Orlando, US, May 13, 2019 — As part of the announcements that happened at the Lenovo Accelerate event today, Lenovo is introducing, what they claim to be, the world’s first foldable PC. Luis Hernandez, VP of PC & SD Integrated Development Center at Lenovo told us all about it.
No compromises, it’s all there
Lenovo pulled off the absolutely unexpected by suddenly introducing a foldable PC which is planned to hit the market in 2020 as a new part of their X1 product family. The device will run a standard Windows operating system and is built to provide a full personal computer experience without compromises to user productivity and yet providing an unparalleled level of mobility. The goal of energy management here is to last for about full day of average operation. Together with the product’s weight, the question of how long a single battery charge can last will be significant for this product’s commercial success.
A prototype was presented which is likely not reflecting the final design and capabilities of the product but it was functional as far as the screen folding goes. The display technology for this solution is delivered by LG and it will feature a 2K resolution on a 13.3-inch screen and a 4:3 ratio. Taking into account that the display can be folded to turn from tablet-mode into laptop-mode, a ratio like this makes sense. It would have been otherwise difficult to provide a proper on-screen keyboard if the overall screen had a widescreen resolution ratio.
Tested to last
A few concerns were voiced in the session’s Q&A from the audience, targeting the technical failures of the recently launched foldable smartphones by Samsung. It was stated that this foldable PC concept has been worked on for quite some time already in R&D and had not been just quickly thrown onto the market as just another alternative. As it is common practice for most Lenovo products, the foldable PC will also be suitable for a more rugged lifestyle and they are undergoing various product quality testing procedures to make sure the final product will be a solution with a long lifespan for the users and not an expensive recall drama.
In summary, this launch is likely to shake up a variety of markets. While it is not intended to disrupt the smartphone space, it will certainly have an impact on tablets, hybrid-PCs, laptops, but also the e-reader market. This is a lifestyle product that might not be for everyone at first but this is also what many said about the iPhone when it was first announced. There is a great potential in this form factor and we are looking forward to more specifications and pricing details in 2020.
YouTube: Here’s the World’s First Foldable PC by Lenovo
Photo credit: Photos were taken by Christopher Isak for TechAcute. The product images are owned by Lenovo
Source: Author attended an invite-only press event. Lenovo also provided a press release with details available at this time.
Editorial notice: All travel arrangements have been managed by Lenovo.
