ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 uses double-sided 'Space Frame' for repairable design

At CES 2026, Lenovo introduced the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 featuring a redesigned, double-sided motherboard called a "Space Frame," a move the company says reflects a significant commitment to repairability on a flagship laptop.

The Space Frame places components on both sides of the motherboard, allowing replacement of parts such as USB ports, the battery, keyboard, speakers and fans. The laptop can be opened with standard tools and earned a 9 out of 10 repairability score from iFixit. Externally the X1 Carbon keeps the familiar ThinkPad look — including the TrackPoint, black matte keyboard and a premium haptic trackpad — while packing Intel Core Ultra X7 Series 3 "Panther Lake" processors with integrated Intel Arc graphics, up to 64GB of LPDDR5x RAM at 9600MT/s, and a 2.8K OLED display rated to 500 nits. ZDNET noted the processors feature Intel's 12Xe graphics and an increased 30W of sustained power, which ZDNET said is "set to demolish demanding workloads."

Repairability was a key theme at CES 2026, with many manufacturers making incremental commitments to user-repairable elements; ZDNET said Lenovo went further by redesigning a flagship laptop's internal structure. ZDNET's Kyle Kucharski wrote he hopes the X1 Carbon Gen 14 is "the first of many more such designs," and described the model as a fully realized innovation among Lenovo's CES proof-of-concepts.

Key Topics

Tech, Space Frame, Lenovo, Ifixit, Intel Core Ultra