Lenovo ThinkPad X1 foldable teases future of ultraportable laptops Lenovo has just unveiled one of its most incredible devices to date: a foldable Windows-based PC designed for business executives, on-the-go professionals, and anyone who wants to be on the cutting edge of technology. The foldable will be part of the company’s popular ThinkPad X1 family when it arrives on the market next year, offering buyers a device with a flexible display that can function as their primary PC. Lenovo has kicked off its presence in the foldables market in a big way with its new ThinkPad foldable PC prototype. The Windows-based device will feature a foldable OLED screen from LG Display; it has a 2K resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio, measures 9.6-inches in half-screen, and 13.3-inches for the full screen. The device utilizes Intel technology and includes a number of notable features, the incredible display aside, including stereo speakers, a pair of USB-C ports, and an infrared camera. In addition to a Bluetooth keyboard, the device will also provide users with a Wacom pen for times when a stylus is ideal. Buyers can expect all-day battery life on a single charge. The foldable ThinkPad X1 device will be able to replace your laptop to serve as your primary PC, according to Lenovo. The device sports a torque hinge that enables the screen to be positioned at various angles in the same way a traditional laptop screen can be positioned at the ideal angle. Lenovo avoided any potential issues related to top-heaviness by using the battery to add weight to the bottom part of the device. Buyers can expect the same level of quality they get from other ThinkPad devices; in fact, Lenovo anticipates users frequently folding and unfolding the device, which is why it doubled the hinge cycles it uses to test its laptop products. The new foldable is the result of three years of development, giving us our first look at the future of highly portable laptops. Lenovo will offer more details on the device, including availability, in the future.<doc-sep>“They actually let me out of the lab to be here with you all,” joked Hernandez, who touted the accomplishments of Lenovo engineers and its technology partners as it relates to the foldable device, but was mum on a lot of details. What’s certain at this point is that it’s part of the ThinkPad X1 family, boasts an OLED 2K display, which was made in collaboration with LG, and it can fold in half, reducing its width by 50 per cent. It’s also Intel-powered with Windows and weighs less than 2 lbs. Several Lenovo executives, including Luis Hernandez, vice-president of commercial product solutions and development, alluded to a strong desire by the company to pull the device out of development before its 2020 release – no specific launch date or price was announced – and show it off to the world during its conference. Orlando — Lenovo briefly paraded its latest innovation, a foldable ThinkPad X1 laptop, in front of reporters during its annual Transform 3.0 at Accelerate Monday, calling it the world’s first foldable PC. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Lenovo is adamant that the foldable ThinkPad X1 is not a phone, tablet or a hybrid of the two – it’s a full-fledged laptop with a foldable screen. “Within our lineup of PCs, this is our most mobile addition to the portfolio,” said Jerry Paradise, Lenovo’s product manager and head of its commercial portfolio. During a web briefing prior to the Orlando event, Thomas Butler, Lenovo’s executive director of commercial product management, told reporters that the most-mobile workers of today will benefit greatly from a device they can carry around like a phone, but also use for activities that require heavy compute power. “This device will be more adaptable for using more so than a traditional notebook or mobile device. We know you’ll have a phone in your pocket or purse, but your notebook under your arm isn’t useful in all modes,” he explained. Butler walked through a scenario where one wakes up in the morning, reads a few pages from a book while having coffee with the laptop folded in half, watches a video unfolded, and then proceeds to use it like a regular laptop at work with device’s digital keyboard. When asked about any lessons learned from Samsung’s recent bad luck with its Galaxy Fold devices, Thomas said the snafu reinforced the importance of rigorous durability testing. The foldable ThinkPad has yet to complete all of its quality assurance testing, Thomas said, but will include the usual ones against cold, heat, shock, dust and much more. The hinge in particular, he added, will receive extra attention. “We anticipate this device will be opened and closed more than normal, so we’re doubling the hinge test cycles that we’re running on this device compared to regular Yoga and other devices.” **Alex Coop’s travel and accommodations to cover Lenovo Accelerate were paid for by Lenovo. This story was not reviewed externally before publication. **<doc-sep>Folding displays are all the rage in the smartphone industry as of late. Huawei, Samsung, and other smaller phone makers have jumped on the bandwagon with their pricey -- but interesting -- flagship takes on the concept. Samsung's Galaxy Fold, in particular, has been received relatively well by reviewers in spite of a few build quality and screen issues. Now, it seems the idea of a folding display is extending beyond the world of smartphones, and into the realm of full