Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable Tablet relies on Tiger-Lake UP4

After there was no competitor to the Microsoft Surface Pro in the business sector from Lenovo for a long time, the PC manufacturer is finally bringing a new Windows tablet onto the market. The Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable includes the latest Tiger Lake CPUs and Thunderbolt 4.

In 2016, Lenovo launched the ThinkPad X1 tablet. In 2017 there was a small update, in 2018 another big one with the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet Gen 3. Since then, there has been no radio silence in terms of the Surface Pro competitor when it comes to the ThinkPads. The X1 Tablet expired in 2019 and there was no successor.

There will probably not be a new ThinkPad X1 tablet either. However, with the ThinkPad X12 Detachable Gen 1, Lenovo is at least bringing an indirect successor onto the market.

While the first two versions of the ThinkPad X1 tablet were still powered by weak Core-m chips, Lenovo switched to the significantly more powerful quad-core CPUs of the Kaby Lake Refresh series with the X1 Tablet Gen 3. The new ThinkPad X12 Detachable strikes a middle ground here: The new Tiger Lake CPUs also have four cores, but the more energy-saving UP4 variants are used – just like in the ThinkPad X1 Nano and ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga.

In terms of display size, the new Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Gen 1 is between X1 Tablet Gen 1 and X1 Tablet Gen 3. It measures 12.3 inches diagonally. This makes it larger than the screen of the first X1 Tablet (12 inches), but smaller than the LCD of the X1 Tablet Gen 3 (13 inches). The aspect ratio is 3: 2 and the resolution is 1,920 x 1,280 – Lenovo calls this FHD+. The screen should achieve a brightness value of 400 cd/m².

Despite the smaller case, Lenovo accommodates a 42 Wh battery in the ThinkPad X12 Detachable. This means that the battery capacity is identical to that of the X1 Tablet Gen 3 and greater than that of the first X1 Tablet. The weight of the magnesium housing is 760 g for the tablet and 1.1 kg together with the attachable keyboard. Apropos keyboard: The backlit ThinkPad keyboard naturally comes with the ThinkPad TrackPoint, and it also has a fingerprint reader and a holder with which you can attach a digitizer pen. It is connected, typically for a Surface Pro clone, via a magnetic pogo pin connection.

The other connections include two USB-C ports, one of which supports Thunderbolt 4. Unlike the premium series ThinkPad X1, the ThinkPad X12 Gen 1 will not have 5G yet, buyers will have to make do with the 4G LTE option. You have to be content with a maximum of 16 GB LPDDR4X-RAM and a 1-TB-SSD – after all, this should not be soldered but installed as a removable M.2 SSD. New compared to the ThinkPad X1 Tablet Gen 3 is the ThinkShutter, the privacy panel for the 5-megapixel webcam.

Price and availability

The Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable Tablet is now available to buy on Newegg.com at a starting price of $1,307.

Lenovo ThinkPad X12 Detachable Specifications

• Processor: 11th Generation Intel Core i5-1140G7 Processor with vPro™ (1.80 GHz, up to 4.20 GHz with Turbo Boost, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 8 MB Cache) / 11th Generation Intel Core™ i7-1180G7 Processor with vPro™ (2.20 GHz, up to 4.60 GHz with Turbo Boost, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 12 MB Cache)
• OS: Windows 10 Pro
• Display: 12.3″ FHD+ (1920 x 1280) IPS, anti-reflective, anti-smudge, touchscreen, 400 nits, Corning Gorilla® Glass
• Memory: Up to 16 GB LPDDR4x 4267MHz
• Battery: Up to 10.36 hours 42Wh (MM18), Rapid Charge included
• Storage: Up to 1 TB PCIe SSD
• Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
• Features: Discrete Trusted Platform Module (dTPM) 2.0, Windows Hello & IR camera for facial recognition login, Fingerprint reader on the optional keyboard, Webcam privacy cover, Kensington lock slot
• Audio: Dolby Premium, Dual-array mics
• Camera: 5MP front-facing hybrid infrared (IR) with webcam privacy shutter, 8MP rear-facing
• Connectivity: WWAN LTE 4G CAT9, Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 802.11AX (2 x 2), Bluetooth 5.1,
• Ports: USB 4 Type-C with Thunderbolt 4 (DisplayPort, Power Delivery and Data Transfer), USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, Headphone/mic combo, Nano-SIM slot
• Keyboard: Backlit with white LED lighting
• Dimensions: Tablet only: 283.3mm x 203.5mm x 8.8mm / 11.15″ x 8.01″ x 0.34″ / Folio keyboard: 283.3mm x 217.8mm x 5.7mm / 11.15″ x 8.57″ x 0.22″ / With keyboard: 283.3 mm x 203.5mm x 14.5mm / 11.15″ x 8.01″ x 0.57″
• Weight: Tablet only: 760 g (1.67 lbs) / Folio keyboard: 340 g (0.75 lbs) / With keyboard: Starting at 1.1kg / 2.4lbs