Lenovo introduced the newest addition to the ThinkPad family – the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3. With its sleek and slim design, it's one of the lightest laptops on the market at just 2.19 pound that packs all the power you need for your workday! It's Powered by 13 th Gen Intel ® Core™ vPro ® processors, 2K display with Dolby Vision HDR 400 support, 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports, and Dolby Atmos speakers to make sure you're always at your best. Whether you need it for work or entertainment, the ThinkPad X1 Nano is perfect for any task. Let's take a closer look at what makes this the perfect business laptop in 2023.
Design and Build
Lightweight Design
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 is the lightest laptop of its kind at 2.19 pound, allowing you to carry it around easily without feeling weighed down. Its super slim profile and thin bezels has been designed with portability in mind.
It sports a relatively thin profile at 0.58 inches, even though it doesn't quite reach the slimness of Apple's MacBook Air M2. Despite its compact frame, it hosts a 13.0-inch 16:10 display – perfect for when you need to work on the go or in tight spaces!
Durability
The build quality, however, is a testament to Lenovo's consistent commitment to durability. The laptop's lid is crafted from carbon fiber, offering a robust resistance to bending, while the chassis on the bottom boasts a hybrid magnesium-aluminium alloy construction. The laptop's keyboard deck, though a touch flexible, is by no means fragile - a characteristic attributable to the lightweight magnesium employed in its construction. The ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 successfully sailed through a multitude of military-grade durability tests, ensuring a sturdy companion for your professional journey.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Staying true to its ThinkPad roots, the X1 Nano Gen 3 features distinctively sculpted keycaps and generous key spacing. The deep-travel keys exhibit a firm action, perhaps requiring a tad more pressure than some may like. The touchpad, while compact, provides a comfortable surface and quiet, assured clicks.
Connectivity and Security
The X1 Nano Gen 3 doesn't skimp on connectivity despite its minimalist design. It's equipped with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, and for the truly mobile professional, an optional Nano-SIM slot supporting 4G WWAN connectivity. It also sports a 1080p webcam, complemented by an infrared camera for Windows 11 Hello facial recognition, and a conveniently placed fingerprint reader on the palm rest. A unique feature is Lenovo's Computer Vision user-presence sensing, providing additional security by activating the display lock when the user steps away, and restoring access on their return.
Performance and Power
Powering through your workday won't be a challenge with the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3. This laptop offers a broad selection of 13th-gen Intel CPUs to cater to your specific needs. The review unit we looked at came armed with a 28-watt Core i7-1360P, and a 12-core CPU (combining four Performance cores and eight Efficient cores), giving you 16-threaded productivity prowess.
Comparative performance analysis with other laptops equipped with the same CPU showcases the ThinkPad's ability to hold its own. Interestingly, a handful of 14-inch laptops with the older 12th-gen Core i7-1260P managed to surpass, hinting that newer doesn't always equate to superior performance. In a fascinating twist of technology, even the 14-inch Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 showed slightly slower results, leaving us scratching our heads.
For businesses with an eye on heightened management and security, the ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 also provides options for processors with Intel’s vPro technology. This makes it an ideal choice for larger corporations that can leverage the extended management and security provisions this technology provides. Puzzling comparisons aside, the ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 remains a solid contender in the realm of performance and power.
Display
The visual experience on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 is nothing short of stunning, thanks to its high-resolution IPS display. This 2K resolution screen offers superb image quality, making it a pleasure to perform productivity tasks or consume media. Choose between a touch or non-touch interface, depending on your preference.
The display's brightness level is a notable standout feature, peaking at a brilliant 480 nits, significantly surpassing the common 300-nit standard. This ensures clear visibility, even in brightly lit environments. Moreover, a high contrast ratio of 1570:1 lends the screen an excellent depth of color and detail, a must-have for an IPS display where the norm is at least 1000:1.
In terms of color coverage, the ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 performs admirably, covering 100% of the sRGB spectrum and 76% of Adobe RGB. The screen also exhibits good color accuracy, boasting a DeltaE of 1.5, falling under the preferred threshold for productivity tasks, which is less than 2.0. Although the display might not be a perfect fit for professional design or digital artistry due to its color coverage, it handles common office tasks and multimedia consumption with aplomb.
Audio
The ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 is outfitted with four speakers powered by Dolby Atmos®, reproducing a rich and immersive sound that remains crisp, even at high volumes. Whether it's for video conferencing or streaming your favorite movies, the audio quality certainly won't disappoint. The laptop also boasts integrated AI-based noise-cancelling microphones, coupled with Dolby Voice® technology, which effectively minimizes background noise, enhancing clarity during voice calls. Truly, the ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 epitomizes the fusion of power and precision in the realm of audio performance.
Battery Life
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 Equipped with a 49.6-watt hour battery, the X1 Nano Gen 3 offered mixed performances in various tests. In web-browsing tests, the X1 Nano Gen 3 didn't fare exceptionally well. However, it performed above average in the PCMark 10 Applications test, which emulates real-world usage with intermittent pauses.
In the video-looping test, the X1 Nano Gen 3 delivered an average performance. Notably, the Dell XPS 13 Plus, another compact laptop with the same CPU, recorded poorer battery performance in both web browsing and video-looping tests. Interestingly, it didn't complete the PCMark test, giving the X1 Nano Gen 3 an advantage.
In conclusion, while the ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3's battery performance may not be the best in all categories, it shows resilience and competence in typical usage scenarios, making it a reliable choice for professionals on the go.
Specs and Configuration
Conclusion: Is the ThinkPad X1 Nano Worth It?
The ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3, despite its seemingly outdated design and underwhelming battery life, remains a compelling choice, particularly for those seeking a lightweight, portable, and capable laptop. Its performance prowess caters well to the demanding needs of productivity workers. While its color spectrum may not appeal to those requiring wider color ranges, it serves admirably for most users, including writers. Thus, it comes with a recommendation, especially for fans of the classic ThinkPad aesthetic. However, it's worth noting that there are other contemporary alternatives in the market worth considering, such as the Dell XPS 13 Plus, which boasts a more modern feel.
Also Read: Best 2-in-1 Laptops in 2023: Buying Guide
