Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 Review: Best Premium Laptop?

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6: At First Glance

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Yoga laptops have long been among the industry’s best-selling business 2-in-1s. This is due to their excellent build quality, responsive keyboard, and useful stylus.

Moreover, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 continues this great legacy by being one of the greatest 2-in-1 laptops available. Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 laptop has a 16:10 display and is designed to compete with the best ultrabooks on the market.

However, with such impressive features, you wouldn’t expect the laptop to be cheap. The ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 starts at $2,023.55 at the time this review was published in September 2021.

Will its impressive features match this price tag? Only one way to find out – read through to the end of this review!

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6: Design, Dimension and Weight

Many of the design elements found on high-end Lenovo business laptops may be found on the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6. The light that rests above the “I” in the “ThinkPad” logo on the lid and the red TrackPoint are some of these elements.

However, unlike most ThinkPad laptops, the Yoga Gen 6’s chassis is composed of storm gray aluminum rather than carbon fiber or black magnesium. Furthermore, unlike some prior models, the keyboard keys on the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 match the storm gray color.

It’s also worth noting that, as attractive as the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 is, it’s a tough machine. It passed a dozen MIL-SPEC tests, including the ones for severe temperatures, vibration, and shocks, just like other ThinkPads.

Moreover, the laptop’s sturdy build quality reflects this, since there are no creaks, flex, or air spaces anywhere. As a result, the laptop will be able to withstand almost any situation, including intense heat and cold.

For display, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 comes with a 14-inch touchscreen IPS display with a 16:10 aspect ratio. Moreover, the laptop’s display is available in two screen resolutions – FHD (1920 x 1080) and 4K UHD (3840 x 2160).

The FHD screen on the laptop I reviewed features an anti-glare coating that prevents reflections and is very bright and vivid. Speaking of brightness, the FHD screen has a maximum brightness of 351 nits.

When it comes to color accuracy, the laptop’s FHD screen can cover 71% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. Unfortunately, it is less vibrant compared to the FHD screen found on the Latitude 9410 2-in-1 and the Lenovo X1 Carbon.

The Latitude 9410 2-in-1’s FHD screen covers 89% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, while the X1 Carbon covers 72%. However, if you require the highest possible picture quality should go for the 4K UHD screen, which is brighter and more detailed.

Moving on, above the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6’s display sits an HD 720p webcam with a ThinkShutter privacy cover. Additionally, this webcam captures detailed but less colorful images.

On the bright side, the webcam can also be used to log into Windows using Windows Hello facial recognition. Also, the webcam is adequate for video conferencing or causal skyping.

The keyboard on the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 has the same amazing key feel that I’ve seen on other ThinkPads. The keys have a snappy feel to them and have a good 1.5mm of travel.

Furthermore, the keys have a lovely curved form that makes them simple to locate. Also, the key spacing and size are excellent and should fit both large and small fingers.

A 109.22 x 55.88 mm touchpad sits beneath the laptop’s keyboard, which is appropriately large but quite short. When I performed Windows 10 gestures like pinch-to-zoom and two-finger scrolling, I noticed my fingers brushed the touchpad’s top and bottom borders.

On the plus side, the touchpad’s glass surface is smooth and responsive. Furthermore, the touchpad has built-in click buttons that are both responsive and simple to use.

A red rubber pointing stick is snuggled between the G, H, and B keys on the laptop’s keyboard, as expected. Above the touchpad are dedicated left, center, and right-click buttons for the pointing stick.

Lenovo included a stylus with the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6’s touchscreen display, nicknamed the ThinkPad Pen Pro. This pen is extremely sensitive, allowing you to sketch, take notes, or browse the web without smudging the touchscreen.

Additionally, the pen also has two buttons that you can configure to execute any action using the Lenovo Pen Settings application that comes included. Furthermore, while not in use, the pen can be stored in a slot on the right side of the laptop.

Moving on to the laptop’s ports, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 comes with a good number of ports. On the left side, there a USB 3.2 Type-A port, an HDMI port, and two Thunderbolt 4 ports.

The right side, on the other hand, features an audio jack, a Kensington lock slot, and another USB 3.2 port.

