The TrackPoint may leave ThinkPad one day, but it isn’t today.

The Background

For those of you following CES and Lenovo’s product lineup, the ThinkPad X9 got people talking. In a previous article, I covered how journalists compared it to Apple’s design language.

Jan
09

Lenovo experiments at CES 2025

Over the last few days, thanks to media credentials, I’ve been bombarded with CES 2025 information. Unfortunately, given when the media dates fell, I couldn’t attend in person. Perhaps next year. Lenovo presented an interesting showing this year in the sense that there weren’t many groundbreaking show-stoppers. That being said, here are a few highlights […]

The big question was, of course, where was the TrackPoint? A leak before CES sparked much speculation about this machine, which was branded a ThinkPad but was missing one of its most iconic features. Again, I covered this story in a previous article.

Dec
27

A ThinkPad without a TrackPoint?

The Situation So let’s get this out of the way. Leaked images are floating ahead of CES 2025 showcasing a device called the Lenovo ThinkPad X9. This ThinkPad does not have a TrackPoint. ThinkPad X9 14/15 pic.twitter.com/2WXGyxJl9h — WalkingCat (@_h0x0d_) December 24, 2024 Several news outlets have picked up the story, including Notebook Check, one […]

There have been ThinkPad devices in the past that have deviated from the core design philosophy, even so much to not have the TrackPoint. Some of the original machines didn’t have it either such as the tablet computers like the ThinkPad 710T and 730T. Other models like the ThinkPad 220 featured a trackball of sorts and the ThinkPad 300 also did not have a TrackPoint. Several other tablets like the ThinkPad Helix 2 and Tablet 10 featured keyboards in their lineup that did not have a TrackPoint.

All that to say, what the ThinkPad X9 has done is not the first time we have seen a ThinkPad without a TrackPoint, but it has been a while and it was a surprise all the same. I am a huge TrackPoint user and it is one of the essential components of why I use a ThinkPad.

New Information

Here is where things get interesting and special thanks to Saoto on X/Twitter for posting this article, thus bringing it to my attention. Long-time viewers of the channel will recognize the name as the person who makes custom 3D-printed TrackPoint caps.

In an article published by PC Watch Japan on January 14, 2025, Tsukamoto Yasumichi, Executive Vice President and Head of Development at Lenovo Japan was interviewed about the ThinkPad X9. There was some significant messaging in this interview that I am surprised was not communicated during CES regarding their goals for the X9.

The author, Kazuki Kasahara, who should be praised for their direct journalism, asks outright about the TrackPoint:

“The ThinkPad X9 is a product primarily targeted at customers who have not been ThinkPad customers until now. For example, it is a product that was planned and designed in the hope that customers who are familiar with other companies’ products will recognize the basic value of ThinkPad, such as high productivity and robustness, and consider it as an option when they switch to ThinkPad. In that case, we thought that it would be better for customers to have a larger click pad than the TrackPoint, so we decided to remove the TrackPoint.”

Yasumichi Tsukamoto “The shocking debut of the controversial TrackPoint-less ThinkPad X9: Who is it for?” (PC Watch Japan)

The naming conventions are also cleared up and I think the explanation that Tsukamoto provides is an excellent one.

“The ThinkPad X9 brand name was chosen to indicate that it is the polar opposite of the ThinkPad X1. If the ThinkPad X1 was the flagship product for existing ThinkPad customers, then the ThinkPad X9 is the flagship product for new customers,”

Yasumichi Tsukamoto “The shocking debut of the controversial TrackPoint-less ThinkPad X9: Who is it for?” (PC Watch Japan)

The Takeaway

I think many fans of ThinkPad and its traditional design would agree with Tsukamoto’s assessment that the X9 is indeed the polar opposite of the X1. While many will still not agree with it being called a ThinkPad given how far it strays from expectations, if the X9 helps more people and companies get introduced to what many have come to appreciate about the iconic brand, then maybe it will pay off. 

Tsukamoto seems to be aware of the stir that the X9 caused and Kasahara asked an important question about the TrackPoint’s future:

“Traditional ThinkPad models, such as the X1 series, P series, T series, X series, and L series, which are aimed at existing customers, will continue to be equipped with TrackPoint.”

Yasumichi Tsukamoto “The shocking debut of the controversial TrackPoint-less ThinkPad X9: Who is it for?” (PC Watch Japan)

If you want to hear more about the development of the ThinkPad X9, consider watching Kevin Beck’s sit down with Tsukamoto which was published on YouTube a few days ago.

In the spirit of 100% transparency, the keyboard featured in this video was supplied by EPOMAKER and not personally purchased. My goal is to review this product objectively.  I accepted something of monetary value to produce the article, the product itself.


