– The ThinkBook 16 Gen 9 IPL uses Arrow Lake-based Core Ultra 5/7 CPUs and lags behind Gen 8 with Arrow Lake in performance benchmarks; entry variant starts at £1,099.99/€1,288–€1,458 for 16 GB RAM + 256 GB storage.
– Upgradable RAM and storage: supports 16/32 GB DDR5-5600 and both M.2 2242 and 2280 slots for easy upgrades.
– Flexible power and display options: 48 Wh or 71 Wh battery, Wi‑Fi 6 or Wi‑Fi 7, with optional fingerprint reader; two display configurations (5 MP webcam standard or upgrade to 1080p with IR, and 60 Hz 400 nit 45% NTSC or 120 Hz 400 nit 100% sRGB).
Lenovo has finally started selling a new version of the ThinkBook 16 Gen 9. To recap, the company has already launched AMD Hawk Point and Intel Raptor Lake-powered versions of its 16-inch ThinkBook. Then in February, we noticed that the ThinkBook 16 Gen 9 IPL had been added to Lenovo’s PSREF website with newer Panther Lake processors.
ThinkBook 16 Gen 9 IPL performance and configuration options
Despite the name, the ThinkBook 16 Gen 9 IPL actually trails older Gen 8 models with Arrow Lake processors (curr. $1,199 on Amazon). In fact, the Core Ultra 5 325 and Core Ultra 7 355 perform worse in our benchmarks than the Core 7 240H with which the ThinkBook 16 Gen 9 IRL is available. Setting that aside, the new ThinkBook 16 can also be configured with 16 GB or 32 GB of DDR5-5600 RAM. This RAM is user-upgradeable, as is storage thanks to the inclusion of M.2 2242 and M.2 2280 slots.
Hardware choices and display options
Additionally, Lenovo offers the laptop with 48 Wh or 71 Wh batteries, Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 7 connectivity and an optional fingerprint reader. The ThinkBook 16 Gen 9 IPL features a 5 MP webcam by default too, although Lenovo allows this to be swapped out for a 1080p equivalent for a small surcharge with infrared for Windows Hello login purposes. Moreover, the 60 Hz, 400 nit and 45% NTSC IPS display can be swapped for a 120 Hz, 400 nit and 100% sRGB equivalent. Both are 1200p and 16:10 IPS panels, though.
Pricing and availability
The ThinkBook 16 Gen 9 IPL starts at £1,099.99 in the UK with a Core Ultra 5 325 processor, 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. Meanwhile, the same configuration retails for between €1,288 and €1,458 in the Eurozone, with pricing set at AUD 1,690 in Australia. Lenovo has not yet revealed when it will begin selling its new 16-inch ThinkBook in North America, nor for how much.