Step apart, outdated boy. The ThinkPad X9-14 Aura Version is making me neglect all concerning the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, essentially the most famend enterprise laptop computer for over a decade. After all, Lenovo isn’t disposing of the X1 Carbon, however the X9 collection actually looks like the corporate’s experimental challenge for a similar premium class. It’s not good, however I like the place Lenovo goes with it.
A lot love has been packed into the X9-14’s impressively ultraportable design, together with a surprising 14-inch OLED display screen, sturdy audio system, lengthy battery life and strong efficiency for informal enterprise customers. The issue is that it prices a chunky $1,283 for low-end specs, it doesn’t include a USB Kind-A port and it’s failing the legacy of wonderful ThinkPad keyboards.
That doesn’t cease the ThinkPad X9-14 Aura Version from doing one of the best with what it’s obtained, and it’s obtained quite a bit.
Lookin’ smooth and prepared for journey
I’ve at all times been a fan of daring, colourful laptops, however I perceive that in a enterprise setting you’d wish to mix in. The ThinkPad X9-14, nonetheless, manages to take action in fashion — it received’t draw your coworkers in from throughout the room, however you’ll hear an excellent ol’ “ooo” once they get a more in-depth look. The darkish grey aluminum body seems prefer it was carved out of an area rock after which blasted with sand (or oxide, each give that sparkly grainy look). After all, there’s the long-lasting ThinkPad emblem within the prime left nook of the lid with a pink LED, however there’s additionally a X9-14 emblem on the very prime, which sits on an rectangular island giving machine-look vibes.
The inside sports activities extra of the identical minimalist design, with my favourite visible aesthetic being the keys. It seems like somebody carved away the underside of every one so as to add a little bit of aptitude, and I’m all about it. And if you happen to’re not a fan of bezels, they take up little or no room on the show. There’s a 4K webcam on the lip, which you’ll disable with the F9 button while you’re out of conferences. I’d do it in conferences too, due to its poor video high quality — my options have been fuzzy and my face was pink.
The ThinkPad X9-14’s chassis maintains a remarkably skinny 0.26-inch profile up till you get to the ports, the place it expands to a neat 0.68-inch block that additionally holds the followers. There’s solely 4 ports, however a lot of the necessities are lined, together with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI slot and a headphone jack. The important miss is the dearth of a USB Kind-A port, which the 15-inch mannequin helps.
Regardless of that downside, the X9-14’s skinny body mixed with its 2.8-pound chassis make for an exceptionally ultraportable enterprise laptop computer that received’t be a ache to drag out at a TSA checkpoint.
Fairly on the eyes, music to my ears
Nothing will make me gush greater than a reasonably OLED display screen, and the ThinkPad X9-14 had me blushing like a pink Starburst. In my expertise, OLED panels are much less straining on the eyes (though this subject is considerably of a debate), however I want them after I’m working all day. Even while you’re all performed with your small business, you received’t have the ability to draw back from this 14-inch display screen with its 2,880 x 1,800 decision. That’s sharp sufficient to seize every strand of hair in your favourite furry Disney sidekick. And whether or not you’re scrolling by way of countless rows of knowledge in your spreadsheets or making your approach by way of your indie-game library, the X9’s 120Hz refresh price will allow smoother visuals than the typical enterprise laptop computer. The one factor I hate, although, is the rounded edges as a result of it cuts off a few of the visuals.
I watched an episode of Steven Universe, which is iconic for its pastel colour palette, and my eyes virtually swam within the crystal blue ocean of Seaside Metropolis. The dialogue sounded a bit quiet, however tinkering with the Dolby Atmos settings gave it the increase it wanted.
I couldn’t cease myself from leaping right into a match of Marvel Rivals to maintain my weekly problem streak working, and the ThinkPad’s OLED allowed me to soak in the entire recreation’s vivid colours. I attempted out Phoenix for the primary time and blasted enemies along with her cosmic flames, creating a visible spectacle of orange and yellow. The cacophony of explosions have been distinct and well-balanced on the audio facet as properly, I may hear that jabroni (Star Lord) screaming “Legendary!” on my backline. The twin-speaker setup produced well-rounded audio for a enterprise laptop computer. Tracks like “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters (my new obsession) popped with crisp vocals and bassy synths, so be happy to take off your sweaty headphones and vibe on the finish of the workday.
