"No USB-C ports. No Thunderbolt 3 ports. Too many video out ports. Unnecessary SD slot. 6th generation CPU."
Why would you want or need either of these for a Windows/Linux machine? USB-C is near non-existant and the Carbon uses the Lenovo flat connector for charging. Instead you get 3 USB3.0 ports.
> Too many video out ports
Who cares? They aren't taking up space. You get HDMI for easy connecting to a TV without any adapters and a mini-displayport for everything else. Seems like a win-win to me. HDMI is the most common and near universal video connector now. The lack of HDMI on Apple laptops is inexcusable.
> Unnecessary SD slot
Uh, another who cares. Hell, put a second OS on there for kicks, load up photos from your mom's old camera, run a hypervisor on it and use local storage for your VM's, etc.
> 6th generation CPU.
The i7 model has a i7-6500U from Q3 2015. Its fairly newish and a great performer considering its energy use. The current X1 is in its 4th generation and from early this year, so of course it has a late 2015 processor. More than likely you'll see a 5th generation early next year if getting the newest processor is important to you. Not that intel's yearly offerings differ too greatly from last year's model.