The webcam is 1080p, which is reliable, although we’ve seen a lot of premium laptops shift to 5 megapixel or even 12-MP sensors, such as Apple’s New MacBook Air (M4). I did have a serious problem – tweaked in video calls. The camera works fine, but every time I start a video call, it flashes to black every few seconds. Lenovo seems sure this is a fixable error, but it’s not what you want to see on expensive machines.
Is it fast and lasting?
The ThinkPad X9 14 is available in two processor options, namely the Intel Core Ultra 5 226V and the Core Ultra 7 258V. My unit is the faster choice, although neither choice. They are part of Intel’s Lunar Lake series, which will balance leaning towards efficiency and battery life rather than brute force. This is expected in this laptop course (although it’s worth noting that the M4 MacBook Air is faster than that).
Photo: Luke Larsen
I was impressed by the scores of Cinebench and Geekbench, but you won’t be disappointed with the ThinkPad X9 14 as long as you shop with the right needs. For general work and business cases, the ThinkPad X9 14 will be for you.
The battery life isn’t as powerful as I’d like it to be, lasting only 12 hours and 15 minutes in my local video playback test, which is a pretty big peer or at least a laptop with this chip. However, this is better than the previous Intel generation. Depending on your workload, it may still take you through most of your working days away from the walls.
A new era
The ThinkPad X9 14 feels like an experiment. On Lenovo’s official website, it marketed the device to small business owners, which makes sense in theory, but Lenovo also owns the Thinkbook Line, a completely independent brand that targets this group of people. These tend to be more affordable, while the ThinkPad X9 14 has advanced features and design.
The OLED display, a thinner chassis and a haptic feedback trackpad are highlights, and removing the tracking points helps further modernize the laptop in my book. Only ThinkPad Diehards still swears about unique navigation, while executives at Lenovo are well aware of that. The ThinkPad X9 14 is a good next step to take the brand beyond its roots, but it is highly competitive and offers better battery life and performance at a lower price. Laptops like Microsoft Surface Laptop Edition 7, MacBook Air or Asus Zenbook 14 offer some or all of these benefits.
But if ThinkPad Brand still has a genealogy mark for you, the ThinkPad X9 14 will surely bring it into a new era, as long as you are willing to say goodbye to your beloved Trackpoint.
