Lenovo’s ThinkPad line, which it purchased from IBM years ago, is one of the best-known and best-built lines of business-class notebooks around. The best thin and light member of the ThinkPad line is arguably the ThinkPad X1 Carbine, which combines a svelte chassis with military specifications for a business notebook that can take a pounding.
With the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) just around the corner, it’s past time for leaks to start popping up of new machines and Lenovo is no different. This time around, it looks like some documentation has leaked pointing at a refreshed ThinkPad X1 Carbon that builds on the current machine’s strengths, Liliputing reports.
The current ThinkPad X1 Carbon may not be the thinnest or lightest Windows 10 Ultrabook on the market, but it makes up for it by being more durable and offering better resistance to dust, vibration, and heat compared to most other Ultrabooks. It also offers a larger 14-inch display than its 13.3-inch competitors with either Full HD or 2560 x 1440 resolutions and the excellent keyboard that ThinkPads are known for.
The refreshed version, which according to some leaked documentation will be announced at CES 2017, will provide a number of updates to enhance the machine’s overall appeal. First up will be the Kaby Lake processor, for better performance and battery life. A touchscreen is being added to the Full HD display option, and the new model will include two USB Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 3 support.
Additional upgrades include the addition of an optional infrared camera to support Windows 10’s Hello security feature. Battery life should be improved to 15.5 hours, although an external battery slice could be required for that level of longevity. And, an LTE-A modem will be an option to provide always-on connectivity.
At this point, all information should be considered rumors until confirmed at CES. However, all of these upgrades seem perfectly reasonable and would make for a nice refresh of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon line to make it not just among the most rugged Ultrabooks, but also one of the most powerful and flexible machines.
