By Lenovo’s selection usually dominates our top choices for 2-in-1 laptops, but this time the manufacturer fell short. According to its specifications, the ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10 Aura Edition (which retails for $2,125 and was tested in a $2,336 edition) offers classic ThinkPad perfection, including a superb keyboard, excellent build quality, and a long-lasting battery that can last the entire workday. Even if you choose the more ostentatious OLED variant, the ThinkPad still costs a lot of money for the functions it provides, and the screen is frustratingly poor. The Lenovo ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 Gen 4 remains our top pick for business buyers seeking greater value.
Design
Thanks to Intel’s “Lunar Lake” Core Ultra V-series CPUs, Lenovo’s flagship business convertible, the ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10, has a 14-inch screen and local AI capabilities. (We’ll talk about those later.) Despite having a similar name, the current model isn’t quite a convertible ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 because it weighs much more (2.97 pounds compared to the Carbon’s 2.17 pounds) and uses aluminum rather than carbon fiber and magnesium. In return, the ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10 provides virtual tablet capabilities through a 360-degree rotating screen.
This ThinkPad gives you a laptop first and a tablet second, as is the case with most convertibles. In comparison, the Microsoft Surface Pro weighs a full pound less and has a 3:2 screen aspect ratio that is more tablet-friendly. Nevertheless, the flexible design of the new ThinkPad is useful for rapid sketches, informal note-taking, and document signing.
Performance
An Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor (four Performance and four Efficient cores, 4.8GHz turbo), Intel Arc 140V integrated graphics, 32GB of RAM (built into the processor and cannot be expanded later), and a 1TB SSD were all included in the ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10 that we evaluated.
Since updating our benchmarks, we haven’t evaluated many business 2-in-1s, so we’re contrasting this device with the Asus ProArt PZ13, a prosumer 2-in-1, and three business laptops: the Panasonic Let’s Note FV4, the Dell Pro 14 Premium, and the HP EliteBook 1040 G11. A Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU powers the Asus, while a variety of Intel chips power the others. The closest thing to our ThinkPad is the Dell laptop.
Productivity
Our main overall benchmark tests a system’s performance in productivity applications that range from word processing and spreadsheet work to web browsing. The PC’s storage throughput is measured by its Full System Drive subtest.
Three additional tests are processor-intensive or CPU-centric: We see how long it takes the video transcoder HandBrake 1.8 to convert a 12-minute clip from 4K to 1080p resolution; Primate Labs’ Geekbench 6.3 Pro simulates common apps ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning; and Maxon’s Cinebench 2024 renders a complex scene using that company’s Cinema 4D engine. Lastly, several automated processes in Adobe Photoshop 25 are used by workstation manufacturer Puget Systems’ PugetBench for Creators to score a PC’s ability to edit images. (Note that the Asus ProArt is incompatible with several of our benchmarks due to its Qualcomm Arm-based processor.)
Graphics Tests
We use five animations or game simulations from UL’s 3DMark test suite to test the graphics of each device under assessment. The first two, Wild Life (1440p) and Wild Life Extreme (4K), gauge GPU speed using the Vulkan graphics API. The following set of subtests, Steel Nomad’s normal (4K) and Light (1440p), evaluates gaming geometry and particle effects using APIs that are more often utilized in game development. The fifth test, Solar Bay, focuses on ray-tracing performance at 1440p resolution utilizing Vulkan or Metal APIs. (Only the laptops from Dell and Lenovo managed to complete the Solar Bay benchmark.)
Battery LifeÂ
We play a locally saved 720p video clip (the open-source Blender film Tears of Steel) with the audio level at 100% and the display brightness at 50% in order to test the battery life of each laptop and tablet. Before the test, we make sure the battery is completely charged and that the keyboard backlighting and Wi-Fi are off.
We also measure a laptop screen’s color saturation (the percentage of sRGB, Adobe RGB, and DCI-P3 color gamuts or palettes the screen can display) and 50% and peak brightness in nits (candelas per square meter) using a Datacolor SpyderX Elite monitor calibration sensor and its Windows software to assess display performance.
Conclusion
Our opinion of this model might have changed if we had reviewed the ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10 with its OLED screen. With AI-focused features that distinguish it in its Aura Edition, the device nevertheless offers the high-end build quality, superb keyboard and touchpad, sturdy connectors, and extended battery life you would anticipate from a top-tier convertible. However, business customers outside of the C-suite find the ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10 difficult to sell at its pricing point; they would probably be better suited with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13. The Asus ProArt PX13 is a better option for creators, while the Lenovo ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 Gen 4 is a better option for business customers looking for a better deal.
