Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) vs Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025)

Which Laptop Is Better?

Products

Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025)
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025)

Tested using Methodology v0.8.3

Updated Nov 27, 2025 02:08 PM

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BestBuy.com

Tested using Methodology v0.9

Updated Nov 27, 2025 02:03 PM

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Amazon.com
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Our Verdict

Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025)

Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025)

The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) is better than the Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) in most uses. In terms of the overall user experience, the MacBook Pro has better-sounding speakers and a wider port selection, but the Lenovo's keyboard is more comfortable to type on because it has more key travel. The MacBook Pro has a lot more processing power under the hood, making it a better option if you need to perform more intensive tasks like programming and video editing.

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Variants

  • ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q6002HUS) (Thunder Grey - Touch/Ultra 5 226V/16GB/512GB)
  • ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q60024US) (Thunder Grey - Touch/Ultra 5 238V/32GB/1TB)
  • ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q60029US) (Thunder Grey - Touch/Ultra 7 258V/32GB/1TB)
  • ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q60027US) (Thunder Grey - Touch/Ultra 7 258V/32GB/1TB)
  • ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q6002BUS) (Thunder Grey - Touch/Ultra 7 268V/32GB/1TB)
  • ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q6002AUS) (Thunder Grey - Ultra 5 226V/16GB/512GB)
  • ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q60026US) (Thunder Grey - Ultra 5 226V/16GB/512GB)
  • ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (21Q60025US) (Thunder Grey - Ultra 7 268V/32GB/1TB)
  • ‎MacBook Pro 14 (‎MDE54LL/A) (Silver - M5 (10-core CPU, 10-core GPU)/16GB/1TB)
  • ‎MacBook Pro 14 (MDE44LL/A) (Silver - M5 (10-core CPU, 10-core GPU)/16GB/512GB)
  • ‎MacBook Pro 14 (‎‎MDE64LL/A) (Silver - M5 (10-core CPU, 10-core GPU)/24GB/1TB)
  • ‎MacBook Pro 14 (‎‎MDE14LL/A) (Space Black - M5 (10-core CPU, 10-core GPU)/16GB/1TB)
  • MacBook Pro 14 (‎MDE04LL/A) (Space Black - M5 (10-core CPU, 10-core GPU)/16GB/512GB)
  • ‎MacBook Pro 14 (‎MDE34LL/A) (Space Black - M5 (10-core CPU, 10-core GPU)/24GB/1TB)
Read more

Main Differences for
School

Threshold 

0.10

School 
 

9.0
No major differences between these laptops for school. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Design

Style 
 

Style Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Style Photo
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Style Photo

Form Factor 
 

Traditional (Clamshell)
Traditional (Clamshell)
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

9.5
9.5

Build Quality Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Build Quality Photo
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Build Quality Photo
Show Text 

Hinge 
 

9.4
9.1

Hinge Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Hinge Photo
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Hinge Photo

Range 
 

177°
135°

Stability 
 

Good
Good

One Finger Lift 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Portability 
 

8.7
8.5

Dimensions Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Dimensions Photo
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Dimensions Photo

Size 
 

15.3"
14"

Thickness 
 

0.7" (1.7 cm)
0.7" (1.7 cm)

Width 
 

13.4" (34.1 cm)
12.3" (31.3 cm)

Depth 
 

9.3" (23.5 cm)
8.7" (22.1 cm)

Volume 
 

83.1 in³ (1,362.3 cm³)
71.5 in³ (1,172.2 cm³)

Weight 
 

3.1 lbs (1.4 kg)
3.5 lbs (1.6 kg)

Charger Size 
 

5.5 in³ (90.0 cm³)
7.3 in³ (120.4 cm³)

Charger Weight 
 

0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)

Serviceability 
 

6.5
3.5

Internals Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Internals Photo
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Internals Photo

Ease Of Access 
 

9.0
6.0

RAM Slots 
 

0
0

Storage Slots 
 

1
0

Replaceable Battery 
 

Yes
Yes

Replaceable Wireless Adapter 
 

No
No
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) In The Box Photo
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Display

Screen Specs 
 

Display Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Display Photo
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Display Photo

Resolution 
 

2880 x 1800
3024 x 1964

Aspect Ratio 
 

16:10
16:10

Pixel Density 
 

221 PPI
254 PPI

Panel Type 
 

OLED
IPS

Touch Screen 
 

Yes
No

Screen-To-Body Ratio 
 

91%
89%
Show Text 

Refresh Rate 
 

8.7
8.7

Motion Blur 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Motion Blur
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Motion Blur

