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Laptops · Lenovo ThinkPad X-series

Lenovo ThinkPad X-series X13

10owners with an opinion
50%of verdicts positive
2/2positive/negative since 2024
0happy after 3+ years

Praised for comfort and display; criticized for reliability.

What people wrote

Neutral
I use a stylus to take lecture notes and solve problem sheets on my ThinkPad X13. Xournalpp works ok, Ubuntu 24.04, though there was a mutter bug that I had Sol patch out. Only better than paper because of data storage, honestly carrying a notebook is lighter than the usb c second display I use. When I have it folded, it's intuitive to use the touchscreen like a tablet. But I wouldn't want to run the i3 setup I have on my desktop. The Wayland UI bandwagon and huge touch targets are for something after all.
Doesn’t like it
Recent thinkpads are a bit of shit-tier laptops, and linux doesn’t help much (it’s not linux’s fault). for personal use I gave up after almost twenty years of thinkpad+linux and got a MacBook neo. So far it’s been great, much much better than my shit-tier ryzen-based x13g1 with 8c/16t and 32gb RAM. (Edit: it’s also more reliable when driving my 34” 1440p external display).
Doesn’t like it
> But these obstacles are not intrinsic technical limitations so much as ecosystem and investment gaps, areas where community projects, standards efforts, and wider adoption could drive improvement without sacrificing freedom. Are you sure? My second-hand thinkpad still won't hibernate properly. It's not a weird model, it's a ryzen-based X13 Gen1 so not even shiny new. You can imagine on a laptop one would want hibernation to just work. The fault is surely on Lenovo's table... Yet it would work if I was to run Windows (which I don't want to do). So yeah... Now I have a laptop from a brand which is known and appreciated for linux compatibility, and a basic thing like hibernation does not work.
Likes it
My X13G3 does not have such a setting in EFI setup but the fancy power management setups that come with most (if not all DEs) does not seem to play well with it, it seems to wait for some processes to finish before sleeping even though those processes have already been suspended and will not finish, so it never goes fully to sleep even though the laptop's lid LED says it is suspended. I never investigated this issue since I was just seeing how KDE and XFCE had progressed since my last try of them. Have not had any issues with it using old fashioned suspend setups with just a WM and no DE. Other things; it really did not play well with the 5.x LTS kernel of slackware 15, poor performance all around but switching to slackware current with its 6.x kernel solved that. KDE also used the GPU which decreased battery life but was still good, certainly better than the Windows that it came with which had abysmal battery life. I think the DEs also played with the CPU governor, at least with KDE, seem to recall that it reved up to full speed long before it needed to but don't quite remember. Overall, love the X13, especially the 16:10 screen ratio, but I think the G1s had a 16:9? Edit: With the DEs my X13 also goes into a half awake state when you plug it in when suspended. Generally not an issue but it will stay in that half suspended state until the lid is opened and then reclosed which means if you just unplug it and toss it into your bag, it is still in that half suspended state and…
Neutral
I bought a 5 year old Lenovo x13 and installed Debian on it, haven’t used linux in years but wanted to play around. Installed, logged in for the first time and got the ‘welcome to KDE’ screen, dismissed it and then… nothing. Every time I log in… nothing. It just sits there waiting for me to do something. It doesn’t tell me to do anything. I’ve been mostly using it to play Civ2.
Likes it
My X220 from 2012 also runs fine. I use now use a X13 because AMD Zen3+ is faster and provides much more battery runtime. The magnesium chassis and the crisp keyboard are awesome. This stuff last long: * Build quality, regarding chassis and screws. * Replacement parts are available. Hardware maintenance manual is available. A broken palm rest is something fixable. * Handle it with care. Most people don’t care about the cheap consumer laptops. Neither the manufacturer nor the consumer. Windows degrades quickly through updates, software bloat (e.g. Electron) and anti-virus snakeoil makes everything slow and unreliable. The biggest issue of ThinkPads is that the L-Series can be purchased (same hardware, bad chassis) and that bad panels can be ordered. Recently Lenovo removed the HiDPI panel option from the X13. Which is the worst possible idea. Another dumb idea is the ugly and useless camera bump protruding from the panel. Apple takes always a lot money from and prevents these mistakes. But Apple loves to deliver bad keyboards. And the aluminium chassis is bad in comparison to magnesium chassis (much better feeling, never hot or cold). Avoidable mistakes. None of these are hard challenges. As the biggest mistake “six rows keyboards”. The complete industry ruined laptop with 16:9 and after a decade we’re allowed to enjoy the much better 16:10 again. The keyboards are still small, squeezed things with awkwardly grouped keys. The X220 keyboard is a masterpiece i…
Likes it
> A whole laptop for less than 400 USD is a great thing for the other half. I paid my "new" ThinkPad X13 Gen1 400 Euros + 29 euros for shipping, less than a month ago, from eBay. It comes with a 8c/16t ryzen cpu, a full-hd touch display and 32GB ram. Even if it was 500 euros, it's an incredibly better value than a "Shenzhen Special" piece of trash. Please stop promoting e-waste.