Unlike some prior models, which had small power buttons on the side, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 has the power button on the traditional location. The power button, which also serves as a fingerprint reader, is located above the right side of the laptop’s keyboard.

The ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 comes with some useful pre-installed applications such as the Commercial Vantage. It’s an application for downloading new updates, adjusting power settings, keeping track of your battery’s health, and for system maintenance.

Additionally, the application also provides warranty information and basic system specifications. Speaking of warranty, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 is sold with a one-year warranty.

For size and weight, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 measures 313 x 223 x 14.9 mm and weighs 1399 g. In comparison to the HP Spectre x360 14, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 is somewhat thinner but slightly heavier.

Specifically, the HP Spectre x360 14 measures 298.45 x 220.98 x 17.78 mm and weighs 1338 g. Furthermore, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 is also thinner but slightly heavier than its predecessor.

Its predecessor, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 5, measures 323 x 218 x 15.2 and weighs 1350 g. However, despite being heavier than its predecessor, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 is still portable enough to carry around.

In conclusion, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 boasts an attractive and durable design. Additionally, it also comes with a good number of ports for such a thin laptop.

Therefore, I will rate the laptop a nine out of ten for its impressive build quality and attractive design.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6: Processor (CPU) Performance

Lenovo ships the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 with an Intel Core i7-1185G7 processor. The Intel Core i7-1185G7 is a speedy, power-efficient quad-core processor for Ultrabooks based on Intel’s Tiger Lake architecture.  

Furthermore, the Intel Core i7-1185G7 features a 12 MB cache. Also, the processor has a base frequency of 3.0 GHz and a boost frequency of 4.80 GHz.

Moreover, with this processor, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 is more than capable of handling any productivity task. For instance, when I opened 30 Chrome tabs while watching a video on VLC, the laptop didn’t slow down nor lag.

Besides that, on a Geekbench 5 test, a benchmark test for measuring a computer’s processing performance, the laptop performed brilliantly. The ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 scored 5,447 points on the Geekbench multi-core test and 1,519 points on the single-core test.

These scores are well above the HP Spectre x360 14’ which also uses an Intel Core i7-1185G7 processor. On the multi-core test, the HP Spectre x360 received 4,904 points and 1,462 points on the single-core test.

Moreover, when compared to its predecessor, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 once again performs flawlessly. Its predecessor, ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 5, scored 4,298 points on the Geekbench 5 multi-core test.

However, ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 5 scored 1,247 points on the single-core test. Moreover, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 5 uses an Intel Core i7-10610U processor.

In conclusion, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6’s processor is very impressive and quite powerful enough for any task. On top of that, it beat both its predecessor and one of its closest competitors on a benchmark test.

For this reason, I believe the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 deserves a nine out of ten ratings.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6: Memory (RAM) Performance

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Gen 6 comes with a single LPDDR4X RAM slot with a standard memory of 8 GB. Moreover, this RAM slot supports a maximum memory capacity of 32 GB.

Unfortunately, the RAM slot is soldered to the board. Therefore, it isn’t upgradable or removable.

So, ensure to choose the Yoga Gen 6 laptop that has the right amount of RAM you need before purchasing.

The ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 laptop I reviewed has 16 GB RAM. Moreover, my review laptop’s 16 GB RAM made it an outstanding multitasking device.

To test its multitasking ability, I had about 20 Chrome tabs opened. Each one of the tabs was performing different tasks including downloading a movie and streaming a movie on Netflix.

Transitioning between the Chrome tabs was really smooth, and there was no lagging on the laptop. Furthermore, I also executed a PCMark 10 test to measure the laptop’s overall performance.

On the PCMark 10 test, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Gen 6 achieved an impressive score of 5210 points. Comparatively, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Gen 6 performed better than most of its competitors.

For instance, the HP Spectra x360 14 scored 4984 points on the PCMark 10 test. Also, one of its closest competitors, the Dell Latitude 7320 2-in-1 scored 4490 points.

Furthermore, when compared to its predecessor, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Gen 6 once again came out on top. Its predecessor (Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Gen 5), scored 4643 points.

In conclusion, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Gen 6 is a versatile performer with its 16 GB RAM. Besides that, it also outperformed both its predecessor and its closest competitors on a benchmark test I performed.

