sharper than its 1080p counterpart.
According to colorimeter tests, both versions of the display can produce 104 and 103 percent of the sRGB color gamut, respectively. That's very impressive when compared to the average for 14" displays (83%).
The 1080p screen is noticeably brighter than the 1440p screen (292nits vs 257nits) and the colors generally start fading only at about 45 degrees viewing angle.
Pro Excellent typing experience
Like most Thinkpads, the X1 Carbon has an excellent keyboard as well. The keys have about 1.8mm of travel and provide great tactile feedback. Their gently curved keys also make it very easy to target without looking at them. The keyboard also has optional backlighting which can be turned on or off with a simple key press.
Pro Great battery life and fast charging
The X1 Carbon is advertised at 15.5 hour battery life, and while the advertised time rarely ends up being the actual time, many linux users have been able to get 15 hour battery time with low power settings. Even without using linux and not using battery saving settings, the X1C can easily get 10 hours.
With the high power Thunderbolt 3 port at 65W, the X1C can get to an 80% charge in 1 hour.
Pro Very thin display bezel
The display bezel is very thin, allowing for a full 14" display in a 13" chassis, making the laptop extra portable. Despite having a thin bezel, the webcam is still at the top of the screen, unlike some thin bezel competitors, so you don't have to use the webcam at an awkward angle.
Pro Great build quality
The Carbon X1 is a very light and durable laptop. It has the characteristic raven-black finishing of other Thinkpads on top of a carbon-fiber reinforced chassis. The carbon fiber increases the overall durability of the laptop, making it a great fit for people who travel a lot since it can withstand a lot of physical damages.
Pro Great battery life
The battery supports over 10 hours of light activity like web browsing, watching videos and editing documents. This can be doubled to 20 hours by swapping in the extended, 6-cell battery, which can be hot swapped without turning off the laptop since it also has an internal 4-cell battery.
Pro Great speakers
The X1 Carbon has bottom-mounted speakers which provide excellent audio output. The sound is loud enough to fill a large room and there's clear separation of sound coming from the speakers, making them great for any sorts of recreational activity involving audio be it listening to music, watching movies or playing videogames.
Cons
Con Requires a 45W minimum input to charge while powered on
You need a high powered USB-C power source to charge the laptop while running, meaning if you are in a pinch and only have a phone charger you will have to turn off the computer. It also means most external battery packs cannot be used to prolong the life of the laptop while in use.
Recommendations
Comments
Flagged Pros + Cons
Con Terrible website
The Lenovo website is slow, hard to navigate and buggy, which can make getting technical support and purchasing accessories a pain.