How to open Lenovo ThinkPad X13s Gen 1 – disassembly and upgrade options
To be honest, we were surprised that you even get an M.2 PCIe x4 slot for storage, and it’s not soldered to the motherboard.
Check out all Lenovo ThinkPad X13s Gen 1 prices and configurations in our Specs System, or read more in our In-Depth review.
1. Remove the bottom plate
There are 6 captive Phillips-head screws you need to undo to get inside this device. Also, you have to pry the bottom panel with a plastic tool.
2. Remove the battery
This laptop sports a 49.5Wh battery pack. It lasts for 14 hours of Web browsing, or 21 hours of video playback on a single charge. To take it out, unplug the battery connector, and undo the three Phillips-head screws.
3. Upgrade memory and storage
Here, the memory is soldered to the motherboard. There are configurations of up to 32GB of LPDDR4x RAM, working at 4266 MHz. As for the storage, there is one M.2 PCIe x4 slot, which fits Gen 4 SSDs with a size of 42mm.
4. Cooling system
Lenovo uses a passive cooling setup, which comprises one long heat pipe.
Check out all Lenovo ThinkPad X13s Gen 1 prices and configurations in our Specs System, or read more in our In-Depth review.
Lenovo ThinkPad X13s Gen 1 in-depth review
We honestly didn't think that Lenovo would come with a more interesting laptop than its ThinkPad Z-series for this year. However, we were wrong. We got our hands on a ThinkPad X13s Gen 1.What's so special about it? Well, as Lenovo puts it in its own words - it provides a smartphone experience with PC performance. The reason for that is the ARM-based Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 SoC on the inside.This changes every perspective of the laptop - the battery life, and the device's chassis. Even the cooling setup is now completely silent. This is because the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 has a TDP [...]
Pros
- Super slim and strong chassis
- Blazingly quick user experience
- Turns on immediately
- 100% sRGB coverage and accurate color output (AUO B133UAN02.1 (LEN41A6))
- No PWM (AUO B133UAN02.1 (LEN41A6))
- Fantastic battery life
- Great keyboard and touchpad
- Wi-Fi 6, and optional 5G support
- Completely silent under any load
Cons
- Poor upgradeability
- Limited port selection
- Very warm under heavy load
- Windows is still not optimized for ARM