IMO the ThinkPad brand died after IBM sold its PC division. Lenovo has kept it alive because it is a cash cow, but the machines have shoddy build quality and are ludicrously overpriced.
My previous X1 Extreme Gen 1 (2018) had annoying coil whine and screen backlight bleed. One of the key caps broke off after a couple of years. Eventually I ended up doing a full keyboard and battery replacement.
My current X1 Carbon Gen 13 is nice and light, has no coil whine, but it's still made from cheap plastic. Considering it's a $2k+ machine, it sure doesn't feel like it.
In comparison, ThinkPads from the IBM era were built like tanks. Still plastic, sure, but they felt solid, and were reliable workhorses for years.
At this point the only thing keeping me on ThinkPads is the TrackPoint, but since trackpads are decent on Linux nowadays, I think I'm ready to finally ditch the brand. Some of the new Dell and HP machines look interesting. Frameworks seem nice, but I've read many issues about their build quality, and they're not cheap either.
Thinkpad T or X series had always been the best Linux laptops I've ever had. All of the hardware has always Just Worked, they have a nice selection of bios-level security features, and the build quality has always been just fine. Cases / keyboards / track point / touchpads never failed after 6-8y of owning each.
I'll add that my P14s (gen 3) keyboard sticks up in one place. It's not the biggest problem, but this an odd fit problem I never saw on my older ones. Typing on it is not as great either than my other TPs or external, which at least have a longer travel. (the old layout was OK, they key feel was nice, and the T430s felt like the best laptop keyboard I had used)
I've had the same experience. My IBM ThinkPads had great keyboards. Lenovo modernized them, but introduced a bunch of quality issues.
Oh, and I forgot to mention the most annoying issue of all: the TrackPoint still drifts on every modern ThinkPad! This was a big issue on IBM ThinkPads, and Lenovo hasn't bothered to fix it in all this time. I've had it on my 2018 X1 Extreme, and now on this 2025 X1 Carbon. It's enfuriating that such a high profile functionality has such a glaring issue for such a long time. Just shows Lenovo's lack of care and attention for this brand.
I got mine just for the Trackpoint too :D I just use it on my desk though. But I am waiting in the mail for the new Shinobi. There are very few other keyboards on the market with this feature. There is the HHKB Studio, but it's much more expensive and not full-size. But, I didn't look far either. I am not obsessed with mechanical keyboards, so the only thing for me was guessing what switch to use (cherry-mx silent red, they are fine enough :) ) I just hope for no more hacking around to get a stable keyboard. It's been a nuisance.
My previous X1 Extreme Gen 1 (2018) had annoying coil whine and screen backlight bleed. One of the key caps broke off after a couple of years. Eventually I ended up doing a full keyboard and battery replacement.
My current X1 Carbon Gen 13 is nice and light, has no coil whine, but it's still made from cheap plastic. Considering it's a $2k+ machine, it sure doesn't feel like it.
In comparison, ThinkPads from the IBM era were built like tanks. Still plastic, sure, but they felt solid, and were reliable workhorses for years.
At this point the only thing keeping me on ThinkPads is the TrackPoint, but since trackpads are decent on Linux nowadays, I think I'm ready to finally ditch the brand. Some of the new Dell and HP machines look interesting. Frameworks seem nice, but I've read many issues about their build quality, and they're not cheap either.