The company designed the setup using a combination of customer feedback and end-user insights. The result was an innovative design that features a 22% larger 16-inch folding OLED display, 25% thinner chassis, and thinner bezels all around to produce a premium, streamlined look and feel, which extends to the aluminium frame and a back cover made from 100% recycled woven performance fabric.
Next-generation Foldable Experience
Powered by Intel vPro, an Intel Evo Design with up to 12th Gen Intel Core i7 processors, and Intel Iris Xe Graphics, the next-gen ThinkPad X1 Fold delivers impressive performance in a foldable form factor. Paired with SSD storage up to 1TB and memory options up to 32GB LPDDR5, the preinstalled Windows 11 Home or Pro operating systems will run brilliantly regardless of the preferred mode of use.
In hopes of delivering a positive and familiar typing experience, the ThinkPad X1 Fold offers an optional full-size backlit ThinkPad keyboard with TrackPoint and a large haptic touchpad, which works whether attached or detached, depending on the mode. In addition, the keyboard can magnetically attach to the lower half of the display for a classic 12-inch laptop experience.
Thanks to the added screen real estate, the new ThinkPad X1 Fold delivers more productivity options, with the display being able to adapt to however users wish to use it. The ultra-bright folding OLED panel is 16.3 inches with a 4:3 aspect ratio offering maximum space in a lightweight package, with the versatility of use in portrait or landscape modes and, of course, folded. Users can configure it with an optional magnetic-attach pen, which utilises the Wacom protocol. Impressively, the new ThinkPad X1 Fold can stream shows, movies and sports up to 600nits HDR brightness and Dolby Vision.
The new ThinkPad X1 Fold exhibits narrow bezels of no more than 10mm and measures just 8.6mm thin unfolded with an incredible folded thinness of just 17.4mm. Like all ThinkPad laptops, the ThinkPad X1 Fold has been through Lenovo’s rigorous testing methods and MIL-STD-810H standards to maximise durability and reassurance. Even the 100% recycled woven performance fabric cover underwent various durability and reliability testing.
Maximum Versatility with Minimum Fuss
The ThinkPad X1 Fold easily folds down to the size of a sub-13-inch laptop for lightweight and compact carry and storage. As a result, productivity, collaboration, content consumption, reading, writing, editing, and so on are all a breeze in whichever mode one feels most comfortable with.
Users can switch between the following modes using the intuitive Mode Switcher interface:
- Classic clamshell, or laptop mode, provides a 12-inch main display with either an onscreen keyboard in the lower half, or the optional full-size ThinkPad Bluetooth TrackPoint keyboard placed on top. This mode is ideal for full productivity in restricted spaces such as planes, trains, and cars.
- Landscape mode, or all-in-one mode, delivers a remarkable transformation. Users can unfold the device into landscape format with the stand and connect the keyboard to create a phenomenal 16-inch laptop that inspires efficient multi-tasking or delivering impressive presentations.
- Portrait mode lets users rotate the screen with the stand for a massive 16-inch vertical screen, which is highly effective for reading and editing long documents, or browsing simultaneous social feeds, websites, and more.
- Book mode is equally helpful for reading the latest bestsellers on a partly folded 16-inch display. It is also a very productive mode for proofreading articles or browsing digital publications.
- Finally, users can adopt tablet mode in either portrait or landscape format for effortless creativity, colleague or family interaction with the help of the magnetic pen, and content consumption on the Dolby Vision enabled display.
Engineered to Shape the Future
The larger display required a redesign for both the hinge and the panel. The re-engineered bell-shaped system hinge allows the foldable OLED panel to be folded flat in both open and closed scenarios resulting in a thinner system. Over two hundred parts move synchronously within the hinge design to maximise display consistency and durability. In addition, a new display interface was developed, which folds the non-active area, enhancing durability and enabling thinner bezels. The hybrid shutter frame allows multiple benefits of thinness, more room for antennas, and simplifying field servicing. Lenovo engineers also developed a set of patent-pending folding graphite sheets to dissipate heat across the system to deliver an exceptionally powerful fan-less design.
The keyboard includes the recently introduced clickable TrackPoint Communications Quick Menu App, which offers rapid access to camera and microphone functions. Three USB Type C ports, including two Intel Thunderbolt 4 ports, are available so that at least two are always accessible in any mode. The same principle applies to the speaker and microphone setup. With three Dolby Atmos speakers installed where two are always active preserving stereo sound. There are twin dual microphone arrays, one of which is always active depending on the mode in use. Dolby Voice optimises microphone and speaker performance by leveraging spatial audio technology for exceptional conferencing experiences.
Lenovo is also the first to launch an enhanced version of the Intel Visual Sensing Controller (Intel VSC), an AI-powered chip that ensures a seamless experience no matter how the user uses the device. Whether the device is in portrait, landscape or laptop mode, Intel’s VSC automatically manages the camera utilising the increased 75-degree horizontal field of view leveraging Windows 11 automatic framing. The “wake-on-approach” feature automatically recognises the user to wake the system instantly and be ready to use when the user approaches. When combined with Windows Hello, it offers the simplicity of zero-touch login. For added security, the “onlooker detection” notifies the user of anyone’s prying eyes to keep their information private, and the “walk-away-lock” knows when the user leaves and locks their system to prevent unwelcome access. Intel’s VSC also uses smart sensing to optimise display settings by reducing refresh rates based on content type and using smart dimming to minimise power when the user is not actively engaging with the display. These capabilities combine to make the next-gen ThinkPad X1 Fold more natural and easier to interact with.
Pricing and Availability
The ThinkPad X1 Fold with Windows 11 will be available to the public starting November 2022 at around $2,499.
