At CES 2026 (early January), Lenovo unveiled a new 'Space Frame' chassis design for the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition and ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 11 Aura Edition, restructuring the interior so components sit on both sides of the motherboard for easier disassembly. The design allows battery, keyboard assembly, USB-C ports, fans, and speakers to be individually replaced, and the chassis uses up to 75% recycled aluminum and 90% recycled magnesium with plastic-free primary packaging. The laptop received an iFixit repairability score of 9/10, described as class-leading among business laptops (Framework achieved a perfect 10 for comparison). However, reporting noted a significant caveat: most self-repairs void the warranty (only battery replacement is intended for owners), replacement parts are not sold directly to consumers, and the design is primarily aimed at reducing downtime for IT technicians servicing large corporate fleets rather than enabling individual consumer repair. RAM remains soldered and non-replaceable.
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Lenovo
Chinese multinational technology company headquartered in Beijing and incorporated in Hong Kong. World's largest PC vendor by shipment volume; maker of ThinkPad, Yoga, and Legion laptops, and owner of Motorola Mobility.