With its offering of ThinkPad X1 Fold, the world’s first foldable laptop, Lenovo has started a renaissance that aims to muddle the border between laptops and tablets. In fact, there are people who do reckon this path-breaking product as a tablet.
First and foremost, in sync with its name, X1 Fold is indeed a foldable laptop to its core. When you fold it halfway, Lenovo's Vantage software would split the screen, and you can seamlessly convert the lower part of the screen to an on-display keyboard, akin to on your mobile phone or tablet. And yes, it is incredible that when stretched fully, the two sides of this foldable laptop spread seamlessly without any trace of the fold between them.
Input Devices
Keyboard - Cool, but impractical
The X1 Fold comes with a detachable Bluetooth keyboard that would come in handy as you open it completely to use the entirety of the screen. One of the coolest things about using the keyboard is that it would be held in its place fittingly using magnetism. Plus, when attached to the laptop, it charges automatically via USB-C. The keyboard is naturally smaller than typical, which explains why there are so many double- and triple-key assignments. We bet you would not want to use it for a lot of typing.
Touchscreen - Tiny and troublesome
The touchscreen isn't as responsive as we've come to expect from the latest smartphones and tablets. The flexible surface could be to blame because it doesn't recognize the inputs smoothly, and there's a feeling of resistance while you are trying to glide your fingers across the surface. In practice, this is quite inconvenient and, in a way, ruins the user experience.
Stylus - Stylish, but not smooth
The accompanying active stylus boasts 4,096 pressure levels for fine control. It is comfortable to hold and charges through the same USB-C as the keyboard. It can detect the tilt of the pen for more realistic shading while working with graphics. Although the stylus does its job, you can't still shake the resistance feeling from the touchscreen surface.
Look and Feel
The ThinkPad series from Lenovo was originally aimed at business executives. However, the classy leather finish on the exterior exudes a diary-like charm, and any writer would be happy to hold the X1 Fold in their hands. Also, it folds fittingly over the keyboard when docked, with magnets keeping it tied to its apt position. The mini keyboard features an elastic fabric holder for the stylus, making the X1 Fold a highly portable system even with separate peripherals.
The interior of the back kickstand is lined with a lovely red felt fabric that contrasts wonderfully with the black leather. The stand at the back keeps the laptop steady smoothly while in an erect position, but because this is a touchscreen, hitting the top-left corner of the screen too hard may cause it to rock a little.
The display of X1 Fold, a 13.3-inch 2K (1536 x 2048) QXGA resolution screen made of flexible plastic rather than glass, is generally pleasing to the eye. The middle "seam" is only visible up close when the screen is fully open, but it is much more prominent when the screen is folded, with the default Windows 10 wallpaper's blue backdrop turning a much lighter shade of blue right down the middle. We didn't find it particularly bothersome, but it is undeniably present.
The screen's bezels aren't the widest we've seen, but they're also not the smallest. When the keyboard is docked, the screen shrinks to only the portion visible above the keyboard, allowing you to view the Windows 10 taskbar.
Performance
Depending on your purpose, the X1 Fold's performance ranges from mediocre to poor. In sync with its minimalistic theme, it employs the Intel Core i5 Lakefield SoC, a new hybrid architecture from Intel, that aims at shrinking chip sizes for mobile devices and ultra-thin laptops. Unfortunately, in the tests conducted, Lakefield scores poorly when stacked against its counterparts. The X1 Fold further fails to live up to the claims by Lenovo in terms of battery life and processing of dynamic visuals.
Verdict
Despite the fact, that Lenovo attempted to bring something radical on the board by introducing X1 Fold, akin to many radical technological innovations in the past, it would take some time for foldable laptops to catch up with the mainstream offerings. Being said that, you can buy X1 Fold if its hefty price tag (nearly ₹2,50,000) is not an issue for you, and you love to flaunt the coolest gadgets. As a plus point, it is perhaps the most portable device in its class. And, of course, it is a conversation starter.
On the other hand, you may refrain from purchasing X1 Fold, if you can’t afford to ignore the price tag and practicality is an uncompromising factor for you. With questionable battery life, it is not apt for a heavy workload.
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