ThinkPad X9 15: Real Users Split on Identity, United on Battery

Simple rule: no nipple, no ThinkPad.

Not a ThinkPad IMO, its just an Ideapad or maybe ThinkBook, not really sure why Lenovo branded it as ThinkPad ... it does not have the DNA at all. I just think they are ruining the ThinkPad brand with such models.

X9-14 was designed in Japan and X9-15 was designed in China. The Chinese LCFC team tends to prefer stuffing everything they can whereas the Yamato team prefers to be more conservative in terms of design. Thus the massive disparities.

Ignore the haters. This is the best Windows laptop you can buy right now.

One expensive ideapad

I have tested the x9-15 for a week now, battery life is very good, about 12-13 hours browsing, handling mails excel, pdf and word files. I went with the x9-15 because of the premium feel.

TLDR: Pros: Excellent 2.8K OLED Multi-Touch Display, Excellent keyboard and Sensel Haptic Touchpad, All Day Battery Life, All around good balanced performance, Runs Cool and Quiet, Powerful Stereo Speakers with Dolby Atmos, Wifi 7 and 8MP IR Camera. Cons: No 64GB Option due to Lunar Lake limitations, No TrackPoint, Slightly less key travel than X1 Carbon, Less performance than Ryzen AI, M4 and Snapdragon CPUs.

No one hates a laptop or anybody liking it. What we hate is the lack of choices, a situation inflicted by Lenovo. If you want a premium laptop, then you must forgo the TrackPoint and the great keyboard layout. For now the other ThinkPad lines still get them but Lenovo hints at the future without.

Having had a couple Grams, as long as it is better built, it is not a drawback. Grams are paperweight because they are also as well built as paper.

I know right? Such a beautiful machine. I am sick of people complaining about this nice laptop.

Also has USB-C charging ports on both sides of the laptop. Something the Asus Zenbook S-series is lacking.

Where is my numpad Lenovo, WHERE IS IT? I know some people will say numpad is unnecessary, but my counter argument is that numpad is necessary.

No TrackPoint for the first time in decades of ThinkPad history. Burn the heretic.

Tried to see the screen door effect with a full white page, maximum brightness. Can just barely see it if I tilt the laptop screen heavily and look down. Besides that, no screen-door effect visible for my eyes.

You won not be disappointed either way; it is the best laptop on the market for my needs. The 4 speakers are fantastic anyway, I really do not see the need for improvement.

It is for MacBook-lover execs in a ThinkPad-only workplace.

All the exhaust heat goes to the OLED screen directly. Heavy loads will kill the OLED screen with heat. Literally unusable e-waste.

I just got the exact same model and specs delivered 2 days ago. But I got certified refurbished from Lenovo for $990 after tax.

Looks lovely except for the lack of a trackpoint which is a dealbreaker for me.

Kernel 6.17.8 broke the audio for this and some other Lunar Lake chips. Not sure if the issue was fixed in 6.18 but just thought I would mention that.

I am probably in the minority here but I actually wish the 14 inch model had the raised plastic bezel too. The full glass layout has downsides, in particular the keyboard pressing against the screen and leaving dirt or scratches on the surface when the lid is shut. Having the edges raised slightly would prevent that entirely.

I got the 14 inch 2.8k OLED a few days ago and its the best Windows laptop I have owned. I am coming over from a MacBook and it gives it a run for its money.

Have owned mine since March 2025, used pretty much every day. Battery life is amazing in all honesty, I use mine quite a bit and can for sure last the entire day and then some. Streaming, office work, browsing, no issues.

For anyone falling down a rabbit hole researching the x9, I looked at many brand options with premium features including a ton of thinkpads and I am very happy with the x9 15 so far. Keyboard feels awesome coming from a much cheaper yoga. Screen feels huge compared to my old 13.3 but the laptop is still light and compact. Feels nice.

I returned my 14 inch model. Sad to report the Sensel trackpad was driving me nuts. The feedback is wonderful but I had to press every button in the welcome screen 2-3 times for each click to register.

Buy the X1 if you want the trackpoint. This laptop is meant to be aimed towards users who want a similar design to the MacBook Air but for Windows.

Aspect ratio on the 15 is 16:10 and the screen is beautiful. Speakers are quite loud. I watch quite a bit of movies and TV and YouTube without issues or it sounding weird.

Power management seems to have become a dark curse we have to endure in exchange for the long battery life afforded by modern hardware. It makes the user experience far more frustrating than it was back in the days where a battery just kept the computer on while you moved your power adapter.

I am averaging 11 to 14 hours mostly work and heavy use and some browsing. I need cloud file sync for work so its set to never sleep and never turn wifi off so I do not lose data sync. This is easily the best battery life I have seen on a Windows laptop.

I have the 226v and run everything well. I run some VMs even without hiccups. Battery life is the best in a Windows laptop, full day without compromises doing office work. Only problem I have is that my eyes get tired in dark mode with that OLED screen.

Battery life: zero worry. Awesome battery life performance on the X9-15. Screen bezel is plastic but nothing like the cheap ones with rough surface.

My X9-15 has been 100% flawless with sleep in 6+ months of use. I had sleep issues with some ThinkPads especially recent Ryzen models but none whatsoever with the X9.

Got mine in glacier white for $1,234 before tax. Specs are Ultra 7 258V, 32GB, 1TB. Will be using it for small-medium coding projects and schoolwork.

I got one for work and also to stream games from my PC at home. 120hz on a work laptop is such a good addition lately. Cannot say I hate anything about the fast display. OLED too!

They did great with this, they finally understood that if we want good battery life, we need a big battery. For a tiny bit bigger size than the x9-14, its a widely different machine thanks to the 80wh battery. A few things are frustrating: glossy screen only, and keyboard layout with delete key moved and pageup/down missing are big downsides.

The starting point for the X9 is 1889 euros with the new X7, 32GB and 1TB as base storage. Try to upgrade a MacBook to these specs and they are completely out of the league. The 16 inch MBP M5Pro costs already 1k more with only 24GB instead of 32GB.

80 watt hours is amazing. I tried a Galaxy Book 5 Pro at 77Wh and it was at 50% after a day of working on battery with email and web apps.

14 and 6 hour battery estimates are both exaggerated. You would most likely see 8-10hrs of real-world use.

Not as good as MacBook but its serviceable. 3-6 hours depending on what I am doing. I have battery saver on so it only charges to around 80%, so take that into account too.

Honestly ok with no nipple if that trackpad is really nice.