Lenovo ThinkPad X280 Review

Lisa Gade reviews the Lenovo ThinkPad X280, a 12.5” business Ultrabook with Intel 8th gen Kaby Lake R quad core CPUs, Thunderbolt 3 and a durable yet slim carbon fiber and magnesium build. The X280 gets a redesign, and it’s distinctly different from the boxy ThinkPad X270, though the slimmer and lighter X280 loses a few compelling features like the Bridge Battery system. Now it’s the 12.5” “mini” version of the X1 Carbon in terms of design. The laptop is available with up to a full HD IPS touch screen, 16GB DDR4 RAM and an M.2 SSD (SATA3 and PCIe NVMe options available). It has a fingerprint scanner, optional Windows Hello camera, optional 4G LTE, Intel 8265ac WiFi and a 48 WHr battery that supports quick charging. Pricing starts around $1,180. It competes with the Dell XPS 13 and other small high end Ultrabooks.