Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon vs. Apple MacBook Professional 13
Invoice Roberson/Digital Developments
Invoice Roberson/Digital Developments
Lenovo’s ThinkPad line is among the most iconic pocket book households round. From the ThinkPad emblem with the pink dot on the lid, to the pink TrackPoint nubbin, to the everyday ThinkPad keyboard format, you’d don’t have any downside choosing one out of a lineup. And so they stay simply as well-built as all the time, as evidenced by the most recent clamshell member, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon.
Apple’s MacBook Professional can be a recognizable pocket book line that’s maintained a constant design aesthetic over time. As we speak’s mannequin has the identical understated magnificence as all the time and confirms Apple’s popularity for rock-solid construct high quality.
So, which certainly one of these premium and extremely acquainted notebooks is price your funding? We pit the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon in opposition to the MacBook Professional 13 to search out out.
Specs in contrast
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
MacBook Professional 13
Dimensions
12.71 × eight.54 × zero.58 (in)
11.97 × eight.36 × zero.59 (in)
Weight
Beginning at 2.40 kilos
Three.02 kilos
Processor
As much as Eighth-generation Intel i7
As much as Eighth-generation Intel Core i7
RAM
As much as 16GB RAM
As much as 16GB RAM
Show
14-inch IPS show
Optionally available Dolby Imaginative and prescient HDR
13.Three-inch IPS show
Decision
Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 or 157 PPI)
WQHD (2,560 x 1,440 or 210 PPI)
4K (Three,840 x 2,160 or 315 PPI)
2,560 × 1,600 or 227 PPI
Storage
As much as 1TB PCIe SSD
As much as 2TB PCIe SSD
Contact
Optionally available contact show
Contact Bar
Ports
2 x USB Sort-A Three.1, 2 x USB-C with Thunderbolt Three, 1 x HDMI, Three.5mm combo headset
2 x USB-C with Thunderbolt Three or 2 x USB-C with Thunderbolt Three (relying on the mannequin), Three.5mm combo headset
Webcam
720p HD with non-obligatory infrared digital camera for Home windows Whats up assist, ThinkShutter privateness display screen
720p FaceTime HD
Working System
Home windows 10
MacOS Mojave
Battery
51 watt-hour
58.2 watt-hour or 58 watt-hour (relying on the mannequin)
Value
Evaluate
four out of 5 stars
Three out of 5 stars
Design
Apple up to date the MacBook Professional line in late 2016, using basically the identical silver aluminum chassis and stylish however conservative design. It’s thinner than ever and its show is extra fashionable with smaller bezels. Thus, the MacBook Professional nonetheless appears to be like good in any surroundings, and also you’ll be pleased with Apple’s standard consideration to element, total match and end, and granite-like solidity.
Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon has additionally undergone some comparatively delicate design adjustments. It’s nonetheless rock-solid in hand, with a carbon materials end that gives a smooth contact and with zero flex all through the chassis. It’s additionally the standard black ThinkPad aesthetic that’s aggressively businesslike, with up to date branding that’s subtler however nonetheless recognizable.
Each notebooks have iconic designs, and each sport construct qualities which are worthy of their premium pricing. The ThinkPad will get some additional factors, although, for becoming a 14-inch show right into a chassis that’s practically the identical dimension and thickness because the MacBook Professional 13’s whereas being greater than half a pound lighter. In the end although, this one’s going to return right down to pure aesthetic style as a result of in the case of the design necessities, they’re evenly matched.
Efficiency
The MacBook Professional 13 was up to date in Might 2019, bringing quad-core Eighth-generation processors and the Contact Bar to each 13-inch mannequin. That places it in step with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon when it comes to efficiency, with each possessing chips that supply good efficiency when working onerous and higher effectivity when operating less-demanding duties.
Each producers make the most of very quick PCIe NVME solid-state drives (SSDs) of their premium notebooks, and they also each take pleasure in speedy storage efficiency. You gained’t discover massive recordsdata and demanding database functions to sluggish them down. The MacBook Professional’s cupboard space goes all the best way up to 2TB whereas the ThinkPad tops out at 1TB, though choosing such a big drive because the one Apple gives will price you a small fortune.
