Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 9: Everything you need to know

Most of these changes make one of the best business laptops even better, including an optional 8MP webcam, a 120Hz display, and the latest Intel Core Ultra processors. There are some potential downgrades, too, though. Here's everything you need to know about the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1.

Price and availability

Alongside the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12, the X1 2-in-1 was announced on Dec.14, 2023. However, unlike its sibling, the ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 won't be available immediately. Lenovo expects to launch it in March 2024, so you'll have to wait a few more months.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 9 will launch with a starting price of $2,639, but that's just the MSRP. Lenovo often runs big discounts on its website for almost all of its ThinkPad laptops, so you can probably get it for a lot less if you wait a little longer.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 9 specs

What's new in the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 9?

A new design without a pen garage

Just like the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12, the ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 comes with a refreshed design compared to the last-generation X1 Yoga. That includes a new Communications Bar along the top that houses the webcam and microphones for video and voice calls. The Communications Bar is bigger than before, likely thanks to the new webcam.

The new design also includes a more unfortunate change involving the pen. Previous ThinkPad X1 Yogas offered a pen garage that kept the included pen securely in place and charged. This new model removes the pen garage and instead uses a magnetic attachment mechanism to keep the pen on the side of the laptop. This is to allow for a bigger and more comfortable pen, though it means it may be easier to lose it now.

An improved touchpad and a more accessible keyboard

Credit: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 9

Another big change with the latest generation of the ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 has to do with the touchpad. Not only is it bigger now (up to 120mm), but Lenovo is offering an optional glass trackpad for the first time, borrowed from the ThinkPad Z series. This glass touchpad doesn't include the physical buttons used with the red TrackPoint, so you have a bit more area on the touchpad for navigation. Buttons are now haptic, meaning they don't physically move, but they simulate a click when you press down in the respective area.

The keyboard has also been improved to be more accessible. Lenovo has added some tactile markings to important keys to make them easier to identify by touch. That includes the volume up and down keys, Function (Fn), and Enter. For users with low or no vision, this can help them find important keys more quickly and provide more guidance points for the rest of the keyboard, too.

An 8MP webcam and a 120Hz OLED display

Credit: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 9

Lenovo is also delivering some noteworthy upgrades for the webcam and display on this laptop. The new Communications Bar fits up to an 8MP MIPI camera, a very significant upgrade from the basic 1080p sensor that was in the previous generation. The latest Intel Evo certification upgraded the requirements for the webcam, which might be why this upgrade is happening. Still, it's welcome all the same, considering laptop webcams have never been particularly great.

At the same time, Lenovo is also upgrading the top-tier display configuration with a 120Hz 2.8K OLED panel. Previously, the X1 Yoga Gen 8 featured a 4K 60Hz panel, but the smoother refresh rate is bound to make the experience feel that much better, with smoother animations and transitions.

Intel Core Ultra processors

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 9 is among the first laptops to feature Intel's brand-new Core Ultra processors, which will power many of the best laptops you'll see in the coming year. This new architecture delivers changes to the entire package. Both P-cores and E-cores have been upgraded with faster performance, but there are also new low-power E-cores that are designed for the lightest tasks, allowing laptops to use less battery and last longer on a charger. On the GPU side, you now get integrated Intel Arc graphics with double the performance of previous generations, at least in some models. A big focus of these processors is AI. They have a built-in NPU, which enables features like Windows Studio Effects, but also other AI workloads that may be built around local processing in the future.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Y2-in-1 Gen 9 will use these processors, likely coming from both the H and U series. Previous models used the H and P series, but the P series has seemingly been discontinued in favor of the H models. It's worth noting that only H-series processors have Intel Arc graphics, which means that's what you'll want if you care about use cases like gaming.

Where can I buy the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 9?

Lenovo plans to make the ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 9 available in March 2024, so you can't buy it just yet. When it launches, it will likely debut on Lenovo's own website first, with other retailers and resellers offering it later. We'll be sure to add links below as soon as the laptop becomes available.