Refresh Rate 
 

120 Hz
120 Hz

Variable Refresh Rate 
 

Dynamic Refresh Rate
Apple ProMotion
Show Text 

Contrast 
 

10
10

Contrast Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Contrast Photo
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Contrast Photo

Native Contrast 
 

32,997 : 1
20,460 : 1
Show Text 

Brightness 
 

8.5
9.0

Maximum Brightness 
 

469 cd/m²
588 cd/m²

Minimum Brightness 
 

1 cd/m²
1 cd/m²
Show Text 

Reflections 
 

7.7
8.9

Reflections Photo Off 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Reflections Photo Off
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Reflections Photo Off

Reflections Photo Max 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Reflections Photo Max
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Reflections Photo Max

Screen Finish 
 

Glossy
Glossy

Total Reflections 
 

3.77%
1.79%

Indirect Reflections 
 

0.89%
0.22%

Calculated Direct Reflections 
 

2.88%
1.57%
Show Text 

Black Uniformity 
 

10
10

Black Uniformity Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Black Uniformity Photo
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Black Uniformity Photo

Uniformity (Std. Dev.) 
 

0.251%
0.241%
Show Text 

Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy 
 

7.1
10

White Balance Screencap 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) White Balance Screencap
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) White Balance Screencap

Gamma Curve Screencap 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Gamma Curve Screencap
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Gamma Curve Screencap

Color Screencap 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Color Screencap
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Color Screencap

Avg. White Balance dE 
 

2.39
1.26

Avg. Gamma 
 

2.26
2.2

Avg. Color dE 
 

4.38
0.93

Avg. Color Temperature 
 

6,396.5 K
6,403.5 K
Show Text 

Color Gamut 
 

9.6
9.5

Gamut SDR 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Gamut SDR
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Gamut SDR

sRGB xy 
 

148.29%
99.99%

sRGB uv 
 

142.95%
99.97%

Adobe RGB xy 
 

92.55%
89.35%

Adobe RGB uv 
 

97.1%
94.42%

Gamut HDR 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Gamut HDR
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Gamut HDR

DCI-P3 xy 
 

99.99%
99.8%

DCI-P3 uv 
 

99.99%
99.7%

Rec. 2020 xy 
 

78.33%
73.34%

Rec. 2020 uv 
 

82.53%
74.19%
Show Text 

Flicker 
 

7.2
9.0

Flicker Graph 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Flicker Graph
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Flicker Graph

Flicker-Free 
 

No
No

Flicker Frequency 
 

480 Hz
> 1000Hz

Flicker Active Below 
 

100%
100%
Show Text 
Interface

Keyboard 
 

8.5
7.9

Keyboard Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Keyboard Photo
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Keyboard Photo

Typing Quality 
 

8.5
8.0

Numpad 
 

No
No

Backlighting 
 

Adjustable
Adjustable

Key Switch Actuation Graph  

See details
See details

Operating Force 
 

59 gf
61 gf

Actuation Force 
 

34 gf
39 gf

Pre-Travel 
 

1.05 mm
0.72 mm

Total Travel 
 

1.39 mm
0.78 mm
Show Text 

Touchpad 
 

9.3
9.2

Touchpad Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Touchpad Photo
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Touchpad Photo

Tracking Quality 
 

9.5
9.5

Size 
 

16.7 in² (108.0 cm²)
16.1 in² (104.0 cm²)

Material 
 

Glass
Glass

Dedicated Buttons 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Speakers 
 

8.1
9.1

Frequency Response Plot  

See details
See details

Max Volume 
 

81 dB SPL
80 dB SPL

Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB) 
 

5.9 dB
4.1 dB

Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB) 
 

1.9
0.9

Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.) 
 

143 Hz
110 Hz

Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.) 
 

17 kHz
20 kHz

Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol. 
 

5.4 dB
3.3 dB
Show Text 

Webcam & Microphone 
 

8.7
9.1

Webcam Video Sample  

Video Quality 
 

9.0
9.5

Resolution 
 

1440p
1080p

Position 
 

Top Center
Top Center

Privacy Cover 
 

No
No

Face Unlock 
 

Yes
No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Ports 
 

8.0
8.5

Ports Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Ports Photo
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Ports Photo

USB-A Ports 
 

1
0

USB-C Ports 
 

2
3

Thunderbolt 
 

Thunderbolt 4
Thunderbolt 4

USB-C Charging 
 

Yes
Yes

USB-C Display Out 
 

Yes
Yes

HDMI 
 

2.0
2.1

DisplayPort 
 

No
No

3.5mm Jack 
 

Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone

Card Reader 
 

No
SD UHS 2

Ethernet 
 

No
No

Proprietary Port 
 

No
Apple MagSafe 3

Security Lock 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Wireless Communication 
 

