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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Display
- Interface
- Connectivity
- Configuration
- Performance
- Additional Features And Software
- Comments
Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024) vs Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024)
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025)
Tested using Methodology v0.8.2
Updated Mar 24, 2025 05:41 PM
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Size15"
Operating SystemWindows 11
Size15.3"
Operating SystemWindows 11
Variants
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZYT-00026) (Black - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/1TB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHH-00026) (Black - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/512GB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHQ-00026) (Black - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/512GB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHI-00001) (Black - Snapdragon X Elite/32GB/1TB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZYT-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/1TB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZYU-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/1TB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHG-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/256GB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHQ-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/256GB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHP-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/256GB)
- Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (ZHH-00001) (Platinum - Snapdragon X Elite/16GB/512GB)
- ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q60029US) (Thunder Grey - 2.8K/Touch/Ultra 7 258V/32GB/1TB)
- ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q6002BUS) (Thunder Grey - 2.8K/Touch/Ultra 7 268V/32GB/1TB)
- ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q6002AUS) (Thunder Grey - 2.8K/Ultra 5 226V/16GB/512GB)
Our Verdict
Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024)
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025)
The Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) and the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024) are both premium Windows ultraportables that deliver a similar user experience overall. The main difference between these two models is that the ThinkPad uses an x86 Intel SoC, while the Surface Laptop uses an AMR-based Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC. This likely won't affect you if you only perform light productivity tasks, but if you use any third-party program, it's best to check for compatibility first, as many apps don't run on the Surface's Arm-based chip or will perform poorly via emulation. Another significant difference is the display type; the ThinkPad's OLED panel is visually more pleasing because it can produce deeper blacks, but unlike the Surface's IPS panel, it's susceptible to permanent burn-in, and its 480Hz flicker can bother some people, causing eye strain.
Main Differences for
Threshold
School
8.6
8.8
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Traditional (Clamshell)
Traditional (Clamshell)
Build Quality
9.5
9.5
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
9.1
9.4
Hinge Photo
Range
135°
177°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
Yes
Portability
8.3
8.7
Dimensions Photo
Size
15"
15.3"
Thickness
0.7" (1.8 cm)
0.7" (1.7 cm)
Width
13.0" (33.1 cm)
13.4" (34.1 cm)
Depth
9.4" (24.0 cm)
9.3" (23.5 cm)
Volume
87.3 in³ (1,429.9 cm³)
83.1 in³ (1,362.3 cm³)
Weight
3.6 lbs (1.6 kg)
3.1 lbs (1.4 kg)
Charger Size
7.1 in³ (116.0 cm³)
5.5 in³ (90.0 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.7 lbs (0.3 kg)
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
Serviceability
5.8
6.5
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
7.5
9.0
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
1
1
Replaceable Battery
Yes
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
No
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
2496 x 1664
2880 x 1800
Aspect Ratio
3:2
16:10
Pixel Density
200 PPI
221 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
OLED
Touch Screen
Yes
Yes
Screen-To-Body Ratio
88%
91%
Refresh Rate
8.7
8.7
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
120 Hz
120 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
Dynamic Refresh Rate
Dynamic Refresh Rate
Contrast
7.5
10
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
1,404 : 1
32,997 : 1
Brightness
9.1
8.5
Maximum Brightness
601 cd/m²
469 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
3 cd/m²
1 cd/m²
Reflections
6.3
7.7
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Glossy
Total Reflections
5.79%
3.77%
Indirect Reflections
0.53%
0.89%
Calculated Direct Reflections
5.26%
2.88%
Black Uniformity
8.0
10
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
0.864%
0.251%
Horizontal Viewing Angle
7.0
7.3
Horizontal Viewing Angle Video
Horizontal Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Left
27°
39°
Color Washout From Right
28°
38°
Horizontal Hue Picture
Color Shift From Left
51°
18°
Color Shift From Right
48°
18°
Horizontal Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Left
30°
44°
Brightness Loss From Right
30°
43°
Black Level Raise From Left
60°
60°
Black Level Raise From Right
60°
60°
Gamma Shift From Left
36°
45°
Gamma Shift From Right
36°
45°
Vertical Viewing Angle
7.0
7.2
Vertical Viewing Angle Video
Vertical Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Below
24°
38°
Color Washout From Above
23°
37°
Vertical Hue Picture
Color Shift From Below
45°
18°
Color Shift From Above
45°
18°
Vertical Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Below
27°
43°
Brightness Loss From Above
27°
44°
Black Level Raise From Below
45°
45°
Black Level Raise From Above
45°
45°
Gamma Shift From Below
26°
42°
Gamma Shift From Above
26°
43°
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
8.7
7.1
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
2.81
