It’s been just over two years since I stepped down from Lenovo as worldwide Vice President of their Experience Design Group. I had a great 32 year run at IBM and Lenovo working on an amazing line of products with some truly incredible people, but it was time for some rewiring. A lot has happened since then. I’ve designed and built a waterfall for my Japanese-inspired garden and nearly completed the restoration of a 1965 BSA Lightning Rocket motorcycle. I’ve enjoyed driving my 1987 classic Porsche 911 (it’s not black), started a design consulting company and have been blessed with Eliot, my first grandson. He’s clearly the highlight of my post-Lenovo milestones.

It’s also been over two years since I had a new ThinkPad, which has been tough for me. I always carried the latest and greatest ThinkPad. This was one of the clear benefits of being the ThinkPad design leader! Sure, I’ve been watching the ThinkPad “design machine” from the sidelines, and occasionally meet with Brian Leonard, the current design executive, but none of this can compare to the feeling of booting up a brand-new ThinkPad. It’s like sitting behind the wheel of a showroom-fresh sports car with a full tank of gas and a scenic drive ahead. Thankfully, the drought has officially ended.

I'm fortunate Jerry Paradise, Vice President of Lenovo’s commercial portfolio and product management function, offered to share a brand new 7th generation X1 Carbon with me. In return he asked to have my unbridled opinions and thoughts about the latest incarnation of their flagship ThinkPad. That’s an offer I just couldn’t refuse.

The eco-friendly corrugated carton has a nice graphic design; however, it’s somewhat spoiled by a machine printed shipping label that’s plastered directly over the X1 logo. I struggled with this dilemma for years trying to put rules in place to position the labels, but it just never seemed to work. I guess some things never change. Thankfully, what has changed is the box that’s inside the corrugated carton. It’s amazingly compact, beautifully designed and thoughtfully unmarred due to a nice shrink wrap. It’s a pleasant surprise. The black on black graphics with touches of red are sophisticated and totally on brand. The overall design impression and quality is on par with the best in the industry.

The model I received sports an authentic carbon weave pattern that is subtle and sophisticated. Brian, and his design team, made sure it didn’t overpower the design. I like it. It telegraphs to the world that it’s not an ordinary black computer and it’s done in an intelligent manner. Why shouldn’t a carbon fiber computer look like carbon fiber? I also like the X1 logo that appears on the top cover. Not unlike the “M” badge on a BMW, this mark has bragging rights and technical meaning. The blacked-out ThinkPad logo adds another touch of X1 distinction that resonates with me. I do wish it was possible to use individual letters rather than a logo containing nameplate. Maybe next year. The basic form of the latest X1 is not so different from my generation 5 and it still looks great. The iconic ThinkPad design DNA is unmistakable. Occasionally I read a review calling the design boring or dated, but such is life. I’m sure there’s a uniformed fashion “expert” out there that thinks Ray-Ban Wayfarer’s are dated. The world is full of classic designs that have been ruined by design meddling, thankfully the ThinkPad brand has avoided that fate.

Using the latest X1 Carbon is a connoisseur’s treat. The keyboard is everything I would expect; in fact, I think it feels better than my previous generation 5. My compliments to all those involved. The keys comfortably cradle your fingers and the feel/stroke is perfect. It’s incredible to me how little attention is paid by ThinkPad competitors to the design of their keyboards. They seem more preoccupied with using weird typography on squarish keys rather than things that really matter. The TrackPoint continues to improve and has not really suffered in the race to reduce system thickness. It’s still, in my opinion, the best pointing device out there. It’s an acquired taste, but incredibly hard to abandon once you understand and become its master. I’m not a big touchpad fan, but this one certainly is responsive and seems to be accurate. Even so, I’ll be turning mine off shortly. Honesty is the best policy.

The 4K screen has color rendition and brilliance that is quite frankly, astonishing. Everything looks incredible. It will take a bit of time to get used to the glossy screen, but I think it may be worth the tradeoff. The audio quality is the best I’ve ever heard coming out of a ThinkPad. I attribute this to the forward-facing tweeters, bottom mounted speakers and sophisticated Dolby software/tuning. Thankfully, the speaker perforations are precision in appearance and aren’t the size of a local health club shower drain. The ThinkShutter I championed adding to ThinkPad for years is finally here! Throw away the tape, it works. Lenovo pioneered adding this camera privacy feature to its all-in-one computers and monitors years earlier. I’m thrilled that Lenovo got there first with the laptop category. I’m sure this generation weighs a little less and is possibly a bit thinner, but big advancements in measures slowed down a few years ago. I would never sacrifice these specifications for usability or rock-solid durability. The ThinkPad team understands this well.

I haven’t had my hands on the ThinkPad design tiller for over two years now, but it’s clear the course has not been altered. The desire to make the next generation ThinkPad better than the last is still the mantra. There is a marked difference between my generation 5 and the new generation 7, but there is also a familiarity. The differences are improvements and the familiarity is a good thing.

They say you can never go home again. Perhaps this is true, but maybe you can? I’ve certainly experienced this idiom firsthand. The contemporary house I designed and built in Minnesota over 30 years ago now has a stamped steel “Victorian” front door and a “Colonial” molded fiberglass garage door that make me cringe. All it lacks are fake plastic shutters to complete the second owners remuddling. It’s difficult to get these design atrocities out of my head. All the creative thinking and painstaking hard work I put into it is forever lost. It’s sad. In this world of uncertainty, it’s very reassuring to know that you can still count on some things remaining constant. The new ThinkPad X1 Carbon is just that. It’s as though the new owners have given it a fresh coat of the correct paint, artfully trimmed the bushes, upgraded the kitchen and finally fixed the squeaky front door you always meant to oil. Everything is as it should be, even better. Yes, the latest ThinkPad X1 Carbon proves that you really can go home again.

David Hill