"This is super important": Exclusive interview with Lenovo ThinkPad manager about repairable laptops, the ThinkPad X9 and the laptop of the future

[Redaktion]

At MWC 2025, Notebookcheck had the exclusive opportunity to interview Tom Butler, the executive director responsible for Lenovo's lineup of commercial ThinkPad laptops. We spoke with him about the ThinkPad TrackPoint and the new ThinkPad X9, as well as laptop naming and repairability.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/This-is-super-important-Exclusive-interview-with-Lenovo-ThinkPad-manager-about-repairable-laptops-the-ThinkPad-X9-and-the-laptop-of-the-future.979264.0.html

[davidm]

Thanks, interesting and insightful interview. I've always respected the Thinkpad brand and team, even if their results are not always the best imaginable.

[snn47]

One of the USB-C Ports in my quite expensive X1 (>3000€) is unuseable due to a bent pin from the dayly multiple use connecting a Lenovo USB-C PS or docking station. The only  repair option from Lenovo is replacing the whole mainboard for ~1300 € more than a third of the initial cost, since the 32 GB RAM is soldered to the PCB.
This is why I won't consider buying another Lenovo product, unless the most used connectors, the USB-C ports for Pd and a Docking station are not a replaceable PCB and RAM is soldered to the PCB.

While soldered RAM and USB-C PD might be desireable for manufacterers for their own reasons, they are very expensive for the consumers when a damage occurs.

[Florian 1440]

As an author, I secured two X1 Gen 6s. The last truly good keyboards in the ThinkPad lineup (and actually, two different suppliers with different pressure points). All subsequent ThinkPads were inferior in terms of keyboards, in my opinion. A T450s was really great, but unfortunately, it's a dinosaur. Notebookcheck has been writing for years that ThinkPad keyboards are barely distinguishable from those of the competition. The interviewer should have asked a question, in my opinion.

[n..]

some of the statements given out by lenovo are simply incompatible with reality: their keyboards are (...) Even my old X220, which I still love, and had a great keyboard, was already showing cost-cutting direction taken by lenovo, and every next one was worse, to the point that  I ALWAYS try to plug in external, regular keyboard, into my (already 8 year old!) lenovo, because the built-in one is (...), it's like typing on wooden board. Lenovo have lost this front, and lost another, reducing the number of ports (to save cost), keeping usb-c ports on one side (to reduce cost) and making it so much harder to repair, even keybaord. So, after about 20 years of being a lenovo fanboy, with a collection of about 5 laptops, and 2 more in the family (never again!) I left this camp. They have NOTHING to make me WANT their products any longer, it's just 'more of the same' so why pay more if you get get the same from other brands?

[josh]

None of the thinkpads pictured are repairable just based on the fact that keyboard is prohibitively difficult to replace. Thunderbolt and ram are soldered to the motherboard also. Hopefully at least the screen is replaceable cause otherwise they warrant a reparability score of 0.