Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga 14" 20XY002KUS Storm Gray 2021

The ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 is a well-built 2-in-1 with a great keyboard and handy garaged pen, but its i7-1165G7 CPU is the slowest in our database for this category. At around $2,000 USD, you're paying current flagship money for 2021 performance. The 512GB SSD and 16GB RAM are both below average, and the integrated graphics can't handle gaming at all. Only buy this if you need the ThinkPad keyboard and 360-degree hinge more than you need speed.

The i7-1165G7 is a quad-core chip from Intel's Tiger Lake family, running at 2.8GHz base. In our database, it lands dead last among CPUs in this category. That doesn't mean it's unusable, not by a long shot. For email, Office apps, web browsing, and video calls, it'll chug along fine. But throw anything heavier at it, like compiling code, editing photos in bulk, or running a bunch of browser tabs plus a Zoom call, and you'll feel the age. The 16GB of RAM helps, but it's LPDDR4X, not the newer DDR5 you'd find in current machines.

The Iris Xe integrated graphics sit at the 14th percentile, which is about what you'd expect from a business 2-in-1. It'll handle streaming video and light photo edits without breaking a sweat. But gaming? Our gaming score for this thing is 9.9 out of 100. That's not a typo. You can play Solitaire and maybe some older indie titles, but anything from the last five years is going to struggle. The 512GB SSD is fine for a work machine, though it's on the smaller side if you're storing lots of media or VMs.

The elephant in the room is the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max. It's in a completely different performance universe, with a CPU and GPU that make the X1 Yoga look like a calculator. But it's also not a 2-in-1, and it runs macOS, so if you need Windows and a touchscreen, it's not a direct swap. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition is a closer competitor in spirit, with a premium build and excellent display, though it also skips the 360-degree hinge.

For people who want a convertible without the ThinkPad tax, the HP OMEN Transcend 14 and ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 are gaming-focused machines that happen to have decent screens and better GPUs. They're heavier on performance but lighter on the business features like the garaged pen and ThinkShield security. The MSI Raider is even more of a performance play, with discrete graphics that embarrass the Iris Xe. None of these competitors offer the exact ThinkPad combination of keyboard, durability, and 2-in-1 flexibility, but they all deliver far more raw power for similar or less money.

At around $2,000 USD, this is a tough sell in 2025. You're paying current flagship money for a processor that was mid-range when it launched in 2021. The 512GB SSD and 16GB of RAM are both at the 37th percentile in our database, which means most laptops in this category offer more storage and memory for the same or less cash. The reliability score is strong at the 81st percentile, so you're getting a well-built machine, but reliability alone doesn't justify the price when the performance is this far behind.

If you're in the UK, the GBP 2,381 listing is even harder to swallow. That's MacBook Pro territory, and the M4 Max in that machine will run circles around the i7-1165G7 in every conceivable task. The ThinkPad's value proposition only makes sense if you absolutely need the 2-in-1 form factor, the garaged pen, and the ThinkPad keyboard, and you're willing to pay a premium for those specific features.

The ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 is Lenovo's pitch to business folks who want a laptop that bends over backwards, literally. The 360-degree hinge means you can flip it into tablet mode for scribbling notes with the garaged pen, tent mode for presentations, or just keep it as a normal clamshell. It's aimed at professionals who live in spreadsheets, video calls, and the occasional sketch, not people trying to render 4K video or game on their lunch break.

This particular config, the 20XY002KUS, packs an Intel Core i7-1165G7, 16GB of LPDDR4X RAM, and a 512GB SSD. The 14-inch display runs at 1920x1200, which gives you a bit more vertical room than the usual 1080p panel. Storm Gray chassis, Windows 10 Pro, and a fingerprint reader built into the power button round out the package. It's a ThinkPad, so the keyboard is probably the main reason half the buyers are here.

But here's the thing. This is a 2021-era processor in a machine still selling for around $2,000 USD. Our database puts the CPU at the very bottom of the charts compared to current laptops, and the integrated Iris Xe graphics aren't doing anyone any favors either. So the question isn't whether this is a nice laptop. It's whether a nice laptop from three years ago is worth current flagship money.

Skip this if you do any kind of creative work beyond light photo edits. Video editing, 3D modeling, or music production will bring the i7-1165G7 to its knees, and the integrated graphics won't help. You'd be much better served by the MacBook Pro M4 Max or the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14, both of which offer dramatically more performance for similar money.

Also skip it if you need ports. This machine has one HDMI port and that's about it, which puts it at the 17th percentile for port selection. If you're plugging in external monitors, USB drives, and Ethernet adapters, you'll be living the dongle life. And if you're a gamer, just don't. The 9.9 out of 100 gaming score speaks for itself. Look at the HP OMEN Transcend 14 or MSI Raider instead.

If you're a business user who lives in Outlook, Teams, and Excel, and you want a laptop that can also be a tablet for note-taking, the X1 Yoga Gen 6 is still a pleasant machine to use. The keyboard is excellent, the build quality is top-notch, and the garaged pen is genuinely handy. The 1920x1200 display is a nice touch for reading documents and spreadsheets. You'll be happy with it as long as you don't push it too hard.

But if you do anything beyond basic office work, or if you care about getting your money's worth, look elsewhere. The CPU is the weakest we've seen in this category, the storage is small, and the port selection is sparse. For $2,000 USD, you can get a current-generation laptop with a much faster processor, more storage, and better graphics. The X1 Yoga only makes sense if the 2-in-1 form factor and ThinkPad keyboard are non-negotiable, and you're willing to accept the performance trade-off.