At the Lenovo Transform event in New York City, Lenovo senior VP Christian Teismann showed off a laptop concept that definitely looks like it is a device from the future.
The most evident feature of the showcased laptop is a flexible screen that runs across more than half of the device. While flexible display technology is certainly real, it might be a while before Lenovo is able to release such a laptop into the market.
Lenovo Shows Off Foldable Laptop
The foldable laptop, an image of which was also shared on Lenovo's official Twitter account, is described by the company as the future of personalized computing.
The laptop concept does not feature a hinge and instead folds right across the flexible display. It comes with a built-in keyboard and the signature ThinkPad pointing stick of Lenovo but has no trackpad. There are, however, left and right mouse buttons and a flat mouse wheel located at the bottom portion of the laptop.
Instead of using the trackpad to input mouse commands, the laptop will be capable of carrying out voice commands spoken by the user, supported by advanced artificial intelligence to serve as a digital assistant to users. The laptop will also come with a stylus that is designed to resemble a pencil, which will allow users to write on the device's display.
The only details offered by Lenovo on how they will make the laptop's screen extremely flexible for the unique form factor is that it will be made from "advanced materials" with "new screen technologies," which does not say a lot about the company's plans.
"This is more than just design, or look and feel," Teismann said, adding that the laptop will introduce new ways for users to speak to it, write on it, and for the laptop to talk back to the user. The foldable laptop will be always connected and always on, according to the Lenovo senior VP.
Flexible Laptop: Just A Dream Or Possible Reality?
The flexible display shown off by Lenovo in its laptop concept is certainly not new. In 2014, a pair of reports featured flexible screens, with Samsung touting a material called graphene that could make the technology possible for smartphones and LG showing off 18-inch television screens that can roll up like a yoga mat.
In October last year, Xiaomi was reported to be working on a bendable smartphone with a flexible touchscreen. Several photos and a 30-second video clip of a prototype of the device surfaced, hinting that the smartphone could be on its way.
However, the problem is developing the rest of the laptop's hardware beyond its flexible screen to be able to fit in what appears to be a super-slim form factor. The components should also be designed to withstand the movements of the folding laptop.
Flexible displays have been showcased in events such as the CES for years, but the technology has not yet developed to the point that it has become widespread. This likely means that it will take several years at least before Lenovo's crazy laptop concept becomes a reality, if it ever becomes more than a rendered image on a slideshow.
