(Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) (Image credit: Tom's Hardware) The ThinkPad Rollable XD is a more traditional vertical rollable concept that expands from a 13.3-inch screen to 16 inches. But rather than house the unseen parts of the screen in the base, this design has it wrapping around the top of the lid, giving you a dynamic "world-facing" display when the laptop is closed, or you haven't expanded the primary screen.
Of course, the screen needs to be protected, and Lenovo worked with Corning on a dual-sided Gorilla Glass Victus 2 screen cover with a 180-degree bend that wraps around both sides. And while there are other ways to control the expanding screen mechanism (like using your voice), you can swipe on the top edge of the display to move it up or down. When it's expanded, you can see the motor mechanism on the back. I like that the company left some of the complex engineering on display, though I doubt this kind of choice would make it to a final product.
Lenovo also touts AI features under the hood of the XD concept, like "live translation, voice assistant, multi-modal, and lid-controlled interactions." But I think one of the most interesting things about the XD concept is that it's a ThinkPad, unlike previous rollable concepts – and the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 that the company brought to market last year. Perhaps the switch to arguably the company's flagship brand is an indication that the company sees a serious, productivity-focused future for the expandable screen tech it's been dabbling with for a few years now .
At the very least, housing the whole screen and the sliding mechanism in the lid should make it easier to take screens like this and add them to more laptops. And as someone who has taken a portable monitor and a mechanical keyboard to CES in previous years, pairing an expandable screen with one of the best laptop keyboards available has me at least a little more interested than I was before.
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Matt Safford After a rough start with the Mattel Aquarius as a child, Matt built his first PC in the late 1990s and ventured into mild PC modding in the early 2000s. He’s spent the last 15 years covering emerging technology for Smithsonian, Popular Science, and Consumer Reports, while testing components and PCs for Computer Shopper, PCMag and Digital Trends.
Stomx 4k AR glasses they intentionally do not develop though all is ready long ago and your laptop turns into set of 4-8 workspaces 100" in size Reply
kealii123 Yes!!!! This is what I want (assuming its not $$$$, which it probably would be if it ever came to market) If its going to cost more than a macbook, might as well put the monitor on an adjustable neck so it can sit 6 inches above the deck of the keyboard. Also, while you're at it, have it rotate 90 degrees into a portait mode THEN unscroll into 16:9, or if possible with the scrolling tech, into an ultra widescreen. Reply
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/laptops/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/laptops/lenovos-ces-concept-devices-include-a-rollable-ultra-wide-oled-legion-gaming-laptop-thinkpad-concept-has-an-expandable-screen-that-wraps-around-the-outside-of-the-lid#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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