Case - ThinkPad from every angle

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme will feel very familiar if you already know the current ThinkPad X1 Carbon. The design of the black chassis is also similar to the other current X1-series products with the colored X1 logo on the lid. The whole base unit is made of an aluminum alloy with a fine black surface. The stability is excellent and we can just slightly depress the center of the base unit with a lot of force. However, this should not be an issue even for heavy typists. there is one long support foot in the rear of the base unit as well as two smaller ones at the front, so the case sits very stable on flat surfaces. There is one criticism though: The surfaces attract fingerprints and dirt, which is also a major disadvantage compared to the aluminum case of the Apple MacBook Pro. ThinkPads usually show greasy spots after some usage, which should be the case here as well. The build quality of the base unit, however, is perfect and there are no creaking sounds.

The connection to the display is handled by a black center hinge. It does a decent job, but cannot prevent some bouncing when you adjust the opening angle (up to 180 degrees). Light vibrations on the other hand (like on a train ride) are no problem. The hinge could be firmer at very small angles, where the display will fall down.

We can only talk about the 4K HDR SKU when we talk about the lid. It is equipped with an additional layer of glass, which also increases the weight and the height compared to the 1080p model. We cannot say whether it improves the stability at this point, but the stability of our test unit is excellent. You can even lift the device when you grab it at the corner of the display and it requires a lot of force to provoke picture distortions on the panel. However, there are clearly audible creaking sounds, which affect the good impression a bit. The bezels are slim at the two sides and there is just slightly more room at the top for the cameras. We do not really like the big black bar at the bottom of the panel though, and it looks like a 16:10 panel would have fitted nicely.

Lenovo says the ThinkPad X1 Extreme passed several MIL-STD 810G tests, but does not specify the individual scenarios. The keyboard is also spillwater resistent. All in all, the case appears very sophisticated, only the creaking sounds (under pressure) from the lid do not really fit.

