Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a legendary business laptop at this point. It's been around for generations, 12 of them to be exact, and has a reputation as solid as its build quality. With the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 coming out earlier this year, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 bumped up in terms of value. Lenovo is known for slashing the prices of its one-year-old PCs, and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 is no exception. a 72-hour flash sale discounts the business laptop by up to 48%. Several configurations are on sale, but I'd argue the one listed below is the best of the bunch.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 review highlights
So, what makes a multi-thousand-dollar laptop a true business laptop? The PC's "top-notch build quality, strong performance, long battery life, [and] excellent input devices and speakers," according to the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 review from our colleagues at Tom's Hardware.
"Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 11) is its flagship business laptop, but there’s nothing holding this well-rounded machine from being used at home or school," said TechRadar's Charles Jefferies.
"This laptop is first-rate in almost every way, from its stellar build quality to its best-in-class input devices, connectivity, and battery life. Its standard screen is a little on the dim side, but Lenovo offers an OLED panel if picture quality is paramount. Overall, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon easily ranks among our best ultrabooks. Just be sure to catch it on one of Lenovo’s on-again, off-again sales to get the best value."
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon earned a 4.5 out of 5 in the review by Tom's Hardware.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 has a range of connectivity options, including 4 USB-C ports, two 5Gbps USB-A ports, and HDMI 2.1 video out. The laptop also has a headphone/microphone jack, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.1. There are configurations with 4G/5G connectivity, though the clearance model above is not among them.
"Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 11) is a first-class business laptop that works equally well outside the office," said Jefferies. "It might be the ultimate 14-inch laptop for productivity, with a stellar keyboard and touchpad and long battery life. It’s also very strong, thanks to a carbon fiber and magnesium chassis. Few laptops are better built than this one."
Built for professionals, and priced for them too
One of the reasons you see discounts this large on Lenovo ThinkPad X1 laptops is the starting price of the PCs is so high. Lenovo packs a lot into these machines, and many of those features and specs are must-haves for business professionals. But that comes at a cost. Our Zachary Boddy explains why the PCs are so expensive in our ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 review.
"Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 laptops are not affordable," said Boddy. "These devices are meant to be business expenses, written off by corporations buying them in bulk, and as such, there's no real value proposition for consumers. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon starts at nearly $3,000 for its lower-end configurations."
Starting prices vary a bit from generation to generation, but Boddy's point is relevant for the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11. The model that's on clearance once cost $3,229. A $1,517.63 discount brings the PCs price to $1,711.37. That's a massive discount on what would have been considered one of the best business laptops just a few months ago. Being one generation old doesn't take away what makes the ThinkPad X1 Carbon great. It just means there's a newer ThinkPad X1 Carbon available.
Earlier this year, Lenovo had a similar discount on the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11, though the best deal back then was on a model with only 16GB of RAM but 1TB of storage (discounted to $1,824.99 in April). I'd argue the model that's on sale for $1,7.11.37 is a better deal, since you get double the RAM.
