The ThinkPad X1 Tablet series has reached its third iteration and Lenovo has completely reworked the business convertible for this occasion. The tablet-laptop hybrid has grown from a 12-inch to 13-inch display size. The 3:2 aspect ratio has remained unchanged, but the new screen supports a resolution of 3,200 x 2,000 pixels. The other big change compared with older versions is the switch to more powerful 15 W ULV processors, which are used in most Ultrabooks these days. This means that unlike its two predecessors ThinkPad X1 Tablet Gen 1 and ThinkPad X1 Tablet Gen 2, the X1 Tablet Gen 3 includes a fan, since the quad-core CPUs require an active cooling system.

Lenovo offers many different configurations of the X1 Tablet Gen 3. For buyers of the ThinkPad, the processor, the RAM and the capacity of the SSD are configurable items. Also, there is an optional LTE module. In Germany, there are currently two models with a fixed configuration. Our review unit (20KJ001NGE) is sold for roughly €1,750 (~$1992 VAT included) and it contains an Intel Core i5, 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. The more expensive model (20KJ001KGE) with a Core i7, 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD costs roughly €2,100 (~$2391 VAT included). These models are available as special educational models in Germany as well, which are exclusive to students or teachers and around €100 (~$114) cheaper. The most expensive model in Lenovo's German online store has a high price-tag of €2,700 (~$3074 VAT included). In Lenovo's US store, the most expensive model can be bought for $2,174 (VAT excluded). A model configured with the same components as our review unit costs $1,517 (VAT excluded).

Naturally, we are going to compare the new Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet with its predecessors, but the other PC manufacturers also provide some interesting competition in the convertible business segment. Of course, the semi-professional Microsoft Surface Pro 6 is a well known device in this category, but other very good competitors include the Dell Latitude 5290, the HP Elite x2 and the Toshiba Portégé X30T-E. We have linked the reviews of the older ThinkPad X1 Tablet models below, as well as a special CPU comparison article, comparing the CPU performance the X1 Tablet Gen 3 with the Surface Pro 6 and the HP Elite x2: