One of the most secure laptops I've tested this year is also one of the lightest

ZDNET's key takeaways

The Lenovo ThinkPad X13 2-in-1 Gen 5 is available now, starting at $1,800. It's an ultraportable, reliable workhorse with good connectivity and security features that professionals will love. It's rather expensive, and its average display is overshadowed by flashy OLEDs on comparable devices.

The fifth generation of Lenovo's ThinkPad X13 line aims to bring AI-ready connectivity to the business user, in a lightweight 2-in-1 or standard form factor, lots of ports, and a high degree of flexibility enterprise customers will appreciate. 

With a suite of powerful hardware and a responsive touchscreen, the ThinkPad X13 is a lightweight laptop for the hybrid worker who commutes and needs a reliable workhorse with a small physical footprint. 

Also: This work laptop with one of the best displays is not a ThinkPad or MacBook (and it's $300 off)

Physically, this device looks like a quintessential ThinkPad: a sleek all-black chassis with the signature red TrackPoint and matte, rounded keys. The keyboard is comfortable enough to type on all day with good key travel and a soft, well-optimized 115mm glass touchpad.

It's quite light, weighing 2.65 pounds and measuring just over half an inch thick. The recycled magnesium alloy provides a sturdy enough body, despite feeling a little plasticky. My main gripe with the matte black texture is the fingerprints and smudges galore.

The ports offer maximum connectivity, with two USB-A Thunderbolt 4s, two USB-C ports, an HDMI port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a Kensington lock slot. The laptop also supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and PCIe 5.0, aiming for maximum data transfer speeds and fast connectivity wherever you're working. 

Under the hood, things are what you'd expect from a business-oriented laptop at this price point. The Intel Core Ultra 5 or 7 "Meteor Lake" processor supports a performance hybrid architecture with three cores (CPU, GPU, and NPU) aimed at harnessing AI workflows. Intel's AI Boost technology takes some of the heavy lifting from tasks like AI speech and audio applications, with the goal of keeping system resources running smoothly.

As is standard in Lenovo's line of ThinkPads, the X13 has a "self-healing" BIOS that can automatically detect and resolve issues that could compromise the computer's operational integrity. This means it evaluates everything in the computer's BIOS code before running it, hopefully detecting malicious programs ahead of time. This also prevents the laptop from being "bricked" or otherwise inoperable in case of a corrupted BIOS.

At the enterprise level, this adds an extra layer of protection that can help IT save employees' laptops from bricking in case they're exposed to malware. The Kensington lock slot and physical privacy shutter on the webcam makes this little laptop even tougher to crack.

The display isn't a particular standout, with a 1920x1200 resolution, WUXGA screen at 300 nits of brightness and a 60Hz refresh rate. That said, you'll probably connect this device to an external monitor anyway.  

Also: This 13-inch laptop I recommend for business travel is not a Lenovo ThinkPad or MacBook

The 16GB of soldered LPDDR5X RAM affords solid multitasking across multiple displays, while relegating the price point to the upper edge of the mid-range, especially paired with the 1TB SSD. Just keep in mind that the memory is not upgradeable.

With plenty of ports, this is a laptop that will have no problem connecting to whatever peripherals you have in the office, even while in a docking station. This doesn't mean it's not suitable as a 2-in-1. The ThinkPad X13 has an integrated pen that slots into the side of the device and works exceptionally well for users who prefer using one.  

Indicated by its red handle, the stylus is so small you might not even notice it. It's certainly not the most premium stylus on the market, but it is responsive, and its springy tip makes navigation far more precise than your fingertip.

The laptop comes with Lenovo's Rapid Charge feature, which promises 80% battery life from just one hour of charging. In my testing, this seemed more or less an accurate claim, as the 41Wh battery fills up quickly, making it great for intermittent access to power for users who tend to move from location to location, but don't need a heavy-duty marathon battery.

Also: I used this ultralight portable monitor for a week and can't go back to one display

I got around seven hours out of one charge during our battery test, and a little more than a full work day's worth of juice when switching between more intensive workloads and standard tasks. This is about what you'd expect from a 13-inch laptop with a smaller battery. 

ZDNET's buying advice

All in all, the ThinkPad X13 2-in-1 Gen 5 is a secure enterprise laptop with solid performance. If you're looking for an ultraportable 2-in-1, you like using a stylus and prefer reliable performance over all else, this is the laptop for you. It's not particularly cheap, but you're paying for a device with endurance. 

Unfortunately, the soldered RAM removes the option for future upgrades, but for users with a well-defined professional use case, this is a reliable device that will put in the work. If you're looking for a similar 13-inch device without the 2-in-1 form factor and don't need all the ports, the Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 4 has a slightly more sleek chrome form factor, and starts at $1,580.