IBM ThinkPad laptops are productivity-class laptops that were quite popular among office workers in the 1980s-1990s before the consumer computer division was taken over by Lenovo in 2005.
The design of ThinkPad laptops has seen many changes in the 20 years it has been owned by Lenovo, but one aspect that has never changed until now is the presence of the TrackPoint mouse control.
But with the latest model, the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition introduced this year, Lenovo seems to have taken drastic action by removing the TrackPoint function.
Specifications And Design
Model Name Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition
Display Size 14.0″ 2880×1800, 16:10,
120Hz, 500 nits
Intel Core Ultra 7 268V vPro processor
8 Core
Intel Arc 140V Graphics Chip
RAM 32GB LPDDR5X
Internal Storage 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD
Full HD 1080P camera
I/O plug 2 x USB 4.0 Gen 3 Type-C (Thunderbolt 4)
2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
1 x HDMI 2.1 TMDS
1 x 3.5mm audio jack
Windows 11 Home Operating System
Fingerprint Scan Security (Windows Hello)
Battery 55WHrs, 4-cell Li-ion
65W charger
Price RM8,787.10
The Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition laptop is the latest premium thin and light laptop released by Lenovo and is perfect for corporate workers who work inside and outside the office regardless of the day or time.
It comes with a 14-inch OLED screen display at a resolution of 2880×1800 with a refresh rate as high as 120Hz and a brightness value of 500 nits that supports DisplayHDR True Black 600 color processing technology and can process 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut.
In terms of device design, this laptop comes with a frame made of aluminum, and weighs only 1.27kg, very light to carry anywhere. It also passes the MIL-STD 810H standard, making this computer a durable laptop that can operate in various types of temperatures and weather, and is drop-resistant.
In terms of plug options, this laptop comes with two Thunderbolt 4 plugs, one USB 3.2 Type-A plug and one HDMI 2.1 plug and one 3.5mm audio plug. Unfortunately, this ThinkPad X9 14 does not come with an SD or MicroSD card reader.
In terms of internal components, the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 model sent to us for review is a model powered by the Intel Core Ultra 7 268V vPro processor chip, which comes with 32GB of built-in LPDDR5X memory and 512GB SSD storage. It is also loaded with a 55WHr battery.
Depending on your needs and budget, this laptop also comes with an Intel Core Ultra 5 226V processor option with 16GB of LPDDR5X memory and 256GB of storage at a lower price. You can modify the component configuration via the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition product page.
User Experience
In my opinion, the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition is a laptop that is not only beautiful, but also very comfortable to use. The combination of a thin and light frame design along with the powerful Intel Lunar Lake processor chip makes this laptop a pretty good productivity machine.
We have reviewed several laptops that use the Intel Core Ultra 288V processor chip before, and in the case of this Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition laptop, I can say that the productivity performance of this laptop is on par with what we tested before.
I could open 20-30 web browser tabs without issues and watch YouTube and Netflix content at high resolution without any problems. Speaking of content viewing, the OLED screen display of this laptop is also very bright even when I set the brightness value to only 40-50 percent.
The audio quality of this laptop is also very good in my opinion. It comes with a pair of speakers that are quite loud, although the bass level could be a little lacking.
Each key on this Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition laptop comes with a notch on the top. You might not notice it at first glance, but you'll understand what I mean when you start typing on it. The combination of the curves in the plastic of the keys and the switches used adds comfort and reduces fatigue when typing for long periods of time.
Another thing I like about this laptop is the typing experience on its keyboard. Typing comfort is something that is not always emphasized, and for me, what Lenovo offers with this keyboard goes a long way to providing a more comfortable typing experience.
This may not be a big deal to most people, but as someone who types all day every day as a job, this kind of feature is something that really helps reduce finger fatigue.
I also never experienced any temperature issues on this laptop. The two built-in cooling fans that cool the components do a good job, and the fan noise is never too loud.
The battery life of this laptop is also actually quite good, I can use this laptop for 10-11 hours straight for my daily tasks and some video watching with the display brightness set to 40 percent, which for me is quite good even though it comes with a lower capacity than some previous laptops.
In terms of repair and upgradeability, this laptop also comes with a bottom panel that is easily accessible with the appropriate screwdriver. When you remove the screws, the internals are accessible, and users can quickly and easily change the SSD storage components and battery.
As I mentioned earlier in this review, one big change that stands out is that this laptop no longer comes with the TrackPoint “mouse” in the middle of the laptop. If you didn’t grow up with or have used that feature before, you can imagine it as a mouse that you can use to move the mouse icons on the screen.
It’s not wrong to say that today, trackpad or touchpad technology may be more modern, but that feature is the identity of a ThinkPad laptop.
Previously, a Lenovo executive told us that Lenovo’s ThinkPad branding was changed to be more friendly to younger corporate users, perhaps to compete with offerings like the Apple MacBook Air or MacBook Pro which are already known to be very popular among them.
However, what’s strange to me is that apart from the loss of the TrackPoint feature, the ThinkPad brand itself is still the same as before, complete with the dot of the alphabet “i” that comes with a red LED light that technically symbolizes the use of the TrackPoint feature before.
What's in the Box
Here's what you'll get with every purchase of a Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition laptop:
1x Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition
1x Charging dock
1x USB Type-C cable
1x User manual
Cover
As a productivity laptop, I don't have many complaints about this laptop, except perhaps for the battery which I think is a bit too small compared to some other models.
But the change to the Lenovo ThinkPad brand identity makes me wonder if the model no longer has a selling point with the absence of the TrackPoint feature. To be honest, the touchpad function is much more convenient and useful in comparison, but from a nostalgic point of view, it feels like a piece of history that's no longer here.
Pros:
Minimalistic thin and light design
Great performance from Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processors
Comfortable keyboard for long periods of use
Do-it-yourself battery and storage component upgrades and replacements
Cons:
ThinkPad “design identity” gone
Low battery capacity