Wi-Fi 
 

Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)

Bluetooth 
 

5.4
5.3
Show Text 
Configuration

CPU 
 

Brand 
 

Intel
Apple

Model 
 

Core Ultra 7 268V
M5

Core Count 
 

8
10

Thread Count 
 

8
10
Show Text 

GPU 
 

Brand 
 

Intel
Apple

Model 
 

Arc 140V GPU
M5

Dedicated/Integrated 
 

Integrated
Integrated

VRAM Size 
 

N/A
N/A

GPU Total Graphics Power (TGP) 
 

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

RAM 
 

Capacity 
 

32 GB
16 GB

Modules 
 

8 (Soldered)
Unknown

Type 
 

LP-DDR5x
LP-DDR5x

Speed 
 

8,533 MHz
9,600 MHz
Show Text 

Storage 
 

Advertised Capacity 
 

1,000 GB
512 GB

Usable Capacity 
 

930 GB
442 GB

Drive 1 
 

SK Hynix HFS001TEM4X169N
Apple SSD AP0512Z

Drive 1 Type  

SSD
SSD

Drive 2 
 

No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive

Drive 2 Type  

No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Show Text 
Performance

Geekbench 5 (Synthetics) 
 

9.2

Geekbench Image  

Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Geekbench Image

CPU Single-Thread 
 

2,032 points

CPU Multi-Thread 
 

9,729 points

GPU Compute 
 

29,320 points
Show Text 

CPU/RAM Performance 
 

8.5

Cinebench 2024 - Single Core 
 

199 points

Cinebench 2024 - Multi Core 
 

1,162 points

Geekbench 6 - Single Core 
 

4,310

Geekbench 6 - Multi Core 
 

17,981

Blender - CPU (Avg) 
 

92 samples/min

PassMark PT - CPU Mark 
 

29,293

PassMark PT - Memory Mark 
 

5,312

PassMark PT - Memory Mark (Android) 
 

N/A

Mozilla Kraken 
 

233 ms

Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering) 
 

9.7

Cinebench R23 Photo  

Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Cinebench R23 Photo

Single-Thread 
 

1,948 points

Multi-Thread 
 

9,440 points
Show Text 

Low Tier Graphics 
 

7.9

Geekbench 6 - GPU Compute 
 

76,876

Basemark Web 3.0 
 

2,211

PassMark PT - 2D Mark 
 

N/A

PassMark PT - 2D Mark (Android) 
 

N/A

PassMark PT - 3D Mark 
 

N/A

PassMark PT - 3D Mark (Android) 
 

N/A

Novabench 5 - GPU 
 

217.0

mprep - Stress My GPU 
 

34,640
Show Text 

Blender (3D Rendering) 
 

7.8

Blender Image  

Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Blender Image

CPU Render Time 
 

4.3 min

GPU Render Time 
 

N/A

GPU Render Time (Optix) 
 

N/A
Show Text 

High Tier Graphics 
 

5.9

3DMark - Steel Nomad (DX12) 
 

N/A

3DMark - Steel Nomad (Vulkan/Metal) 
 

1,142

Basemark GPU (DX12) 
 

N/A

Basemark GPU (Vulkan/Metal) 
 

70,336

GFXBench - High Level Test (Vulkan/Metal) 
 

4,821 Frames

Basemark GPU (Game Scene) 
 

7.1

Basemark Image  

Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Basemark Image

Overall Score 
 

40,254
Show Text 

Professional 3D (GPU Accelerated) 
 

2.3

Blender - GPU (Avg) 
 

575 samples/min

Cinebench 2024 - GPU 
 

5,875 points

CPU-Intensive Game Performance 
 

6.0

Civilization VII - AI 
 

15.4 s/turn

Civilization VII - Graphics (Avg) 
 

164.3 fps

Civilization VII - Graphics (1% Low) 
 

98.6 fps

Total War: Warhammer III (Avg) 
 

24.5 fps

Baldur's Gate 3 (Avg) 
 

71.5 fps

Baldur's Gate 3 (1% Low) 
 

58.5 fps

Previous Methodology Score 
 

N/A

Previous Methodology Score Converted 
 

N/A

GPU-Intensive Game Performance 
 

3.3

Cyberpunk 2077 (Avg) 
 

21.5 fps

Cyberpunk 2077 (Min) 
 

19.0 fps

Assassin's Creed Shadows (Avg) 
 