As for on-board graphics, the ThinkPad comes with Intel UHD Graphics 620, when you’ll get both the Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 or 655 with the MacBook, relying on which mannequin you go for. That places the MacBook Professional forward, though neither are appropriate for taking part in demanding AAA video games.
Keyboard, Mouse, and Pen
In terms of enter choices, individuals are likely to both love or hate what Apple has achieved with the MacBook Professional in deference to final thinness. There was a time, for instance, when MacBook keyboards have been thought-about exemplars of typing perfection. As we speak, Apple has opted for a extra fashionable “Butterfly” key mechanism that’s very clicky (and loud) but additionally suffers from very brief journey. The touchpad is large, which is a plus, and famously is the perfect touchpad you’ll discover on a laptop computer.
Following Apple’s updates in Might 2019, each model of the MacBook Professional 13 comes with the OLED Contact Bar strip that runs alongside the highest of the keyboard and provides some task-specific contact enter. It additionally offers you a Contact ID fingerprint scanner that permits you to log in and confirm purchases with out typing a password.
Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon, then again, enjoys the always-excellent ThinkPad keyboard with superior journey, a exact tactile really feel, and an total expertise that welcomes quick, correct typing. It additionally gives the TrackPoint nubbin sitting in the midst of the keyboard for an old-school enter possibility that longtime customers will recognize.
The additional TrackPoint buttons do encroach on the usual touchpad’s house, nonetheless, offering a smaller house for swiping and gestures than we like. However, it’s nonetheless exact and enjoys Microsoft Precision touchpad assist. You may also go for a contact show for some added comfort, and Home windows 10 Whats up password-less login is supported by an non-obligatory infrared digital camera and a fingerprint scanner. There’s even a bodily privateness cowl for the webcam if you wish to guarantee your pocket book isn’t spying on you.
As we stated at first of this class, a few of Apple’s enter choices could be a contact divisive. We expect most individuals will recognize Lenovo’s extra conventional method, although.
Connectivity
Apple’s newest MacBook design drops any pretense at supporting legacy peripherals, providing USB-C ports with Thunderbolt Three assist as the one possibility. On the MacBook Professional 13, you’ll get both two or 4 ports, relying on how a lot you’re prepared to spend. Add in a Three.5mm combo audio port and the standard 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios, and that’s the extent of the MacBook Professional’s connectivity.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a completely totally different beast in the case of hooking up. It comes with two USB-A Three.1 ports for legacy add-ons, two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt Three and a full-size HDMI port. Whew, that’s plenty of ports. The three.5mm combo audio jack joins 802.11ac and Bluetooth to spherical out a really well-connected pocket book certainly.
We actually, actually recognize machines that mix legacy and futuristic assist, and the ThinkPad X1 Carbon gives that in spades.
Show
Apple’s MacBook Professional line is famend for providing a few of the finest shows round. The MacBook Professional 13 is not any totally different, providing a 13.Three-inch show with 2,560 x 1,600 decision (227 PPI) that’s extraordinarily vibrant, has a large shade gamut with wonderful accuracy, and robust distinction. It’s not a 4K show, but it surely’s sharp sufficient and makes an awesome platform for anybody who works with photographs and video.
Lenovo gives a number of show choices with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. The entry-level mannequin is a Full HD (1,920 x 1,080 or 157 PPI) panel that gives better-than-average shade gamut and accuracy and good distinction. Solely its comparatively low brightness holds it again, though its anti-glare coating helps it overcome vibrant ambient lighting. There’s additionally a WQHD (2,560 x 1,440 or 210 PPI) show possibility for some elevated sharpness and an especially vibrant (500 nit) UHD (Three,840 x 2,160) panel that helps Dolby Imaginative and prescient high-dynamic vary (HDR). Nevertheless, this final possibility completely destroys your battery life.
Whereas we just like the sound of that HDR-enabled UHD show, given its promise of extremely vibrant and dynamic colours, the MacBook Professional 13 out of the field gives a superior show that’s confirmed to be the best choice for inventive varieties.
