According to a Notebookcheck review of the ThinkBook 14 G9, Lenovo has started shipping its German laptop configurations with SSDs made by YMTC for the first time. This marks the first inclusion of YMTC-made NAND Flash in a laptop sold outside mainland China, driven by a massive shortage that has sent SSD prices skyrocketing.

The Chinese supplier has achieved volume production of its Xtacking 4.0 technology, offering 1 TB TLC or 2 TB QLC modules that disrupt the global supply chain dominated by Samsung, SK hynix, Micron, and Kioxia. In testing, the ThinkBook 14 G9 SKU uses a 512 GB NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 2242 SSD with sequential read speeds of 3,950 MB/s and write speeds of 2,514 MB/s—below average but adequate for office use.

Lenovo clarified that only German SKUs receive the YMTC SSD; U.S. configurations continue with non-YMTC drives. Previously, Lenovo used DRAM from fellow Chinese supplier CXMT solely for domestic models. Meanwhile, Apple is reportedly negotiating with the U.S. government for clearance to use CXMT and YMTC components in future iPhones and Macs, as rising contract pricing pressures its margins.