computers. Lenovo, the company behind some of the PC world's strangest products -- like the Yoga Book C930 with an electronic ink keyboard -- is entering the foldable screen arena with the ThinkPad X1. Announced at the company's Accelerate conference, the ThinkPad X1 will be the world's "first foldable PC," featuring an all-screen design that bends seamlessly at the center. Lenovo claims this design allows for quite a bit of versatility. You can wake up in the morning, "fold it into a book," and browse social media. Alternatively, stand it up in the kitchen to catch up on the news while you cook breakfast or have coffee, or simply plug it into your office computer for an extra monitor. Lenovo says the ThinkPad X1 won't be a typical tablet-laptop hybrid. It will feature a mechanical keyboard, a 13.3" 2K OLED display, and an included pen for doodling, note-taking, or digital art. We don't know anything about the X1's hardware specifications or pricing yet, but Lenovo says it will arrive sometime in 2020.<doc-sep>The era of the foldable smartphone arrived with a thud earlier this year when Samsung’s first attempt at a smartphone with a folding screen, the Galaxy Fold, had to be pulled before it was even released. Questions about the product’s design and durability arose from the outset, and despite Samsung’s claims that its phones had been thoroughly tested, they broke when given to a handful of reviewers. Lenovo would like you to put all that out of your mind as it ushers in the era of the first foldable laptop. Well, OK, all laptops fold, but this one is going to be all screen. The company announced the ThinkPad X1 foldable prototype laptop at its annual sales event today, aiming to show one direction it sees the future of computing heading. In a brief meeting to demonstrate a working prototype of the device earlier this month, Lenovo told Quartz that it sees the future X1 device replacing the average person’s daily computer, providing them a large-screen Windows device in a small package. It doesn’t have a price for the unreleased device yet, but its X1 line of products is generally reserved for its high-end computers. Lenovo Lenovo is still working out the kinks of the product—it’s still figuring out how a physical keyboard will fit into the computer, for example—and plans to take its time releasing it. Lenovo said it’s been working on the device for the last three years, and doesn’t plan to release it until 2020, presumably hoping to avoid a fate like the Fold. The prototype, however, didn’t feel like a massively unfinished device. The hinge allowed the screen told be sturdily tilted up to a variety of viewing angles when it was folded into the shape of a traditional laptop, and the device seemed to have no problem running Windows. The large 13.3-inch high-resolution display looked bright and sharp however it was curved. While it’s still very much a work in progress, the new device hints at where device makers are looking toward the future—whether that’s a future anyone actually wants, however, is unclear.<doc-sep>
The first smartphones with foldable displays are coming this year, allowing you to fold a device in half for use as a phone, or unfold it for use as a tablet. But why stop there? Lenovo is showing off a preview of the first laptop with a foldable display. The company says it’ll be part of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 line of premium devices when it ships sometime in 2020. The notebook features a 13.3 inch, 1920 x 1440 pixel flexible OLED display from LG. Fold the screen at the middle and you can use the Thinkpad X1 like a laptop, with one part of the screen function as a display and the other as a keyboard. Unfold it and you have a large tablet. This wouldn’t be Lenovo’s first foray into the laptop-with-a-virtual-keyboard space. The Lenovo Yoga Book line of devices feature dual screens, allowing you to draw, use handwriting, or type on one screen while viewing content on the other. What’s new is that the ThinkPad X1 foldable prototype doesn’t have two screens separated by a hinge. It has a single screen that folds at the middle. In addition to functioning in laptop or tablet modes, Lenovo suggests you could use the device like a book, with “pages” of content on each side. You could prop it up using a kickstand for viewing media, use a pen for taking handwritten notes, or connect it to a docking station or keyboard if you need to do more typing. Lenovo hasn’t announced detailed specs yet, and we don’t know how much the ThinkPad X1 foldable will cost. But if device makers expect people to spend as much as $2600 on smartphones with foldable displays, I certainly don’t expect laptops with even bigger foldable displays to be cheap anytime in the near future. According to Tom’s Hardware, which got a chance to check out the prototype in person, the prototype has an unspecified Intel processor, a display with a 4:3 aspect ratio, two USB Type-C ports, a Windows Hello-compatible IR camera, and stereo speakers. The Verge reports that the device weighs less than two pounds. And Gizmodo explains that when you’re using the ThinkPad X1 foldable in laptop mode, you get a “9.6 inch ‘half screen. '” You can click on the links to any of those sites for some hands-on photos, videos, and first impressions of the prototype. Engadget, Ars Technica and Laptop Magazine also have some more photos and details. Share this article: Share this: Facebook Twitter Reddit Pocket Tumblr Pinterest LinkedIn Email