ThinkPad T470s vs. ThinkPad X1 Carbon – Performance and Battery Life Comparison

Both ThinkPad T470s and ThinkPad X1 Carbon are great business notebooks made by Lenovo. They both measure 14-inches, they have similar prices, plus they offer a thin light design. But how are they different? And which one is worth buying if you’re considering getting a new notebook? Check out our review!

Design and Looks

To be honest, all ThinkPads look kind of similar, especially if you don’t use this brand all day long. However, one main point of difference here is the fact that the ThinkPad X1 Carbon has a slimmer bezel on the display. Both of them offer a 14-inches display, as we already mentioned, which means that the X1 Carbon is smaller.

The T470 measures 13.3 x 9.2 in, while the X1 Carbon is only 12.7 x 8.5 in large. This means 13% more area with the first model. The X1 Carbon also offers only 75% of the thickness, having only 0.6 inches. Also, it weighs less, with 2.5 pounds, in comparison to the 2.9 pounds found on the T470s.

Screen

The base screen for both models is a non-touch 1080p one. They both offer IPS technology, as well as an anti-glare surface feature. As an upgrade for both notebooks, you can choose to have a 1440p panel. However, you will only get a touch display together with the T470s, but this matters only if you need such a feature.

Performance

Needless to say, they both come with quite similar processor and storage options. The only significant difference is the fact that the T470s model comes together with RAM that you can upgrade yourself, besides the 4 or 8 GB it already has onboard. It supports maximum 24 GB RAM, in case you get an 8 GB model and then install an extra 16 GB module. In comparison, the X1 Carbon laptop offers a maximum of 16 GB memory which is not upgradeable.

Battery Life

Lenovo claims they offer for the ThinkPad T470s a maximum of 12.5 hours of battery life. Meanwhile, the X1 Carbon supposedly comes up with a max of 15.5 hours. The people at Notebook Review tested out both devices with a quite demanding test. The results were somewhat lower, but still interesting: the ThinkPad T470s worked for 5:46 hours, while the X1 Carbon was on for 25% more, namely 7:16 h.

None of them offers an upgraded battery, so you can tell that this is one point of difference between the two devices. Definitely, the battery life offered by the T470s is still decent, but the X1 Carbon offers the better option.

Price

We already know that Lenovo prices have the tendency of fluctuating a lot with sales, so the pricing we are mentioning in this article may not be accurate at the moment you’re reading it. For a configuration of 14-inch 1080p non-touch display, 256 GB storage drive, 16 GB RAM, an Intel Core i5-7300U dual-core processor and a Windows 10 Pro OS, the prices were not that different. The T470 costs $1,610, while for the X1 Carbon you will have to pay $1,646. However, if you manage to find a promotion at some point, then one laptop may offer a major advantage in front of the other.

Conclusion

Both the ThinkPad T470s and the X1 Carbon products are excellent notebooks. Surprisingly, the price doesn’t differ as much between the two, which makes you ponder on the other differences. If you’re a traveler, the X1 Carbon may be better for you, since it’s lighter and smaller, plus it offers a better battery life. All in all, the choice remains yours and it all depends on your own needs and wishes.