At its Tech World 2022 event, Lenovo shared a video showcasing several prototype devices, including an intriguing laptop that takes advantage of the OLED display’s ability to roll like a sheet of paper, optionally transforming to provide twice as much screen space.
In the past, laptops were less powerful and less capable than desktop computers. As such, they were only used for traveling or working in places far from the office without a permanent desk. Nowadays, unless you’re the type of gamer who wants to play the latest games to the fullest (and are willing to pay a fortune for it) or work on complex 3D animations, a laptop will be more than enough as your mainframe, assuming you hook it up to a larger external display.
Of course, the advantages of the easily portable nature of laptops can sometimes outweigh the advantages of a larger screen. This Lenovo prototype, on the other hand, with its enlarged screen, seems to provide a solution for both sides of this dilemma. Lenovo is no stranger to folding OLED display technology, and the ThinkPad X1 Fold, for example, was an innovative tablet/laptop combo with a bi-folding display and a floating wireless keyboard.
The introduction was a clever new take on a laptop. In comparison, this new prototype can be seen as a better use of OLEDs. It basically looks and works like a standard laptop with a permanent touch keyboard and a pop-up display, but instead of shrinking by doubling, the screen is enlarged by a sliding mechanism it uses. In the short video demonstration, the screen appears to have doubled in size, giving more room to work without increasing the overall size of the laptop.
Of course there are some obvious concerns with the prototype. The laptop will undoubtedly be a bit heavier than most with the added sliding mechanism. In addition, the fact that the screen is very heavy when fully open seems to cause it to fall back if you do not constantly use your hands to fix the keyboard.
Unfortunately, Lenovo has not made a statement as to whether this prototype will pass the concept stage.
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