Doesn’t like it
While still anecdotal, I'll give you two data points: The trackpad on my Thinkpad E495 is hanging and has lost the ability to register clicks, and had been like that after only two years of use. I think the reason is that the whole construction with lots of space is collecting dust. You can use the physical buttons above the pad, and some people like this retro design even, but IMO it's just reducing space and adds a border and height distance for your finger to travel, so arguably outdated and objectively worse. The Elan trackpad on my Thinkpad x13 gen 2 has been defective from the start and registers palm contact where there is none, with the effect that the touchpad stops responding like every 30s; this is a known defect.
Likes it
>not just a measly T42, that's for the proles What do you think the 'p' in T42p really stands for? T42p did not exist when I bought my T42 back in 01 or 02. X13 keyboard is almost as enjoyable to use as the T42's was for the first decade of its existence, X13's wins hands down over a T42 keyboard with a decade of use and tired springs. I am pretty happy with their current keyboards.
Neutral
I gradually went from 17” to 15” to 13” laptops for my personal machines. The main thing I miss is the expansive keyboards on the bigger machines. The 17” ones even had a number pad, and some my 15” ones did too. My current work laptop is a 15” Thinkpad P15 Gen2 with an i9-11950H, 64gb of ram, and an rtx 3080 mobile. It’s a beast but very reasonably sized for its specs. It’s a little bit chunky but I wouldn’t expect anything less with a high performance cpu and gpa. Lots of ports, 15” OLED display. I love it, even if the battery life is abysmal. It’s a workstation. But my personal machine needs to be small enough to throw in a bag and not think about, so its a Ryzen powered thinkpad X13. The screen is a little dim and the battery life is way worse than a comparable dell XPS 13, but it was inexpensive and does everything I need. The major downside to the size is the keyboard is also shrunk, so lots of typing sucks. The biggest problem with both machines, and its true of all thinkpads, is that Lenovo put the function button on the leftmost of the lowest row instead of ctrl button and I often try to copy paste and accidentally hit the function key instead of control. I ended up getting a mouse with some extra buttons and I’ve assigned one of them as ctrl instead, but it would be better if the ctrl button would just be where it was supposed to be.
Likes it
I feel like this comment has short memory. Battery life on intel macbooks was terrible ime. Frequently it would drain completely while the lid was closed overnight. Always had to keep it plugged in. Of course Apple silicon is fantastic and nothing beats it now. On the Linux side, I've had great luck with AMD + recent kernels. I get around 6 hours now on my Thinkpad X13 gen 2 which is good enough for me.
Likes it
Just got myself an X13, love the screen ratio and the keyboard is almost as good as my old T42 which finally died. Not thrilled about everything being soldered on but every TP I have owned has outlived its own usefulness so I am not too concerned, even my $250 e11 is still going strong all stock and just shy of 10 years old. First computer with AMD and first computer with a remotely decent GPU which is kind of fun but I don't really need it. So far my favorite TP since the T42. I do wish they would release another e11 that is not a yoga, going to miss that computer when it finally dies.
Doesn’t like it
I have the same problem. For some weird reason my company-provided X13 Yoga's trackpoint just doesn't feel right. I tried adjusting it but I eventually gave up and switched to trackpad (I don't use the laptop that much anyways). That one doesn't even have a huge screen resolution (1920x1200 I think) so I don't quite understand what's wrong. Maybe some change in parts?
Doesn’t like itDoesn’t say they own it
The last competitor remaining is Lenovo with the ThinkPads and pre-installed Linux [1]. But even Lenovo cripples them: * You need to be very careful. Select alwaysCTO build with the best available display. But even then, Lenovo *removed* the HiDPI display from the X13. The only actual competitor to the MacBook Air is the ThinkPad X13. * Lenovo added useless camera humps protruding out of the panel. There is a thick bezel and enough space for a much better camera. And for opening the laptop used to be a dent in the (round!) palmrest, nothing protruding. * AMD, Intel and Lenovo fail to ship a fanless X13 and T14. I would happily keep same performance for two years, just getting rid of it. * Lenovo is drowning us in Yogas, Z13 or whatever Legion. They still have huge advantages (keyboard, maintenance manual, replacement parts, Linux compatibility, much more ports in case of the X14 and T14). Apples keyboards are nowadays “acceptable” but not even comparable to a good ThinkPad keyboard. [1] By the love of god. Don’t order them with Windows! You are putting 80 to 130 euro right into Microsoft’s stock owners. And they will use it to harm Linux. And of course, making Windows even worse. They use it to harm you . Select Linux. Donate the rest (Fasst, GNOME, KDE…) or use it for the better display.
Likes itDoesn’t say they own it
I mean, the irony is that the keyboards most people associate with failing are the Apple ones (2015-2020). ... Which are nearly impossible to replace, and are what the modern Thinkpads are trying to emulate. The old X13's would almost never fail, so replacing them was never a consideration. (also, screws are not that annoying, but I agree with the rest, most companies aren't/weren't replacing keyboards on laptops)