This release is everything I have been waiting for to make the switch from Macbook to Thinkpad + Linux.

I plan to max out everything except the SSD space I don't need and I can be confident I have a computer that won't be obsolete in a few years.

Before with the 10th gen Intel CPUs and 16GB RAM max, it just wasn't a future-proof enough machine

I have a pre-M1 2020 Air and while the keyboard, trackpad, and screen are great, the upgrade to Big Sur has been such a pain and left a bad taste in my mouth, waiting on XCode updates just to be able to compile and install things. I can't wait to have native Docker either.

Have you seen xps 15 7590? It's almost slightly larger at 15" and Intel 9th gen. Otherwise you can max it out pretty much to the same specs. The only other major difference is mobile nvidia rather than just Intel. But it's been out for quite a while and you can even catch some outlet offers.

yes - personally I just don't want a 15". I would probably get a ThinkPad Nano to size down to 13" if I could get more RAM in it.

and I'm more comfortable with the quality reputation of ThinkPads over the Dell XPS. I've just heard more anecdotes about quality control and overheating issues with the XPS line.

> Before with the 10th gen Intel CPUs and 16GB RAM max, it just wasn't a future-proof enough machine

The i7-8550U I'm posting this from has 32GB RAM?

(It's still obsolete due to shitty GPU, but I'm confused where you're pulling a 16GB limit from)

16GB RAM limit on a few years old portable machine is came from LPDDR3's max capacity. Intel CPU only supports LPDDR3 as low power memory until Ice Lake supports LPDDR4. Apple previously adopted LPDDR3 for MBP15 but they finally changed to DDR4 to increase capacity with sacrifying battery life a bit.

Ah you might be right I'm probably thinking of the current gen Nano I was looking at. Either way, the shitty GPU you mentioned was definitely a reason to wait as well.

Indeed I don't see a Nano with more than 16GB RAM, and it's not upgradeable. Meh.

Can you run Catalina instead of Big Sur? Intel MBP13s are still shipping with it, and in my experience it runs better than Big Sur.

I owned the X1 Carbon 3rd gen and currently have a 6th gen. It is a fantastic machine but the 16gb ram isn't enough when running multiple VM's. I am excited about the 32gb ram option. I will certainly be buying when available for sale.

Has the GPU performance increased enough on recent Intel iGPU updates? I have an i7-8550U (UHD 620 GPU) with an external 4k screen (internal FullHD) and it's ... painful to use. Super sluggish and stuttery :(

My understanding from reading up on the 11th gen Intel CPUs is that the integrated graphics is supposed to be improved for first time in several generations. I have the same problem as you running a 4k screen from a Macbook with a 10th gen CPU.

iGPU performance is primary constrainedby RAM bandwidth. I believe your laptop has DDR4-2666 or LPDDR3-2133 (it's bad) max. This X1 Carbon has LPDDR4X so at least 3200 or 4266 best, it makes significant improvement. Intel also improved Xe GPU core. Is it enough for 4K on your use case is different story.

Edit: AT argues that X1C uses LPDDR4X-4267, looks great.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/16392/ces-2021-lenovo-thinkpa...

  Optional:
  WWAN* 4x4 MIMO 5G (LTE CAT20) / 4G (LTE CAT12)
  5G available May 2021

That's the most important spec IMO. Can't wait to buy one in May.

Does this work on Linux?

My understanding based on the below link is that the optional onboard 4G LTE doesn't currently work on Linux, but Lenovo is working on supporting it in the near future. No idea if/how that applies to the Gen9.

https://forums.lenovo.com/topic/view/2713/5031920

I love my X1 Gen 7, but the black soft-touch coating started peeling within a week of buying it. I hope they've fixed that because it is otherwise my favorite laptop I've ever owned.

Looking forward to the X1 Extreme Gen 4, which will presumably make the same move.in the 15" size frame , with upgradeable parts

If love to go with ThinkPad or Dell and Linux but since using a Mac I just can't go back to Linux trackpad support

After seeing how fast docker runs in linux I can't go back to a mac.

Gonna have to skip this because it does not have Apple silicon. Intel has lost it