There it is again, that feeling of inferiority.

The cool guys from the agencies are sitting in the street café in late summer temperatures and of course have a Macbook in front of them.

We're starving at our default gray mouse running Windows.

That has to change.

We looked around for a new service computer.

Windows has to stay for better or for worse, but at least the hardware can also be sexy if you choose a high-end notebook.

Michael Spehr

Editor in the "Technology and Engine" department.

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Lenovo's Thinkpad X1 Carbon is one such device, and has been for ten generations and ten years.

The first Thinkpad X1 Carbon appeared in 2012. For many managing directors and managers, these bolides were and are the measure of all things.

The main reasons for this are the low weight in connection with the robust housing made of woven carbon fiber structure and the many years of experience of the Chinese manufacturer.

The new device is available with a fixed screen diagonal of 14 inches with various displays, touch-sensitive or not, optionally matt or glossy with resolutions from 1920 × 1200 to 3840 × 2400 pixels.

We used the only model variant with particularly high-contrast Oled technology, which has a resolution of 2880 × 1800 pixels and reflects little.

That's fun then

But not only the display is great.

We show the cool guys how to bend.

In contrast to the Macbook, the display can be folded back by up to 180 degrees.

Small point of criticism: The upper and lower edges of the display are too big.

The case looks robust, the lid can now be opened with a finger, and with a weight of 1.13 kilograms, the Lenovo is even slightly lighter than the current Macbook Air.

The sticking point is the battery life

The Lenovo can be configured in many ways, the processors are Core i5 and Core i7 of the twelfth generation, eight to 32 gigabytes of RAM can be selected, and SSD in M2 format with up to two terabytes.

A cellular modem is optional.

Compared to the previous models, the new version has an improved webcam, which now has a resolution of 1080p instead of 720p and an aperture of f/2.0, so that a good picture is produced even in low light.

However, the new optics cannot keep up with a smartphone camera.

Furthermore, the search function of Tile is supported.

It works in a similar way to Apple's Airtag, but unfortunately doesn't have the large user base of the model.

The fan of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is not audible in normal use, and the manufacturer deserves praise for this as well.

Both USB-C ports on the left support Thunderbolt 4, which is not a given, and there are also two USB-A sockets and HDMI.

A memory card reader and Ethernet are missing.

Note that three more external monitors can be connected, this does not work with the smaller Macbooks.

The Windows world's cool answer?

The sticking point compared to the latest Apple devices with an M processor is the battery life.

More than eight to ten hours are not possible with the Lenovo, the rival manages almost twice as much.

Our test device with 32 gigabytes of RAM and 2 terabyte SSD costs a recommended 2800 euros, hefty, but downright a bargain compared to a similarly equipped 14-inch MacBook Pro that costs at least 3400 euros with this memory configuration.

Is the new Thinkpad X1 Carbon the cool answer of the Windows world?

The Oled display, the high build quality and the relatively moderate price are a statement.

If we wanted to buy a new Windows notebook, it would probably be this one.