Portability and Battery Life
Relating to weight and thickness, the MacBook Professional 13 is not notably particular at simply over three kilos. Its bezels are small, however not the smallest throughout, leading to a chassis that’s diminutive however not particularly so. It’s a cushty machine for tossing in a backpack, but it surely’s not an business chief.
We have been somewhat upset with the MacBook Professional’s battery life after we reviewed it initially of 2019. Again then it truly took a step again from the earlier mannequin, dropping the battery from a 74.9 watt-hour unit to a 49.2 watt-hour one when you opted for the Contact Bar and a 54.5 watt-hour one when you didn’t. That was earlier than Apple’s Might 2019 replace, although, and now that MacBook Professional 13 comes with both a 58 or 58.2 watt-hour battery, relying on the mannequin you select. Our assessments noticed the battery draining after ten hours and 24 minutes in our video streaming check and 5 hours three minutes in our net looking check. That places it barely forward of the ThinkPad when it comes to capability and roughly on par with the Lenovo (relying on the check).
Lenovo’s providing comes with a 51 watt-hour battery, which is lower than the 57 watt-hour battery discovered within the sixth-generation mannequin. Pair it with the 4K show and also you’ll get round six hours 30 minutes of net looking and 7 hours 30 minutes of video streaming.
Whereas the ThinkPad X1 Carbon has a bigger show than the MacBook Professional 13, it’s solely barely thicker total at zero.58 inches. Nevertheless, it’s additionally virtually a half pound lighter, which means that it’s going to weigh you down much less as you’re trekking from place to position.
Total, each of those machines are well-equipped to be taken on the highway. They aren’t the lightest or thinnest laptops, nor those with the perfect battery life. Nevertheless, once you pit the 2 of them up in opposition to one another, the totally different execs and cons equal out fairly squarely.
Availability and Value
The MacBook Professional 13 is a distinctly premium pocket book. The Contact Bar model begins at $1,299 and comes with a quad-core 1.4GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD. Pricing goes all the best way up to $Three,099, which nets you a quad-core 2.8GHz Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD.
Now that the Seventh-generation ThinkPad X1 Carbon has launched, you’ll be able to choose one up beginning at $1,462. That will get you a quad-core 1.6GHz Core i5-8265U processor, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and Full HD show. You may customise all of it the best way up to $2,561 for a quad-core 1.9GHz Intel Core i7-8665U, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and that lust-worthy (however battery killing) UHD show with Dolby Imaginative and prescient HDR.
Now that Lenovo’s Seventh-generation ThinkPad X1 Carbon has launched, its pricing places it at a premium. The entry-level mannequin prices $163 greater than the entry-level MacBook Professional and has an inferior show, though you get double the storage. On the high finish, the high-end MacBook is $500 greater than the top-of-the-line ThinkPad regardless of having a lower-resolution display screen. That stated, shelling out the additional $500 will get you double the cupboard space of the Lenovo and a quicker processor.
Which means there’s loads of alternative in the case of each the MacBook and the ThinkPad, with execs and cons on either side. Search for gross sales and also you might be able to get your self a discount on the one you need.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon wins this premium pocket book battle
Apple’s replace to the MacBook Professional 13 in Might 2019 made it far more aggressive with the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon. It now has wonderful efficiency and a stunning show, plus you not must pay an arm and a leg for the Contact Bar.
However is that sufficient to high Lenovo? Not like some Home windows laptops, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon fares properly within the locations the place the MacBook historically excels, equivalent to in sturdiness and design. In addition to that, you get nice connectivity, a dependable keyboard and high efficiency.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon in all probability gained’t win over plenty of Mac followers, however total, Lenovo has made upgrades in all the proper locations. We expect you’ll discover your cash higher spent on Lenovo than Apple on this comparability.
With Lenovo simply launching its Seventh-generation ThinkPad X1, now’s a very good time to see if the most recent mannequin tickles your fancy. Rumor has it Apple could have one thing up its sleeve for the MacBook Professional line quickly, so hold your eyes peeled for that. We’ll carry you all the main points as and after they drop.
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