Starting at $1,239.00
Lenovo’s ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition is here, and it’s shaking up the ThinkPad legacy in a big way. This laptop is a bold departure from the traditional ThinkPad design, but does it live up to the hype? Let’s dive into the details and see what this sleek machine has to offer.
Design: A Modern Makeover
The ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition is a stunner. Gone are the days of matte black finishes and the iconic red TrackPoint nub. Instead, Lenovo has opted for a sleek, recycled aluminum chassis in a classy gray finish. It’s lightweight (just 2.74 pounds) and ultra-thin at 0.51 inches, making it a breeze to carry around.
This isn’t the first time Lenovo has used this stylish aluminum shell; it has been a hallmark of some of their more premium ThinkPad models in recent years. However, the X-series is finally catching up, and the result is nothing short of impressive. The “engine hub” at the rear adds a unique touch, housing ports and cooling while slightly elevating the laptop for better airflow. It’s a mix of ThinkPad durability and modern aesthetics, though purists might miss the old-school vibe. This design evolution makes the X9 a blend of heritage and innovation, fitting right into a modern workspace.
Display: Vibrant and Versatile
The X9 offers two display options: a Full HD+ OLED panel or a 2.8K OLED touchscreen. The latter, with its 120Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of brightness, is a visual treat. Colors pop, blacks are deep, and the anti-glare coating adds an extra layer of practicality that’s been long overdue.
The anti-glare technology is a game-changer for anyone tired of battling reflections, whether you’re trying to work outdoors on a sunny day or under the harsh, glaring fluorescent lighting of an office or classroom. It cuts down on eye strain and makes the display much easier to view without having to constantly adjust your angle or the screen’s position. As someone who’s juggled laptops in various unpredictable environments, I can confidently say this addition is a pleasure to use and feels like a small luxury. Honestly, it’s the kind of feature every laptop should have—it’s practical, affordable, and improves usability across the board.
Whether you’re editing photos in natural sunlight, reading documents indoors, or just streaming your favorite shows, the anti-glare coating ensures you get a distraction-free experience. Pair that with the incredible vibrancy and depth of the OLED panel, and you’re left with a display that’s hard not to love. However, do keep in mind that the higher resolution takes a toll on battery life—so weigh your priorities carefully when selecting the display option that suits you best.
Performance: Intel’s Lunar Lake Chipset
Under the hood, the ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition is powered by Intel’s Core Ultra Series 2 Lunar Lake chipset, which represents a significant leap forward from its predecessor, Meteor Lake. Lunar Lake focuses on efficiency and AI capabilities, making it a solid choice for productivity tasks and light gaming. Compared to Meteor Lake, Lunar Lake delivers improved single-core performance and graphics capabilities, while also doubling battery efficiency—a much-needed upgrade.
When stacked against Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite and Apple’s M-Series chips, Lunar Lake holds its own in certain areas but falls short in others. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite, for instance, excels in multi-core performance and battery life, often outperforming Lunar Lake in benchmarks. Apple’s M-Series chips, particularly the M3 and M4, continue to dominate in both raw power and energy efficiency, making them the gold standard for laptops. Lunar Lake’s AI features and embedded GPU are competitive, but it struggles to match the seamless integration and optimization seen in Apple’s silicon.
The Intel Lunar Lake processor truly shines in a variety of practical, real-world scenarios, proving it’s not just about raw benchmarks but tailored experiences. For those who lean on AI-powered tools for productivity, Lunar Lake’s capabilities are a game-changer. It effortlessly handles tasks such as real-time transcription during meetings, instant language translation, and even smart document summarization. Whether you’re a student trying to keep up with a lecture or a professional managing a tight schedule, Lunar Lake streamlines workflows in ways that save you both time and effort.
Content creators will appreciate the Lunar Lake processor for its ability to handle light photo editing, quick video tweaks, or graphic design tasks on the fly. Its integrated Xe2 GPU ensures that creatives can manage their workload without the need for a bulky workstation, making it ideal for creators on the move. When it comes to collaboration, this processor’s AI-driven noise cancellation and background blur features elevate video calls to another level. Even in noisy cafes or busy home environments, your voice comes through crystal clear, and your video looks polished and professional.
