Folding phones are already being pitched as the next big wave of tech, and whether or not that turns out to be true, the industry has no plans to stop there. Lenovo has just announced what it says is the world’s first “foldable PC:” a prototype ThinkPad that iterates the foldable tech we’ve already seen from phones on a much bigger scale.
It’s not just a cool tech demo, either: Lenovo has been developing this for over three years and has plans to launch a finished device in 2020 as part of its premium ThinkPad X1 brand. The goal here is a premium product that will be a laptop-class device, not an accessory or secondary computer like a tablet might be.
Cool factor aside, though, why build a folding PC? The answer is largely portability. Conceptually, it’s the opposite of what most of the foldable phones out there are trying to do. There, companies like Samsung and Huawei are trying to take a device the size of a regular phone and make them bigger. But the idea behind the folding ThinkPad is to take a full-sized PC and make it smaller.
The result is a 13.3-inch 4:3 2K OLED display that can fold up to about the size of a hardcover book (we don’t have the exact weight yet, but Lenovo says it’s less than two pounds, which is about as much as a hardcover copy of one of the larger Harry Potter books). That’s already enough to put it on the lighter side of the portable computer spectrum, but the size savings are really when you fold it in half, making it dramatically smaller than a regular laptop.
I got to try out a functional prototype, but there’s not a lot to see at this stage. The screen does fold, as advertised, and Windows worked well enough as a touch interface. But the real magic here — if it happens at all — will come with software and optimizing things to run on the unique form factors that a folding screen can provide.
I will say that I really did like the size of it more than I expected. Folded up, it’s far smaller than even a regular sized 13-inch laptop, and while it’s not exactly something you’ll fit into a jacket pocket, even a large one, it’s comparatively compact. The folded mode was also really nice to hold in my hand, like a giant glowing book. Fingers crossed that Lenovo (or someone) puts proper e-reader software for the futuristic, two-page digital book of my dreams.
The hardware is also clearly unfinished at this stage. The folding mechanism didn’t feel particularly sturdy on the prototype (Lenovo wouldn’t let us shoot close up pictures of how the hinge works, or what it looks like closed) and the screen had remarkably poor viewing angles, shifting colors wildly when looked at from even slight angles — particularly problematic for folding screens. All that will hopefully be sorted on more finished hardware, though.
As for how you use the device, Lenovo is envisioning a variety of use cases. You can use it completely unfolded like a large tablet or partially folded in a book-esque form factor. A built-in kickstand lets you prop up the display on a table for use with an included wireless keyboard and trackpad.
And, perhaps most interestingly, you can turn the device on its side and use it in a traditional (albeit smaller) laptop style form factor, using the bottom surface as a digital keyboard or writing pad, similar to Lenovo’s two-screened Yoga Books. Cleverly, the right side of the display (which serves as the “bottom” portion when used in laptop mode) contains the entire battery, which keeps it weighed down so it won’t topple over.
The other big question is about specs, and unfortunately, we have far less to go by there. Lenovo is staying tight-lipped about concrete details about the product, but here’s what we do know: it’ll run Windows and offer an Intel CPU. There are no details beyond that, and specs like RAM or even battery life estimates are being kept under wraps (although Lenovo says it’s aiming for a full day of use).
There are also plans for cellular support of some kind, a bundled Wacom pen (which clips to the front of the device, and slides forward to the side when unfolded), and it’ll charge over USB-C. (The model I used did not have a headphone jack, for what it’s worth.)
There’s also the elephant in the room: foldable technology is still very early in development, and the very prominent issues on the first mainstream device, Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, have cast a cloud over the concept. Lenovo says that it’s working to make sure that there aren’t any similar problems on the folding ThinkPad. The company is doubling the amount of testing it does on the hinge to make sure things work, and it’s still got plenty of time before that planned 2020 launch window to iron out any bugs.
At this stage, there’s not a lot else to say about Lenovo’s folding ThinkPad. There’s no price, no release date, and only unfinished hardware to look at. Still, it’s an ambitious idea, and it’s encouraging to see that Lenovo is pursuing folding technology so quickly for larger devices than phones. Whether that actually works in practice when the eventual finished hardware launches next year is anyone’s guess.
Comments
The Courier LIVES! Kinda.
By keefgallardo on 05.13.19 6:47pm
This! Hence the "place holder Windows 10 OS". Windows CoreOS / Santorini is the future of foldable PC’s…hopefully.
By astroWZRD on 05.14.19 9:41am
There seems to be so many material science and engineering issues presented by foldables. Like, no company so far has really seemed to figure out what to use on the inside curve of the hinge that flexes in a consistent manner. There is so much hardware slight of hand thats happening on all of these devices hat has me concerned about whether they will hold up.
The Courier concept at least kept the hardware uncomplicated by using two screens, eliminating the need for so many dubious hardware tricks needed to make a flat slab appear to seamlessly fold (while hiding all of the sliding and stretching and shifting necessary to make it appear that way).
