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Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 Laptop test

We put the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 through our rigorous DXOMARK Laptop test suite to measure its performance both at sound, camera and display.

In this review, we will break down how it fared in a variety of tests and several common use cases.

Overview

Key specifications include (as given by the manufacturer):

  • Physical specs : 1,536 cm x 31,56 cm x 22,25 cm
  • Display : 2880×1800 OLED, 100% DCI-P3, 400 nits
  • Audio : Stereo speakers, 2x2W woofers & 2×0.8W tweeters, Dolby Atmos. Quad-microphone array, 360° far-field, Dolby Voice.
  • Webcam : MIPI Full HD + IR

Scoring

Use-case and feature subscores included in the calculations of the global score

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11
100
camera
66

93

50

54

55

76

72

83

138
display
75

84

67

95

76

84

120
audio
123

149

107

133

125

153

Pros

  • In video call, high performance in texture and noise rendering, with high level of detail and well-controlled noise.
  • In video call, very good target exposure on faces in most situations
  • In video call, good overall voice intelligibility in the most simple situations
  • Very good brightness levels, with a high maximum brightness when display HDR contents
  • Faithful display color rendering

Cons

  • Instabilities in dynamic range, exposure and white balance when in challenging conditions such as high contrast scenes
  • Strong gating when voices overlap, impeding voices intelligibility
  • In video call, monophonic and omnidirectional capture
  • Lack of low-end bass power, bass and attack sharpness

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 provided a great experience overall, achieving the best results of all Windows laptops tested to date. However, its best-in-class performance for camera and display was marred by a below-average audio performance for both recording and playback.

Test summary

About DXOMARK Laptop tests: For scoring and analysis in our laptop reviews, DXOMARK engineers perform a variety of objective tests and undertake more than 20 hours of perceptual evaluations under controlled lab conditions and real-life scenarios.
(For more details about the  Laptop protocol, click here.)
The following section gathers key elements of our exhaustive tests and analyses performed in DXOMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluations under the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 overall & use-cases scores

Video Call

125

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11

144

Apple MacBook Pro 14" (M2 Pro, 2023)
About DXOMARK Laptop tests

DXOMARK's Video call use case is a score that evaluates how a device handles video calls and videoconferencing in multiple conditions. This score focuses on the camera performance and the capture and playback rendering of voices. Read more about how we test the use cases of Video call score here.

The Lenovo device’s camera had great target exposure on faces under most conditions, and achieved a high level of detail while controlling noise well. Lack of dynamic range caused highlight clipping in high-contrast scenes, however, along with visible fluctuations in scenes with movement. Despite its quad microphone array, audio recordings were monophonic and lacked directivity. And although voice intelligibility was good in simple situations, strong gating impaired intelligibility when more than one person was talking.

Camera

100

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11

135

Apple MacBook Pro 14" (M3 Pro, 2023)

The following chart presents the camera subscores for the video call use case:

Camera scores comparison
Camera texture acutance on Deadleaves with illuminance levels
This graph shows the evolution of texture acutance with the level of lux measured on a Deadleaves chart.

The following graphs show the objective measurements performed in our camera labs:

Camera visual noise evolution with illuminance levels
This graph shows the evolution of spatial visual noise with the level of lux. Spatial visual noise is measured on the visual noise chart in the video noise setup. DXOMARK visual noise measurement is derived from ISO15739 standard.
Target exposure on face with illuminance levels
These measurements take place on a setup combining realistic mannequins and a backlit panel simulating high dynamic range conditions. This graph shows the evolution of lightness measured on the forehead of the realistic mannequin with the level of lux, for multiple lighting conditions. The lightness is measured in L*. Delta EV specifies the difference of luminance in stops between the face and the light panel simulating HDR conditions.
Target exposure on face with illuminance levels in HDR conditions
These measurements take place on a setup combining realistic mannequins and a backlit panel simulating high dynamic range conditions. This graph shows the evolution of lightness measured on the forehead of the realistic mannequin with the level of lux, for multiple lighting conditions. The lightness is measured in L*. Delta EV specifies the difference of luminance in stops between the face and the light panel simulating HDR conditions.
Target exposure on face with illuminance levels in HDR conditions
These measurements take place on a setup combining realistic mannequins and a backlit panel simulating high dynamic range conditions. This graph shows the evolution of lightness measured on the forehead of the realistic mannequin with the level of lux, for multiple lighting conditions. The lightness is measured in L*. Delta EV specifies the difference of luminance in stops between the face and the light panel simulating HDR conditions.