Mushy click-clack and haptic suggestions
Like Rumi’s relationship with Jinu (I instructed you I’m obsessed), my relationship with this keyboard is difficult. I’m clicking away at this overview, and the ThinkPad X9-14 is snug to kind on, however it’s not as clicky as I need it to be. There’s some first rate journey, however the keys are simply… mushy. Positive, I can kind on all of it day because the buttons are very well-spaced, however they’re not satisfying to make use of. I think about for most folk that is likely to be nice, however after testing lots of of laptops, I can say for sure there are higher keyboards on the market.
Alternatively, the touchpad was so easy that my fingers slid throughout its glassy floor like a determine skater on the Olympics. Its haptic suggestions presents sufficient response to imitate the actual factor, and I’ve truly grown to love haptics extra than actual touchpads, that are terribly inconsistent.
Along with the trackpad and keyboard, you may also use the ThinkPad X9's touchscreen to get work performed. I skilled some resistance when rearranging a few of my browser home windows, so it’s not nice if you happen to’re simply utilizing your fingers. However I’m positive of us that have to sketch will recognize it, particularly for the reason that OLED show will do justice to your artwork. (For some purpose, Lenovo’s web site doesn’t say that its pens are appropriate with the ThinkPad X9-14, however a Lenovo consultant confirmed they’re, and the laptop computer itself additionally options the Lenovo Pen Settings app.)
The ThinkPad X9's efficiency: Enterprise informal
I’ve loved my time with the ThinkPad X9-14 to date, and that’s with its bottom-of-the-barrel CPU, the Intel Core Extremely 5 226V, plus 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. I anticipated some lackluster efficiency, possibly even a little bit slowdown, however it truly felt fairly easy.
I used the ThinkPad X9-14 to do some work on the fantasy novella I’m writing, which, if you understand something concerning the style, requires me to have an obscene variety of tabs open. I cut up my display screen in three, between Campfire, Google Docs and Legend Keeper, my unholy trinity of world constructing. The ThinkPad saved up with my shenanigans, so it’ll do properly with most informal workplace workflows.
If you happen to’re actually crunching numbers, although, the Intel Core Extremely 5 226V is the bottom performing CPU you will get within the X9-14, which isn’t essentially a foul factor, till you see the worth (I’ll go into that beneath). Its benchmark scores aren’t far off from the Zenbook A14, however ASUS’ chosen Snapdragon X X1 CPU obtained marked for its sluggish efficiency. That’s probably as a result of the Zenbook must emulate Home windows apps because of its ARM structure. Whereas the Zenbook A14’s scores are a smidge higher than the ThinkPad X9-14, no less than with the latter you don’t have to fret concerning the latency of emulating apps or working into compatibility points.
Because the MacBook Air has been getting cheaper, I’d be remiss to not take into account it as a competitor to the ThinkPad X9, both. If you happen to’re purchasing for any taste of ThinkPad as a enterprise laptop computer, you’re probably on the lookout for safety features, or distant administration instruments (if you happen to’re in IT), and MacBooks provide each. The MacBook Air M4 13-inch is roughly 50 % extra highly effective than the ThinkPad and the Zenbook. Once more, the ThinkPad X9-14 nonetheless presents first rate efficiency, simply don’t anticipate to do something taxing like video-editing.
Now, if you happen to’re eager about chopping out some work and doing extra play, the X9-14’s Intel Arc Graphics iGPU is surprisingly succesful. You’re not going to be enjoying AAA video games on max settings, however I hopped into a couple of matches of Marvel Rivals and managed an honest 40 to 55 frames per second. I maintained the native decision however cranked every little thing all the way down to Low with Extremely Efficiency and Body Technology enabled.
The ThinkPad X9-14 crushed the Zenbook A14 when it comes to graphics, and whereas the MacBook Air delivered stronger efficiency total for video-editing and designing, it could’t evaluate to the gaming compatibility that the X9-14 presents.