EPOMAKER is a company that I have featured on the channel before. They have made some good keyboards that I have had the opportunity to test.

They asked me to test their Dynatab 75 which comes in a standard and a dot matrix display. While I didn’t get the chance to test the dox matrix display, I did see something that caught my eye: the EPOMAKER Sea Salt Silent Switches.

The box. Note that this box is used for both models. This may be important if this is being given as a gift as they might be disappointed to find it doesn’t have the fancy display that is advertised on the box.

I hadn’t tested a keyboard built for silence until now, so I agreed to give it a spin.

In the box

Inside the box we have the keyboard, a dust cover (yes, do not throw out the plastic cover, it is supposed to stay with the keyboard), a USB A to USB C cable, a combination key cap and switch puller and instruction manual.

The Dynatab 75 unboxed.

Key Features

The Dynatab 75 sports a variety of features, which I have summarized below:

  • Integrated Slot for Devices: The keyboard features a built-in slot designed to hold iPads, tablets, or phones,
  • Compact 75% Layout: The 75% layout includes 84 keys.
  • Gasket-Mounted Structure: The keyboard incorporates a PC plate, Poron sandwich foam, IXPE under-switch padding, and bottom base foam.
  • Hot-Swappable Sockets: Compatible with most 3/5-pin switches.
  • RGB Backlight: The keyboard features RGB backlighting.
  • Connectivity: Users can connect seamlessly using Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless, or a Type-C wired connection.
  • Fast-Charging Chip & 5000mAh Battery: Equipped with a fast-charging chip (supporting up to 2A rapid charging).
  • Double Shot PBT Keycaps: The keycaps are made of durable double-shot PBT material, sporting an MDA profile.

User Experience

The keyboard feels the sum of its parts, which is plastic. The board feels light in the hand despite the 5000mAh battery. Thankfully it doesn’t move around the desk.

Unsurprisingly this is the quietest keyboard I’ve tested so far, likely due to the several layers that make up the keyboard coupled with a very quiet switch. It was very comparable to the silent switch offerings from other companies like Cherry. The feeling of these switches has been compared to a premium membrane keyboard, but membrane keyboards tend to have a tactile bump whereas these switches are smoother. Some may find them a bit spongey without that firm, bottom-out feeling to them but I didn’t mind them.

The absence of several keys may put off individuals that use every key on their keyboard and I am one of those people. I have a separate numpad so I am not missing that functionality when I am testing other keyboards. At the very least I have Print Screen on this keyboard. The software allows for rebinding but with no additional keycaps in the box, it means I have to keep track myself. Speaking of keycaps, while it is compatible with Mac machines, it does not feature Mac keycaps to swap out, which are often included with other keyboards I have tested.

Typing speeds were a bit slower for me. 52 WPM was the average I was getting. I’m not too surprised by this result as I’m not used to a keyboard that feels like this or sounds like this and I suspect that the audible queue that I am used to from my other keyboards being absent impacted my experience.

There are some nice touches on this keyboard beyond a very quiet typing experience. The 2.4 GHz receiver is stored behind the cover plate on the top right of the deck. It is always nice to see a manufacturer think about where this can be safely stored and not leave it up to the user to keep track of it.

Another nice feature is the adjustable feet with two positions on the bottom of the deck, giving you three angles total to tilt the keyboard.

Adjustable feet, two positions.

The tray that is designed for tablets will fit an Apple iPad Mini on its side or a standard Apple iPad in portrait orientation only, neither of which I own. Other reviewers pointed out that portrait mode for the larger tablets led to them tipping over. The Samsung tablet I had to test with fit vertically (portrait) but then it blocked my desktop screen. I was also unable to touch the tablet at all without it tipping over.

A Samsung T700 tablet in portrait orientation in the tray. Touching it even slightly results in it tipping over.

It fit my Google Pixel 6a with its case but stood nearly vertical making it difficult to read from many natural angles. I also worried that a few vibrations in that upright posture would have it fall onto the keyboard. If my phone did not have a case, I suspect this would be a non-issue. I’m not alone on the mixed feelings around the tray with several reviews on their website citing devices not fitting due to cases or dimensions. In short, if this is a selling feature for you, measure twice, and buy once.

Perhaps in another version of this keyboard, they can provide a power pass-through so you can plug in a charging cable so your device can at least be getting a top-up while wedged into the slot at the top of your board.

The width of the tablet/phone slot at the top of the keyboard.