While it’s not designed to be a gaming juggernaut, Lunar Lake still holds its ground when it comes to casual gaming. The embedded GPU can comfortably run popular eSports games like Fortnite or League of Legends at medium settings, making it a solid choice for gamers who like to unwind without needing a dedicated setup. Additionally, the processor shines in multitasking scenarios where battery life is critical. If you’re someone who works while traveling, Lunar Lake’s efficiency cores are excellent at balancing power and performance, ensuring you can juggle tasks like browsing, streaming, and editing documents for longer.
One of its most impressive integrations is its optimization for AI-driven features in Windows 11, like Microsoft’s Copilot+. Tasks such as generating reports, creating presentations, or managing schedules become far more intuitive and efficient with these enhanced capabilities. And for those who use their laptops for leisure as well as work, Lunar Lake’s support for high-resolution displays and HDR content makes it the perfect entertainment hub. Pair that with Dolby Atmos speakers, and you’ve got yourself a portable cinema experience.
Overall, the Lunar Lake processor stands out in its ability to adapt to diverse user needs. From boosting productivity to enriching entertainment and even stepping into light creative workloads, it provides a well-rounded experience that fits seamlessly into modern lifestyles. Its efficiency and thoughtful AI integrations make it a dependable choice for professionals, students, and casual users alike.
However, for users seeking top-tier power or battery longevity, Qualcomm and Apple remain tough competitors. This chipset is best suited for those who prioritize AI-driven features and a reliable, all-around performance package.
Ports and Connectivity: Future-Ready
The port selection is minimalist but modern. You get two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a headphone/microphone combo jack. Missing USB-A? You’ll need a dongle. On the connectivity front, the X9 supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, ensuring you’re set for the future.
Webcam and Audio: A Mixed Bag
The upgraded 8MP webcam is a standout feature, offering crisp video quality and HDR support. It’s perfect for video calls and content creation. The dual-array microphones are decent but not groundbreaking. Audio-wise, the downward-firing speakers deliver clear and loud sound, but the spatial experience is limited. Dolby Atmos support adds some depth, but it’s best enjoyed on a flat surface.
Keyboard and Trackpad: A Joy to Use
Lenovo has revamped the keyboard with soft, flat, square keys that are a delight to type on. The 1.33mm key travel feels just right, and the backlighting is a nice touch. The haptic trackpad is large, responsive, and customizable, making navigation a breeze. It’s a win for both old-school typists and modern users.
Lenovo has taken a fresh approach to the keyboard design in the ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition. This updated design is a departure from the traditional sculpted ThinkPad keys, and while it may look less aggressive, it maintains the signature ThinkPad typing experience. The keys offer a perfect balance of firmness and responsiveness, paired with a satisfying 1.33mm key travel that typists will love. Backlighting is included, providing a sleek and practical solution for those late-night work sessions. It’s a modern take on a classic typing style, ideal for both seasoned ThinkPad users and those new to the lineup.
The trackpad, however, might be the most exciting upgrade. Lenovo has swapped out the traditional diving board-style trackpad for a state-of-the-art haptic trackpad. This new design eliminates mechanical clicks entirely, relying on vibrations to mimic a click sensation. The result? A smoother, quieter, and far more customizable navigation experience. Unlike the diving board style, which could sometimes feel uneven or less precise, the haptic trackpad offers consistent feedback across its entire surface, making it a joy to use. Its larger size also ensures ample room for multi-touch gestures, whether you’re scrolling through documents or zooming in on images.
Overall, the combination of the refined keyboard and advanced haptic trackpad reflects Lenovo’s commitment to evolving the ThinkPad lineup while retaining its practical, user-focused roots. These changes make the X9 14 Aura Edition not just functional but genuinely delightful to use.
Windows Hello and Security
The X9 doesn’t skimp on security. Windows Hello is supported via an IR camera and a fingerprint reader integrated into the power button. Add in presence detection and a privacy shutter for the webcam, and you’ve got a laptop that’s as secure as it is stylish.
Presence detection uses advanced sensors to determine whether you’re near the laptop. When you step away, the system automatically locks itself, safeguarding your data from prying eyes. As you return, the laptop wakes up and, with the help of Windows Hello, logs you back in seamlessly. This feature isn’t just about convenience—it’s a proactive way to ensure your device stays secure, even if you forget to lock it manually.