2.39
Avg. Gamma
2.14
2.26
Avg. Color dE
1.58
4.38
Avg. Color Temperature
6,411.9 K
6,396.5 K
Color Gamut
8.3
9.6
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
98.35%
148.29%
sRGB uv
98.9%
142.95%
Adobe RGB xy
72.95%
92.55%
Adobe RGB uv
84.98%
97.1%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
73.15%
99.99%
DCI P3 uv
79.9%
99.99%
Rec. 2020 xy
52.48%
78.33%
Rec. 2020 uv
58.23%
82.53%
Flicker
10
7.2
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
Yes
No
Flicker Frequency
No Flicker
480 Hz
Flicker Active Below
0%
100%
Interface
Keyboard
8.5
8.5
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
8.5
8.5
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
64 gf
59 gf
Actuation Force
31 gf
34 gf
Pre-Travel
0.96 mm
1.05 mm
Total Travel
1.37 mm
1.39 mm
Touchpad
8.8
9.3
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
9.0
9.5
Size
14.9 in² (96.0 cm²)
16.7 in² (108.0 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
8.7
8.1
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
82 dB SPL
81 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
5.0 dB
5.9 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
-1.4
1.9
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
334 Hz
143 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
16 kHz
17 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
0.7 dB
5.4 dB
Webcam & Microphone
8.7
8.7
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
9.0
9.0
Resolution
1080p
1440p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
Yes
Yes
Connectivity
Ports
6.5
8.0
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
1
1
USB-C Ports
2
2
Thunderbolt
No
Thunderbolt 4
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
No
2.0
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
MicroSD UHS 2
No
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
Surface Connect
No
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
Bluetooth
5.4
5.4
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Qualcomm
Intel
Model
Snapdragon X Elite X1E80100
Core Ultra 7 268V
Core Count
12
8
Thread Count
12
8
GPU
Brand
Qualcomm
Intel
Model
Adreno GPU X1E80100
Arc 140V GPU
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Integrated
VRAM Size
N/A
N/A
RAM
Capacity
16 GB
32 GB
Modules
1 (Soldered)
8 (Soldered)
Type
LP-DDR5x
LP-DDR5x
Speed
8,448 MHz
8,533 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
512 GB
1,000 GB
Usable Capacity
452 GB
930 GB
Drive 1
WD SDDPTQD-512G-1124
SK Hynix HFS001TEM4X169N
Drive 1 Type
SSD
SSD
Drive 2
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Drive 2 Type
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Performance
Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)
9.9
9.2
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
1,562 points
2,032 points
CPU Multi-Thread
13,719 points
9,729 points
GPU Compute
N/A
29,320 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
8.7
9.7
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,092 points
1,948 points
Multi-Thread
9,316 points
9,440 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
7.7
7.8
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
4.6 min
4.3 min
GPU Render Time
N/A
N/A
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
6.2
7.1
Basemark Image
Overall Score
27,539
40,254
Storage Drive Performance
9.0
9.5
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
1,363.6 MB/s
1,474.6 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
2,680.7 MB/s
4,402.4 MB/s
Random Write Speed
78.0 MB/s
87.2 MB/s
Random Read Speed
39.6 MB/s
63.5 MB/s
Battery
9.7
9.6
Capacity
66 Wh
80 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
17.0 hrs
15.2 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
16.4 hrs
18.8 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
3.5 hrs
4.2 hrs
Charge Time
2.1 hrs
1.9 hrs
Borderlands 3
3.4
4.3
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
22 fps
32 fps
1% Low
12 fps
16 fps
0.1% Low
6 fps
6 fps
1% Low Delta
39 ms
33 ms
0.1% Low Delta
121 ms
135 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
45 fps
73 fps
Civilization VI
3.8
7.2
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
18 fps
56 fps
1% Low
12 fps
40 fps
0.1% Low
12 fps
38 fps
1% Low Delta
25 ms
7 ms
0.1% Low Delta
28 ms
9 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
56 fps
178 fps
Avg. Turn Time
8.68 s
7.17 s
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
CS:GO graph
Avg. FPS
1% Low
0.1% Low
1% Low Delta
0.1% Low Delta
Avg. FPS On Low
Counter-Strike 2
4.3
7.0
Avg. FPS
33fps
54fps
1% Low
9fps
37fps
0.1% Low
2fps
34fps
1% Low Delta
77 ms
8 ms
0.1% Low Delta
409 ms
11 ms
Avg. FPS On Low
46fps
137fps
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
3.4
5.6
Avg. FPS
22 fps
43 fps
1% Low
11 fps
27 fps
0.1% Low
8 fps
20 fps
1% Low Delta
48 ms
14 ms
0.1% Low Delta
78 ms
26 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
34 fps
56 fps
Thermals And Noise
7.4
7.4
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
29 °C (84 °F)
34 °C (92 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
49 °C (121 °F)
45 °C (112 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
25.0 dBA
25.0 dBA
Fan Noise Under Load
39.5 dBA
44.5 dBA
Power & Fan Control App
No
Yes
Performance Over Time
0.0
9.2
Performance Over Time Graph
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
N/A
81 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
N/A
4% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
N/A
73 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
N/A
0% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
Windows 11
Windows 11
Additional Software
None
Yes
Extra Features
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen
No
No
Secondary Display
No
No
Biometrics
Face Recognition
Face Recognition and Fingerprint Sensor
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Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024)
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Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024) vs Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025): Main Discussion
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