Why does Lenovo sabotage its flagship ThinkPad X1-series?

[Redaktion]

Flagship models are usually very expensive, but they usually offer special features or high-end components in return. This used to be the case for Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 models as well, but it seems like the priorities are starting to shift.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Why-does-Lenovo-sabotage-its-flagship-ThinkPad-X1-series.540479.0.html

[F.B.]

This is really baffling to me, the best in class keyboard has always been a strong point for Thinkpads. I wanted to buy the X1 carbon but the low travel made me reconsider and wait for a X1 Extreme Gen4...but there is no point now.

I will have to look at Asus laptops or some gaming laptop. Of course I write a lot, other people might not be bothered so much by this but for us...think about it, the X1 nano has 1,3mm travel and flat keys. Why on earth would anyone buy an X1 now instead of let's say a Macbook or a Dell Xps?

In a few more generations their market share will dwindle and they won't understand why...

[Agent]

Lenovo is delusional. Notebookcheck, please make a laptops with best keyboard top list.

[Jon Smith]

I have to agree with the article.

I have a Thinkpad X1 Yoga G3.  Why would I "upgrade" to the latest G6?  OK, they have moved to a 16:10 screen, which has a slightly higher resolution, but they have made it worse in so many ways:
- keyboard is worse
- no longer has a retractable keyboard
- microSD card slot has been removed
- dedicated network port has been removed

It's still the same weight and pretty much the same battery size.  So, it's all to shave off a few mms from the size.  Why?  Does that really matter?  So, there's no point in downgrading from a G3 to the latest G6.

Dell do exactly the same thing.  Their XPS machines used to be great - now even their XPS15 has lost all ports except USB-C and has a poor keyboard.  Again, just to shave off a few mm from the size.

It would be great if these companies didn't just blindly follow trends.  Lenovo have reversed bad decisions in the past - remember their terrible touch bar that replaced the function keys in the G2 Carbon?  Maybe they will see sense again.

[LWT]

Agreed.
An amazing keyboard is what ThinkPads are known for.
By taking that away they will almost certainly lose customers.

Although I have to wonder whether the majority of ThinkPad enthusiasts just buy the T490 series anyway...

[AHA]

Lenovo's multiple product lines & legacy sub brands need to be rationalised & radically slimmed down. It's pretty much impossible to get the Lenovo laptop that best suits your needs. Even if you can find it amongst their many product lines (by evading their crude attempts to corral you into the wrong product segment on their websites) you won't be able to order the SKU with the spec that you want in your market. They are on the road to failure.

[Timothy Daniels]

There might be hope if enough people make some noise about the keyboards.  I remember when the T series went with a buttonless trackpad.  It took a while be we got two of the mouse buttons back.

[Dorby]

It's such a shame because this article is quite frankly, long overdue, and now most relevant since Lenovo has crossed the ultimate "Tipping Point". I remember getting my X1Y2 with the whole retracting keyboard and OLED screen, and thinking "this, THIS is innovation". That was the last Thinkpad I used long term, the ones after were all disappointing.

They slowly took away a few ports, reduced the battery sizes without visibly reducing weight, soldered down more components, removed hot-swappable batteries, introduced even more keyboard and panel lottery, and made the materials "feel" even less durable than before. Not just the X1, but the whole X, T, P, and L series.

To be honest I'm fine with that, since I feel like other brands have caught up to Lenovo's quality and can offer good quality at better price.

The best Keyboard was the ONLY reason people bought the X1s over other thin/light ultrabooks. So why would anyone even bother getting a X1 now, when it has the same mediocre keyboard as 20 other laptops, while being worse in every other department, and twice as expensive???

[Vladimir]

I agree with the article. Lenovo has made the laptops worse over the years. Take keyboards for example. X1 extreme gen2 had a keyboard that misses keystrokes and that issue was somewhat fixed with a bios update but it was not fully fixed, they just made it bearable. On P1 series, gen3 still misses keystrokes from time to time, though not at the extent of x1 extreme gen2, and we no longer have a dedicated ethernet port, which is a bummer. Further, even on docking stations, they have a max speed of 1Gbps ethernet. In order to get 10Gbps ethernet you need to buy other brands. Then there is a question of what can be selected in the configuration. Smart card reader is no longer available on P1 gen3.

Lenovo, if you are reading this, we do not need thinner laptops in the P series, we need more features, and keyboards that do not miss keystrokes. Also, we need to be able to upgrade to LTE/5G connectivity on ALL screen combinations. Ethernet should be standard on all P series laptops, and on X1 extreme. For those that want thin and light, there is nano. Keep nano thin, and make P1 thicker and beef up the cooling. Throttling is annoying. Put bigger fans. Put bigger radiators. Make P1 thicker with better cooling.

[Stanna Flex]

The 6th gen is still the best in the series. No reason to move from it yet...

[Richard Cherry]

I agree.  It's the equivalent of being slowly boiled alive... I have had a new thinkpad every 2 years for at least the last 20 years and the incremental degradation and decline is hard to notice each time I upgrade but the long term arc is not good.  Unfortunately, changing to another laptop brand would be even worse in the short term and it's not like any other brand is getting better so long term you would still have an issue.

[Brian Bloom]

This.
I am a keyboard junky. Buckling Springs or Cherry MX Browns and Blues for all my keyboards. I'm up to my 5th Lenovo laptop now over 16 years, mostly because of their keyboards. If they compromise those, what differentiates them any more?
Speaking of slipping quality, I'm also tired of the IPS panel lottery (as a photographer and graphics dabbler) and can't understand why you can't specify a particular model and specs when custom ordering, which I did for my last 2 purchases. Charge me $15 more or something to get the one with good sRGB and nits and let's move on. But if I'm losing my precious keyboards, I may finally start considering other brands again.

[Some One]

Don't forget another HUGE downgrade: no matte WQHD display option. Only FHD or UHD (glossy).

So, worse keyboard, worse displays. Way to get rid of the only two things that made the X1 Carbon a great laptop. Hard pass.

[Nicholas]

I almost bought a new Thinkpad last year but the reviews made me decide against it.  They aren't focusing on a niche market anymore.  It's like they want all of their laptops to compete directly with the MacBook.  We didn't buy the Thinkpad for it's aesthetic, but that's what they are going for.

I had an IdeaPad a few years ago, that thing fell apart and I took good care of it.  Other coworkers had the same problems.  From what I read, the Thinkpad has the same construction problems.

Can we get a laptop that is a workhorse again?

[Dsft]

Thanks, will hang onto my x1 g6 with gen8 Intel CPU longer

Here I was thinking I'll upgrade to the new g9