Based on its impressive performance, I will rate the laptop a nine out of ten.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6: Storage Options and Performance

As for storage, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 features a PCIe SSD just like its predecessor. This PCIe SSD can take up to the maximum storage capacity of 2 TB.

A 512 GB PCIe SSD was included in the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 laptop I reviewed. To test the storage speed of my review laptop, I conducted a couple of tests.

One of the tests was a CrystalDiskMark test. CrystalDiskMark is a benchmark tool for determining the read and write speeds of a hard disk drive or solid-state drive (SSD).

The ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 has a 3429.6 MB/s sequential read speed according to the CrystalDiskMark test. Additionally, it has a sequential write speed of 2984.3 MB/s. 

In comparison to its predecessor, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 features faster sequential read and write speeds. Specifically, its predecessor, Yoga Gen 5 has a sequential read and write speed of 3399 MB/s and 2713 MB/s respectively.

Moving on, I also performed a file transfer test to further assess the storage speed of my review laptop. On the file transfer test, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 transferred 25 GB of mix-media files in 51 seconds.

Moreover, this feat was achieved at a whooping transfer rate of 531.3 megabytes per second. Unfortunately, the laptop’s transfer rate was unable to beat the category average of 621.43 MBps.

On the bright side, the laptop achieved a faster transfer rate than most of its competitors. Take, for example, the EliteBook x360 1040 which achieved a transfer rate of 439.2 MBps on the file transfer test.

Finally, I will rate the laptop an eight in this storage review section.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6: Graphics Card Performance

For graphics, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 features integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics. The base GPU frequency on this graphics card is 400 MHz, and the boost GPU frequency is 1350 MHz.

As stated earlier, the Intel Iris Xe Graphics is an integrated graphics card; therefore, it lacks dedicated VRAM. As a result, the graphics card shares memory with the processor.

So, don’t expect the Yoga Gen 6 to deliver excellent gaming performance or run graphics-intensive applications. Nevertheless, it is still capable of casual gaming and running low-end games.

I performed a 3DMark Fire Strike test to know how well the Yoga Gen 6 can handle graphics. The Yoga Gen 6 scored 4,780 points based on the 3DMark Fire Strike test results.

Unfortunately, this score isn’t good enough to outpace the category average of 4,830 points. Also, it wasn’t enough to beat the 5,258 points achieved by the Dell Latitude 9210 2-in-1.

As mentioned earlier, this laptop isn’t good at gaming but is capable of running low-end games. Therefore to test its gaming capabilities, I played a less graphics-intensive game Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm on the laptop.

Interestingly, while playing this game, the Yoga Gen 6 achieved a smooth frame rate of 34 frames per second. Moreover, this frame rate is above the category average of 28 fps.

Finally, I believe in this graphics review section, the Yoga Gen 6 deserves a rating of not less than seven.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6: Battery Life and Performance

In terms of battery, Lenovo sells the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 with a 57 Wh, Li-Polymer battery. Based on Lenovo’s claims, this battery would last up to 15 hours.

As I always do on my laptop review, I performed a battery test to verify the manufacturer’s (Lenovo) claim about the laptop battery. The battery test involves adjusting the laptop’s screen brightness to 150 nits and browsing the web through WIFI continuously.

According to the battery test, the Yoga Gen 6 lasted an impressive 14 hours and 45 minutes. This battery runtime is 4 hours above the category average of 10 hours and 36 minutes.

Comparatively, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6’s battery runtime is way better than the HP Spectre x360 14’s battery runtime. On the battery test, the HP Spectre x360 14 lasted only 7 hours and 14 minutes.

When also compared to its predecessor, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 again performed brilliantly. The laptop’s predecessor, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 5 lasted 11 hours and 30 minutes on the battery test.

In conclusion, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 boasts an impressive battery life better than its competitors and predecessor. For this reason, I will rate it a nine in this section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 is a 2-in-1 that contains almost everything a business user would want. Its processor offers excellent productivity.

The laptop also offers a long battery life and a comfy keyboard.

However, with great features comes a great price. The ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 is quite expensive, starting at $2,023.55 in September 2021, when this article was published.

Finally, the Yoga Gen 6 is a good option if you require a portable convertible laptop but aren’t on a tight budget.

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