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Good issues are available small packages – at the least that’s the purpose of transportable laptops. And Lenovo’s X1 Nano Gen 3 definitely delivers, not solely by way of design and featherweight mobility but additionally by way of efficiency and adaptability.
The X1 Nano, because the identify suggests, is a tiny powerhouse making it preferrred for street warriors and college students who want most computing flexibility in probably the most transportable bundle attainable. In my assessments and benchmarks, the ThinkPad X1 Nano loaded with Home windows 11 Professional endured weeks of cross-country journey in planes, trains, and vehicles with out a hiccup.
| + Professionals | – Cons |
|
✓ Skinny and light-weight, but rugged ✓ Loads of energy for every day duties ✓ Very respectable battery life ✓ Glorious built-in digital camera and mic |
− Solely two USB-C ports − No mini-HDMI or USB-A ports − TrackPoint is adore it or depart it |
Design
Wrapped in a stable shell constructed of carbon fiber and magnesium, the ThinkPad Nano measures a thin 0.57 by 11.5 by 8.2 inches and weighs a mere 2.1 kilos. So there’s little debate about whether or not or to not embrace it in your briefcase or backpack (it’s gentle sufficient!), and Lenovo notes that the Nano additionally meets the MIL-STD 810H sturdiness commonplace set out by the U.S. Division of Protection, so the system can deal with being tossed round. Certainly, over the course of a number of enterprise journeys the ThinkPad Nano proved it was no mere fair-weather good friend, performing reliably in a wide range of circumstances whether or not I used to be modifying slides, movies, or watching Lupin on Netflix.
For on a regular basis duties, the ThinkPad’s keyboard stays very comfy for contact typists with sufficient response to maintain you in your fingertips. There’s a fingerprint reader subsequent to the Nano’s contact pad, however there isn’t sufficient actual property to accommodate a devoted numeric pad, however solely accountants will miss this.
Within the heart of the X1 Nano keyboard is the ThinkPad’s signature TrackPoint purple dot pointing gadget, which you both love or ignore in favor of the contact pad underneath your thumbs. Many customers discover the shortage of precision and inadvertent mousing that contact pads are infamous for an annoyance they will forego, due to the ThinkPad’s purple dot, and I discovered the choice of turning off the contact pad a particularly liberating expertise. Both means, the Lenovo X1 Nano provides customers flexibility to resolve what’s greatest for his or her work.
School rooms have gone hybrid, and the X1 Nano proved to be the perfect companion to adapt to the altering instructional panorama. In individual, the Nano design is compact sufficient to suit on a shared convention desk with out elbowing out certainly one of my fellow seminar college students. On-line, the laptop computer’s 1080p digital camera and WiFi connection made for a seamless expertise. If something, the decision of the Nano’s digital camera and display was disturbingly good, revealing wrinkles and imperfections I’d want to disregard. Shy (or paranoid) on-line convention members can at all times draw the X1 Nano’s bodily webcam privateness shutter, a characteristic that needs to be necessary on each laptop computer.
The audio element, often an afterthought on laptops, is surprisingly strong on the diminutive Nano. Lenovo has inbuilt 4 noise-cancelling mics for higher voice efficiency on calls, whereas 4 built-in audio system and Dolby Atmos assist means a greater expertise whenever you’re having fun with downtime and binge watching your favourite on-line Nordic detective sequence.
Efficiency
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Specs as examined:
- Processor: Intel Core i7 1360P
- Graphics: Intel Iris Xe
- Reminiscence: 16 GB
- Storage: 512 GB
- Show: 13.3-inch, 2160-by-1350 pixel LCD touch-screen
- Weight: 2.1 kilos
- Value as examined: $1,208.99
Regardless that the ThinkPad X1 Nano appears to be like like a welterweight, it packs a heavyweight punch, due to a 12-core Intel i7 processor. The CPU has a high turbo velocity of 5 GHz, which is contact higher than the earlier mannequin’s 4.8 GHz clock. Along with the built-in Intel Iris graphics adapter and 16 GB of RAM, it did effectively in our benchmarks.
Working the complete suite of PCMark 10 assessments, the ThinkPad X1 Nano delivered an total PCMark rating of 5842, which is definitely within the high half of equally outfitted programs. The productiveness portion of the check turned in a 7213 rating whereas the video modifying part earned a 6760 rating – all excellent check outcomes certainly.
These scores translate into seamless computing efficiency. I habitually ran a number of video and audio streams, a few dozen open web pages, and carried out primary photograph modifying whereas engaged on a dozen paperwork and PDFs – and I by no means encountered a hitch, lockup, or crash. Such efficiency needs to be a given nowadays, however the fact is that it’s extra the exception than the rule.
Furthermore, the X1 Nano’s wonderful show goes an extended approach to making such work a pleasure. The touchscreen’s 2160-by1350 pixel decision is healthier than most on this weight class, and whereas it solely has a 60 Hz refresh price, solely aggressive avid gamers are going to note the distinction.
Battery Life
The X1 Nano comes with a 50 watt-hour battery. There are bigger batteries obtainable in laptops, however these fashions additionally weigh extra, often twice as a lot because the ThinkPad X1 Nano. In my weeks of testing, I often squeezed greater than 11 hours of labor out of it earlier than I needed to discover a energy outlet. That’s fairly respectable contemplating I sometimes run streaming audio and video whereas working and infrequently take breaks. Furthermore, for vacationers, it means the X1 Nano will certainly get you throughout the pond or from New York to San Jose with out having to plug in.
Ports and Connectivity
If the ThinkPad X1 Nano has an Achilles Heel, it’s the system’s paucity of ports. The skinny, light-weight design means there’s not a lot room for fats plugs. So, there are solely three connections: an audio mini jack for headphones (or mic/earphones) and two USB-C Thunderbolt ports, one for energy in and the opposite for equipment.
For those who’re switching from an older, larger laptop computer to the Nano, you’ll have to organize to make some modifications in terms of connectivity. Presenters will bemoan the shortage of a devoted mini-HDMI port for PowerPoint projections, whereas others might miss the shortage of a full-size USB port to accommodate older cables. Nonetheless, I discovered it simple to make the swap, and once I got here throughout an exterior gadget that required the bigger USB port, I merely used a $5 adapter to make the connection.
Fortunately, most connections are wi-fi nowadays, and the ThinkPad X1 Nano helps WiFi 6E for improved speeds. Its Bluetooth pairing was additionally easy and easy for all of the gadgets I examined, together with a number of true wi-fi earphones. And when these wi-fi earbuds ran out of energy – lengthy earlier than the laptop computer did – I actually appreciated the inclusion of a regular audio mini jack for my go-to wired Sennheiser headphones.
Backside Line
There are numerous laptop computer choices for patrons and many consumers proper now are discovering it’s time to go for an improve over fashions that have been bought within the depths of the pandemic. Our advice is to go gentle. A much bigger, heavier mannequin might appear to be a cut price, however you’ll rapidly get uninterested in hauling it round. And the way a lot of a cut price is it in the event you don’t take with you?
Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 is a superb light-weight alternative for patrons starting from high-school college students to first-class street warriors. It delivers the fitting steadiness of energy and efficiency with out weighing down your backpack – or emptying your checking account.
[Image credit: John R. Quain/Techlicious]
John R. Quain has been protecting science and expertise for over 20 years. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, PC Journal, Esquire, and U.S. Information & World Report. He was the on-air expertise contributor to the CBS Information As much as the Minute tv present for 17 years and is an everyday contributor to The New York Instances.