Audio

120

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11

144

Apple MacBook Pro 14" (M2 Pro, 2023)

The following chart presents the capture subscores for the video call use case:

Audio capture scores comparison

The following graphs show the frequency response, distortion and directivity in capture, recorded in our semi-anechoic room:

Audio capture directivity
Directivity graph of the laptop microphone(s) when capturing test signals using the camera app. It represents the acoustic energy (in dB) over the angle of incidence of the sound source (normalized to the angle 0°, in front of the device).

Music & Video

130

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11

154

Apple MacBook Pro 14" (M3 Pro, 2023)
About DXOMARK Laptop tests

DXOMARK's Video and Music use case score evaluates the capability of a device to reproduce multimedia usages such as videos, movies and music playback in indoor conditions. This score focuses on the display performance and audio-playback rendering. Read more about how we test this use case here.

With a maximum brightness of 640 nits, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11’s display was brighter than advertised (400 nits). Its HDR performance was the best among tested Windows laptops, with faithful color rendering and good EOTF; but while its SDR perfromance was good overall, blacks were slightly elevated and blues were somewhat desaturated. The device’s audio qualities were a bit disappointing, with a distracting and unexpected fade-in effect whenever audio files were played. Playback quality was further impaired by the lack of bass power, attack sharpness, and punch, along with noticeable pumping.

Display

138

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11

156

Apple MacBook Pro 14" (M3 Pro, 2023)

The following chart presents the display subscores for the multimedia use case:

Display scores comparison

The following graphs show the objective measurements performed in our display lab:

Display gamut coverage for video contents
Laptop
Video gamut SDR
Laptop
Video gamut HDR
The primary colors are measured both in HDR10 and SDR. The extracted color gamut shows the extent of the color area that the device can render. To respect the artistic intent, the measured gamut should match the master color space of each video.
Display reflectance measurement (SCI)
Measurements above show the reflection of the device within the visible spectrum range (400 nm to 700 nm). It includes both diffuse and specular reflection.
Display reflectance profile
Display brightness uniformity
0.115
cd/m²
0.131
cd/m²
0.169
cd/m²
0.107
cd/m²
0.133
cd/m²
0.18
cd/m²
0.135
cd/m²
0.165
cd/m²
0.219
cd/m²
Laptop Distribution of brightness (min)
438.1
cd/m²
427.5
cd/m²
424
cd/m²
432.4
cd/m²
423.3
cd/m²
420.9
cd/m²
425.4
cd/m²
418.8
cd/m²
419.2
cd/m²
Laptop Distribution of brightness (max)
This illustration shows the brightness measured on nine zones of the display for minimum brightness (left) and maximum brightness (right) for SDR content.
Display SDR EOTF measurement
This graph represents the rendering of contrast (gray levels) for SDR video content, measured in the dark. We expect to be close to the 2.2 or 2.4 gamma references.
Display peak brightness for video contents

Display white point
Laptop
This graph represents the color temperature of white content, compared with the reference (Daylight illuminant D65) measured in the dark on video at minimum and maximum brightness.

Audio

119

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11

152

Apple MacBook Pro 14" (M2 Pro, 2023)

The following chart presents the playback for the multimedia use case:

Audio playback scores comparison

The following graphs show the frequency response, distortion and directivity in multimedia playback, recorded in our semi-anechoic room:

Audio playback frequency response
A 1/12 octave frequency response graph, which measures the volume of each frequency emitted by the laptop when playing a pure-sine wave in an anechoic environment.
Audio playback Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise

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