Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G9 (14-inch, 2021)

“The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, now in its ninth generation, remains one of the very best high-end business laptops.”

Roomy 16:10 display ; Thin and light yet rugged ; Stellar keyboard ; Quiet operation ; Booming audio ; Two Thunderbolt 4 ports

Roomy 16:10 display ; Thin and light yet rugged ; Stellar keyboard ; Quiet operation ; Booming audio ; Two Thunderbolt 4 ports

The 9th generation of Lenovo’s flagship ThinkPad gets a 16:10 display for getting work done but otherwise doesn’t stray too far from the successful X1 Carbon script. It’s fantastic.

16:10 display ; World-class build quality ; Solid audio ; Super thin, super light

Quite pricey ; Squeaky keyboard ; Dim screen ; Touchpad’s a bit cramped

Lenovo has made a few important tweaks to its ThinkPad X1 Carbon. We tested a midrange model featuring an Intel Core i7-1165G7, Iris Xe integrated graphics, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. It’s got a taller screen, better speakers, and a sleeker look.

Flawless design and engineering ; World-class keyboard ; HDMI and USB-A ports, as well as Thunderbolt 4 ; Available 4G or 5G mobile broadband ; Clever, sanitizing-friendly Quick Clean function ; Excellent battery life

Expensive ; No OLED screen option ; No SD or microSD card slot

There's one ultraportable we admire as much (the Dell XPS 13 OLED), but there's no business laptop we admire more than Lenovo's latest ThinkPad X1 Carbon.

Slim, lightweight design ; Good 14-inch, 16:10 FHD+ display ; Class-leading keyboard ; Great quad speakers ; Epic battery life ; 11th Gen Intel CPUs, up to 32GB of RAM ; New and legacy ports (see cons)

Poor 720p webcam ; IR camera isn't standard ; No card slot ; Touchpad is still a bit small

Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 9) makes clever changes to move a winning business laptop to the brink of perfection.

high-quality case;matte 16:10 panel without PWM;very good system performance;good battery life;many ports incl. Thunderbolt 4 and PCIe 4.0;good input devices

Fans have become louder after BIOS updates;ePrivacy display with restrictions;poor webcam;no SD reader

Ultra light chassis ; Impressive durability ; Lots of ports ; Excellent keyboard ; Very good display options

Webcam could be better

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen9 remains a reference in the business thin & light market segment. It remains nearly unchallenged in critical aspects such as durability, security, and connectivity (ports) in the 2.5 Lbs category.

high-quality chassis;matte 16:10 screen w/o PWM;very good system performance;long battery runtime;32 GB RAM in the X1 Carbon for the first time;many ports w/ Thunderbolt 4 and PCIe 4.0;good input devices;very good speakers;WWAN-ready (education model...

stability problem while playing games;keyboard is worse than before;bad webcam;no SD card reader;slow display response times

high-quality chassis;color-accurate 16:10 UHD+ LCD without PWM;very good system performance;32 GB RAM in the X1 Carbon for the first time;Legacy port;Thunderbolt 4 and PCIe 4.0;good input devices;very good speakers

stability problem while playing games;glossy screen;not WWAN ready;keyboard is worse than before;bad webcam;no SD card reader;shorter battery life because of UHD+ LCD

Still, it’s hard to beat a Lenovo ThinkPad when you want something that’s built for business. If you want an ultraportable with a comfy keyboard, good speakers and excellent battery life, this is a great choice.