I didn’t expect a white ThinkPad to be the notebook I couldn’t stop thinking about after IFA, but the new Glacial White ThinkPad X9 Aura has lived rent-free in my head since my first hands-on. It’s a deliberate break from the black-and-red canon—no TrackPoint nub, no separate click buttons, and a satin finish that feels more Scandinavian minimalism than classic enterprise brick. And yet, it still behaves like a ThinkPad where it counts.
Why a white ThinkPad matters
ThinkPad’s design lineage is famously austere—Richard Sapper’s bento box minimalism, recorded in IBM’s design archives and celebrated by museums, codified black as part of the brand’s identity. White, then, is not just a color swap; it’s a statement that Lenovo wants ThinkPad to resonate with users who value clean, modern aesthetics without losing credibility in the boardroom. In a market where premium ultralights trend lighter in colorways, according to research firms tracking PC design preferences, this model is a timely pivot.
Design: familiar, yet unapologetically new
The X9 Aura’s silhouette is all about restraint. The matte Glacial White finish softens edges, resists fingerprints better than glossy silvers, and looks surprisingly resilient under harsh show-floor lighting. Flip it over and you see the ribbed bottom plate and a central “engine hub” spine—functional touches that aid airflow while giving the chassis its own visual signature. It’s the rare productivity laptop that looks intentional from every angle.
Purists will clock two big departures: no TrackPoint and no discrete left/right trackpad buttons. In their place is a roomy, precise touchpad that handles multi-finger gestures and palm rejection well. The keyboard remains classic ThinkPad: deep enough travel, crisp return, and consistent stabilizers. If your muscle memory is tied to the red nub, you’ll need to adapt; if not, the learning curve is essentially zero.
Hardware snapshot from the show floor
Lenovo is offering the white X9 Aura in 14- and 15-inch sizes with Intel’s Core Ultra 7 258V inside, part of the generation that leans heavily on more efficient integrated graphics and a beefier on-chip NPU for on-device AI tasks. Intel’s own briefings around Core Ultra emphasize responsiveness and battery efficiency in thin-and-light designs, and my early demo time tracks: wake is instant, windowing is snappy, and light creative workloads felt effortless.
Battery life needs a full review to verify, but the show units suggested a workday is realistic for mixed browsing, docs, and video calls. Thermals were also uneventful in the best way—no hot spots during sustained web multitasking, with fans rarely audible over the show noise.
A key upgrade: storage that matches the ambition
The glacial makeover arrives with a practical bump: standard 1TB SSD configurations across both sizes. That’s a meaningful fix for creators and power users who found earlier base configs too tight at 256GB or 512GB. It aligns the X9 Aura with what many IT teams now treat as the minimum spec for premium knowledge-worker laptops.
Aura features evolve: from tap-to-share to Lenovo Connect
The original “Aura Edition” buzz centered on a tap-to-share trick for moving files between devices. Lenovo is now steering that experience into software with Lenovo Connect, a cross-device sharing app that’s more flexible in real-world workflows. It’s the right move: software-first approaches are easier to update, audit, and deploy at scale—concerns that matter to IT admins as much as they do to hybrid workers.
Use cases: who will love the white X9 Aura
If your daily workload spans documents, video calls, light photo editing, and heavy browser multitasking, the white X9 Aura feels purpose-built. Designers and consultants who meet clients regularly will appreciate the clean, modern look that photographs well and stands out without being loud. Frequent travelers will like the balance of portability and sturdiness, while anyone moving between personal and managed devices will benefit from the simple file-sharing pivot.
There are caveats. Lifelong TrackPoint devotees may prefer a traditional X1 or T-series. And if your workflow leans on discrete-GPU acceleration for 3D or advanced video, you’ll still want a mobile workstation. But for the vast majority of knowledge workers, this configuration is a sweet spot.
The takeaway
The ThinkPad X9 Aura in Glacial White is more than a colorway—it’s a signal that Lenovo can honor ThinkPad’s reputation while allowing the brand to breathe. The refined look, smarter storage default, and quieter shift to software-first sharing make it a compelling ultralight for people who care about both craft and credibility. After time with it at IFA, I left thinking less about what it isn’t—and more about how easily it could be my next everyday machine.