Lenovo ThinkPad X9 Leak Suggests Major Redesign, TrackPoint Omitted

Lenovo seems to have made a bold move as the recently leaked Lenovo ThinkPad X9 series on Twitter suggests that the renowned red TrackPoint may be on its way out. This new lineup of ThinkPad laptops comes in two sizes and showcases a design strikingly reminiscent of the Apple MacBook Air, marketing a significant departure from the traditional ThinkPad aesthetic. 

As CES approaches, Lenovo is grappling with the wave of leaks, earlier, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9 featuring an uner-display webcam was unveiled by the leaker ‘WalkingCat’ on X. 

Now, another series has emerged, the Lenovo ThinkPad X9, with the images revealing a dramatically reimagined laptop that strays from the similar ThinkPad style seen in models such as the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13. 

The new ThinkPad X9 sports a sleek silverish-gray finish instead of the classic black and most notably, it eliminates the iconic TrackPoing in favor of a large touchpad. This development has sparked concern among ThinkPad enthusiasts. The TrackPoint, a beloved input device for controlling the mouse pointer has been a hallmark of a ThinkPad brand since its inception in 1992. 

While it has been a fixture in nearly all previous ThinkPads, its popularity has waned among other manufacturers leaving Lenovo as one of the few to still embrace it. 

Although the touchpad has become the dominant input method, the TrackPoint’s deep-rooted connection to the ThinkPad identity and its loyal fanbase have kept it alive, until now. 

It appears that the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 series comes in two variants, the ThinkPad X9-14 and the ThinkPad X9-15 indicating a 14-inch and a 15-inch model. In addition to this, ‘WalkingCat’ has hinted at the use of Intel Core Ultra processors to power these new laptops. 

It looks like the only design attributes it shares with the rest of the ThinkPad lines are generally the ThinkPad logo, the smile-shaped design keyboards, and the webcam on the top of the screen.