Breaking From Custom, ThinkPad X9 Provides a Low-cost Path to OLED Ultraportable

7.8/ 10
SCORE

Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Version

Execs

• Skinny, sturdy design
• Contains OLED show for an important value
• Wonderful haptic touchpad
• Nice battery life

Cons

• So-so efficiency
• Keyboard is not as much as ThinkPad commonplace
• Heavier than it appears to be like
• Aura Version stuff is extra advertising and marketing fluff than something truly helpful

For a laptop computer line steeped in custom just like the ThinkPad, one which goes again earlier than Lenovo acquired IBM’s pc enterprise, the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Version marks a radical departure. For starters, it lacks a ThinkPad’s acquainted boxy form and matte black end. There’s additionally no pink TrackPoint pointing stick in the midst of the keyboard, and the keyboard itself is not very ThinkPad-like. 

Flip it over, and you will discover a pair of bizarre design components: a grooved backside cowl and what Lenovo calls an Engine Hub, a vented strip that homes the ThinkPad X9 14’s cooling followers and ports. This hub protrudes from the underside panel to optimize thermals whereas additionally permitting the remainder of the laptop computer to be impressively skinny.

Whereas I just like the glossy look of the ThinkPad X9 14 and love its inflexible, sturdy aluminum enclosure, it is considerably heavier than the carbon fiber ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Version. The X9 would possibly pressure you to hold round some further weight, however its value is lighter. The X9 prices a whole bunch much less whereas providing two key gadgets discovered on the X1 Carbon: a gorgeous OLED show and a generously proportioned haptic touchpad. If you are able to do with out the pointing stick, then the ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Version gives a well-rounded bundle at a extra budget-friendly value than flagship enterprise ultraportables just like the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 and the HP EliteBook Extremely G1i.

The ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Version begins at simply over $1,000, which is considerably lower than the entry level for the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13. You may spend nearer to $2,000 for even the most affordable X1 Carbon Gen 13, and it will not have an OLED show or haptic touchpad, each of which come commonplace on all ThinkPad X9 14 fashions. 

The entry-level ThinkPad X9 14 options an Intel Core Extremely 5 226V processor, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and a 1,920-by-1,200 OLED show with a 60Hz refresh fee and a rated 400 nits of brightness. My take a look at mannequin options three upgrades: a 512GB SSD for $100, a 2,880-by-1,800 OLED for $100, and Home windows 11 Professional for $60. The two.8K OLED panel not solely provides a better decision than the bottom show, it additionally comes with contact help, a variable refresh fee of as much as 120Hz and a rated 500 nits of brightness. On the time of this evaluate, my take a look at system was discounted to $1,337 at Lenovo.

Different upgrades embody two barely higher-end Core Extremely 5 processors in addition to a pair of Core Extremely 7 choices, all of which include 32GB of reminiscence. The Core Extremely 5 228V improve with 32GB of RAM for under $20 is a good deal for simply the reminiscence improve alone. You can even outfit the laptop computer with as much as 2TB of storage. One improve not provided that you would be able to get with the X1 Carbon is cell broadband, a characteristic many highway warriors require for instances once they cannot connect with a Wi-Fi community.

The ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Version begins at £1,020 within the UK and AU$1,945 in Australia. 

Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Version efficiency 

My ThinkPad X9 14 take a look at laptop computer is not a velocity machine. It options the baseline duo of the Core Extremely 5 226V and 16GB of RAM, that are the identical specs you get with the Acer Aspire 14 AI, which is a superb laptop computer in its personal proper however a very funds mannequin that you would be able to decide up for between $500 and $700. The ThinkPad X9 14 prices double that and past, when you begin including upgrades.

You do not essentially have to improve the ThinkPad X9 14 with one of many Core Extremely 7 processors, however both of the opposite Core Extremely 5 choices would go a great distance towards snappier efficiency merely for the 32GB of RAM that they embody. As configured, the ThinkPad X9 14 completed close to the again of the pack on our utility benchmarks and was notably lackluster on the multicore checks for Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024. 

Graphics efficiency from the built-in Intel Arc 130V was additionally so-so, trailing that of Core Extremely 7-based laptops with Intel’s built-in Arc 140V graphics however forward of fashions with built-in GPUs from AMD and Qualcomm on the 3DMark Metal Nomad take a look at. Its rating on Procyon’s AI Pc Imaginative and prescient benchmark, which measures integer math proficiency for AI workloads, was barely behind the scores from different laptops with current-generation AI CPUs however properly forward of the HP Pavilion Plus 14, which encompasses a first-gen Intel Core Extremely chip.

What the ThinkPad X9 14 lacks in uncooked efficiency, it makes up for in effectivity. It ran for greater than 17 hours on our YouTube streaming battery-drain take a look at, which is a wonderful consequence for an Intel-based laptop computer. You may get longer battery life from a laptop computer primarily based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon X collection CPU, the place we have frequently seen battery lifetime of greater than 20 hours, together with Microsoft’s 13-inch Floor Laptop computer, which lasted for greater than 24 hours on the identical take a look at. 

