Lenovo Wows with Foldable PC

LENOVO ACCELERATE — Lenovo on Monday wowed attendees at its Accelerate 2019 event when it gave them a glimpse of a foldable PC, the newest addition to its flagship ThinkPad X1 family. Think origami without the fold lines.

Lenovo is targeting the PC/notebook replacement device to users who are highly mobile, tech-savvy executives, business working professionals and also tech enthusiasts. Unfortunately, the target date for launch isn’t until sometime in 2020.

Lenovo’s Thomas Butler

“When you think of the ThinkPad brand, you think of it as a business-oriented brand, but in reality, the X1 line transcends that, crossing small and medium businesses all the way to the consumer,” said Thomas Butler, executive director, worldwide commercial portfolio, at Lenovo. “The beauty of this device is that it will truly adapt to you throughout your day.”

Development of the new device has been a multiyear effort with technology partners such as Microsoft, Intel and LG for the display, and the vendor’s in-house engineering development teams.

The foldable runs Microsoft Windows and it will launch on a future Intel-based platform.

“We’re working with Microsoft to build out and unlock the potential of a device like this and the use cases a device like this supports,” said Butler.

Some specs: The device has a 13.3-inch folding OLED, 2K display with a 4:3 ratio, and weighs less than 2 pounds. Details regarding other specs such as memory and storage are still being worked out. Lenovo is targeting all-day battery life, or “workday” battery life — the company spokesman couldn’t provide more specifics.

Referring to the new foldable PC as a revolution in mobility, Butler says it answers the call for work-life harmony. It’s expected to be used from morning to night — with coffee over breakfast, during the commute (as long as you’re not driving!), in the office for work, at home streaming programs or reading a book. Next day, do it all over again. In other words, much more often than a traditional PC or Yoga device.

“When taking advantage of the full screen, there’s no break across it; it’s seamless, no breaks in the lines as you scroll,” said Butler.

Used for reading a book on a crowded train, it can be used unfolded as a reader. In the office it can be used with a docking station with multiple monitors and keyboard and mouse — and it will also offer full pen (digitizer) support for collaborating in a team meeting, for example.

Like all of the vendor’s ThinkPad devices, it will undergo the rigorous Lenovo 12x Mil-Spec-22 procedures testing for cold, heat, vibration, humidity, shipboard vibration, shock, temperature, altitude, solar radiation, fungus, dust, and ATEX.

“You may ask, are you concerned about the quality or durability of the device or screen? As a ThinkPad, it’s going to go through the same standards that we run our entire ThinkPad line through,” said Butler.

Lenovo Accelerate, a business partner and customer event, is being in Orlando through Wednesday.