Will It Grow On You?
Lenovo (992.HK) did it. They have been showing a rollable laptop at various shows for two years, teasing reviewers with a ‘demo’ or ‘prototype’ and an unanswered question about when it will become a real product. At this year’s CES show Lenovo has actually taken those demos and made them into a real product that you can buy, or will be able to sometime in 1Q. When we say ‘rollable’ here, we mean a laptop with a 14” display (2000x1600 resolution) that can extend itself upward to become a 16.7” laptop in only a few seconds.
This slight-of-hand is accomplished by pulling the bottom of the flexible OLED screen, made by Samsung Display, inside the device when in 14” mode and having motors slide the screen upward as the internal portion is pulled into view when needed. Just to get this mechanism to work smoothly, as those who have seen it in action say it does, is a feat of engineering and we give kudos to both the design and engineering staff at Lenovo, but there is also a practical side to this device.
First, there are lots of things to go wrong. Foldable display develop creases at the fold and while the display is not rolled up inside the chassis when not in use, it sits at an angle to the 14” screen, a point where a crease is likely to form. With motors, rollers, and mechanicals to expand the display come new components and new issues when used in real life, and while Lenovo says the laptop is rated for 30,000 openings and closings and 20,000 up and down screen movements (11x per day for 5 years), real-world usage is usually more rigorous than lab testing that is typically done in a controlled environment. Oh, and we forgot to mention that this all comes with a price, actually $3,500, quite a bit more than the specs for this 14” laptop would normally cost, but you do get to show your friends how watching the screen expand and listening to the sound of the motors calms that nervous tic that has developed since you spent this month’s rent on your new laptop.
A number of reviews we have seen are praising this device because it provides a 50% increase in screen space. This comes from the idea that when the device is in expanded mode you can see 50% more of the lines of code you are working on or 50% more of the document you are editing. However, when calculating screen area one finds that the ‘closed’ screen has 89 in2 of area and when ‘open’ has 108.1 in2 of area, or 21.5% more screen space. It seems that Lenovo has taken some liberties with how it describes the display, not surprising given the need to find a reason for consumers to pay up for this first-of-its-kind device. But again, we applaud Lenovo for having the guts to take the plunge into the world of rollable laptops (Note that LG’s (066570.KS) rollable TV is no longer being produced), but as a practical device you are paying quite a bit more than 21% for the extra 21% of screen space.
Here's a video of the device being opened and closed. The important stuff is in the first 1:25.
https://youtu.be/f2T-Yu9KEAk
This slight-of-hand is accomplished by pulling the bottom of the flexible OLED screen, made by Samsung Display, inside the device when in 14” mode and having motors slide the screen upward as the internal portion is pulled into view when needed. Just to get this mechanism to work smoothly, as those who have seen it in action say it does, is a feat of engineering and we give kudos to both the design and engineering staff at Lenovo, but there is also a practical side to this device.
First, there are lots of things to go wrong. Foldable display develop creases at the fold and while the display is not rolled up inside the chassis when not in use, it sits at an angle to the 14” screen, a point where a crease is likely to form. With motors, rollers, and mechanicals to expand the display come new components and new issues when used in real life, and while Lenovo says the laptop is rated for 30,000 openings and closings and 20,000 up and down screen movements (11x per day for 5 years), real-world usage is usually more rigorous than lab testing that is typically done in a controlled environment. Oh, and we forgot to mention that this all comes with a price, actually $3,500, quite a bit more than the specs for this 14” laptop would normally cost, but you do get to show your friends how watching the screen expand and listening to the sound of the motors calms that nervous tic that has developed since you spent this month’s rent on your new laptop.
A number of reviews we have seen are praising this device because it provides a 50% increase in screen space. This comes from the idea that when the device is in expanded mode you can see 50% more of the lines of code you are working on or 50% more of the document you are editing. However, when calculating screen area one finds that the ‘closed’ screen has 89 in2 of area and when ‘open’ has 108.1 in2 of area, or 21.5% more screen space. It seems that Lenovo has taken some liberties with how it describes the display, not surprising given the need to find a reason for consumers to pay up for this first-of-its-kind device. But again, we applaud Lenovo for having the guts to take the plunge into the world of rollable laptops (Note that LG’s (066570.KS) rollable TV is no longer being produced), but as a practical device you are paying quite a bit more than 21% for the extra 21% of screen space.
Here's a video of the device being opened and closed. The important stuff is in the first 1:25.
https://youtu.be/f2T-Yu9KEAk
Figure 5 - Lenovo Thinkbook Plus Gen 6 - Open and Closed - Source: Techspot
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