Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) vs ASUS Zenbook DUO UX8406 14 (2025)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025)
ASUS Zenbook DUO UX8406 14 (2025)
Tested using Methodology v0.8.3
Updated Aug 19, 2025 12:37 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Tested using Methodology v0.8.3
Updated Oct 24, 2025 05:03 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Size
15.3"
Operating System
Windows 11
Size
14"
Operating System
Windows 11
Our Verdict
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025)
ASUS Zenbook DUO UX8406 14 (2025)
The Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) and the ASUS Zenbook DUO UX8406 14 (2025) are both Windows ultraportables. However, they have very different form factors; the former is a traditional clamshell model, while the latter is a dual-screen model with a kickstand and detachable keyboard. The ThinkPad feels more premium, delivering a better user experience overall, but the Zenbook DUO is more versatile because it has two screens and pen input support. You can get better CPU performance on the ASUS; just keep in mind that it has a much shorter battery life and loud fans.
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)
- Zenbook Duo UX8406 14 (UX8406CA-DS79T) (Inkwell Gray - 3K/Ultra 7 255H/32GB/1TB)
- Zenbook Duo UX8406 14 (UX8406CA-PS99T) (Inkwell Gray - 3K/Ultra 9 285H/32GB/1TB)
- Zenbook Duo UX8406 14 (UX8406CA-DS91T-CA) (Inkwell Gray - FHD/Ultra 9 285H/16GB/1TB)
Main Differences for
School
School
Threshold
School
9.0
7.9
Battery
9.6
7.5
Portability
8.7
8.0
Touchpad
9.3
8.1
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Traditional (Clamshell)
Traditional (Clamshell)
Build Quality
9.5
9.0
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
9.4
9.4
Hinge Photo
Range
177°
180°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
Yes
Portability
8.7
8.0
Dimensions Photo
Size
15.3"
14"
Thickness
0.7" (1.7 cm)
1.0" (2.5 cm)
Width
13.4" (34.1 cm)
12.4" (31.5 cm)
Depth
9.3" (23.5 cm)
8.7" (22.0 cm)
Volume
83.1 in³ (1,362.3 cm³)
103.6 in³ (1,697.9 cm³)
Weight
3.1 lbs (1.4 kg)
3.8 lbs (1.7 kg)
Charger Size
5.5 in³ (90.0 cm³)
7.2 in³ (118.8 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
0.5 lbs (0.2 kg)
Serviceability
6.5
3.8
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
9.0
6.5
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
1
0
Replaceable Battery
Yes
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
No
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
2880 x 1800
2880 x 1800
Aspect Ratio
16:10
16:10
Pixel Density
221 PPI
242 PPI
Panel Type
OLED
OLED
Touch Screen
Yes
Yes
Screen-To-Body Ratio
91%
87%
Refresh Rate
8.7
8.7
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
120 Hz
120 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
Dynamic Refresh Rate
Dynamic Refresh Rate
Contrast
10
10
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
32,997 : 1
49,660 : 1
Brightness
8.5
7.3
Maximum Brightness
469 cd/m²
328 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
1 cd/m²
4 cd/m²
Reflections
7.7
6.7
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Glossy
Total Reflections
3.77%
5.79%
Indirect Reflections
0.89%
2.37%
Calculated Direct Reflections
2.88%
3.41%
Black Uniformity
10
10
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
0.251%
0.256%
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
7.1
7.7
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
2.39
1.9
Avg. Gamma
2.26
2.19
Avg. Color dE
4.38
3.9895
Avg. Color Temperature
6,396.5 K
6,618.2 K
Color Gamut
9.6
9.6
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
148.29%
149.19%
sRGB uv
142.95%
142.4%
Adobe RGB xy
92.55%
93.77%
Adobe RGB uv
97.1%
97.67%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
99.99%
99.99%
DCI P3 uv
99.99%
99.99%
Rec. 2020 xy
78.33%
78.81%
Rec. 2020 uv
82.53%
82.1889%
Flicker
7.2
7.2
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
No
No
Flicker Frequency
480 Hz
480 Hz
Flicker Active Below
100%
100%
Interface
Keyboard
8.5
8.2
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
8.5
8.0
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
59 gf
62 gf
Actuation Force
34 gf
35 gf
Pre-Travel
1.05 mm
1.00 mm
Total Travel
1.39 mm
1.51 mm
Touchpad
9.3
8.1
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
9.5
8.0
Size
16.7 in² (108.0 cm²)
15.1 in² (97.5 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
8.1
6.8
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
81 dB SPL
71 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
5.9 dB
4.3 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
1.9
2.3
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
143 Hz
202 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
17 kHz
