Lenovo Rollable Laptop Proof of Concept at maximum expansion
Nowadays, foldable displays in smartphones and tablet PCs are all the rage, and at Ubergizmo, we have extensively written about the latest innovations in that category.
One day ahead of MWC’s grand opening, we were invited to a demo of Lenovo’s Rollable Laptop Concept in Barcelona, a hybridization between the Lenovo Yogabook 9i dual-screen laptop showcased at IFA 2022 and the LG Signature OLED R rollable TV unveiled at CES 2019.
Design-wise, the Lenovo Rollable Laptop prototype is a 12.7-inch with a 4:3 aspect ratio (2024×1604) display when the flexible screen is fully retracted below the keyboard. Once triggered by the button located on the right side, the motor expands the 17.9 mm thick flexible display into a tall vertical 15.3-inch screen with an 8:9 aspect ratio (or two 16:9 screens, 2024×2368).
The complete expansion process takes a few seconds, which is fine for a laptop, but it may be a bit long for a phone. I am constantly folding and unfolding my Galaxy Flip 4 during the day and I am not sure that a motor, even optimized, would be faster than me to expand the display at the same speed as I unfold my phone.
During the demo, the Lenovo spokesperson shared the company’s foldable display innovation vision that aims at providing the best productivity to improve hybrid work and life by delivering a unique rollable display experience on a laptop.
“We’re taking a standard laptop and increasing the size horizontally or in portrait to give you more productivity on the go,” said Tom Butler, Executive Director, WW Commercial Portfolio and Product Management, Lenovo.
We know that added screen real estate improves productivity, and at Ubergizmo, we are always looking for ways to expand the size of the displays on all the devices we use at work to increase our productivity. That’s why we fell in love with foldable smartphones, 40-inch+ monitors, the portable displays, and the dual screen laptops.
With remote work and digital nomadism on the rise, mastering the design of large flexible displays in compact form factors seems to be the next holy grail of the consumer electronics industry. Few companies have dared to innovate in that field, and Lenovo is one of the second-gen pioneers alongside Sony, Nokia, Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, and LG.
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