Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Fold Gen 2: Larger display with fewer frames

Lenovo has presented the second generation of its Thinkpad X1 Fold notebook. It wasn't at IFA in Berlin, but I was able to get my hands on it there anyway
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Large Windows tablet with external keyboard and notebook mode

In terms of basic concept, the Thinkpad X1 Fold is very similar to the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED from Asus. Differences are mainly in the handling of the keyboard and the stand.

While Asus integrates the stand and keeps the keyboard between the display when folded, the folded Thinkpad X1 Fold has no space for the keyboard. It can be accommodated in the stand - and both together in turn remain magnetically attached to the outside of the folded X1.
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In notebook mode, you can place the keyboard on the lower half of the display. Magnets hold it there. This turns the X1 Fold into a comparatively small laptop with a display of about 12 inches.

Folded up, the Thinkpad's display is 16.3 inches and has an aspect ratio of 4:3 and a resolution of 2560 × 2024 pixels. The advantage of the external stand: the X1 Fold can be set up in landscape and portrait mode.

At first glance, the crease in the middle of the display seems a little more visible to me than on the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold. But we'll have to take a closer look at that in the tests.

Without keyboard, the Thinkpad X1 Fold weighs 1.3 kilograms. With keyboard and stand, it is almost two kilograms. Lenovo installs a twelfth-generation Intel Core i7. The working memory can be up to 32 gigabytes and the built-in SSD can have up to one terabyte capacity. For Windows 11, there is a choice of Home and Pro versions.

Price and availability

With a recommended retail price starting at £2999, the Thinkpad X1 Fold Gen 2 is expensive, but still cheaper than the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED from Asus. Lenovo has scheduled the market launch for Germany for December 2022. I do not yet have any information for Switzerland.