That's a track point not pad. It's so minimal that I legit had a hard time seeing it in most of the pictures I've seen. May as well be one of those old school mouse nubbins you used to see on laptops.
I bought my ThinkPad a fair bit before yours, but I can't imagine replacing my T450s either. The dual batteries, TrackPoint, and sheer number of ports is something most modern laptops just don't include. Ten years old and still running beautifully thanks to Linux (Fedora 41 Gnome). If I do end up leaving it, I'll be getting something a few years newer, like the T470p. But it's a no for new ThinkPads :/
"the best of all worlds" eh, I dunno. There's no mention of Linux desktop use on here. I have so many custom games and stuff on mine, how much of a pain with it be to do on this thing? I sometimes make quick tweaks and using the steamdeck shortcuts to use the keyboard and the trackpads just make that so easy compared to something with only joysticks. Also looks to have less buttons overall. I'm not convinced.