And like most trendy laptops, the ThinkPad X9-14 has an NPU. In case your job requires you to work with natively-run AI options, the ThinkPad X9-14 will combination these spreadsheets for you (and create cursed memes of, say, your boss’ face on a canine’s physique).
A battery for enterprise hours and past
I spent fairly a little bit of time with the ThinkPad X9-14 earlier than it will definitely ran out of steam. It survived me engaged on this overview, leaping to my e-book on the finish of the day and a late night time Discord chat with pals. On our video rundown battery take a look at, it lasted 11 hours and 51 minutes. That’s greater than sufficient to hold on your small business and even add some time beyond regulation (or, you understand, relax and chill out to some chill movies).
The competitors is stiff, although. Final yr’s ASUS Zenbook S14, which has an Intel chipset, clocked over 4 hours longer than the ThinkPad X9-14. In the meantime, Snapdragon X laptops blow all these Intel machines out of the water, with techniques just like the ASUS Zenbook A14 coming in at 18:16. Nonetheless, whereas Lenovo's pocket book may fall wanting these spectacular runtimes, no less than it doesn't have the identical app limitations that maintain these units again. It’ll get the job performed, and that’s what issues.
Is it definitely worth the enterprise tax?
So how a lot does this all price? Properly, the mannequin I reviewed comes with an Intel Core Extremely 5 226V, 16GB of RAM (although solely the 32GB configuration is presently out there) and a 512GB SSD. That totals out to $1,283 on Lenovo's web site (with 32GB of RAM). For context, I’ve seen extra highly effective gaming laptops that price much less. However you’re not shopping for a enterprise laptop computer for its energy, you (or your IT supervisor) are shopping for it for its options.
Whereas many non-business laptops are designed to be sturdy, you’re nonetheless getting a military-grade chassis, which has been examined towards drops, shocks and excessive temperatures. Then there’s Lenovo’s ThinkShield Safety suite. That’s only a fancy time period for saying the ThinkPad X9-14 contains a normal dTPM safety chip, a fingerprint reader, a IR webcam for Home windows Howdy, an e-shutter for the webcam (F9) and Intel’s Menace Detection Know-how (TDT) that makes use of AI to uncover cyberattacks. Intel TDT is included with Intel vPro, which can be utilized for distant administration.
Now, if you would like that laundry listing of enterprise options and top-tier efficiency, it’s going to harm. To improve to an Intel Core Extremely 7 268V with a 1TB SSD, it’ll price $1,939. Yep, that’s fairly the leap for specs we’ve seen in considerably cheaper laptops (just like the Dell 16 and 14 Plus).
It’s necessary to notice, nonetheless, that enterprise laptops just like the ThinkPad X9-14 aren’t actually supposed for particular person shoppers however fairly companies seeking to purchase in bulk. There are enterprise laptops priced at a degree which may attraction extra to the typical client, just like the $1,399 ASUS ExpertBook P5 (P5405), however these are extra uncommon than I’d like. For that value, the ExpertBook comes with a Core Extremely 7, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.
Wrap-up
I assumed I’d be extra upset with the ThinkPad X9-14 contemplating its low-end CPU, however it’s completely fitted to on a regular basis duties and made for an incredible writing companion. What actually offered me was the OLED display screen and audio, that are nice not only for watching coaching movies or slideshows but in addition (and equally necessary) for after work while you get some play in, whether or not that’s actually enjoying video games or binging your favourite new collection.
I additionally recognize the battery life and portability, plus all of Lenovo’s safety features packed right into a military-grade chassis.
Nonetheless, I can’t justify the typical client paying $1,283 for the ThinkPad X9-14 with specs you’d discover in laptops that price lots of of {dollars} much less (minus the RAM, after all). For small enterprise house owners, I like to recommend ready for a sale or take into account a enterprise laptop computer marketed extra towards you (once more, the ASUS ExpertBook P5 (P5405) is a good alternative). However if you happen to’re the IT individual at an organization on the lookout for a laptop computer to purchase in bulk, then sure, the ThinkPad X9-14 is a worthy buy.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-x9-14-aura-edition-review-a-solid-business-laptop-with-some-quirks-171551190.html?src=rss