15 fps

Assassin's Creed Shadows (1% Low) 
 

8 fps

GTA V (Avg) 
 

N/A

GTA V (1% Low) 
 

N/A

Black Myth: Wukong (Avg) 
 

N/A

Black Myth: Wukong (5% Low) 
 

N/A

Resident Evil 4 (Avg) 
 

58.7 fps

Resident Evil 4 (1% Low) 
 

40.0 fps

Previous Methodology Score 
 

N/A

Previous Methodology Score Converted 
 

N/A
Show Text 

Borderlands 3 
 

4.3

Borderlands 3 Graph  

See details

Avg. FPS 
 

32 fps

1% Low 
 

16 fps

0.1% Low 
 

6 fps

1% Low Delta 
 

33 ms

0.1% Low Delta 
 

135 ms

Avg. FPS On Very Low 
 

73 fps
Show Text 

Ray Tracing Performance 
 

2.1

Cyberpunk 2077 (Avg) 
 

15.8 fps

Cyberpunk 2077 (Min) 
 

13.3 fps

Assassin's Creed Shadows (Avg) 
 

12 fps

Assassin's Creed Shadows (1% Low) 
 

6 fps

Black Myth: Wukong (Avg) 
 

N/A

Black Myth: Wukong (5% Low) 
 

N/A

Civilization VI 
 

7.2

Civilization VI Graph  

See details

Avg. FPS 
 

56 fps

1% Low 
 

40 fps

0.1% Low 
 

38 fps

1% Low Delta 
 

7 ms

0.1% Low Delta 
 

9 ms

Avg. FPS On Minimum 
 

178 fps

Avg. Turn Time 
 

7.17 s
Show Text 

Storage Drive Performance 
 

9.5
9.6

Storage Performance Image  

Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Storage Performance Image

Sequential Write Speed 
 

1,474.6 MB/s
7,788.2 MB/s

Sequential Read Speed 
 

4,402.4 MB/s
5,304.3 MB/s

Random Write Speed 
 

87.2 MB/s
46.5 MB/s

Random Read Speed 
 

63.5 MB/s
80.9 MB/s

Battery 
 

9.6
9.7

Capacity 
 

80 Wh
72 Wh

Battery Life (Web Browsing) 
 

15.2 hrs
16.1 hrs

Battery Life (Video Playback) 
 

18.8 hrs
15.7 hrs

Battery Life (Gaming) 
 

4.2 hrs
2.0 hrs

Charge Time 
 

1.9 hrs
1.9 hrs
Show Text 

Counter-Strike 2 
 

7.0

CS2 Graph  

See details

Avg. FPS 
 

54fps

1% Low 
 

37fps

0.1% Low 
 

34fps

1% Low Delta 
 

8 ms

0.1% Low Delta 
 

11 ms

Avg. FPS On Low 
 

137fps
Show Text 

Thermals And Noise 
 

7.4
7.6

Keyboard Temps Picture 
 

Compare High-Res
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) Keyboard Temps Picture
Compare High-Res
Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025) Keyboard Temps Picture

Keyboard Temp While Idle 
 

34 °C (92 °F)
26 °C (79 °F)

Keyboard Temp Under Load 
 

45 °C (112 °F)
45 °C (112 °F)

Fan Noise While Idle 
 

25.0 dBA
25.0 dBA

Fan Noise Under Load 
 

44.5 dBA
45.0 dBA

Power & Fan Control App 
 

Yes
No
Show Text 

Shadow Of The Tomb Raider 
 

5.6

SOTTR Graph  

See details

Avg. FPS 
 

43 fps

1% Low 
 

27 fps

0.1% Low 
 

20 fps

1% Low Delta 
 

14 ms

0.1% Low Delta 
 

26 ms

Avg. FPS On Lowest 
 

56 fps
Show Text 

Performance Over Time 
 

9.2
10

Performance Over Time Graph  

See details
See details

CPU Temp (Cinebench) 
 

81 °C
100 °C

CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench) 
 

4% loss
0% loss

GPU Temp (Heaven) 
 

73 °C
95 °C

GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven) 
 

0% loss
0% loss
Additional Features And Software

Software 
 

Operating System 
 

Windows 11
macOS

Additional Software 
 

Yes
None
Show Text 

Extra Features 
 

Biometrics 
 

Face Recognition and Fingerprint Sensor
Fingerprint Sensor

RGB Illumination 
 

No
No

Touch Pen Support 
 

No Stylus Support
No Stylus Support

Secondary Display 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025)

Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025)

Comments

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Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) vs Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M5, 2025): Main Discussion

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