One of the key differences between Lenovo's ThinkPad-branded laptops and… pretty much every other laptop on the market these days (including most Lenovo models) is that in addition to a touchpad below the keyboard, ThinkPads feature Lenovo's TrackPoint system with a small pointing stick in the center of the keyboard.

But leaked pictures of a new Lenovo ThinkPad X9 laptop show what appears to be a thin and light ThinkPad-branded notebook, a large touchpad, and no TrackPoint.

Posted to social media this week by WalkingCat, the images are said to show a new design for Lenovo's upcoming laptops with 14 and 15 inch displays. The notebooks have Lenovo's ThinkPad logo on the palm rest and lid, and a set of ports that includes USB-C, 3.5mm audio, and HDMI, and slim bezels around the display with a small bump above the top bezel to make room for a webcam.

But the most unusual thing about the laptop is the keyboard and touchpad. The keyboard appears to feature flat keys in an island or chiclet-style layout with small spaces between each key. Unlike most ThinkPads released over the past few decades, the notebook does not have a red pointing stick in the center of the keyboard, and there are no left, right, or center buttons on the touchpad.

Overall this is a laptop that looks more like a ThinkBook or Yoga-branded device than a ThinkPad. I'd be surprised if Lenovo plans to move away from TrackPoint on all ThinkPad-branded laptops anytime soon. It'd be a move that would likely upset some long-time loyalists. But perhaps the company figures it's time to dip its toe into the waters of nub-free business laptops to see if there's demand for the touchpad-only design that's become much more common in recent years (and decades).

Lenovo hasn't officially introduced the new ThinkPad X9 yet, but WinFuture has rounded up some specifications for the upcoming laptops from premature retail listings. Keep in mind that it's possible that these listings are incorrect or incomplete, but for now, it looks like we can probably expect the ThinkPad X9 14 to have a 14 inch, 1920 x 1200 pixel matte non-touch display, Intel Lunar Lake processor options, a 55 Wh battery, support for up to 32GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and support for WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, and starting prices around $1400.

The ThinkPad X9 15, meanwhile, is expected to have a 15.3 inch, 2280 x 1800 pixel display, an 80 Wh battery, and similar memory, storage, and wireless specs. It's expected to sell for around $1600 and up.

Liliputing's primary sources of revenue are advertising and affiliate links (if you click the "Shop" button at the top of the page and buy something on Amazon, for example, we'll get a small commission).

But there are several ways you can support the site directly even if you're using an ad blocker* and hate online shopping.

Contribute to our Patreon campaign

or...

Contribute via PayPal * If you are using an ad blocker like uBlock Origin and seeing a pop-up message at the bottom of the screen, we have a guide that may help you disable it. Join 9,563 other subscribers