Just like with other Lenovo ThinkPad laptops, If you have one of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon models at your hand, you can check on the bottom plate the generation and model name imprinted on it. It should be also visible in Windows System Information app (in Windows Search type “system information” to find the app).
If you don’t have any other way to find out the year of release or generation, like when you don’t have the laptop and just planning to buy a used or refurbished one, what can help is to find its processor series. I have compiled the table below, so you can find the X1 Carbon generation based on the processor used. But, note that select X1 Carbon laptops from different generations have the same CPUs. You can differ them by their generation-specific features listed in the table.
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Generation & Model Names | Year of Release | Processors Used (Intel Core) | Generation-Specific Differences* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Gen X1 Carbon (3443, 3444, 3446, 3448, 3460, 3462, 3463) | 2012 | i5-3317U, i5-3427U | |
| 2nd Gen X1 Carbon (20A7, 20A8) | 2014 | i5-4200U, i5-4210U, i5-4300U, i7-4600U | |
| 3rd Gen X1 Carbon (20BS, 20BT) | 2015 | i5-5200U, i5-5300U, i7-5500U, i7-5600U | |
| 4th Gen X1 Carbon (20FB, 20FC) | 2016 | i5-6200U, i5-6300U, i7-6500U, i7-6600U | With Ethernet LAN port |
| 5th Gen X1 Carbon (20HR, 20HQ, 20K4, 20K3) | 2017 | i5-6200U, i5-6300U, i7-6500U, i7-6600U, i5-7200U, i5-7300U, i7-7500U, i7-7600U | Without Ethernet LAN port |
| 6th Gen X1 Carbon (20KH, 20KG) | 2018 | i5-7300U, i5-8250U, i5-8350U, i7-8550U, i7-8650U | |
| 7th Gen X1 Carbon (20QD, 20QE, 20R1, 20R2) | 2019 | i5-8265U, i5-8365U, i5-10210U, i7-8565U, i7-8665U, i7-10510U, i7-10710U | Wi-Fi 5 802.11ac |
| 8th 1st Gen X1 Carbon (20U9, 20UA) | 2020 | i5-10210U, i5-10310U, i7-10510U, i7-10610U, i7-10710U, i7-10810U | Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax |
| 9th Gen X1 Carbon (20XW, 20XX) | 2021 | i5-1135G7, i5-1145G7, i7-1165G7, i7-1185G7 | |
| 10th Gen X1 Carbon (21CB, 21CC) | 2022 | i5-1235U, i5-1240P, i5-1245U, i5-1250P, i7-1255U, i7-1260P, i7-1265U, i7-1270P, i7-1280P | |
| 11th Gen X1 Carbon (21HM, 21HN) | 2023 | i5-1335U, i5-1340P, i5-1345U, i7-1355U, i7-1360P, i7-1365U, i7-1370P, | |
| 12th Gen X1 Carbon (21KC, 21KD) | 2023 | Ultra 5 125H, Ultra 5 125U, Ultra 5 135U, Ultra 7 155H, Ultra 7 155U, Ultra 7 165H, Ultra 7 165U | |
| 13th Gen X1 Carbon (21NS, 21NT, 21NX, 21NY) | 2024 | Ultra 5 225H, Ultra 5 225U, Ultra 5 226V, Ultra 5 235H, Ultra 5 235U, Ultra 7 255H, Ultra 7 255U, Ultra 7 256V, Ultra 7 258V, Ultra 7 265H, Ultra 7 265U, Ultra 7 266V, Ultra 7 268V |