It plans to start selling the "foldable PC" in 2020. Let’s Get Foldable At its Accelerate conference on Monday, Chinese tech company Lenovo unveiled a prototype of what it’s calling “the world’s first foldable PC.” “This is not a phone, tablet, or familiar hybrid,” the company wrote in a press release announcing the device. “This is a full-fledged laptop with a foldable screen.” The company says it plans to begin selling the foldable laptop in 2020 — adding to the mounting evidence that foldable screens are going to be a staple of future tech (assuming the industry can work out the few remaining kinks). Know When to Fold ‘Em Lenovo hasn’t released too many details on the laptop — in fact, the device doesn’t even have a name yet. Advertisement Advertisement What the company has shared is that the foldable laptop will be a member of the ThinkPad X1 family and that an Intel processor will power it. Lenovo also revealed that it created the device’s 13.3-inch 2K OLED display as part of a partnership with LG. While the video Lenovo released of the laptop provides just a quick glimpse at new tech, Engadget did have a chance to get hands-on with the prototype, and the video the news outlet released offers a far more in-depth look at the device. READ MORE: Lenovo unveils the world’s first ‘foldable PC’ and I’m actually kinda excited [The Next Web] More on foldable tech: Samsung Just Revealed a $1,980 Folding Smartphone Advertisement Advertisement As a Futurism reader, we invite you join the Singularity Global Community, our parent company’s forum to discuss futuristic science & technology with like-minded people from all over the world. It’s free to join, sign up now!<doc-sep>Lenovo took the wraps off of the world’s first “foldable PC” this week at its Accelerate conference in Orlando, giving the world its first glimpse of a prototype where much remains a mystery. This foldable laptop has yet to be named, the release date is vague, and the price is unknown. But Lenovo is confident. This foldable laptop — or more likely one its descendants — will change office and home productivity, and how we watch Netflix. Chris Teismann, Lenovo’s SVP of Commercial Business, showed off the foldable PC’s impressive shapeshifting capabilities on stage Tuesday, showing it can be opened into a 13-inch tablet, folded horizontally to become a booklet, or be placed on a table to mimic the form of a standard laptop. Lenovo’s folding laptop will also come with a mechanical keyboard for traditionalists, and a stylus for creatives and note-takers. This Folding Laptop Will Be Under the ThinkPad Brand Tesimann explained it would be released under the ThinkPad line, a series of business-oriented laptops and tablets, which Lenovo acquired from IBM in 2005. But it’ll be like no other laptop before it. "This is the only device you will need in the future to be productive all day long." “This is the newest innovation and part of our flagship ThinkPad X1 family,” he said. “Lenovo’s foldable PC combines laptop productivity with smartphone portability to fold into your lifestyle. This is the only device you will need in the future to be productive all day long.” Teismann debuts Lenovo's first foldable PC at the company's Accelerate conference in Orlando. Lenovo Lenovo is trending in new water, but the fact that it has set itself up to be first to market might pay off. Industry analysis firm, Global Market Insights, forecasted that the global market for foldable devices will be worth $18 billion by 2025 in January report. Announcing a product early, here in 2019, could secure a large portion of what is expected to be a ballooning industry, but there’s a catch: It’s not a great time for folding tech. Remember the Galaxy Fold? Samsung’s much-hyped Galaxy Fold was supposed to be the first big-name foldable phone to hit shelves this spring. But review samples of the the $1,980 handset broke down after only days of use, which seemed to be the result of design flaws. But Lenovo has paid no heed to the Samsung’s slip-up and decided to dive head-first into creating a new breed of flexible laptops. Here’s everything we know about the first-ever foldable PC. It can go from a tablet, to a booklet, to a laptop. Lenovo Lenovo Foldable PC: Release Date The company only specified that the device would be available some time in 2020. Not holding itself to a specific date might give Lenovo more wiggle room to fix any bugs and perfect its design as next year rolls around. Launching it ahead of the 2020 holiday season gives the company well over a year to work on it. Plus, a launch in, say, November could boost sales going into December, especially if they’re the only company selling a foldable laptop. But Lenovo will need to ensure that it avoids a Galaxy Fold fumble. The company’s wide release window suggests Lenovo is being cautious to avoid releasing too early. Lenovo Foldable PC: Price Lenovo did not reveal how much its unnamed foldable PC would cost on Tuesday, but interested customers should prepare their wallets. Currently, there are not any similar products to compare the upcoming device. But the eye-watering price tags of foldable