By brandon.dean on 05.15.19 11:41am
Somehow I feel this makes more sense than a foldable phone.
By a9udn9u on 05.13.19 6:48pm
My fingers hurt just imagining typing on this
By Wazukyan on 05.14.19 3:08am
may be they can implement something like Swype for laptop.
personally, I feel swiping is faster than typing on my phone.
By shaddysan on 05.14.19 4:19am
Windows 10 already has it! It’s a bit tricky to set-up, but I use it on my Surface. The caveat is that the keyboard becomes phone-sized.
By xzorgol on 05.14.19 5:53am
you can also use swipe in the full sized keyboard as well, i find myself unintentionally using it when I’m holding my face up with my other hand
By cdm89 on 05.14.19 9:29am
Do you have the link to set that up? I’ve been looking for one for my Surface Pro, but haven’t found any.
By Shadeslayer on 05.14.19 12:43pm
depends on hand availability. dual thumbs imo is faster, but it may be a what you grew up doing thing.
By JesseDegenerate on 05.14.19 10:26am
It’s not for me, because I constantly have to go back and correct Swype/Swiftkey/Whatever.
By Robb-Nunya on 05.14.19 2:18pm
You can still carry a keyboard for long sessions. I think this looks brilliant.
By nico_mach on 05.14.19 8:39am
I’m really interested to see if that keyboard is attachable to the device somehow (even if just for easy travel)
By vonbaronhans on 05.14.19 9:51am
Agreed. There’s a reason Microsoft killed off the "Surface TouchCover". Sure it worked, but it definitely gave off a foreign, and not the most fluid typing experience.
By astroWZRD on 05.14.19 9:45am
Well, it’s already sexy as hell. It would be kind of nice if it were still usable somehow in the folded configuration, like for note taking, but a prototype of a first-gen device this looks surprisingly polished.
By ench on 05.13.19 6:55pm
I just don’t understand the point. Looks cool though.
By Seerauber on 05.13.19 6:55pm
Could be aimed at the artist and graphic design communities, providing a larger screen in a more compact form factor. I can also imagine a bunch of sales people liking using them for those one-on-one sessions where you need to show a bunch of slides, and digitally signed forms when closing the deal.
It’s definitely going to appeal more to people who aren’t wedded to their laptop keyboards for hours at a time.
By EnglishMike on 05.13.19 7:20pm
If the Samsung Fold didn’t work and had a bubble in the middle after a few days, how would this be reliable to use with a pen?
By Nidric on 05.13.19 7:36pm
well, they have until 2020 to work out that concern. Fold was intended to be released soon, right?
By whlr on 05.13.19 8:53pm
I think the material being used isn’t as flexible as they claim. I could be wrong. Even as the Samsung Fold debacle has left a question regarding their quality, I think if they haven’t figured out the problem regarding the foldable plastic, would Lenovo find the solution?
By Nidric on 05.13.19 10:33pm
I think the larger size of this device means a larger bend radius for the inward fold. So even if it were the same durability as the Fold’s, it would still likely last longer due to not being folded so tightly.
By vonbaronhans on 05.14.19 9:52am
The Fold’s issue was debris getting into the seam, which seems to be due to the lack of dust covers to the folding mechanisms Due to thinning out the screen bezel thus leaving no room for designing protective covers around the screen, yay for the bezel-less obsessed crowd taking form over function.
Here you see this thing has gigantic bezels for screen protection and you can clearly see the screen is tucked under the bezel to protect against debris entering the fold, that’s how. It’s clearly designed with functionality in mind.
By houkoholic on 05.14.19 4:44am
I don’t know if we can say for sure about how the bezel will work on the final version of this device. The screen could be slightly inset as it is on the prototype, but it could become flush as it turns into a final product.
The Galaxy Fold had clear ingress points both on the back of the hinge and in the middle of the top and bottom of the screen when folded. On this prototype, that back is covered in leather-type materials (baller) and the inside top/bottom was covered with black flexible tape. That could have been to hide the hinge mechanism for press purposes, but it’s also possible that it is a temporary solution to the inside ingress point while they work out a more aesthetically pleasing permanent solution.
By vonbaronhans on 05.14.19 10:00am
I don’t think this would really catch on with artists that are interested in working on tablets considering the plastic display. I just can’t see it being as good of an experience as an iPad Pro or Surface, even with another year to work on it. Glass is never gonna fold, so we’re stuck with the sub-par folding plastic for these type of devices.
While that may be "good enough" for the folding phone concept, I don’t think it’ll ever catch on for the graphic design crowd that’s working on tablets these days. I’d love to be proven wrong, but don’t see it happening.
By ryan.folks on 05.14.19 12:05am
I would say most people enjoy feeling of drawing on paper more than on glass – and plastic is closer to paper.
So I don’t think there is any inherent problem to make it work great for drawing.
But viewing angles make it useless.
By Zizy on 05.14.19 2:22am