Lenovo’s ThinkPad X12 Detachable has a 12-inch detachable screen

Lenovo launches new ThinkPad – with a twist. The ThinkPad X12 Detachable is a 12.3-inch business laptop with a screen that you can display and use as a tablet. It’s one of several new ThinkPads Lenovo unveiled this week, powered by Intel’s latest 11th generation vPro processors.

Look at this thing, and you’ll see that it’s a similar idea to Microsoft’s Surface Pro line. The screen is essentially a 12.3-inch Windows tablet that lets you pair and unlock a folio keyboard. It has a kick on the back, this is how it stands up on its own, and it’s compatible with Lenovo’s Precision Pen and Digital Pen.

The form factor is meant to provide extra versatility to business users. For example, if you are in a meeting or class and need to read presentation notes from your computer, you can shoot down the screen without having to drag the keyboard with you.

Even if the keyboard is attached, portability is still a selling point. The tablet is less than 9 mm thick and weighs just over 2.5 pounds with the keyboard attached. It also supports LTE Cat9 for on-the-go work, and Lenovo says it has undergone MIL-SPEC 810G testing to state that it is durable enough to withstand drops and pressures during travel.

Lenovo

But despite the tablet-shaped form factor, the ThinkPad X12 is still a laptop because it has chips in the laptop. It’s powered by Intel’s 11th Gen Core vPro processors (up to a Core i7) and Iris Xe integrated graphics. Intel’s vPro platform provides a number of security features for business users. In terms of other specifications, you can get up to 16 GB LPDDR4x memory and 1 TB NVMe SSD storage.

As for ports, do not get too excited: there is only one Thunderbolt 4, one USB 3.2 Type-C, one NanoSIM and one audio connector. Remember that one of the ports sometimes contains the charger, so if you buy the X12 and need to plug in other stuff, you will probably want some kind of dock (like the new SD5700T Thunderbolt 4 drive from Kensington).

Lenovo

One feature I’m quite excited about is the aspect ratio. The X12 has a 3: 2 screen, the same dimensions as the Surface Pro 7 and Surface Book 3. It was nice to see manufacturers across the board abandon the cramped 16: 9 aspect ratio, and 3: 2 is mine favorite type of screen to use. This gives you a lot of extra space for multitasking.

I recently checked out the ThinkPad X1 Fold from Lenovo, another device built like a tablet with a keyboard. It’s a very cool device, but at $ 2,499 it’s too expensive for me to recommend buying one. The X12 Foldable is what I would call a more pragmatic implementation of the X1 Fold. It’s not that fancy (for one the screen doesn’t fold in half), but it’s significantly cheaper with a starting price of $ 1149, and it looks like it comes with a full keyboard, rather than the small, concise one the fold. For many users looking for a convertible ThinkPad, the X12 Detachable may be a more sensible choice (though I have to see how it performs first before making an official recommendation).

The ThinkPad X12 Detachable is expected to be available in January 2021, starting at $ 1,149.