What makes this even more impressive is how AI enhances the presence detection experience. By leveraging AI algorithms, the system can differentiate between a human presence and other movements, reducing false triggers. For example, it won’t mistakenly wake up if a pet walks by or if there’s a sudden change in lighting. AI also helps fine-tune the sensitivity of the sensors, ensuring they work accurately in various environments, whether you’re in a brightly lit office or a dimly lit room.
Additionally, presence detection can adapt to your habits over time. For instance, it might learn how far you typically move away before leaving your desk and adjust its locking behavior accordingly. This intelligent approach not only enhances security but also improves battery efficiency by ensuring the screen and system aren’t active when they don’t need to be.
With features like these, the ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition offers a blend of security and convenience that feels almost futuristic. Whether you’re working in a shared space or just want peace of mind at home, the combination of presence detection and AI ensures your laptop is always one step ahead in keeping your data safe.
Heat and Fan Noise: Quietly Efficient
While the ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition boasts a clever “engine hub” design to improve cooling, it doesn’t fully escape one of Intel’s long-standing quirks: running hot under load. During heavy tasks such as video rendering or gaming, the fans can get noticeably loud—not enough to drown out your thoughts, but certainly not whisper-quiet either. It’s a stark contrast to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite laptops, which stay impressively cool and quiet even under similar workloads.
This warmth and fan noise under pressure is a bit of an Intel staple and feels like an ongoing trade-off for their performance-driven architecture. The Lunar Lake processor, while more efficient than its predecessors, still struggles to match the thermals and energy efficiency of Qualcomm’s chips, particularly in ultrathin laptops like the X9. While day-to-day operations are comfortably silent, power users who push the laptop to its limits may find the fan activity distracting.
That said, the X9 does an admirable job of dissipating heat where it matters, keeping the keyboard and palm rest relatively cool even when the system is working hard. However, the bottom of the device and the rear-engine hub area can get quite warm, making it less ideal for lap use during intense multitasking or prolonged workloads.
For light to moderate users, this won’t be a dealbreaker, but for those who’ve experienced the thermal and acoustic marvels of Qualcomm X Elite or Apple’s M-Series laptops, the X9’s heat and noise may feel like a step back. It’s a reminder that while Intel has made strides in efficiency, there’s still ground to cover in catching up to its ARM-based competitors on this front.
Battery Life: Room for Improvement
Here’s where the ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition stumbles a bit. With real-world usage, the battery lasts around 6 hours—decent but not great compared to rivals like the MacBook Air or AMD-powered laptops, which often hit 10+ hours. The higher-resolution display and Intel’s Lunar Lake chipset are partly to blame, as they demand more power during intensive tasks. While this might be sufficient for light users, professionals who rely on their laptops for extended work sessions may find themselves reaching for the charger more often than they’d like.
For comparison, the Surface Pro 11, powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chip, delivers exceptional battery life. In tests, it outperformed the ThinkPad X9 significantly, lasting up to 15 hours during productivity tasks and even longer during video playback. This is thanks to Qualcomm’s focus on energy efficiency and its ARM-based architecture, which is optimized for low power consumption without compromising performance. The Surface Pro 11’s battery longevity makes it a standout choice for users who prioritize all-day usage, especially in mobile work environments.
While the ThinkPad X9 offers a lot in terms of design and features, its battery life feels like a missed opportunity, especially when compared to devices like the Surface Pro 11. If battery performance is a top priority, the Snapdragon X Elite-powered laptops might be worth considering.
Lenovo Aura Edition Software: A Mixed Bag
The Aura Edition software suite includes Smart Care, Smart Modes, and Smart Share. While Smart Care offers basic system diagnostics, it’s not particularly groundbreaking. Smart Modes let you switch between different system configurations (like Wellness or Power), but the real star is Smart Share. This feature makes transferring files between your phone and laptop a breeze, especially for quick photo or document sharing. It’s a handy tool, but not a game-changer.
Summary: Who Is This For?
The ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition is perfect for professionals and students who value portability, modern design, and a vibrant display. It’s not the best choice for power users or those who need all-day battery life, but it’s a solid option for everyday productivity and light creative work. If you’re ready to embrace a new era of ThinkPad design, the X9 is worth considering.
