I feel like the X-series Thinkpads after the X230 are an unhappy compromise, somewhat better in some ways and worse in others. The further away in time you get

I feel like the X-series Thinkpads after the X230 are an unhappy compromise, somewhat better in some ways and worse in others. The further away in time you get from the X230 the more they sacrifice things I care about. The X270 feels more like a side-grade, trading in a certain amount of ruggedness and maintainability for a better screen and better battery life, but a pretty minor performance improvement.