Latitude 7490 vs ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen: 15 metrics compared

The Latitude 7490 and the ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen are the premium executives of 2018: 14-inch, featherweight, business-class security and prices that have since collapsed from $1,500+ to around $410. This is the connoisseur's comparison — both machines are excellent, and the data produces a genuine split decision rather than a blowout: 6 wins to 2 for the Latitude, with 7 axes tied.

Latitude 7490 vs ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen: specs compared

The two share a CPU class — identical 41.6 CPU scores from the same 8th-gen U-series processors — and identical 1.4 kg weights, which is why so many axes tie. The Latitude's wins come from configuration breadth: a higher GPU ceiling (6.8 vs 0 — the X1C stayed integrated-only while the 7490 offered a dGPU option), better reliability scoring (28 vs 24) and a decisively better value index (51.3 vs 38, reflecting the ThinkPad's persistently higher used price for the same performance). The X1 Carbon's signature win is display quality: 50 versus 44.9 on screen scoring, its HDR-capable panel options being among the best of the era. The ThinkPad also takes the battery axis — 48 Wh versus the Latitude's 42 Wh — while the 7490 answers with a stiffer chassis and the era's full-size Ethernet port, which the X1C omits entirely.

Gaming performance

With gaming indices of 22 (7490, dGPU option) and 19 (X1C, integrated only), neither machine games meaningfully — these are boardroom tools. The 7490's optional discrete GPU keeps lighter esports titles viable and nothing more; the X1C's UHD 620 is strictly for streaming. Buyers who want a premium ultrabook that also plays should step down to the T480/Latitude 5490 class instead of paying the executive premium.

Battery and portability

Dead even where it counts: both 1.4 kg, batteries within 6 Wh of each other (48 Wh X1C vs 42 Wh 7490), both USB-C charging, both genuinely all-day machines at office load. The X1C is the thinner of the two and feels it in a sleeve; the 7490 is the stiffer chassis with the better port selection (including the era's full-size Ethernet, which the X1C lacks outright).

Which to buy in 2026

The data verdict favors the Latitude 7490 on value and reliability, and its dGPU option adds a sliver of versatility. The X1 Carbon 6th Gen is the pick when the screen is the priority — its display scoring win is the biggest sensory difference between them — and when the thinnest possible body matters. At ~$410 both are bargains; the honest summary is that the 7490 wins on numbers, the X1C on feel, and the 7 tied axes are exactly why this pair stays a coin-flip for most buyers.