8 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
5.4 dB
5.4 dB
Webcam & Microphone
8.7
7.4
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
9.0
7.5
Resolution
1440p
1080p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
Yes
Yes
Connectivity
Ports
8.0
8.0
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
1
1
USB-C Ports
2
2
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt 4
Thunderbolt 4
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
2.0
2.0
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
No
No
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
No
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
Intel
Intel
Model
Core Ultra 7 268V
Core Ultra 9 285H
Core Count
8
16
Thread Count
8
16
GPU
Brand
Intel
Intel
Model
Arc 140V GPU
Arc 140T GPU
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Integrated
VRAM Size
N/A
N/A
GPU Total Graphics Power (TGP)
N/A
N/A
RAM
Capacity
32 GB
32 GB
Modules
8 (Soldered)
8 (Soldered)
Type
LP-DDR5x
LP-DDR5x
Speed
8,533 MHz
7,467 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
1,000 GB
1,000 GB
Usable Capacity
930 GB
917 GB
Drive 1
SK Hynix HFS001TEM4X169N
Western Digital PC SN5000S SDEQNSJ-1T00-1002
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)
9.2
9.5
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
2,032 points
2,132 points
CPU Multi-Thread
9,729 points
14,870 points
GPU Compute
29,320 points
42,785 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
9.7
10
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,948 points
2,117 points
Multi-Thread
9,440 points
16,691 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
7.8
8.9
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
4.3 min
2.2 min
GPU Render Time
N/A
N/A
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
7.1
5.9
Basemark Image
Overall Score
40,254
23,282
Storage Drive Performance
9.5
9.5
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
1,474.6 MB/s
1,578.4 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
4,402.4 MB/s
4,051.6 MB/s
Random Write Speed
87.2 MB/s
104.6 MB/s
Random Read Speed
63.5 MB/s
68.0 MB/s
Battery
9.6
7.5
Capacity
80 Wh
75 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
15.2 hrs
8.9 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
18.8 hrs
7.8 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
4.2 hrs
2.2 hrs
Charge Time
1.9 hrs
2.1 hrs
Borderlands 3
4.3
5.6
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
32 fps
37 fps
1% Low
16 fps
26 fps
0.1% Low
6 fps
14 fps
1% Low Delta
33 ms
12 ms
0.1% Low Delta
135 ms
46 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
73 fps
77 fps
Civilization VI
7.2
7.4
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
56 fps
58 fps
1% Low
40 fps
40 fps
0.1% Low
38 fps
39 fps
1% Low Delta
7 ms
7 ms
0.1% Low Delta
9 ms
8 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
178 fps
199 fps
Avg. Turn Time
7.17 s
6.22 s
Counter-Strike 2
7.0
7.3
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
54fps
71fps
1% Low
37fps
43fps
0.1% Low
34fps
39fps
1% Low Delta
8 ms
9 ms
0.1% Low Delta
11 ms
12 ms
Avg. FPS On Low
137fps
188fps
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
5.6
7.0
SOTTR Graph
Avg. FPS
43 fps
45 fps
1% Low
27 fps
34 fps
0.1% Low
20 fps
33 fps
1% Low Delta
14 ms
7 ms
0.1% Low Delta
26 ms
8 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
56 fps
69 fps
Thermals And Noise
7.4
7.8
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
34 °C (92 °F)
29 °C (83 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
45 °C (112 °F)
35 °C (96 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
25.0 dBA
25.0 dBA
Fan Noise Under Load
44.5 dBA
51.2 dBA
Power & Fan Control App
Yes
Yes
Performance Over Time
9.2
7.9
Performance Over Time Graph
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
81 °C
81 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
4% loss
14% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
73 °C
66 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
0% loss
0% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
Windows 11
Windows 11
Additional Software
Yes
Yes
Extra Features
Biometrics
Face Recognition and Fingerprint Sensor
Face Recognition
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen Support
No Stylus Support
MPP 2.0
Secondary Display
No
Yes
To access
and
Become an Insider
unlimited full product reviews,
product prices
other exclusive site features
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025)
ASUS Zenbook DUO UX8406 14 (2025)
Comments
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 15 Aura Edition (2025) vs ASUS Zenbook DUO UX8406 14 (2025): Main Discussion
What do you think of these products? Let us know below.
Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.