The Core Extremely 5 226V from Intel’s Lunar Lake collection has not one of the potential Home windows-on-Arm software program compatibility points, nevertheless, and it nonetheless supplies battery life lengthy sufficient that you would be able to depart your charger at residence, take the ThinkPad X9 14 to work all day and return residence with a lot left within the tank. 

Try CNET’s cell CPU explainer for extra particulars on what to anticipate from completely different laptop computer processors in 2025. 

A ThinkPad that thinks completely different

With out the matte black end and barely chunky, boxy form, the ThinkPad X9 14 would not look all that very like a ThinkPad. And the keyboard has a special appear and feel, even with out contemplating the distinct lack of the pink TrackPoint in its middle. I imply, there are nonetheless some ThinkPad touches, just like the ThinkPad emblem within the nook of the lid with the “i” getting the glowing-red-dot remedy, the notch above the show for the webcam and the sturdier single hinge for the show that runs practically the width of the laptop computer. 

As a substitute of the normal matte black, the ThinkPad X9 14 encompasses a brushed aluminum end in a darkish grey that is between Apple’s area grey and midnight black choices for its MacBooks. It is pretty inflexible however would not have a really distinctive look, which possibly you will not thoughts in the event you aren’t trying to make a press release along with your work laptop computer. 

The keyboard additionally lacks distinction. The squared-off keys are a departure from the standard ThinkPad form, the place the keys have a rounded backside. There is a trace of the rounded form as the underside fringe of the X9’s keys is gently sloped, however the keys actually have a special look. In addition they have a special really feel — one which’s not fairly as plush because the ThinkPad X1 Carbon’s. As a result of the ThinkPad X9 14 is so skinny, key journey is shallower than on the X1 Carbon and feels slightly generic, bordering on mushy.

The ThinkPad X9 14 scores factors for being very skinny — it is lower than 18 millimeters thick, or roughly 0.7 inches — nevertheless it’s not very gentle. At 2.8 kilos, it is merely common for its dimension. Different 14-inch laptops are a lot lighter, together with the two.2-pound ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 and the two.6-pound HP EliteBook Extremely G1i. And amongst equally sized client fashions, the 13.6-inch MacBook Air weighs 2.7 kilos and the Asus Zenbook A14 weighs simply 2.2 kilos.

The ThinkPad X9 14 achieves its outstanding thinness by placing the cooling followers within the Engine Hub, an oblong bump-out on the underside panel. Between the 2 cooling followers is the Core Extremely 5 226V CPU and its built-in reminiscence module.

The ports are additionally situated on both finish of this hub: a Thunderbolt 4 port on both facet, together with an HDMI out on the left and a headphone jack on the appropriate. By putting these things on this vented strip, Lenovo says, the cooling and efficiency are optimized. I do not know if it helped the X9’s efficiency any, however the laptop computer did keep cool and quiet throughout my time with it.

The ThinkPad X9 14 lacks lots of the benefits you get with the flagship X1 Carbon, nevertheless it consists of two options I might need in my main work laptop computer: an OLED show and a haptic touchpad. Even the baseline X9 mannequin comes with an OLED, and our unit included the improve choice that delivers a better decision, a better (and variable) refresh fee, elevated brightness and contact help. It is a 2.8K-resolution OLED panel (2,880-by-1,800 pixels) with a variable refresh of as much as 120Hz. Textual content and pictures look extremely crisp with such a excessive decision on a 14-inch show, and also you get the colourful colours and stellar distinction you’d count on from an OLED. It is undoubtedly definitely worth the modest $100 up-charge.

The haptic touchpad comes commonplace, and it is glorious. It is generously portioned, particularly for a ThinkPad whose touchpad floor is normally squeezed by the 2 added mouse buttons wedged between it and the spacebar for the pointing stick. However and not using a pointing stick, there’s more room for the touchpad. I liked having a constant and customizable click on response throughout its complete floor as an alternative of simply alongside its backside half, as you’d get with a primary mechanical touchpad.

So, what’s with this Aura Version enterprise, you could be questioning. It comes from Lenovo partnering with Intel on a handful of “sensible” options, comparable to sensible sharing for swapping information between the laptop computer and your cellphone through Intel’s Unison app. There’s an consideration mode the place you’ll be able to set a timer to restrict or disable notifications, and a wellness mode that reminds you to take a break to relaxation your eyes or sit up whenever you start to slouch. I do not like the concept of the digital camera monitoring me as I work, however possibly you miss having your mother or dad supplying you with correct posture reminders. Maybe probably the most helpful a part of the Aura Version factor is Sensible Care, which supplies specialised help for one 12 months, the place you get entry to devoted digital and dwell brokers.

The ThinkPad X9 14 gives each biometric choices — facial recognition through the webcam and a fingerprint scanner on the ability button — for safe logins. These are appreciated options on a client laptop computer and must-haves on a enterprise machine. And the webcam itself is nice: an 8-megapixel sensor that captures sharp, well-balanced photos and video. 

Ought to I purchase the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Version?

In case you’re a ThinkPad traditionalist, then it is best to move on this mannequin. However in the event you’re on the lookout for a enterprise laptop computer for primary workplace duties and wish an OLED show and roomy haptic touchpad for an important value, then the ThinkPad X9 14 begins to seem like a winner.