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Lenovo’s new laptop design may be more flexible than you

Grace Shallow June 21, 2017

If traditional laptop design is choking you with its upright screens and brittle keyboard, keep Lenovo in mind.

Lenovo's new laptop design may be more flexible than you

Yesterday, the company tweeted a picture of its newest design concept: a laptop without a hinge. It’s got other basic features, like a screen and keyboard — it’s just a lot more flexible.

There’s a heavy emphasis on the term “concept,” since the company has nothing tangible to show for this design and doesn’t have the time to build it yet, according to Engadget.

Not much information was given out by the company, but there’s a few things to be gleaned from the photo. The new design seems to be missing a trackpad, and it’s not clear how this issue will be solved just yet. Possible solutions include a touchscreen or directing screen movement verbally with the “Speak to it” feature the laptop will have, according to Lenovo’s Twitter photo. It’s a small photo, but there may also be a trackpoint in the middle of the keyboard — a surprising throwback in an otherwise unique design.

The diagram presented by Lenovo also has other vague identifiers, like “Advanced materials” (maybe some that can make sure the laptop stands?) and “New screen technologies.” Again, there hasn’t been much explanation of what those mean or what the company anticipates them meaning — or if these functions are based off anything but optimism.

A better diagram on Mashable shows a label near the laptop’s space bar that reads “Always connected,” but it’s not too clear how that’s different to every other internet-connected laptop around. And a pencil — probably a symbol for a stylus — just seems out of place alongside the laptop, despite its label reading “Write on it.”

Neither picture gives any indication that the design includes any ports typically found on a laptop, like a place to plug in an HDMI cord or charger. So it’s fair to say the idea is in development and its fruition is far away. If it ever sees the light of day.

Lenovo definitely deserves credit for rethinking how personal computers can be used and made, but if their Yoga Book model — which was named “the weirdest laptop of 2016” by Alphr — is any indication, tradition tends to have better functionality.

Image: Kārlis Dambrāns used under Creative Commons