Lenovo’s ThinkPad X9 14 Kickstarts a New Era, but at What Cost?

The webcam is 1080p, which is solid, though we’re seeing a lot of premium laptops move to 5-megapixel or even 12-MP sensors like Apple’s new MacBook Air (M4). I did encounter one serious problem—flickering during video calls. The camera worked fine, but every time I started a video call, it would flicker to black every few seconds. Lenovo seemed convinced this was a fixable bug, but that’s not what you want to see on a pricey machine.

Fast and Long-Lasting Enough?

The ThinkPad X9 14 is available in two processor options, the Intel Core Ultra 5 226V and Core Ultra 7 258V. My unit was the faster option, though neither are powerhouses. They’re part of Intel’s Lunar Lake series, which tilts the balance toward efficiency and battery life rather than brute force. That’s expected in this laptop class (though it’s worth noting how fast the M4 MacBook Air is by comparison).

I wasn’t all that impressed by the Cinebench and Geekbench scores, but so long as you’re shopping in the appropriate category for your needs, you won’t be disappointed by the ThinkPad X9 14. For general work and business cases, the ThinkPad X9 14 will suit you just fine.

Battery life isn’t quite as strong as I’d hoped, lasting only 12 hours and 15 minutes in my local video playback test, considerably behind many of its peers—or at least laptops with this chip. This is better than the Windows laptops in previous Intel generations, though. Depending on your workload, it may still get you through most of a workday away from the wall.

A New Era

The ThinkPad X9 14 feels like a bit of an experiment. On Lenovo’s official site, it markets the device toward small business owners, which makes sense in theory, but Lenovo also has the ThinkBook line, which is an entirely separate brand devoted to this demographic. Those tend to be more affordable, while the ThinkPad X9 14 carries the premium features and design.

The OLED display, thinner chassis, and haptic feedback trackpad are the highlights, and the removal of the TrackPoint helps further modernize this laptop in my book. Only ThinkPad diehards still swear by the unique navigation, something the executives at Lenovo are well aware of. The ThinkPad X9 14 is a good next step in evolving the brand beyond its roots, but the competition is stiff, offering better battery life and performance at lower prices. Laptops like the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition, MacBook Air, or Asus Zenbook 14 OLED all provide some or all of these benefits.

If the ThinkPad brand still holds a mark of pedigree for you, though, the ThinkPad X9 14 certainly brings it into a new era, so long as you’re willing to say goodbye to the beloved TrackPoint.