Lenovo has shown off a concept laptop with a powered lid so it will open and close with voice control.
The concept is designed to show future possibilities for the laptop, allowing a new range of functions.
Lenovo has announced a flurry of new laptops, refreshing its line-up across consumer devices – Yoga and Idea – as well as from its business-focused Think family. But sitting to one side at the Lenovo launch was this, the ThinkBook Auto Twist AI PC proof of concept.
With laptop design not really changing in recent years (even the pursuit of thinner and lighter laptops seems to have calmed), the Auto Twist AI PC does something that other laptops can’t – it has a powered lid.
This laptop doesn’t just open and close, it twists, giving you flexibility in how you use that display, with the ability to automatically turn it into tablet mode, for example. With the bark of a voice command, the 13-inch notebook will open the lid or rotate the display. Even in a busy testing room with lots of background noise, I found it responded well to commands.
Within the custom software for this concept notebook are some additional extra features. You can have the camera track you as you move around, so if you’re on a video call or presenting, for example, the screen will rotate with you as you move. This would be a great way to keep presentation notes facing you, or keep you in the shot on a video call.
There’s also a fun panorama selfie option that will rotate the screen, taking a panoramic photo. It sounds like just the sort of boardroom banter that everyone needs, capturing that productive meeting for time immemorial.
ThinkBook Auto Twist AI PC POC specs
As a proof of concept, this PC is all about showing what can be done, so it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to buy one. But, it’s powered by the Intel Core Ultra 7 with 32GB RAM. There’s a 13.3-inch OLED display with a 16:10 aspect, and there’s a 55Wh battery inside.
Powering the display is a triple micro motor arrangement integrated into the hinge, allowing 180-degrees of vertically-powered movement and 270-degrees horizontal. It weighs 1.27kg, so it’s not the lightest 13-inch laptop around, but that’s to be expected when it’s packing in a collection of motors too.
The question is why you might want this? There’s immediate appeal for anyone of limited mobility who might struggle to open a laptop – and with this being an AI PC, you can see that in the future you’ll be able to complete many of your computing tasks without needing to use your hands.
Of course, in the immediate term this is a fun concept that works surprisingly well and brings a little twist to traditional laptops and a break from the barrage of Copilot+ PCs dominating launches at IFA 2024.