phones suggest Lenovo could charge top-dollar. Huawei’s Mate will start at $2,600 and the Galaxy Fold was priced at just below $2,000. Both of these phones have a much smaller internal displays than Lenovo’s announced foldable laptop. But the price could be balanced out because the PC won’t have extensive camera arrays and exterior screens, like Samsung and Huawei’s handsets. It wouldn’t be surprising if Lenovo priced it at around $3,000 to $4,000. Lenovo's foldable PC in laptop form. Lenovo Lenovo Foldable PC: Different Forms Tesimann skipped out on a lot of details during Accelerate, but what he did show off was the foldable PC’s three forms. So far its number-one selling point is adaptability; it can turn into a tablet, booklet, and laptop with just a fold and a flip. These versatile use-cases can be especially tempting for professionals that enjoy having a single computer for both their leisure and work. Plus the PC’s mechanical keyboard and stylus accessories will let consumers customize how they use Lenovo’s folding laptops ever further: Tablet Mode: When both halves of the devices are opened and it’s held horizontally, it’ll become a tablets with a 13-inch OLED display. This is optimal for streaming TV shows and playing games. But using its stylus instantly turns the device into a notebook or sketchpad for students and creatives. Users can also connect the device to its mechanical keyboard to use it like a 13-inch laptop if they’d rather type than tap. When both halves of the devices are opened and it’s held horizontally, it’ll become a tablets with a 13-inch OLED display. This is optimal for streaming TV shows and playing games. But using its stylus instantly turns the device into a notebook or sketchpad for students and creatives. Users can also connect the device to its mechanical keyboard to use it like a 13-inch laptop if they’d rather type than tap. Booklet Mode: When users slightly close both halves of the screen while holding it horizontally will set it into booklet mode. This is ideal of reading a digital copy of a book as it if were actually printed. But Tesimann teased that users will be able to display an app on each screen, enabling multitasking. When users slightly close both halves of the screen while holding it horizontally will set it into booklet mode. This is ideal of reading a digital copy of a book as it if were actually printed. But Tesimann teased that users will be able to display an app on each screen, enabling multitasking.<doc-sep>Intel says that it will be at least two years before laptops with foldable screens take off, but someone forgot to tell that to Lenovo, which just unveiled a prototype for a new foldable ThinkPad running Windows that will go on sale in 2020. The ThinkPad X1 foldable PC concept features a 13-inch OLED display. With its torque hinge, Lenovo’s foldable PC can be used in various modes, whether you want to use it as a book, tablet with pen, video player or laptop in clamshell mode. You can also set up the stand and use the foldable PC in desktop mode with an external mechanical keyboard. You can use a physical keyboard with Lenovo's foldable PC or a touchscreen keyboard. No crease in OLED display One of the coolest things about seeing this next-generation ThinkPad X1 in person is that there’s almost no visible crease in the center of the screen, so there’s nothing to distract you from your work or immersive content. Lenovo says that it worked with LG Display on the screen and that the overall product has been in development for three years. What about durability? If you’re worried about durability — and we would too given the Galaxy Fold’s issues — Lenovo says that it doubled the hinge cycles that it tests for laptops on this foldable PC. In addition, this device will meet the same overall testing standards as other ThinkPads. When unfolded, you can't see a crease on the screen of Lenovo's foldable concept. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 foldable PC specs Because it is still very early, Lenovo isn’t saying what specific operating system this will run (saying only Windows) nor which processor (only Intel). Lenovo is also being vague about battery life, claiming that its foldable PC will have an “all-day battery.” Lenovo will include a digital pen with the ThinkPad X1 foldable PC. We do know some other details, though. The ThinkPad X1 foldable PC prototype has two USB C ports, an IR camera (presumably for Windows Hello) and stereo speakers. The foldable ThinkPad X1 PC when closed looks like a notebook. Outlook It’s way too soon to say whether Lenovo’s first foldable PC will succeed. Even if it has the durability the Galaxy Fold lacks, we don’t know anything about the price or the speed of this system. But I am impressed by the versatility of its design and can see it making a splash at least with early adopters. Credit: Tom's Guide<doc-sep>Lenovo's First Foldable-Screen Laptop. (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) Lenovo today announced the first PC with a foldable screen, a ThinkPad X1-branded device with no final name or price. This full-on laptop is scheduled for release sometime in 2020. There’s very little in the way of specs just yet. Lenovo has revealed the device will be Windows-based and use some form of Intel technology for processing, though that’s under wraps (I would imagine that this is enabled by Lakefield, but that’s speculation). We do know that it has a 13.3-inch 2KOLED screen in a 4:3 ratio made by LG Display that can fold in half. Lenovo is also promising two USB Type-C ports, stereo speakers and an IR camera for Windows Hello, as well as a vague “all-day” battery life claim, though no numbers are available yet. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) The company is suggesting that this will be a primary device to completely replace a laptop aimed primarily at executives and heavy travelers, as well as enthusiasts who want to try a new form factor. Lenovo said it is doubling the number of hinge cycles it uses on its laptops to test the foldable’s torque hinge. (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) In a hands-on with an early prototype, I was able to fold it in half, plant it on a table like a laptop and type on the touch screen. The hinge on the early device felt solid, and I opened and closed it several times without worrying about it breaking. I saw an option where one could use a Bluetooth keyboard and prop up the unfolded device for a more traditional experience. You can also read from the device while holding it as if it were a book, and, if you want to draw, lay the unfolded device flat like a tablet and use its Wacom stylus. The demo I saw was running Windows 10, though the company is being coy about what operating system will actually run on the final product. This did make typing without an external keyboard somewhat difficult, but there’s always time to improve the touchscreen keyboard before launch. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) Lenovo has been developing the foldable for three years and is launching it after the February announcement of Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, a smartphone that faced a number of issues (including straight up not working) while reviewers tested it. But with a different display manufacturer in LG and one of the biggest names in portable business machines behind it, Lenovo is looking to foldable screens to reinvent the PC instead. The device seems promising (and, if the Galaxy Fold is any indication, will be very expensive). We’re looking forward to learning more in 2020.<doc-sep>
Lenovo, the world’s largest shipper of PCs, is hopping aboard the foldable train. During the Lenovo Accelerate conference today in Orlando, Florida, the company gave attendees an early look at its upcoming foldable-display laptop. The still-to-be-named product will be a part of Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 line of laptops, and the company says it envisions this as a clear laptop replacement, not a supplemental device. The foldable PC has a 13.3-inch diagonal display, with a 4 by 3 aspect ratio, when it’s in full-screen mode. When it’s folded, it turns into a 9.6-inch display. Like Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, it has an OLED display with a polymer screen. Unlike Samsung’s foldable, this one will be made by LG Display. Lenovo says it envisions a handful of different use cases for this foldable ThinkPad, which uses a torque hinge. One of the challenges with building a foldable-display PC, as opposed to a foldable phone, is that users will be looking for adequate keyboard solutions. With this device you can use it as a clamshell laptop, but the default keyboard is an on-display, touchscreen keyboard. You can also use it as a two-in-one, where you prop it up as a tablet and then use a Bluetooth keyboard. You can use it as a large tablet, or slightly folded like a book. Lenovo Another design element that Lenovo had to consider was the battery. It couldn’t just split into two, because that would make the top of the laptop too heavy when it’s in use as a clamshell. The current prototype has a battery in one side only, so there’s a distinct top and bottom to the device. Lenovo is clearly emphasizing productivity here: It’s a ThinkPad, it’s aimed at business users and road warriors, and it will run Windows. It will also be powered by an Intel processor, though Lenovo hasn’t specified which one it will be, and will work with Wacom styluses. The foldable PC has been in the works for more than three years now. Lenovo says that since it has to uphold the same standards of ruggedness as the staid, formidable ThinkPad line, it’s putting the foldable through extra testing cycles (especially the hinge). Pricing hasn’t been shared, nor ship date. But Lenovo is targeting the first half of 2020. Our early predictions for CES 2020: Foldables. Lots of foldables. Lenovo’s big reveal comes right after Samsung’s foldable fiasco. The company’s Galaxy Fold, which was supposed to go on sale at the end of April, has suffered a foldable failure-to-launch after early reviews revealed serious issues with the display on the $1,980 phone. Samsung has since said that if it doesn’t ship the phone by May 31, it would cancel preorders.