[Hardware] Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold Review: Durable, but Major First-Gen Vibes

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Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold Review: Durable, but Major First-Gen Vibes
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold, the first folding-screen PC, is built solid with a gorgeous OLED display, but it's very expensive and has some bugs.

For every innovation to happen, someone has to go first. The worry is how they stick the landing, as that often has implications for the perception of new technology for months or years.

Lenovo is the first to market with a foldable Windows 10 PC. The ThinkPad X1 Fold ($2,499.00 to start, $3,099.00 as tested) is a tablet. Or maybe a laptop? Maybe a book?

That price is eye-popping, which is often the case for first-generation technology. Lenovo has built this with an eye on durability, and added in some premium leather. It's powered by Intel's low-power Core i5 Lakefield processor, which enables the form factor.

But Windows 10 wasn't made for foldables. Lenovo has done some nice work with its own software to soften that blow, but there's still a bit to be done to make foldables like this take their place among the best Ultrabooks.

Your first impression of the ThinkPad X1 Fold may be disbelief. The device ships flat, like a tablet. Then you can just fold it closed. Like a book. Open, close. Open, close. Yup, this laptop… tablet -- whatever you want to call it -- can fold.

This isn't the first foldable device in the world, of course. Samsung, Huawei, and Lenovo's own phone arm, Motorola have all released folding phones, which have been of varying (often disappointing) quality. But this? No, this feels solid.

When it's closed, the ThinkPad X1 Fold looks like a fat notebook - but a premium one, like a Moleskine. It's bound in black leather with the ThinkPad X1 logo stamped in the front. On the back, there's a kickstand that folds out. There is a bit of a space between the screens, though if you use the optional physical keyboard (more on that below) then no space shows at all.

You open the device the same way you would open a book, and that's when the 13.3-inch foldable touchscreen amazes, revealing itself without showing the crease. There is, however, a significant bezel hiding some of the components.

While you can't see the crease while the display is on (it's visible when off), you may feel it. All you need to use the screen is a light touch. But if you press a bit harder, you can feel some of the pieces under the OLED panel. But I opened and closed this plenty, and I really didn't have any doubts about durability, as long as you don't toss it around.