Conclusions

When not on sale, this keyboard is priced at $89.99 USD which doesn’t make it the cheapest board out there. With the most unique feature being the tray at the top of the keyboard not being able to accommodate all devices, it needs to be a perfect match for your setup in my mind to be worth the price of admission. The dot-matrix variant clocks in at $139.99 USD. While the keyboard has a good feel going for it in terms of the silent keys, so long as you don’t mind the unique feel, this can probably be achieved on other, less expensive boards. It has certainly raised my awareness of the possibilities of silent and softer switch profiles, but I won’t be switching to this keyboard full-time unless I can repurpose the tray at the top.

Over the last few days, thanks to media credentials, I’ve been bombarded with CES 2025 information. Unfortunately, given when the media dates fell, I couldn’t attend in person. Perhaps next year.

Lenovo presented an interesting showing this year in the sense that there weren’t many groundbreaking show-stoppers. That being said, here are a few highlights that did catch my attention.

Some Firsts: Rolling Screens and CUDs

This rollable screen concept appears to be releasing as the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6. While the idea of a rolling or expanding screen intrigues me, I am unsure what problem this solution solves. It may very well be one of those things that you need to see and use to understand the application. Unlike the Yoga Slim and Yoga Book 9i below, this ThinkBook does not have a product page or pricing information but many outlets report a spring launch at a hefty $3,500 price tag.

The Yoga Slim 9i has indeed some slim display bezels (98% screen-to-body ratio) but what I found catching my attention was the CUD (Camera Under Display). You still have the bump at the top to hold the higher resolution camera that people now demand in a post-pandemic world, which I’m not opposed to given the function it provides. The top cover being made from glass has me worried that it might be challenging to keep looking new. These will start at $1,759.99 USD in February 2025.

Yoga Book 9i Continues

It is good to see that this dual-screen device did well enough to earn it another generation. I saw one of these in person when I went to Lenovo TechWorld 23 and seeing it in the flesh and speaking to the person using it helped me understand why they enjoyed the device. Pricing for this new generation starts at $1,999 USD being available in May 2025. I wonder if this means one day we might see a ThinkPad X1 Fold 16 Gen 2; that would be something I’d like to see as it was a lot of fun to test one of the prototypes.

Jan
04

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16 Gen 1: The Road of Innovation

The Folding Machine Folding devices, even years after being introduced are somewhat of an oddity. I have been the first person I know to own or handle any and I cannot recall seeing one in public at the end of 2022 and the owners I met in 2023 I could count on one hand. I […]

The ThinkPad X9

For many of you who follow me, this is the elephant in the room. ThinkPads, generally speaking, follow a certain design language. They are generally dark colours, more specifically available in black and have traditionally featured a TrackPoint. To get technical, there were devices branded ThinkPad way back like the 710T and 730T ( If you want to see a wonderful restoration of one of these devices or other cool things, you should check out polymatt’s channel on YouTube) that were tablet computers that had no keyboard and, therefore no TrackPoint. Other machines like foldable tablets and Z series have also strayed from these cornerstones over the years.

Back to the main event. The ThinkPad X9 was leaked ahead of CES 2025 and I covered some thoughts on this in an earlier article:

Dec
27

A ThinkPad without a TrackPoint?

The Situation So let’s get this out of the way. Leaked images are floating ahead of CES 2025 showcasing a device called the Lenovo ThinkPad X9. This ThinkPad does not have a TrackPoint. ThinkPad X9 14/15 pic.twitter.com/2WXGyxJl9h — WalkingCat (@_h0x0d_) December 24, 2024 Several news outlets have picked up the story, including Notebook Check, one […]

There is some neat technology in the ThinkPad X9 including its cooling system, the haptic TrackPad and more. The big question many people is why is this called a ThinkPad. Given what people have come to expect from the brand, I think this is a fair question. Several news outlets that are at CES 2025 and have spent time physically with the device mention very specifically it is two things “It is a ThinkPad” in one breath and then mention “Apple” at some point in the article. Historically, these comparisons have been made before but not so directly. It could also be a trend in technology journalism to compare everything to Apple. If you want some excellent coverage of CES 2025, I recommend Andrew Marc David’s channel.

“This ultraportable from Lenovo is indeed a ThinkPad, but it appears to bridge the gap between professional and consumer laptops—prosumer, if you will—dropping the TrackPoint device in the keyboard as a telltale sign.”

Hands On: Lenovo’s ThinkPad X9 Aura Edition Is a Mighty Swipe at MacBook Air (PCMag)

“Lenovo has unveiled two new ThinkPads: the X9 14 and X9 15, both Aura Editions equipped with Intel Core Ultra processors and slim designs. But what they don’t offer might be the most interesting thing about them: namely, Lenovo’s signature red TrackPoint. Instead, they use a haptic trackpad without the ThinkPad’s usual discrete button for a distinctly MacBook vibe.

No doubt, it’s a ThinkPad, through and through. It’s tested to MIL-SPEC 810H durability standards. It offers a Thunderbolt 4 port on each side of the machine, making it easier to arrange docks and displays to your liking. And the design allows access to the SSD and battery to facilitate repairs and replacements.”

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X9 drops the TrackPoint (The Verge)

It is a bit of a wonder to wrap one’s head around the possible decision-making process involved in branding this machine a ThinkPad rather than a ThinkBook, which design-wise, seems to share more in common. Part of me wonders if this is an attempt to avoid what Dell has recently done with renaming all of their PC products. For example, if Lenovo wanted to produce a premium laptop product, that would limit their established product lines. While IdeaPad, Yoga and ThinkBook are good units at their price point, ThinkPad is considered by many to be the most premium business machine Lenovo offers.

So what happens when Lenovo wants to make a laptop of equal quality to a ThinkPad, geared towards business customers and wants to do something different? Do they create a completely new premium line of business laptops or do they use one of their existing brands and establish a new series? Both have pros and cons. 

  • This device in terms of specs, target audience and quality is too premium for the ThinkBook or IdeaPad range.
  • Creating a brand new product line entirely is likely more difficult to market to business customers and may make it more difficult to sell.
  • Using the ThinkPad brand, which is very well established, has risks as those expecting a specific design may be alienated by this design.
  • So do you create a new machine class, the X9 and put it under your premium laptop line or do you try and create a brand new product line?
The keyboard keys have a very subtle touch of what would be considered the modern ThinkPad keyboard.

I suspect this is why it is called the X9 and not part of an established ThinkPad line that features more historically recognizable features like a sleek black chassis and red TrackPoint. I believe this hypothesis is further supported by the fact they are releasing a series of X9 accessories rather than exclusively relying on the existing ThinkPad catalogue of accessories. The X9 branding is also present on the camera bump. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine that if the X9 does well, it could be its own product line separate from ThinkPad but of equal quality.

Lenovo X9 Charging GaN Dock, Lenovo Multi-Device Wireless Mouse (X9 Edition), Lenovo TWS Earbuds (X9 Edition), Lenovo Origami 14” and15.3” X9 Sleeve

I do not believe that the X9 will set the trend for future ThinkPad design and I look at it like I would look at the Z13; a testbed that diverts from traditional ThinkPad design but has some of the DNA that makes them amazing machines.

Given the choice between what Dell has recently done with their brands, I’d rather have a ThinkPad without a TrackPoint than the brand-new Lenovo Pro Max Premium Carbon G13…

Jan
07

Dell Ditches Iconic Brand Names in Rebranding Move

Dell has made a surprising and potentially controversial decision: to abandon its long-standing and iconic PC brand names. Gone are the days of the XPS, Latitude, Inspiron, Precision, OptiPlex, and G-series. All these familiar names will be replaced by a new, tiered system, leaving only Alienware standing as a distinct brand. Odd decision to go […]

The ThinkPad X9 will be available in February 2025 and starts at $1,399 for the 14-inch variant.

Dell has made a surprising and potentially controversial decision: to abandon its long-standing and iconic PC brand names. Gone are the days of the XPS, Latitude, Inspiron, Precision, OptiPlex, and G-series. All these familiar names will be replaced by a new, tiered system, leaving only Alienware standing as a distinct brand.

Odd decision to go with this tiered system as outlined in the image above and below; placing machines into three main categories with three sub-categories each. Many news outlets have made the comparison between this move and Apple’s move to describe the different models of the iPhone.

One attendee reportedly asked why Dell “didn’t choose something original, because you essentially have Apple’s branding here.”

Another said Dell’s naming choices were “a lot” like Apple’s. “Aren’t you just following them?” they asked.

Dell reportedly defended its branding change, with executives responding that no one owns the words “pro” or “max” and that these are universal terms.

Dell’s chief operating officer Jeff Clarke said that the move to change names resulted from extensive research involving “tens of thousands” of people.

Dell Defends Itself After Being Questioned About Imitating Apple (Entrepreneur)

While the intention behind this move remains somewhat unclear, it seems like Dell is aiming for a simplified and more streamlined product lineup. However, the decision to bury the history and brand equity associated with names like XPS and Latitude is a significant gamble. The XPS 13, for example, was a renowned and highly regarded laptop, and its legacy now risks being obscured under the generic “Dell Premium” label.

Dell’s new naming structure.

One of the first products to emerge under this new system is the “Dell Pro Max Micro” – a name that certainly doesn’t inspire confidence in terms of clarity and memorability.

It’s impossible to predict whether this rebranding will be successful. Dell is betting big on simplifying its product lines and enhancing customer understanding, but the risk of alienating loyal customers and losing brand identity is undeniable.